Caitey’s Favorite Memory of Disneyland… May 17, 2008

This week I will be inviting a series of guest authors to share their favorite memories of our recent vacation. Today’s featured author is Caitey Grace.

My favorite memory of Disneyland was getting to see Mickey and Minnie Mouse. It brought back lots of memories of when we were there before. I liked Splash Mountain. I loved getting to see my baby brother Noah on the first rides he got to go on. I loved riding California Screamin’ even though Noah didn’t get to go on it. That was my first upside-down roller coaster. I rode the Maliboomer, too. It goes 180 feet into the air in four seconds. The last day we were at California Adventure it was exciting because I got to be in the High School Musical Parade three different times by helping to dance. I’m glad we went to Disneyland because it was so much fun.

Thank you for sharing your memories with us, Caitey!

So We Went to Disneyland… May 14, 2008

And we had a great time together. A highlight of this trip was that my mom came along with us. All four kids love Grandma, and it was delightful to have her. She is an adventurous grandma, and went on many of the big rides with us, including California Screamin’ and The Maliboomer. One of the kids’ favorite rides was Mulholland Madness, which was also in California Adventure.

Over in Disneyland, we also had a great time. In this park, there were many rides which Noah could enjoy, too. Some that he was able to enjoy were The Mad Tea Party, Buzz Lightyear AstroBlasters, and Jungle Cruise. All four kids loved the classic flying ride Dumbo, too.

One evening we took the time to watch the film Disneyland, The First 50 Years. In it, Walt Disney discusses the time he took his young daughter to a park to ride on a carousel. He put her on, and then sat on a bench eating peanuts. While he was sitting there, it occurred to him that it would be delightful to have an amusement park where parents and children could play together. The idea for Disneyland was born, and that vision of family playing together certainly was fulfilled. So many rides and shows are designed for children of any age to enjoy.

When You Wish Upon A Star… May 12, 2008

We are back from our excursion to Disneyland. We had lovely weather…it was cool and cloudy every day except one. The kids (except Noah) were tall enough to ride on every ride in the park, as well as all the rides at Disneyland’s California Adventure, so we spent lots of time spinning and racing and turning upside-down. This is the third time we have taken the kids to Disneyland, and each time we get a little better at planning and prepping so we can maximize our enjoyment and minimize our expense.

One of the coolest things we did was purchase a computer program called RideMax before we went. This nifty program allows you to choose the attractions you want to ride, and then plans an itinerary for you to minimize your waiting time in line. Anyone who has been to Disneyland knows that the lines can get very long, even if the park isn’t super busy. We used this program and never waited in line more than 20 minutes, and often waited less than 10. We were able to ride every ride we wanted to multiple times. The schedule always plans the majority of the rides for the morning and evening, so we were able to head back to the hotel for swimming or naps each afternoon. This was a worthwhile addition to our trip.

I will blog some more about our trip later, but for now…how about a cute picture of our littlest traveler….