March 3, 2009 - California

Highlights from today: (click here for the pictures)

The kids started coughing around 6 this morning. We told them they could get in bed with us-Reagan did, Anderson did too and then promptly got out. He didn't think there was enough room! We got ready and headed to breakfast after waking Graham up-he was tired after drinking 2 bottles in the middle of the night!

It was only a short trip to Disneyland from our hotel. Robby dropped everyone off and went to park the car. He was able to park about half of a mile away and walked back since that was probably quicker than taking the tram. We all walked to the entrance gates and claimed our spot near the first of the line. The park didn't open until 10 but we were let in the gate around 9:45. James rented a scooter and we met up with everyone at the Dumbo ride. We had copied a Disneyland plan from a book and the plan was titled "Dumbo do or die in a day." On the way to Dumbo, we ran into Mickey Mouse and had Reagan and Anderson's picture with him. Anderson said Dumbo was his favorite ride and it was also Graham's first Dumbo ride and he enjoyed it very much.

Afterwards, we rode Peter Pan's Flight and Mr. Toad's Wild Ride. We needed a carousel break next. Graham rode with Mom on the carousel. He loved the rides and would just stare at everything. On one ride, he was even leaning backwards to see more stuff. Snow White's Scary Adventure and then Pinocchio were next. As, I mentioned James had his scooter so we were able to hop to the front of the lines. However, the park was not crazy crowded today so we lucked out. After a little walk, we rode the Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage. It was pretty cool and almost put Anderson asleep. We headed back Fantasyland to ride Alice in Wonderland and It's a Small World. Small World had just been redone and contained some Disney characters which was neat to see.

We next went down the hill to Mickey's Toontown to ride Gadget's Go Coaster. This was Reagan's favorite ride. Anderson just keeps the same expression throughout any of the rides. He enjoyed it too and didn't seem as scared as at Disney World. After the coaster, we walked through Mickey's House and Chip and Dales treehouse. Afterwards, we had lunch in Toontown. We boarded the Disneyland Railroad and traveled to New Orleans Square.

We all rode Pirates of the Caribbean which had two decent sized drops-pretty good little drops when you are trying to hold a baby in your arms. Haunted Mansion was up next. The kids don't seem too spooked by any of these rides. After Haunted Mansion we rode Winnie the Pooh and walked along the Rivers of America. We took pictures in front of Sleeping Beauty's Castle. Her castle was not as ornate or large as Cinderella's castle. Reagan even noticed and said "it's small." Dad told her that real estate was more expensive here in California.

Next we walked to Tomorrow Land and rode Buzz Lightyear. After Buzz, the Monorail was next. It is sleeker and red but seemed smaller and more crowded that the DW monorail. We then rode Roger Rabbit's Cartoon Spin and finished the evening off with the Go Coaster again.

We did most everything we wanted, there were a few rides we missed out on. As we left the park, Reagan saw the Astro Orbitors and said "Daddy, there is a little kid ride that we forgot to do"-so her Dad told her we would come back. And we will since we were very impressed with Disneyland. Also, when we were on the train we stopped at one stop, Anderson saw the Autotopia cars and said "me off, ride those." It was a whirlwind day-we rode 17 rides and were at the parks for nine hours with 3 kids. They did great, well, as good as a baby, 2 and 3 year old can do.

After picking up a Christmas tree ornament and James dropping off the scooter, Robby picked us back up. Needless to say, we were all tired on the drive home. So tired that Anderson and Reagan fell asleep on the way home. Reagan woke up to eat some supper and drink some milk but Anderson never woke back up tonight. Graham had taken a few naps at the parks and was ready to play tonight but went to sleep pretty quick after helping Mom and Dad pack up a few things. Our flight is in the morning, and we plan on trying to find us some donuts on the way to the airport.

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