Saturday, December 3, 2011

Thanksgiving at Disneyland


 We decided it was finally time to take our girls to Disneyland. I had the Wednesday before Thanksgiving off from work this year and Washington State was in a basketball tournament in the Disneyland area. It was destiny.


We drove to Anaheim on Wednesday during the day. We got settled in the hotel and hung out for the night. Thursday was Thanksgiving. We got up, had breakfast, and headed to Disneyland. We hadn't told the girls where we were going at all. They had been happy thinking we were just taking a family trip and staying in a hotel. Ryann figured it out from conversations on the shuttle bus. She just got a big grin.

Once we were there, we headed for Fantasy Land. We rode the carousel, the Dumbo ride, and It's a Small World. Scott was a real trooper. He stood in line for the girls to meet the princesses for quite a while. I took the girls to see a princess show while he waited. They got to meet Tiana and Ariel. Later, we stood in another line and met Rapunzel.

In the afternoon, we went back to the hotel to have sandwiches and naps. It may not have been a fancy Thanksgiving meal, but it worked. After recharging, we headed back to the park for the evening festivities. There was a Christmas parade with all the characters, music, and lights. It was very exciting for the girls. After that, they changed the castle lights to it's Christmas theme. They played Christmas music on Main Street and made it snow. The girls thought that was awesome. I'd have to agree. Scott and I thought it was the highlight of the trip.

Once the excitement ended, Scott headed to a basketball game and we met up with some friends. We went on the Winnie the Pooh ride and Jungle Cruise then called it a day. The girls were giggly when we first got back to the hotel, but once I got them in bed, it was silent.
The next day, we headed back to the park. We met Tinkerbell and rode the Nemo ride. We took a train ride around the park then decided to take an early lunch/nap break. We had lunch at California Pizza Kitchen. We all rested up a bit before heading back for another evening round. We walked around, went on the carousel, and rode Winnie the Pooh again. Scott headed to another game while the girls and I had an ice cream then walked downtown Disney. By then, we were spent. We went back and watched a Christmas movie on TV.

We decided that 2 days was about right. I wouldn't want to do much more than that. The girls had a great time, and we saw a lot of what we wanted to for this trip. There's a lot more that we can do when they get bigger. Somehow, I ended up telling Ryann that we'd go back when she's 7. Knowing her, she'll hold us to it.