Last week, you might’ve noticed that things were a little quiet on our Facebook page & blog. Well, that’s because we were having an amazing time at Disneyland with Luke, our 4 1/2 year old son! At Christmas, we surprised him with a trip and his Nana & Poppers came along too. We left our youngest (18 months old) at home with my parents since he wouldn’t have been able to ride much of anything. It was such a great trip! We stayed at the Disneyland Hotel and had an amazing view of fireworks from our room the first night. It also made it very convenient for coming back to the room for a quick nap every day in the afternoon. We spent a total of two days in Disneyland and two days in California Adventure. Luke was amazing the entire trip – not a single tantrum, meltdown or whiney moment! He was also able to ride every ride except one (California Screamin’) since he is so tall. He tried every single ride that we went on and simply stated he didn’t like some of them because they were too dark. He wasn’t afraid to go on anything at least once!
Most of these photos were taken with my iPhone – because HELLO! It’s convenient (and it doesn’t weigh 5+ lbs). I don’t think I would’ve been as present on the trip if I was focusing on making sure every single photo was “perfect” and taken with my professional camera. I don’t regret my decision at all! If you’re thinking of taking a trip there either with your own kids or even just as adults, feel free to ask any questions! It’s a great place to visit. 🙂 Now for the fun part – a little recap of our trip!
One of our favorite parts of the hotel room was the headboards! The fireworks and stars light up while a music box version of “When You Wish Upon a Star” plays softly. So magical!
As we were waiting for our hotel room to get ready, Goofy made a visit to our hotel lobby. Luke had already told us he was going to be “shy” with all of the characters. Goofy was slapping his ears on Luke’s head, kissing his head & making silly noises – but no dice. He refused to turn around. However, it was hilarious to watch!
This was our first visit to California Adventure since they added Cars Land. I was SO impressed with how well it was done! We happened to be walking by on our way to dinner at sunset and all of the lights began to come on in Radiator Springs. They play the music *just* like it is in the movie with all of the lights turning on going down the road. So cool that we happened to be there as it happened!
We had dinner at Ariel’s Grotto one night and had this amazing view as we were seated.
Following our dinner, we got VIP seats to see World of Color. If you ever go there, you MUST see this show!
In World of Color, everything is projected on water. That means everything you see below the Mickey Ferris Wheel is water. Crazy cool!
We were about to ride Mater’s Junkyard Jamboree and as I watched the people in front of us, I realized I was about to get slammed into really hard every time we made a sharp turn.
This is my reaction to that realization…. also, I like to take super attractive selfies. 😉
Luke was such a great walker the entire trip. Our pedometers were clocking anywhere from 6-12 miles EACH day and he walked all of that! The morning of our Character Dining at Goofy’s Kitchen, I had every single window open and all of the lights on – yet he still wouldn’t wake up.
After we got to the breakfast, he finally opened up to the characters. How? By getting a big ol’ kiss from Minnie Mouse!
This…might be my favorite photo from the trip. So much joy as he screamed “Spin it faster, Poppers!!”
We really loved our trip to Disneyland & all of the memories we made! Can’t wait to go again when our youngest is a little older!
annSo much fun. Jay has never been to a Disney park. I want to take him…he may well be one of the oldest, biggest kids ever.
KrystalOh my!! You guys should definitely go! 🙂
Erica MayLove the pictures!! Did you take an umbrella stroller for him or did he walk the whole time? Tristan would look silly in a stroller but I was thinking it might be convenient in line. How were the lines? What would you say was the average wait time? Did you take an addition point and shoot camera other than your phone?
KrystalErica – We didn’t take a stroller! He walked the entire time. We practiced walking every evening that we could and he also “ran laps” in the house with me if the weather wasn’t nice enough to be outside. Before we left, he was able to jog/run 1.5 miles without taking a break!
The lines weren’t bad. And when you are in line, there are so many things to distract that you don’t even notice how long you’re standing. We technically went during a slow time. The longest we stood in line was 45 minutes and that was for Toy Story Mania & the Cars Racers ride.
I did have a Canon G15 with me at all times and used it for some of these shots. I know some people will take their “big” cameras (and I had it with me on the trip), but I didn’t feel like lugging that heavy thing around and risk it being damaged during the trip. NO regrets at all on that!
ElyshaAwesome pics Krystal! Looks like so much fun! What a special treat for your little man. how did ya’ll decide on Disneyland vs Disneyworld? Was it less crowded in Cali than Florida?
KrystalElysha ~ Thank you! We decided to do Disneyland when each boy is 5 years old. Luke got to go a little early because we thought he would be in Kindergarten next year and didn’t want to have to worry about missing school. As it turns out, we aren’t having him start for another year, so we could’ve waited until he was actually 5. BUT! He did so amazing and I’m happy we went when we did. Disney World is HUGE and we really want the kids to truly appreciate it and be able to last throughout the entire vacation. We plan to take them when each one is 10 years old (so 10 years old & 7 years old respectively, and again at 13 & 10).
There are low/off-peak times for both California & Florida. We missed the Spring Break rush and got the tail end of the low season. They also happened to have 25% off Disney resort hotels which happened after we had already booked – so it was surprise savings when we called to get the rate adjusted after seeing the sale!
Christy TylerThis looks like the BEST time! It makes me want to go to Disneyland as adults with no kids! 🙂 haha