I'll try to give you my humble opinion throughout the photos as to what is good, what's great and what you absolutely must see. We know we only scratched the surface of this magical land, but what we did see was so so so perfect... it was all as wonderful as I dreamed and even better getting to watch my little man meet these characters and see these things. Our photos of the rides and fireworks definitely didn't do them justice so I didn't include them, but they are awesome. Amazing. Makes your little old heart pitter patter a little happier. Loved it all.
We travelled into John Wayne Airport instead of going to LAX. We decided to beat the hustle and bustle of the crazy LAX but the trade off was having to connect in Vancouver. Makes for a super long day of travel (especially with a little guy), but the calm of the airports we were in made it all worth it. We also saved a bunch of money by not staying at Disneyland. Our walk to the hotel was a good hike, but saved us quite a bit of money. We stayed at the Hilton, but any hotels outside the gates are probably of the same quality. The one benefit of the Hilton was our perfect view of the nightly fireworks show. Big bonus to that location. I do hope the next time we come to Disney we are able to stay up late enough to watch the show from the park.
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| Our first night we didn't go into the part, but we did visit Downtown Disney. Cool little spot to be, no cost to wander around. It was still all decorated for the holidays and filled with Christmas music. Perfect. This is a shot of us in front of a Lego Beauty and the Beast. SOOO COOL! |
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| Huge knight and dragon made out of Lego. Also very cool. This lego store had every little bit of lego a little one could ever dream of. |
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| One of many wished made in the wells all around Disney. This one Sam asked for fire... weird request, but it was his wish! |
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| This is the best of four family shots I tried to take. As you will notice throughout these photos, my little model is getting harder and harder to work with. A real character! |
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| Day one of actual vacation started at Goofy's Kitchen. Quite pricey but worth every cent. The food was super yummy, buffet style and the characters traveled to your table to meet you, play pranks, give hugs. It was one of my top highlights for sure! Sammy and Aladdin! |
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| Goofy's peanut butter and jam pizza... YUM! |
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| Sam's Mickey Mouse pancake |
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| Pluto REALLY wanted Sam to pet him but for some reason Sam was too nervous to touch him. Pluto kept poking and prodding Sammy with his big nose and Sam thought it was all quite hilarious! |
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| Chef Dale |
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| The beautiful Fairy Godmother who was certain our little man was a prince. Loved her! |
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| A big BEAR hug! |
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| Rafiki |
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| Sam insisted that he try on Minnie ears like Mom. Man I love this little boy! |
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| We walked into Disneyland and within seconds Sam and I were swept into a stroller parade. A band played and the Mad Hatter organized us. I was so lucky to get to push my stroller right beside Alice in Wonderland who had stolen someone else's kiddo. AWESOME moment. I just couldn't believe our luck. |
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| Parading! |
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| Walt, Mickey, Mom and Sam |
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| At first we felt very confused on how to attack this place. What were we looking for and how did it all work. It started to rain a little so we went into Mickey's house and at the very end we found... MICKEY! Teary eyed moment for mommy to see my little guy with Mickey Mouse. |
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| We left Mickey's house and there was Goofy! What luck! Goofy is a great character that loves to joke around. I give props to the brave folks inside these costumes who spend their days running from mobs of people and seem to do it all very happily. |
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| The rain picked up and we booked it back to the hotel... which was about a 20 minute walk away. We didn't pack much for rain gear for 'sunny' California. Nothing could dampen these spirits though. We went up to our room, blow dried our hair and Sam's blanket, changed our clothes and headed back out. Quick stop for a rain poncho on the way! |
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| We were give the tip that the parades are worth the wait and boy was she right (thanks Allison!) This festive parade was amazing. Each section having it's own music and show. Just so cool! |
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| Lovin' every second. |
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| I love Belle. Period. Teary eyed moment. I'm also a huge sap. |
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| Back to Toontown where we rode a really fun roller coaster. One of my fav spots! |
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| More character hugs. |
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| Quick bite to eat in Critter Country. On that note, I highly recommend bringing snacks of your own from home. Line ups are long and food is expensive. You never know how long you'll be trapped in a line up for a ride and then realize your little ones are getting hungry and everything is about to become a disaster. Fruit snacks, beef jerky, bottles of water were a necessity! |
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| Day two we went to California Adventure Park. We went to A Bug's Land and found very short lines and great rides for kids Sam's size. Here is a shot of me being smashed by Sam and Shaun in the bug bumper cars! |
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| Waiting to ride the Mater Tractors. Cars Land is cool. Little boys' dream. |
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| Sam really got into using the map. He wanted to carry it and find the Mickey Mouse ferris wheel. Him and Shaun are looking for it on the map... I think I found it! The maps they provide are super helpful and easy to follow. If for nothing else, grab one so that you ALWAYS know where the nearest washroom is! |
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| My family... so much fun with these guys! |
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| We zigzagged back to Cars Land and visited a few more cars. |
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| Handsome face! |
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| Next thing we knew, Lightning "Daqueen" (as Sam says) was cruising past us. Even I was excited! |
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| After another rain storm we hopped in line and got our picture taken with Lightning. |
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| We shifted gears and went for supper at Ariel's Grotto. Lots of very very excited princesses!!! I would recommend this if you have little gals. Sam loved it too. Again VERY expensive. It is worth your time to make reservations to these places. We heard them turning people away in the evening. |
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| We met many princesses, but Sleeping Beauty and Sam had a connection. He did not hug many people the entire trip but there was something about her that he loved for the moment he laid eyes on her. She made him stand on his chair to chat with her and he loved it. BIG hug. She could be my daughter in law... I'd be ok with that. |
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| Day 3 we wanted to hit all Sam's favorite spots. Here we are at the Haunted House. Nightmare Before Christmas. Actually quite scary and we thought we were terrible parents after but he didn't stop talking about how awesome it was. |
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| Toon Town (ok maybe this one was my fav) |
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| My two best guys |
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| Pluto gave Sam a huge squeeze and wiggled him back and forth. Sam thought it was AWESOME. |
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| Toon Town gags. |
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| Leaving Disneyland to head over to California Adventure |
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| Jake and Sam! We went to the Disney Junior show and it was really cool especially for kids Sam's age. He loved singing the songs and seeing the characters all together. This was in Hollywood in California Adventure. |
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| My boys and Mater (yes we went back to Cars Land many many times!) |
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| If you ever have the chance, go to the Rainforest Cafe. Food is good and the entertainment is very 'lively'!!!! Lots of fun! Every 20 minutes or so there is an indoor thunder storm and all the animals come alive. Our last meal of 2012 was a memorable one! |
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| At the end of the trip, Dr Sam gave first aid to Shaun for a blister due to a day of fun. |
