The Great Disneyland Adventure

Your Dad and I decided a little while ago that we wanted to go on a trip just the three of us, before it becomes the four of us! We originally planned to go to the beach for a weekend, but with your recent interest in all things Disney, we changed our minds and decided that it was time to take you to Disneyland! Now that we're home and unpacked, I thought I would take a few minutes to tell you all about your first trip to Disneyland. Your Dad and I both have great memories of our first trips to Disney and we hope you'll never forget yours :)

We got off to a great start by hitting the road almost an hour early Friday morning. Mom would like to think that was all because of her stellar packing/planning in the days before. Our second great surprise was that it only took a little over an hour to get down to Anaheim. Our plan was to ditch our bags at the Disneyland hotel (they'll hold them for you until you can check in at 3pm) explore Downtown Disney and then hit the pool. As we went to check in, we found out that it really was the happiest place on earth - our room was ready and we were able to get all settled in by 11am! Yay Disneyland Hotel! After unloading all of our stuff into our spacious and very clean room, we went to Downtown Disney where we got lunch at ESPN Zone and did a little exploring. We were back at the hotel and down at the Peter Pan-themed pool by 2. They had little life jackets for kids and you LOVED it! You and dad swam around for hours and they had a little waterslide that you went down fearlessly many times. Mommy was so impressed!! Not wanting to miss anything, we spent some time in the other "cove" pool too, which was also nice since we had the whole pool to ourselves.

After a nice nap, we all headed down to Goofy's Kitchen for dinner. I think this restaurant may have made your whole trip! You were so excited to see Goofy, Pluto and Chip and Dale that we had a hard time getting you to eat - which was amazing since it was a buffet that had just about everything a kid would ever want to eat. They interrupted the dining every 15 minutes for a dance or game in the middle of the restaurant and the characters wandered over to the table every few minutes too. You had so much fun! We ended our day walking around Downtown and watching the fireworks.

We got up early Saturday and had breakfast in bed - Mommy's favorite - before heading to the park. The park opens at 8am on Saturdays, but as Disneyland Hotel guests, we were able to get in at 7. We hopped aboard the monorail, which you loved, and were in the park by 7:30. We went straight to the new Finding Nemo submarine voyage and got in line - it was one of the few lines we would have to wait in all day and because we were so early it was only about 20 minutes - a few hours later people would have to wait 3 hours! The ride was well worth it and we all had a great time. From there, we went on to do the Buzz lightyear ride (one of your favorites), a rocketship ride, Peter Pan's ride, Alice in Wonderland's roller coaster, Pinocchio's Ride, Mr Toad's Wild ride, Dumbo's flight, the teacups, It's a Small World, Snow White's ride, Pirates of the Carribean, Winnie the Pooh's ride, King Arthur's Carousel, and I'm sure a bunch more that I'm forgetting. You were up for anything and everything and Mommy and Daddy were so proud! Around 1ish, we were all getting tired so we went back to the room for a quick nap.

We didn't wake up until 4 so we headed across the street to the Rainforest Cafe for dinner. You had pasta - your favorite right now - and we were seated right next to a pair of loud elephants which you loved. After dinner we headed back to the park to ride a few more things and catch the fireworks. As it turned out, we were all too pooped to make it to the 9:45 showtime! We decided to call it a night, and on the way back to the hotel we were lucky enough to be able to ride in the front car of the monorail with the pilot - soo much fun!

We ended our short vacation Sunday morning with breakfast at Goofy's kitchen before heading home. You loved that place so much that I think we could have just taken you there and you would have been thrilled! You were so excited to see all your new "friends" again. Daddy told the waiter that it was almost Mommy's birthday and you got a kick out of hearing everyone sing to me. Then, as a perfect finish to our vacation, we made it home in an hour! Mommy was glad that she and you slept the whole way because Daddy must have driven VERY fast.

Well my dear, I hope that you enjoyed your first trip to Disneyland. I know Mommy and Daddy will never forget it! Just think, the next time we take you there, you'll be dragging your little brother around so excited to show him everything.

All my love,

Mom