Luckiest in the World
After such an exciting, magical first day in Disneyland, we were tired.
We stayed in the park for something like fourteen hours that day.
It was hard not to get excited the second day, though, because we were having breakfast at Goofy's Kitchen!
My dad used to take me to Disneyland every summer as a kid, and we'd always make sure to eat breakfast there. As soon as we starting planning our trip, making reservations for this fun place was the first thing I checked off my list.
We stayed at a hotel on the other side of the park, so it took us a while to walk all the way there.
Once we arrived, we checked in and got to meet Chef Goofy right away.
Soon after, we were seated and started in on breakfast. We had Mickey shaped waffles, eggs, cereal, and even mac and cheese pizza!
Then all of the characters started coming around to say "hi!".
Grace was a little shy towards Aladdin and Rafiki, but loved Snow White and talked her ear off. She must not have minded though, because she came back to our table a second time to chat with Grace. We saw Dale (Grace kept calling him 'Chip and Dale'), and Charley saw Chip while I was taking Grace potty. Chef Pluto made an appearance as we were leaving, so we grabbed a quick picture with him as well. Goofy's Kitchen is the best and always a good time.
Once we were all full and ready to start the day, we headed to the Monorail. We had to take at least one ride on it, since it's something I remember doing with my Dad as a kid. Char waited patiently in her stroller for it to pick us up.
When we got into Disneyland, we headed straight to the Astro Orbitor since there wasn't a huge wait. The line was horribly long the day before. Charley rode with Daddy, and Grace and I went together. As soon as it started, she pushed the rocket all the way to the highest point. I got a little nervous and told her we had to come back down a little, so we didn't break it.
Next up was Mr. Toad's Wild Ride. Grace was scared in line, because it looked dark and twisty. We made her go on it anyways, and it was pretty scary. She didn't care for it too much.
The tea cups were right across the way, which was perfect to lighten up the girls' mood again. We picked a pretty yellow cup. Grace wanted to spin as fast as possible, but poor little Charley didn't care for that too much.
We passed the rabbit hole on the way to Alice in Wonderland.
Grace was pretty scared of that ride, too. It looked dark inside, and it was. This was our first and only meltdown of the trip. It was hot, and both girls cried while we were waiting in line. Grace, because she was terrified, and Charley, because she was in need of her morning nap. We made it on the ride, and both girls were fine until the end. They both cried again as we got off.
Luckily, we ran into Cinderella's Fairy Godmother right after. Charley fell asleep in the stroller, but Grace was excited to meet her.
Since Charley was napping, we took some time to stroll around Main Street. The shops were cool inside, and we saw the Main Street Fire Station band playing. Chip and Dale came out to dance along, and a "cast member" asked Grace to do a line dance with them. She wouldn't leave her mama, so they got some older kids to do it. A few minutes later, Goofy came out to dance. When they were all done and left, Grace kept asking where they went. The awesome cast member came back and told Grace to follow her. She took us over to the side corner next to the fire station, and told Grace to wait for Goofy. After a minute or two, she brought Goofy, Chip, and Dale over to meet her. They gushed over her, hugged her, and gestured for her to walk with them. It was the cutest thing ever! She got to hold their hands and walk across Main Street where they were headed for a costume change. They hugger her some more, and she was SO happy. It was perfect.
When Grace's friends had to leave, she spotted Cruella de Vil across the way. We said "hi" to her before heading into The Disney Gallery.
I don't remember ever going into The Disney Gallery before, but it was pretty neat (not to mention air conditioned and a great place for the kiddos to nap). We saw a cool replica of the Disneyland Castle in France, the White House, and watched Great Moments with Abraham Lincoln. I also came across this gorgeous painting that would look beautiful in the girls playroom upstairs.
When we left the gallery, Grace excitedly pointed out Donald Duck. Right when we got in line to greet him (behind about fifteen others), they announced that Donald needed a break and would be back in a couple of hours. Donald's guide, and Grace's friend that introduced her to Goofy and Chip and Dale, saw Grace and let her come up to Donald and walk with him across Main Street to the doors where he would leave. She got to hug him and give him high fives before he left. This girl has to be the luckiest in the world.
They asked Grace to play the drums with Donald a little later, if she'd agree to leave Mommy. Little stinker wouldn't do it. Maybe next year...
We did get to meet Pinocchio right after that, but he was the first character that Grace was too shy to meet. Charley was interested, so she got to take a picture with him instead.
After all of that, we were definitely ready for something to eat. Isaac had been talking about the giant turkey legs since I mentioned Disneyland months ago, and we just happened to be right near a turkey leg stand. He wasn't the only one who enjoyed it, and Grace got to take a quick power nap while we ate.
Next up was the jungle cruise. Not the funnest ride, but something you have to do every time nonetheless.
After the cruise, we hit up the Golden Horseshoe for some yummy desserts. We all shared a rootbeer float and this delicious strawberry sundae, then walked around and checked out all of the shops.
Just as we were finishing up, the Mark Twain Riverboat was getting ready to set sail. We hopped on and enjoyed the ride. The girls loved watching the water and all of the ducks as we cruised.
When the boat docked, we headed over to the Innoventions museum. It was kind of cool to walk through, and Charley got her afternoon nap in.
The parade was scheduled to start at 7:00, so we grabbed a seat right up front and ate some dinner while we waited. Grace was dancing and clapping up a storm waiting for this thing to start. When the characters were coming around during the parade, she would keep saying, "hi...hi...hi" until each one acknowledged and waved at her. Thank goodness we had front row seats, so they all saw her. She was so cute, and it was so fun for us to see the girls so excited.
Day two in Disneyland was just as fun as day one. We got back to the hotel just as it was getting dark, and all of us passed out. We needed to get geared up for day three - our longest day in the park!
