Disneyland {Day One}
After we left Newport and got all checked in to our hotel, we headed to California Pizza Kitchen for dinner.
We had to have dessert, so we took a walk to Downtown Disney for some treats at Marceline's Confectionery. They have the most delicious chocolate, caramel covered marshmallows (that I totally didn't get a picture of because we devoured them so fast), and the girls got Mike Wazowski cake pops.
The next morning, we headed to California Adventure, because we had breakfast reservations at Ariel's Grotto with the princesses. We were a little early, so we hung out by the pier while we waited.
We still had some time to kill, so we decided to go on Ariel's Undersea Adventure. The girls loved it, and Charley cried when we had to get off. She kept saying, "again! again!".
It was finally time for breakfast. We got to Ariel's Grotto and met Ariel as we walked in. Ariel has been Grace's favorite princess for a while now, but Charley has never really been interested (she's way more into Woody and Buzz Lightyear). After going on the Ariel ride and meeting her, Char couldn't stop gushing about "ay-ee-uhl".
We ordered breakfast and got some delicious fruit and pastries while we waited. The girls also got to decorate princess crowns with stickers. Soon the princesses started coming out.
Charley went bananas when she saw princess Minnie. She was definitely the favorite! I thought she'd be terrified of all the characters, but she did pretty well the entire trip. Must be because she knew they were all real.
After breakfast we headed to King Triton's Carousel where the girls couldn't wait to pick out their own seahorses to ride.
We decided to do Mickey's Fun Wheel next, but saw Donald on the way and had to stop in to say, "hello".
(Every time we ask Charley about our Disneyland trip, the first thing she says is, "Umm, I saw Donode!")
(The view of Cars' Land from the top.)
Next, we stopped in to buy some Minnie ears for everyone. Isaac and I couldn't decide on any, but Char got Princess ears and Gracie wanted the butterfly ears "because they have pink and blue".
On our way out of the store, we ran into Buzz and Woody. I thought Charley would die, but she was a little more nervous around them, since they're so big.
After a quick Icee break, we made our way over to the other rides on the pier.
The Golden Zephyr looked fun, and there wasn't a long wait, but as soon as we got on, they had to close the ride due to the wind. It was seriously a slight breeze, but I guess you can't be too careful.
Phineas and Ferb were just starting their dance party, so Char watched with Daddy, while Grace and I rode the Jumpin' Jellyfish.
We made our way to Cars' Land, and I hung out with Char while she napped. Daddy took Grace on the Radiator Springs Racers. They were a little too fast for her liking.
Afterwards, Daddy sat with Charley, while I took Grace on Luigi's Flying Tires.
We had to wake Charley up after that, because we ran into Flik, and she's really been into A Bug's Life lately.
Isaac and I were getting pretty tired, so we went back to our hotel room for a quick nap. Three hours later, we were ready to go back at it. We went over to Disneyland, because they were having the firework show that night. Grace loved Tomorrowland, so we spent some time there and rode the Astro Orbitor.
We ate some dinner, and as we were finishing up, Grace spotted the Buzz Lightyear ride. She grabbed Charley's hand and off we went.
Next up was Storybook Land. I don't think I've ever been on this ride, but it was so cute. We loved seeing miniature castles and cottages of all of the Disney characters.
We knew it was getting close to firework time, so we hung out in front of the castle.
Grace practiced her picture taking skills while we waited.
Of course, Charley passed out just before they started and slept through the whole thing. Gracie absolutely loved it, though. Especially seeing Dumbo and Tinkerbell fly in front of the castle!
As soon as they were over, both girls were fast asleep in their stroller. Isaac and I took the opportunity to snack on a turkey leg and giant corn on the cob.
We had so much fun all day long. We made sure to buy an autograph book to get everyone's autographs, and the lines weren't long for any of the rides we went on. The week before had a high of 107, but we got lucky, and the high was only 75 while we were there. The first day being such a success made us that much more excited for the next two days.
I took way too many pictures, so we're going to have to break it up a little.
Stay tuned...
