Jiminy Cricket--That was Amazing!

This post is long overdue. For the record--Disneyland was AMAZING! I totally bought into the hype. It truly is the most magical place on earth. I cannot wait to go back in October with Lancer and Beezie.

We went with Team Murdock. They are great travel companions. The kids had a blast together, and the adults had their fair share of magic as well.

Colin may have demanded "ACTION CHUGGER" 8 million times. Coincidentally, this is the amount of applesauce (APPLEDOSS!!!) pouches B ate on the way down. We double iPadded them, and made the best out of the time on the road.

We made it!

Our first stop was City Hall where we picked up our "1st Time Visitor" badges. This is when B's love affair with Goofy bloomed.



The weather was perfect, the crowds were low, and the food was plentiful. I was in fake city heaven.

Stop number one was the Mad Hatter. B got her ears. So CUTE! I contemplated buying ears, but it was so hot out, and I didn't want another thing on my head. Plus, my hair was piled on top of my head, and only came down for photos, so there was no room for the ears.



These two monkeys were excited to have their little hats on. Even they could tell they were into something good!

We headed over to New Orleans Square for some pirate action. Luckily, there was almost no line for Pirates, so we took advantage and hopped in line.

B was cheering!

I totally snapped this picture of this wannabe Johnny Depp on the ride. Let's hope it really wasn't him, and I don't end up being mentioned on David Letterman as "the girl who was laughing at my attempt to look just like Johnny Depp--when I actually am Johnny Depp."

We made a few visits to the characters in Toon Town. Mickey was a big hit!

And Colin loved Gepetto

The line for Dumbo (or Dummo as B calls him) was really the only line we waited for. The kidlets stayed entertained by climbing on the railings.





We staved off dehydration by drinking plenty of DC and rootbeer floats. Oh, and Dole Whips. Thanks for the tip, Stephanie! I almost forgive you for that stupid Halloween calendar debacle. Almost.



Thanks to the Jolly Holiday Bakery, I got to eat a delicious sandwich with the bread. They have an extensive GF menu. It ruled.


The teacups were the runaway hit of the park. The kids LOVED them. They cheered for them, and demanded to ride over and over again. We indulged them.



We rode the train, which was a total yawner. The one at GG is much better. This is also true of the cars, which we skipped. (GG rule!)


When at Disney, and you need a pacifier to sleep (but one isn't available) your pin can do double duty while you snooze.

The other runaway hit was Small World. B calls it "Small Small" and it's all I've heard about since this visit. The dialogue goes like this: "Small Small! On the Boat! Through the tunnel! In the water!" I feel a 2nd birthday party theme coming on! I promise to play the song over and over and over again so the party remains short and annoying.








B's (odd) love affair with Goofy was totally cemented when I bought her this Goofy pin. She proudly wore it both days, and constantly talked about him.



Back at the hotel, the kiddios got to watch an episode on the iPad while we got the room ready, and then we all passed out. I'm a night owl, and Inger is, um, not--so I wasn't sure how things would work. I underestimated how tired I would be from all of the walking. We collapsed.

We kicked off day two in style at IHOP. Who doesn't want to start their day with eggs and bacey?

After a quick breakfast, we hit the park HARD, and went all day until they kicked us out at night.

I started day two with the breakfast of champions--Diet Coke and a caramel apple. It gave me the strength to endure the rest of the day.




As you may know, I LOVE Halloween and all things spooky, freaky, dark, and creepy. I think I know where this came from. I blame Walt! I remember loving The Haunted Mansion as a kid (we went to DWorld) and it wasn't until this first trip to Dland that I realized my Halloween village is basically a replica of the mansion.

B LOVED the Haunted Mansion! When the floating head appears in the crystal ball, she was yelling out "The lady! The lady!" with such glee. I think we have another spook freak in the family. That's my girl!

Colin pooped out for a few hours, and this gave the two of us some time to hit all of the rides in Fantasyland. We made it on every single ride expect for Alice in Wonderland!

B eating her 167th pouch of the trip. She had a hard time re-entering the world of real food when we got back home.

We even went on the carousel. This was the one exception to the GG rule. If it's at GG, and it's better, we skip it at Dland. But she was crying out for the horsies, so I indulged her.



I had to text Ashley about this weird phenomenon. Entire families dressed in their (kinda junky) Coug wear. I'm talking Dad, Mom, and least 3 kids, and a baby all decked out. What's the deal? Can anyone fill me in? Nothing says "I care about vacation pics" like an old BYU t-shirt. For shame.

Once the parade started that last night, the entire park ran to Main Street, so Inger and I fled to all of the fun rides that normally have huge lines.


As night approached, these two nuts got extra giggly, and demanded to hold hands. Anyone else hear "Someday my Prince Will Come" when they see this picture?

Goodbye, Disneyland! We bid you the fondest farewell, and hope to return soon!

In summary, the trip was as magical and amazing as I thought it would be. I absolutely loved Fantasyland--standout rides were small world, teacups, Dumbo, and Peter Pan. Peter Pan was SO magical. I almost teared up as we flew over the London rooftops. I'm not even kidding. Storybook Land Canal Boats was a bust, and I will never suffer through that boat ride again! We skipped all of the princess stuff, since B is oblivious.

Cute girl! Stupid boat ride.

Adventureland was fun--standout ride was the Jungle Cruise.

Critter Country had Winnie the Pooh, which was adorable, and delighted the kids.

Frontierland was a total bust at this age. We got stuck on the pirate ship to Tom Sawyer. That was a mistake that took 30 minutes to fix. I think the kids would have loved this if they were older.

Main Street USA was SO cute!! The food! The shopping! The cobblestone! It delighted every cell in my body.

Mickey's Toontown sort of offended my senses. I don't like the cartoony feel of it. I felt like I was on the set of Roger Rabbit. BUT--the character houses and meet n greets totally make up for it. B was genuinely delighted when she got to meet Mickey and Goofy!

New Orleans Square--this was a close second, just behind Fantasyland. I LOVED both Haunted Mansion and Pirates of the Caribbean. Plus, the nonstop jazz and bayou feel make this a favorite in my book!

Tomorrowland--meh. I think this is better for older kids. We skipped Autopia (GG rule!), and didn't love Astro Blasters. We did, however, ride Astro Orbiter, and that was awesome.

And that sums up our fun little foray into the magical world of Walt Disney! When people ask if Beezie really "got it" I just laugh. She's still talking about Disneyland, and the various rides and attractions. I'm so glad I got to share this with her. It was truly, truly magical.

Love you, Blakely! So glad we could share in the magic together!