Nothing Like Christmas in Disneyland {Day One}
Monday morning, we woke up ready for Disneyland. The girls didn't know we were going until a couple of days before, and since they had been talking about it forever, they were SO excited!
Our first stop was in California Adventure. Since we were a little early, we snapped some photos near the 60th Anniversary decorations and the beautiful tree on Buena Vista street.
We made our way to Ariel's Grotto for breakfast. It's always the very first thing we do when we come to Disneyland. The girls were so excited to see Ariel, and she joked with them about how Sebastian and Flounder stayed near the castle with Eric that day.
As we ate breakfast, they waited patiently for the other princesses to come out. Charley had us cracking up while eating a blackberry. This girl has always loved all kinds of berries, but this one seemed to be a little tart.
The princesses came out one after another, and the girls were smitten with each one. We made sure to get their autographs and take pictures with them all.
After breakfast, we headed straight for the Toy Story Ride, Midway Mania, since it was early, and the line wasn't too bad. Daddy had fun playing with his girls while we waited, and Gracie made sure she got to ride with him since he always wins.
Next up was Elsa and Anna. We had to get our princess fix before we moved on to bigger and better things. The girls were both wearing Frozen outfits, so they showed them off and took forever talking to them about Disneyland. Anna told Grace that they took Olaf on The Little Mermaid ride, and he thought they were really under water and held his breath the whole time. Grace thought that was the funniest thing ever.
After Elsa and Anna, we had to go visit Olaf. They were cleaning all the snow, so we didn't get to play in it, but the girls loved watching them blow it all over the place while we waited to see Olaf.
Olaf was so fun, as always, and Charley couldn't stop hugging the poor guy.
Outside, they had a giant Olaf that the girls almost had Daddy talked into...until we realized we'd have to carry him around the park for the rest of the day! They settled for the Elsa ears instead.
We made our way over to Disneyland, since we were planning on the parades there that evening. There was hardly a line for Pirates of the Caribbean or The Haunted Mansion, so we headed to those rides first.
There is really nothing like Christmas in Disneyland. Every single corner of the park is decorated so awesomely, and these peacock colors in New Orleans Square were some of my favorites.
The girls were so excited to see Jack and Sally, and Charley clung to Isaac's side the whole ride.
She fell asleep the second she sat in her stroller, which was really a bummer, because we met Jack and Sally as soon as we got off the ride. Grace asked Sally if she could really unzip herself, and Sally told her to make sure she had a really horrible day. We had never seen them before, so it made it that much more special.
We stopped for some lunch, and Daddy took Grace on Big Thunder Mountain, while Char napped away. When she woke up, we headed over to the parade route to snag a spot, since it was really starting to fill up.
The girls noticed Captain Hook and "Peter Man" (as Charley calls him) standing nearby. They were all alone, so we figured the line to see them had probably closed. Grace insisted that we go over anyways, because she had to show Hook her own hook hand. They were the best! Captain Hook played with Gracie and her hook, and Peter Pan talked to Charley all about her day. I heard her telling him that the Haunted Mansion ride was "weally scawy!".
Sine the parade was about to start, we got back to our seats. The Christmas Fantasy Parade is one of our favorites, and it absolutely did not disappoint.
Grace asked me why all of the soldiers were making this "oh" face. I told her they couldn't move their mouths, because they're toys, of course.
Charley loved Mickey and Minnie, and was so excited that Chip waved to her.
We got kisses from Pooh Bear and Tigger, and Eeyore waved as he slowly strolled by.
After seeing these ice skaters and their glittery tights, Grace said, "you should get you some of those sparkle pants, mom!".
Jessie came by and got out of her car right in front of us. The girls were freaking out when she walked over to say "hello".
Finally, Santa came by to finish up the parade. The girls had so much fun waving and yelling, "Hi, Santa!".
As soon as the parade ended, we booked it over to Small World to ride on it. Charley had been singing "It's a Small World Christmas After All" since we left Newport the day before. It's one of our favorites, and it's extra special at Christmas time with all of the beautiful lights.
After the ride, we were going to hang around for the Paint the Night parade. Since we were all exhausted from our busy last few days, we decided to catch it the following night instead. We headed back to the hotel and watched some Monday Night Football, before going to bed looking forward to another exciting day tomorrow.
