As we were sitting down for breakfast this morning, Annie announced "I need to go to Disneyland again." I couldn't agree with her more...
What I love is that she loved it just as much as I hope she would.
After driving to Anaheim on Monday and meeting up with Julie and Cathy (and Lauren joined us for dinner before going back home), we woke up Tuesday morning and got ready for Disneyland. Now, Annie hasn't seen any Disney film except Mary Poppins, and really was just familiar with the popular Disney characters through stories, and through songs. In the days preceeding our trip, we introduced her to the Dumbo story, and started talking lots about the different things we'd be able to do in Disneyland. I was a little worried we'd get her onto Dumbo and she'd freak out, or that she wouldn't want anything to do with the characters walking around--she can be unpredictable about such things--but I'd say the day went pretty perfectly. Though she didn't know what to expect, she could sense the excitement from all the adults around her, and couldn't wait to see Sleeping Beauty's Castle and to fly with Dumbo.
We arrived at the park, and Annie thought the drive through the parking garage (totally disoriented the adults who'd never seen a parking garage at Disneyland!) was fun, and the ride on the elevator, and the ride on the tram--these would have been enough for her.
While Eric got our tickets, we waited outside the main gates--admiring the giant Mickey, Goofy (and assorted other) pumpkins and talked about all that awaited us inside. I must admit I got a bit teary eyed, I know that's a bit cheesy, but I was so happy to get to share it with her (and with Eric and with Siri, too)...
There were so many wonderful parts of the day, the best parts of course was just seeing Annie's excitement as she saw things and heard things familiar to her. She loved flying on Dumbo, riding on the Carousel and (after acclimating to the loudness of it) riding through It's a Small World. She gave Minnie Mouse an enthusiastic hug, and enjoyed exploring her house, as well as Donald Duck's boat. She sat on a variety of vehicles in Toontown, but what she wanted to do again and again there was ring the doorbell and watch the dog look out the window and bark. She loved getting to "see" Winnie the Pooh's house on the new Winnie the Pooh ride (which sadly has taken over the space previously occupied by the Bear Country Jamboree)--though something freaked her out at the end and she wanted "out of the beehive, out of the beehive, out of the beehive!"
After lunch, Annie and Siri had some time with Grandma and Cathy while Eric, my dad, Julie and I rode on Space Mountain, Star Tours, Matterhorn, Big Thunder, and Splash Mountain all in two hours time!! (There are definite advantages to going in the off-season!). While with Grandma and Cathy, the girls watched Mary Poppins and Bert dance, met the Fairy Godmother, rode on the double decker bus, and on the horse drawn trolley. When we met back up with them, Annie was still pretty excited about it all, though it was at this point that she began having moments were she looked like she was in a trance...We all had some ice cream to get our energy back up, Annie enjoyed watching a man play the piano, and then declared she wanted to ride Dumbo again. So, we headed back to Fantasyland, where we said good-bye to Julie (who had a plane to catch) and then got back in line. This time, Siri was awake, so she got to ride with Daddy on an elephant as well! We got some hats at the Mad Hatter Shop, and sat in some teacups (though not the actual ride, it makes me sick just thinking about it) where Annie worked diligently at scooping the tea out so our feet wouldn't get wet!
We were ready for another break after this, so we headed back to Main Street, and claimed a bench to wait for the parade. Annie tried her first popcorn, enjoyed it immensely, but was definitely focused on what was to come. Way before the parade got anywhere close to us, she was on Eric's shoulders, dancing away. She danced up there for at least ten minutes, and was thrilled to see the various characters dancing. Really, one of the best parts of the day was watching her face as she recognized things--that alone made the trip worth it.
We ate dinner, explored Frontierland (both girls loved the lights that came on as it got dark--Disneyland's autumn decorations are pretty impressive--no surprise!), rode on the Mark Twain steamboat, and did a bit of shopping before the fireworks began. We were far enough down Main Street that they weren't too loud, and Annie exclaimed several times throughout the show how she loved fireworks.
She fell asleep quickly in the car and slept through till the next morning...
1 comment:
These are great! I knew she would have a fabulous time - how could she not? We're looking forward to seeing you guys this weekend!
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