The Bryans go to Disneyland - Third Installment

Mid afternoon, second day...

it was time to go across the street to California Adventure.

Our first objective was to get something to eat.

I had a yummy bread bowl of Broccoli soup and a root beer float from Ghirardelli's soda fountain.

Ben slept through lunch.  We were all quite tired and so it was very nice to sit and relax and rejuvenate.

After eating and resting we were ready to hit the pavement again.

We toured Paradise Pier...rode another carousel, went into another gift shop, watched a crazy roller coaster and rode a ride or two.

While getting in line for the Little Mermaid ride I glanced down in Ben's direction...down at his stroller that I was pushing.  His arm was hanging out the side and moving rhythmically.  

Oh dear, how long had it been going?  We pulled off to the side of the line and got him out and held him while people streamed by.  It only lasted about a minute and a half but he was quite tired afterward.  We went ahead and rode the ride anyway...it was pretty tame and he could sit on my lap.

We get a kick out of this picture of Ariel's Undersea Adventure...it's right down Abby's alley and Josh looks like he's not quite sure what he's doing there.

Next, we crossed the park and ended up in Hollywood land.

Monsters Inc. was fun.  I loved the doors scene...it was just like the movie

We sat through a Muppet 3-D show that was fun.

There were some crazy things going on in that area at dusk...

A large bird decided Andy's hat looked rather tasty :)

There was one building that had lots of fun, quick things for the kids to do...

Abby, Josh and I learned how to draw Tigger at the Animation Academy,

We all talked with Crush from Nemo.  That was quite an amazing thing actually.

Crush was on a screen (that looked like a big tank) and he would interact and have a dialogue with the kids.  His movements went with what he was doing and everything.  It was pretty cool.

Abby asked him if he had ever been to Disneyland.  When she told him that's where they actually were, he swam to the surface, looked around and was surprised at what he saw up there :)  It was cute!

One I didn't do but Ben did with Grandma and Dad was The Sorcerer's Workshop.

While he was waiting for the rest of us to come out of one of the attractions, Ben had fun "hanging" out with Grandpa and Grandma, free from his stroller.  He danced around to the music and was so happy and carefree.

And that was the end of our second day.  We purposefully ended a little earlier since we had plans to get up early and head to Cars Land...hoping that our 'one hour early' advantage that came with our package would help us bypass most of the crowds during opening week.

We shuffled back to the hotel and once again, the kids fell right asleep...this time, Ben would not sleep in his bed so I pulled him in with us...you know how in a hotel room you do anything to keep your kids quiet :)

That's all for tonight folks.  I went running tonight for the first time since the marathon.  I think I over did it a  bit and I have a whopper of a headache.

I'll try to finish up tomorrow night.

The Bryans go to Disneyland - Second Installment or Day Two in the land of Disney

Is that a long enough title for you?

Thank you for your kind responses to my last post.  I was impressed with how many of you read the whole thing...and said you weren't bored to tears :)

Our second day started off super fun!  I had read on some blogs about how the best way to meet the characters at Disneyland was to dine with them.

I had also read that you had to get reservations months in advance for these meals.  Originally we had thought that it was included in our package deal but when we found out that it wasn't I thought that there was no way we would be able to get in.  Well, I had Andy do some investigation and we found out that they had an opening for breakfast at Goofy's Kitchen Tuesday morning!

Yeah!

I love this picture!  It was actually taken the morning we were leaving Disneyland and I wanted to get a shot of them in front of the restaurant.  Matt was upset because his suitcase was not cooperating and kept turning over as he tried to pull it along behind him.  And Ben...I don't know what he was grumpy about but boy, isn't that a great face? :)

As we walked in we got our picture taken with Goofy, and since this was our first encounter with a character, found out that Ben was extremely scared of them.

He is actually screaming pretty hard in this picture as we forced him to be in it.

The kids got to use their memory/autograph books for the first time.  And just as I feared, the markers were way to small for these big, poofy paws to handle.  Oh well, they all did their best.

We made our way into the restaurant and spotted all kinds of characters walking around.  We were seated and told that they would come to us.  The breakfast was a buffet with all kinds of foods...not just breakfast foods.  It was all very good.  The kids enjoyed Mac and Cheese, ice cream, and most of all...PBJ pizza.

 The characters started coming to our table immediately.  Ben continued to be scared and cry.  I made sure to get their signatures in his book for him anyway.

We were visited by Chip and Dale, Baloo the Bear, Rafiki from Lion King, Pluto, and Alice from Wonderland.

Ben continued to keep his distance but was happy about them from afar.  For instance, he would point to Pluto and make his little dog sound and smile but as soon as we tried to get him closer he would cling and cry.

 

There was one more character that we saw walking around but she never seemed to make it up to our table.  We waited for her and finally up walked Princess Aurora from Sleeping Beauty.  Abby was so excited!  She was the only character (probably because she looked like a real person) that Ben would get close to and interact with.

This is truly an awful picture of me but it was the only one with all the kids with Sleeping Beauty.

I'm sad that the lighting wasn't that great...and/or I just don't know how to use my camera that well.

Most of these pictures turned out dark or didn't turn out at all.  Like the one where Ben wanted a hug from Aurora and then gave her a kiss.  It was adorable but the pictures aren't even worth posting :(

Matt really did enjoy it even though it doesn't look like it here.

Dining with the Characters was totally worth the money spent (thank you so much Merill and Nancy!)

and gave us the bulk of the signatures for our books.

A morning to remember :)

By the way, the kids hadn't seen their t-shirts yet so I surprised them with them that morning as they were getting ready.  I was so pleased that they weren't drowning in them as I thought they might be.  They fit great and looked awesome.  Andy told me that he heard many compliments on them...even one from a worker in a gift shop wondering where we bought them.

We took our time walking to the park after breakfast, stopping at gift shops, and taking pictures.

In front of the hotel and pool.

Downtown Disney...in front of the Lego store.  They had amazing things built completely our of Legos and the kids were amazed...as well as the adults.

Josh and Matt building Lego cars to race.

Cool Dude Ben.  This sunglass Mickey hat was perfect for my sunglass loving boy!

This is the grand entry picture that I was hoping for the day before.  Love the faces!

 

For our first stop in the park that day we decided to go back to Tomorrow Land and do Autopia (cars on a track).  Once again, Ben's pass came in very handy and we whizzed through what would have been a very long line.  There were two to a car so I rode with Ben.

For me that ended up being one of the best moments of the whole trip!

Ben giggled and belly laughed as we jerked around and bumped into Josh and Matt ahead of us.  He thought it was the best thing ever and I loved watching him enjoy it so much.

Next up was a Finding Nemo submarine ride.  Again, Ben really enjoyed it even though it was smooth sailing.

We headed back over to Fantasy Land after that so Ben could ride the train again...this time seizure free. 

He wore a grin the whole time

Of course we had to ride the elephants again and then we did Mr. Toad's Wild Ride.

This whole time in Fantasy Land, Nancy was so kind to stand in line for Abby to meet Rapunzel.

It was at least an hour long wait...in the hot sun.

Bless her heart.

She said it was well worth it to see the look on Abby's face.

We were surprised to see Flynn Rider there as well!

By the time we got to see Rapunzel the guys had moved on to Toon Town.

We were going to go meet them there but got side tracked at the Princess Fantasy Faire.  We saw a long line and asked what it was for.  More princesses...I knew there was no way the guys would want to hang around for that but Nancy said she would get in line while I called Andy and decided what we were going to do.  As expected, were negatory on the princesses, but Nancy really thought it would be good if we stayed so once again, the guys moved on and rode the train down to Adventure Land to ride a Jungle thing.

We ended up being in line another hour and making friends with the lady and her daughter from Tennessee that were behind us.

We were next in line to meet the princesses when the cast member said that they were switching the princesses.  We waited a little longer and finally we met Belle, Ariel and Tiana.

It was well worth it.

The thing I loved about all of the princesses was that they took the time to really talk to each girl...asking her questions and things instead of just sign, shoot and move along.  I thought it was sweet.

When we were done I called Andy to see where they were.  We decided to meet them at the front gates of Disneyland and we would go over to California Adventure for the rest of the day.

As we got close to the gates we saw Minnie Mouse with not too long of a line.  We hopped right in hoping the guys wouldn't mind a short detour.

I can't remember if I called him or he called me but Andy and I ended up on the phone again.  I told him we were about to meet Minnie and he said that he and the boys were about to meet Mickey who was just a hop, skip and a jump away from where we were. 

Once again, Nancy held our place in line while Abby and I ran over to get in line with the boys.  Ben had fallen asleep a few minutes before.  He was all tuckered out.

We met Mickey and then ran back over to Minnie's line.  She was so cute...after she signed the books and we took a picture, she motioned for us to wait and take another picture.  She bent down next to Ben's stroller and put her finger up to her lips.  She had the kids do the same.

It was adorable!

Thanks Minnie :)

 

Well, although that was not the end of our day, it was the end of our time in Disneyland and it is about to switch from the p.m. to the a.m. so I am going to bed.

I guess there will be more installments than I thought.

This post was getting pretty long anyway :)

Until next time...

The Bryans go to Disneyland - First Installment

We're back!

We had a wonderful time and I'm going to write all about it right here...all about it.

So unless you're Grandma Jannie, Aunt Angie or Aunt Jenny, you might want to skip it or just skim through the pictures.  Don't get me wrong...anyone is welcome to read it...I just don't want to bore everyone to tears.

We sprung the surprise on the kids Monday morning after breakfast at Grandpa and Grandma Bryan's home.  We gathered the family and said that we needed to discuss our plans for the day.  Andy gave them a few choices, the last one being Disneyland.  

"Really?"  "Right now?"

They were pretty excited...although Matt seemed a little disappointed that he didn't get to play Rally-X all day (one of the other choices).

They got their shoes on and we were out the door.

Things went smoothly at the airport (we stuffed them with candy and fast food) and on the plane for that matter. 

We're going to Disneyland!

 We were kind of split up in twos over the space of several rows.  Andy offered to take Ben.  I was with Matt and the other two with Grandpa and Grandma.  Ben was awesome until we had to turn off all electronic devices and his iPad was taken away.  Then he was quite upset.  I had taken two Dramamine and ended up very sleepy and kind of out of it.  The kids had each had some as well but seemed to hold up better than me.

Once in California, a shuttle took us to Disneyland.  I marveled at the amazing flowers everywhere...

(google images)

 

Lily of the Nile lined the roads in purple and white.  It was an impressive sight.

We drove right to the Disneyland hotel and checked in.

Now, as I mentioned in my last post, I was determined to not stress out and just enjoy the trip.

I must admit at this point I had a stress moment and it affected me for a few hours.

While the guys were checking in Ben was quite upset and wanted to get out of his stroller.  I didn't want to get him out, put on his helmet only to have to put him back in a few minutes later and deal with a tantrum.  So I ended up dealing with a tantrum without having taken him out of the stroller.  Lately Ben has been more grumpy, moody, frustrated etc...  He's taken to screaming and sometimes it is obviously directed at me.  That's what got to me and I went into stress/shutdown mode.  I was in a bad mood and I regret it.  I tried really hard to come out of it for the sake of everyone but it took a few hours and lots of Disney and smiles on my kids' faces before it happened.

Once settled in the rooms it was only about 2 or 3 in the afternoon so we prepared our stroller (clipped on water bottles, packed snacks, memory books and diaper bag, camera, sunscreen and helmet etc.) and headed to the park.  We took the monorail that first day so we didn't have any grand entry like I had expected but I got it later so that was okay. 

Ben and Grandpa on the monorail

 The monorail dropped us off in Tomorrow Land and we began our adventure.

One of the first things we did was go to the Jedi Training Academy.  There, Abby was chosen to be one of the trainees.

  At first I was sad for the boys thinking that they would be disappointed but after seeing what the young Jedis experience, I decided that it was a good thing they weren't chosen.

The foes were quite menacing.

Abby held up really well through the stress and came out victorious.

After it was over, we told the boys that we could go back later and try again to be chosen.

Neither of them seemed thrilled about the idea :)

Next we walked up to Fantasy Land.  We had something to eat and then started in on the fun little rides for the kids there.  Josh, Abby and Matt rode the carousel and Ben saw the Casey Jr. train and got excited about that.

 

  We had picked up a disability access pass for Ben at Town Hall with a stroller stamp which allowed us to get in a separate, much faster line at most of the rides and take a stroller where otherwise we wouldn't have been able to.  After getting it, Andy and I felt kind of guilty using it (and quite frankly weren't sure how to use it) so we just got in the regular line for the Casey Jr. train.  Ben was so thrilled and couldn't wait to get on.  We watched it go several times before we were finally able to board.  Right before we took off Ben started having a jerk and stare seizure.  The train started on its way and I cried and held Ben tight as he continued to be oblivious to what he was missing.  I felt so sad for him.  As the train came to a stop he came out of it.

Ben signing "train" just seconds before his seizure

  We determined that we no longer felt guilty about using the pass.  We used it every chance we could after that.

While waiting in line for the train, Ben also spied the Dumbo ride and made the elephant sound telling me he wanted to do that ride too.

Josh, Abby and Matt enjoyed Dumbo too

While in line for Dumbo, Ben saw the carousel with the "Neighs" and asked for that one as well.

Next up was New Orleans Square.

We all got in line for Pirates of the Caribbean.  I don't know how I didn't get any pictures of this classic :(

Everyone enjoyed it...even Ben...especially Ben.  On this trip we realized he is a thrill seeker.  He loved the bumps and fast turns and spins and drops on all the rides.

random picture of grumpy face Ben (with a hint of a smile)

Andy had fond memories of the Haunted Mansion so he was able to talk Abby and Matt into going with us.  Josh and Ben waited outside with Grandpa and Grandma.

Andy had told Josh that it was no more scary than Pirates had been...well, he remembered wrong and once again, I was glad Josh was spared the fright.  Afterwards, Abby asked if she could sleep with me that night if she had nightmares.

While we were in the scary house, Josh watched the attraction next door...Splash Mountain.  He was very excited about it and wanted to give it a try.  It was getting late and we needed to get back to Tomorrow Land to use our Fast Passes (greatest invention ever) to Star Tours.  We told him that maybe he could do it later when we had more time.  Sadly, we never made it back to Splash Mountain.  If we had, I wonder who would have been the brave adult to go with him :)

Star Tours was a hit with everyone.  (Grandma stayed with Ben in the gift shop since he wasn't tall enough.)

It was quite believable had us all laughing and screaming.

Coming out of Star Tours, I asked if anyone knew what time the fireworks started.

It was one of those perfect timing moments...the first crack of the pyrotechnics exploded right then. 

 

We stood there and watched and listened.  It actually wasn't a bad spot.  The Matterhorn made a nice backdrop.

Afterward, we dragged the kids back to the monorail and rode "home".

The hotel rooms were nifty!  They had this cool lamp that chimed the first few bars of "When You Wish Upon a Star" and lit up the fireworks behind the bed.  It was quite magical.

I left those fireworks on each night while we slept :)

15 minutes after we got back to the hotel room, this is what we had...

the oldest three, sacked out on the bed; each having fallen asleep without meaning to, and...

one very wide awake Ben who played the iPad for a long time while we cleaned up and planned for the next day.  He was as happy as a clam and would have stayed awake much longer had we permitted it.

We all slept soundly after our first day.

Thanks for reading and

stay tuned for our next installment...

'Day Two in the land of Disney'.