In the early dawn hours of October 5th, the five of us situated ourselves into the car and set off 400 miles south in search of Mickey Mouse and his friends. Five?? You ask. Yes, Ashton joined us this year. It was a very rainy start, much different than last year. Three hours after leaving our lovely home we arrived at Kettleman City for our customary McDonald's breakfast. I was a little dismayed as I had us scheduled to be in Kettleman City at 7:30am and we arrived at 7:34am but I was determined to make up our lost four minutes one way or the other. After breakfast, refilling the gas tank, potty breaks and setting up the DVD player we jumped back in the car for the second half of our journey. The boys kept themselves fairly entertained. Between DVDs, DSs and snacks it wasn't an awful ride. Although we should have brought a wider variety of movies.
At 9:40am we reached the grapevine and with a family prayer I entered into the worst hour of driving of my life. Rain, wind, gray skies, big rigs, speeding SUVs all made for a very difficult drive through elevations of up to 4,200 feet. Once we crossed over I could feel my muscles relaxing and head refocusing on our end destination, the Magic Kingdom. Traffic into L.A. was less than ideal but we finally made it to the hotel at 11:45am, about an hour behind scheduled, didn't matter though since they wouldn't let us check in yet. We decided to visit Downtown Disney and have lunch at the Rainforest Cafe. We spent a little time at ESPN Zone, the Lego Store, Build A Bear and got soaked running between stores in the rain but it was fun and exciting for the boys.
After our adventures in Downtown Disney we headed back to the hotel for some much needed dry clothes and rest for our upcoming 15 hour day at Disneyland. The hotel was nice, the boys had their own separate space where they could layout their activities and watch TV. Simon was very quick in feeling cooped up in a small space so I took him and the boys on a tour of the hotel and arcade, hoping to wear them out. It didn't work. Finally though we got them to bed and asleep and we awaited our 6:00am wake up call.
The weather the next morning (October 6th) was beautiful! We enjoyed breakfast at the hotel restaurant, boarded the shuttle and journeyed to Disneyland. 9:00am the gates opened and we were the 5th family in the line we chose to stand in. We headed straight back toward ToonTown, stopped at the Carousel for a quick ride, then to Small World. ToonTown didn't open until 10:00am so we decided to do Tomorrowland instead. At this point, I said goodbye to my itinerary and let the boys and wind guide us. It all worked out. We covered all the lands, hit all the requested rides, ate, played and enjoyed ourselves immensely. We did stay at the park until almost 11:00pm. Our goal was 12:00am but that was not going to happen. Simon was determined to walk during almost the entire day, with the exception of his short stroller nap. Favorite rides of the day: Carousel, Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters (both of which Simon went on 5 times). Dominick really enjoyed Star Tours and Ashton liked the Haunted Mansion. I thoroughly enjoyed Splash Mountain.
Day 2 of our Disney adventure was split between Disneyland and California Adventure. Our plan was to stay at Disneyland for a couple of hours, head over to California Adventure for a few hours, back to Disneyland until it closed at 7pm and then back to California Adventure until it closed at 11pm. Silly us for making plans. We started off well. Tea Cups, Alice in Wonderland, Pinocchio, Thunder Mountain, Splash Mountain and Winnie the Pooh were all visited during the first couple of hours. We crossed the plaza into California Adventure, picked up our World of Color Fast Passes and set off to explore CA. Monsters Inc was our first ride followed by the Great Muppet Caper. Simon and I caught a showing of Disney Jr. Live on Stage, that was FANTASTIC. The older boys went to Soarin' Over California. Then it was time for the Hollywood Tower of Terror and lunch at Award Weiners. We then journeyed over to the pier for some boardwalk games. Toy Story Mania was a favorite from last year so we decided to brave the 45 minute line. Simon fell asleep about 20 minutes into waiting so I hopped out of line and found a nice quiet spot for the both of us to rest. Last year we walked by the animation studio probably a half dozen times without ever giving it a second look, this year we checked it out and we loved it. We all (except Simon) had the chance to learn to draw Disney Characters in a step by step process taught by a Disney artist, it was great. After a few more rides we decided to head back over to Disneyland. After we maneuvered our way out of California Adventure we saw the line into Disneyland was ridiculously long and CA was filling up quickly due to the spillover from DL's impending closing time. We cut our losses for the day and started toward Downtown Disney. At this point we were all feeling very tired and worn out. We contemplated dinner in the very crowded downtown area and came to the conclusion our in hotel restaurant would be our best bet. We bid farewell to the parks and loaded ourselves into the shuttle.
The next morning, the morning of our departure, we enjoyed a later leisurely breakfast, packed and took the boys to Downtown Disney so they could spend their money. We spent a couple of hours in the Disney store and all the boys came away with special momentos of Disneyland. We made good time coming home. Leaving Anaheim around 11:20am and getting back into Elk Grove at about 6:30pm. It was a challenging ride home with Simon but all in all we fared pretty well. I am loving this tradition!!! I love the magic, the joy, the excitement and anticipation felt by us all as the weeks, days and hours of this trip get closer. Dominick enjoys being a kid and Simon is storing some great memories.
So Mickey Mouse and Friends, we once again say "See ya pal, real soon!" It's nice to know the magic is always waiting for us, a mere seven hours south of good ol' Elk Grove. Until next time!
