Disneyland.....

Disneyland was quite the experience.  Firstly and funniest of all was when after only being there for a whole 1.5 hours, the kids both asked if it "was ok to just go back to the hotel and have a swim"!!! Quite funny really especially after my response..."this is DISNEYLAND, the happiest place on earth, you will stay and you will LOVE it"...anyhow in their defence they were very tired as we had flown from Moncton that morning at 6am and given that it was 3pm in LA meant that for us it was 8pm!  So that was our first day and in actual fact we were not in Disneyland but the theme park opposite, "California Adventure Land" which was just as awesome.  One thing we did  that day was go and see "Crush" the talking turtle from the movie Nemo.....hilarious and we all loved it...you can actually see this if you look for it on Youtube...(if I was really clever I could link it, but I am not sure how that is done!)

One thing we noted though was the "huge" waiting time for the rides...up to 2 hours in some instances...crazy, who would honestly wait that long??  Not us that is for sure!  We had a 3 day pass which gave us entry to both theme parks and also an extra benefit of entering Disneyland 1 hour prior to the actual opening time.....not just us of course but a reduced amount of people.  Even though we were all pretty tired after our flight plus the awesome time in Canada we decided we would get up early the next morning and make use of this benefit and we are SO GLAD we did.  We got there at 6.45am along with a few hundred others only and got to go on the Star Wars rides (our favourite), Space Mountain, Jungle Cruise, Buzz Lightyear blaster.....no line ups at all and all before 8am!  So worth it!  After that we wandered around Fantasyland and did all the rides there, Snow White's scary adventure, Pinocchio's daring journey, Peter Pan's flight, Mad Tea Party before having breakfast at the Plaza restaurant with Minnie and friends.  It was great as while we were having breakfast, Minnie, Captain Hook, The fairy Godmother, Dale Chipmonk, and Winnie The Pooh came to our table to say hello and the kid's got their autographs.

with Minnie Mouse

Dale

Pooh Bear

Captain Hook was very grumpy...even threw the autograph book!

The Fairy Godmother....just about to answer Sophie's question of.."Do you know the tooth fairy"?  Apparently she does and they have tea on Tuesdays and Fairy Godmother always has to pay as the Tooth Fairy never has any money left!!

Sleeping beauty castle...

After breakfast and more of a wander around, the crowds started pouring in and it got really hot.  We took the Disney Train and then decided to go back to the hotel and have a rest and a swim.  We all ended up having an almost 3 hour nap and lots of swimming before having dinner at Tony Roma's opposite Disneyland and then headed back to Disneyland to watch the Laser show that took place over the water.  We also got to explore Frontierland, New Orleans Square, Tarzan's treehouse and we walked past Splash mountain and there was an 80minute wait!!!!!  No way, were we doing that...an 80minute wait for a 5 second ride...who does that??  Obviously lot's of people...the line was HUGE!  As it turned out we had to what 30 minutes for the laser show but that was very worth it.....cannot even describe it, just take my word that it was amazing and if you ever go to Disneyland (whoever you are that may be reading) you MUST do this!!  Straight from there we went to the Fireworks display over the Disney castle, equally awesome especially when Tinkerbell flew and before you ask, (as I know you want to) it was REALLY Tinkerbell!! Luckily Denis lead us out of there about 8 minutes before it ended so we didn't get "sandwiched" in the crowds trying to leave....as it was it was still pretty hectic.

Inside the castle

Mad Hatters Tea Party ride

Mickey's Toontown

It's a small world after all...

gorgeous kids and Minnie ears!

Our last day at Anaheim and once again we were up early and inside Disneyland, we went Straight to the Star Wars ride where Denis and Luc had 2 more turns (less than 5 min waits)...pays to get there early folks!  I would've happily gone again another 2 more times but Sophie was not enthused and I was not about to ask a random stranger to watch her so the 3 of us could go.  Sophie and I ended up going on "The Rocket" kind of lame and went for all of about 5 seconds though we did get a great view from up there. Then we went to meet Tinkerbell in the flesh and also some other fairy whose name escapes me right now, but she was kind of bossy and a little vain.  I did take photos but for some reason can't find them so you can just believe me when I say, yes we met Tinkerbell!  After that, the kids wanted to do Toon Town again and we lined up (sometimes we make an exception) to meet Mickey Mouse.  The line said it would take 30 minutes but it actually only took about 15 minutes and it was worth it as we toured his house and movie studio... the kids love that stuff, especially as Mickey's washing machine was on and so was his TV...therefore he really does live there (my kids are very gullible!)

King Arthur Carousel

Toon Town...kids loved it there and we saw Pluto and Goofy, Donald Duck and met Mickey Mouse in his house...(yes, I know that rhymes!)

Mr Disney himself!

Mickey's garden at his house....the carrot's grow right before your eyes!

We met Donald Duck, Alice in Wonderland and The Mad Hatter (really was quite mad actually), we saw Pluto but he was in a hurry and also the main character from the new movie Brave (which we haven't seen yet), the girl with the long red curly hair and the green dress...starts with an M but I can't remember her name.  Anyway, quite funny as there was a huge line up to see her that you had to what 30 minutes in yet she just up and walked straight past us...no wait required!

The Duck!

Alice in Wonderland

Mad Hatter

Matterhorn.  When the fireworks were on (which were amazing) Tinkerbell flew from the Matterhorn to the ground, was awesome.

Geppatto (Pinocchio's dad)

That evening we went for dinner in the California Adventure Land at Ariel's Grotto and we got to meet Ariel, Snow White, Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty and Denis's personal favourite Jasmine!  They each came to our table as we were eating.  As it was my niece Sari's 5th birthday back in Australia that day we asked them all to say happy Birthday to her as we videoed it...(unfortunately only a couple worked out) but she was happy to get her special messages.  Although she did say to Sophie..."they aren't real, they are just girls dresses up", to which a horrified Sophie replied.."of course they are real, we were in Disnelyland, that is where the real ones live"!!

Meeting Ariel

Denis's favourite Princess...( apparently)

Need no explanation..Snow White of course!

Cinderella

Sleeping Beauty

So there you go. That pretty much sums up our experience at Disneyland. Best advice I can give you should you be planning a visit....
1. DO NOT go in July!!  Busiest time ever and so, so, so, so crowded.
2. Try to get one of those "early access passes" and use it..so worth it
3. Star Wars  Tour and Space mountain the highlight, (for us anyway)
4. Loads of places to eat and lot's of fruit and water stands, bottles water is only $1.40....quite cheap really.

Things we learnt about our kids:
1. They were really not "theme park" kids. (nor is their mum and dad)
2. They loved Toon Town even though there's not many rides there, they just liked walking in there.
3. Princess's and characters are real and not just humans in dress up clothes..( therapy may be required in years to come)
4. Tinkerbell really flies and is not swing on an invisible rope

Things I learnt about Denis and I:
1. We don't DO long line ups!
2. Next time don't visit Disneyland in July
3. Our kids are awesome and happy to go with the flow and not ask for tacky Disney souvenirs that you can buy anywhere in Perth as well.  Though they did get to spend their money they had from Memere and Pepere (thank you again)
3. we will never wear matching shirts in public..(saw whole families in the same outfits...bizarre)

Good fun people but man, the crowd's are unbelievable!!
PS: just remembered the girl from BRAVE movie is called Merinda (i think)...aren't you SO glad I could remember that!