In 2010, we went to Hong Kong Disneyland. That was Tate's first time in a stroller, and he was less than happy about the opportunity to roll around instead of sitting on me, attached by a baby carrier.
In 2011, we went to Disneyworld with Casey's birth family. It was hot. And Tate was whiny. And, in the end, the kids enjoyed go-kart racing and feeding alligators more than they liked Disney or Universal. That figured.
Anyway, this year, we revived the experience. Now that Tate is three, we knew he'd be able to more fully appreciate Disneyland. Plus, he absolutely adores all things castle, princess and Alice in Wonderland. It was more crowded than in years past (thanks to the Tinkerbell Half Marathon), but still not as crowded as summertime.
First, we went into the castle-- at Tate's request. I forgot how dark it is in there. And that the fairy tale of sleeping beauty (as told in pictures) is kind of scary for a 3-year-old. He entered all smiles. He exited clinging for dear life and bawling.
We were in Fantasy Land at that point - and Mr. Toad's Wild Ride had virtually no wait. So we hopped aboard. Tate was a little more apprehensive but put on a good face. By the time the ride was over, he was screaming in fear. I forgot that you end the ride in a fiery hell of sorts.
After Tate calmed down some, we hit Alice in Wonderland. He asked to go on it. He loves the movie-- not the animated one, the Johnny Depp one. But of course that was a bust, too.
"We have to have a positive experience," I told Jason. And he readily agreed. Small World it had to be. And as we wandered toward It's a Small World, Tate spied the princess walkway and asked if he could meet the princesses. In the end, it was probably the longest wait we had. But it was totally worth it. He loved meeting the princesses. He asked each one where she slept. And he told Princess Aurora that she should talk to the prince about getting a night light in her castle!
Things got better after that. We met up with some of our favorite people and explored more of Disneyland. The next day, we ventured into California Adventure, where are children were completed disinterested in Cars Land, which had just opened. It never ceases to amaze me how unappreciative our kids can be. I mean than genuinely; I am surprised by it. If my parents had taken me to Disneyland for two days in a row, I think I would have been ecstatic! Not my three. They would have preferred to spend an afternoon swimming in the hotel pool to wandering around an amusement park. It's crazy to me. Anyway, here are some other shots of the trip:
The last night we were at Disneyland, I had a grande latte sitting on the top of Tate's stroller while I stopped to pick up some popcorn for Casey. It was lodged in the closed-up shade. Tate decided to grab the shade and flip it, sending the coffee flying all over. Here's the thing. Not only did the Disney workers not simply hand me a pile of rags and napkins to clean up the mess Tate just made - and it was clearly our fault, but they called two people over. One cleaned up the mess. The other noted that it looked like my cup had been awfully full and walked me over to the Starbucks where he went and got me a replacement drink. Wow. Talk about awesome customer service.
On a separate note, I used to be able to set the size of the photos-- anyone know how to do that under this newest version of blogger?
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