Disneyland

At long last, here are the photos from our trip to Disneyland June 15 -19. I have sorted through 573 photos and vidoes from our trip, and am finally posting some (OK, a lot) of them here. Before I even start, I apologize for two things:

1 - for boring you to death. Not only do I want to share our pictures with you, but I want to use this entry as a journal to remember our trip so if you don't have an hour, flip through and come back later. :-)

2 - I was having some MAJOR formatting issues with this posting for some reason (too many pictures?). I can't get rid of all the huge gaps between pictures and paragraphs so please bear with me. Believe me, you can't be more bothered by it than I am (I've spent hours trying to fix it and am finally throwing in the towel).
We arrived in Anaheim at 1:30 pm on Wednesday June 15th. About an hour later we were in our hotel room, trying to get organized for a quick trip to Walmart to stock up on snacks and breakfast foods for our stay. As Kevin & I were getting ready to go find a cab, Bradyn said "Come on guys, let's unpack our stuff". Ok then. Kevin & I got a good kick out of watching her pull her clothes out of the suitcase, fold everything neat and tidy, then put it into the dresser drawers. (girls underwear is already so small, but once you fold it up into a small square, it could fit into your pocket!) Eventually we grabbed a cab, stocked up on goodies and headed to a restaurant near the hotel for dinner. After dinner we headed over to Disneyland Customer Service to pick up our 4-day Park Hopper passes and check out Downtown Disney. Oh, I forgot - did I mention that our first night of vacation was the same night as Game #7 of the Stanley Cup playoffs? Yeah... I was real happy about that. As Bradyn and I checked out the Lego store, Kevin skipped off to the ESPN Zone to catch the game. Not much later I got a text asking where we were... the score was 3-0 Boston so Kevin admitted the inevitable and was ready to embrace our family holiday. We didn't actually go into the Disneyland or California Adventure parks on Wednesday night, but we scouted out The World Of Disney store and The Disneyland Hotel - the first picture is of Bradyn in the lobby.

On Thursday morning we walked the 10 minutes from our hotel to the park gates and were in Disneyland by 7:15 am so we could take advantage of Magic Mornings and be in the park an hour before they officially opened. We had a FULL agenda for the next 4 days and it was going to take some careful strategizing to get everything done. Kevin had done his homework on figuring out the FastPass system for rides and we had all decided what we wanted to see during our trip. First up for Bradyn & I was 'Mr Toad's Wild Ride' - Bradyn's first official Disneyland ride. Pretty tame, but there were a few points where she closed her eyes because it was dark and 'scary'. Next, Kevin & Bradyn tried "Pinnochio's Daring Journey", then we all went on "Peter Pan's Flight". Over the next 3 days we saw that this ride usually had wait times up to 90 minutes but since we were there so early, we only waited 15 minutes tops. We then headed off to Tomorrowland to pick up FastPasses for "Star Tours" (we had to go back at 11:00) and took a spin on "Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters". As a surprise for Bradyn, we headed to the "Princess Fantasy Faire" to see some princesses - one of the two much anticipated princess 'meet & greet' events of our trip. It didn't open for another 45 minutes, so we headed over to my favourite ride.




I admit that I was very apprehensive about going on "It's a Small World". My family went to Disneyworld in 1977, and then again in 1990. My fondest memories of the trips are of this ride. I wanted to go on it so bad, but I was afraid that 20 years later, I would realize how cheezy it was. Imagine how thrilled I was to find out that while yes, the song starts to get on your nerves by the end of the ride, it was as colourful and magical as I remembered it to be. Bradyn was singing, dancing and pointing at everything. I'm SO glad that she loved it as much as I. (Kevin, on the other had, saw it for all the cheeziness it was).


Me and and my girl, in front of the best ride ever.











Next up was the Princess Fantasy Faire. This was going to be Bradyn's first close encounter with a real princess, but we had to wait and see who it would be because their daily schedules are a secret. Bradyn's top two choices were Ariel (from The Little Mermaid) and Princess Tiana (from The Princess and the Frog). Imagine her uncontrollable glee when they sounded the royal horns, welcomed everyone and presented..... Ariel and Tiana! I can't describe the happiness in our little girl's eyes when she met Ariel, but I think this picture does a pretty good job of coming close.








On the airplane we had given Bradyn a purple notebook, 3 metallic markers and some stickers so she could make her official Disneyland autograph book. Ariel was the first to sign it, and Bradyn knew exactly what colour she had to use - reddish gold to match Ariel's hair.

While Princess Tiana was a little more reserved than the outgoing Ariel, you could still see that Bradyn was in awe.

After meeting the princesses, Bradyn checked out the store and made a bee-line for the sword and shield. She doesn't need a knight... this princess can take care of herself.

I think Kevin's favourite (actually, second favourite) attraction was the "Haunted Mansion". We were all going to tour through but Bradyn bailed at the front door, claiming the spooky sounds we could hear were too scary. Kevin went alone, and I followed suit on Saturday.

Our next ride was through "Pirates of the Caribbean". Although Bradyn was super-excited to go on the ride, she spent the entire time with her head buried in my side, with her hands over her ears (it really wasn't scary, but the entire ride was in the dark, which she didn't like). She did, however,enjoy the gift shop we walked throug afterwards.

Next we headed back towards Tomorrowland and came across The Teacup. Some of you may know of a ride called "Mad Tea Party". Frankly, I always thought it was called 'The Teacup ride'. Regardless, it is my nemesis. There is a picture of me when I was 5 years old, sitting in Sherri's stroller in Disneyworld because I was sick. The reason? The Teacup Ride. I remember being on the ride with mom and cousin Anne, and I remember Anne turning the streering wheel in the middle of the cup so we would spin faster and faster. I remember feeling like I was going to throw up, and mom telling me to lay down on the seat. When the ride was over, I was dizzy, nauseous and in much need of a rest, so into the stroller I went. 30+ years later I still hate that ride. (and no, we didn't go on it this trip)
With our FastPasses in hand, we went to ride the new, 3D "Star Tours - The Adventures Continue". I had no idea what this ride entailed, but Kevin had not stopped talked about wanting to go on it since we had booked out trip. BIG mistake for Brenda. It simulates being on a space ship (surprise) and takes you on a ride with you viewing things like you were a passenger on a star cruiser. I ended up closing my eyes for most of the ride, and still felt naseous when we were done. While I headed outside for fresh air, Bradyn & Kevin made a light saber.

Next up was Space Mountain - a roller coaster in the dark. Big Mistake #2. Bradyn was totally pumped for the ride (this kid is FEARLESS I tell you) and was all smiles in the line. Again, I had my eyes closed for the ride. Even though there was nothing to see, it helps with the neasea - sometimes. As I stepped out of the car after the ride, legs literally shaking, I thought for sure I was going to puke. Bradyn was going on about how she had bumped her head and was scared but as soon as she saw the arcade in the lobby, she shot off and was sitting in one of the games. Unbelievable.



Unable to stomach any more rides for a while, I sat out while Kevin & Bradyn checked out "Alice in Wonderland" and then we headed off towards Mickey's Toontown in search of some Disney critters.

No trip to Disneyland would be complete without touring Mickey Mouse's House. Here is a photo of Bradyn in Mickey's living room.




And here is our official Disneyland family photo.

While we were sitting in an outdoor cafe enjoying some treats, Goofy came out of nowhere and walked past our table. That was it - Bradyn handed her frozen juice bar to me and was on the chase to get his autograph and picture with him. I ran after her, licking up the juice as it started melting, and Kevin stayed back to watch our stuff (and frankly, I think he was probably trying to figure out why we had just bolted off).

The only walking path out of Toontown goes past the Princess Fantasy Faire so off we were for the third (or fourth?) time that day. We made it in time for storytime, where Ariel and a handsome assistant told the story of The Little Mermaid.

After the princesses, Bradyn and Kevin hit the "Astro Orbitor" while I browsed through some shops (gotta get my shopping in!).

No trip to Disneyland would be complete without watching 'Mickey's Soundsational Parade'. I got this shot of Bradyn as she was watching the bad that came by to entertain people as they waited. She looks tired, but believe me, she was having the time of her life.
After the parade Bradyn and I visited "The Enchanted Tiki Room" while Kevin went on the "Indiana Jones Adventure" ride. (I had no desire to go on this one and it turned out that Bradyn was too short for the ride, so it worked out perfectly).

On our way out of the park Friday night, we caught up with Minnie Mouse...

.... and the Queen of Hearts.

On Friday morning we got to 'sleep in' and didn't hit the 'California Adventure' park until 9:30. After grabbing our FastPasses for "Soarin' Over California" and the "World of Colour" show that night, we went on the new ride "The Little Mermaid - Ariel's Undersea Adventure". While in line, Bradyn made friends with a little girl from Australia, who we ran into again at lunch and several other times over the course of the day.
Before literally walking into the "Pixar Pals" parade, we met Max (I had no idea who this character was but apparently he's Goofy's nephew?) ....

and Handy Manny! Bradyn was thrilled.

With another FastPass in hand, Bradyn and Kevin headed into "The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror". As you may have already guessed, my FastPass went unused. There was NO way I was going on this ride and believe me, I told Kevin over and over that Bradyn shouldn't either. In the end, Bradyn decided that she was brave enough and off they went. When I stood back to take this picture, saw the elevator doors at the top open only to reveal a car of screaming, plunging people, I quickly went around to the gift shop at the exit of the ride to anxiously await the arrival of my precious baby. As I watched people coming off the ride I got more and more nervous because I really didn't know what to expect from Bradyn's reaction.

After 20 agonizing minutes, I saw Bradyn & Kevin come around the corner, smiling and chatting away. However, as soon as she saw me, the 'terror' came over her face and she needed mommy to hug her because she was so scared. What a little bugger.

Does this child look traumatized to you?














After the Tower of Terror, Bradyn begged to go to "A Bug's Land". We had some time to kill before our secret date at 3:30, so we checked out a few more sites...


















Hanging out with Stitch.



















The much anticipated "Grizzly River Run" (which I admit I was dreading) turned out not to be so wet after all but again, all that spinning just does not agree with me.



(At some point in the day we also hit Monsters Inc-Mike & Sulley to the Rescue, Muppet Vision 3D, Turtle Talk with Crush and Soarin' Over California for a second time. Too much fun to keep track of when we did it.)









At 3:25, we arrived at Ariel's Grotto. In my mind, this was going to be the highlight of Bradyn's trip because she was going to get up close and personal with the princesses while we feasted on a fabulous lunch. Imagine my surprise (OK, horror) when we walked down the winding staircase to an awaiting Ariel and Bradyn wanted nothing to do with her! She REFUSED to go anywhere near Ariel and would not get her photo taken. In Bradyn's mind, she'd already gotten up close and personal with Ariel the day before, so she didn't need to see her again. I admit that perhaps a 3:30 meal wasn't the best choice but we had to take what was available and we had planned for it by eating at good intervals throughout the morning. Regardless, I suddenly feared that the late afternoon 'witching hour' was going to ruin the whole experience. When we sat down at the table, Bradyn busied herself decorating her crown and happily waved to her new friend from Australia, and her family, who just happened to be sitting at the table next to us. While Kevin and I started in on the appetizers, Bradyn decided that she wasn't hungry.



When the trumpets sounded and the royal page announced the arrival of the first princess - Princess Aurora - Bradyn totally popped. She was upset when Aurora didn't come to our table very quickly but we assured her that she would have plenty of time to talk to her.










Each time the trumpets sounded, Bradyn popped up in her chair to see which princess was coming around the corner next.

While Bradyn definitely did not get her money's worth out of the meal (I think she ate 3 carrots, some cheese, olives and fruit), I'm so glad we did it. I'm sure she will remember it for a very long time.

At least she agreed to pose for a picture on the way out!

After our meal, we headed to Paradise Pier to check out the shops and games. True to form, Bradyn and Kevin headed to the biggest ride they could find: "Mickey's Fun Wheel". At this point in our trip, I had very comfortably settled into the role of stroller-watcher and picture-taker so we could get everything documented. (read: "I just ate, are you crazy?")

All smiles in line.

"Hi Mommy!"

After watching a fabulous performance of "Disney's Aladdin - A Musical Spectacular", we headed back to A Bug's Land so Bradyn could FINALLY go on the rides there. If her driving skills are any indication for 11 years from now, she is definitely going to be enrolled in driver's education.

"Flick's Flyers" - probably extremely boring after Tower of Terror!

On our way to secure our spots for the "World of Colour" show, Bradyn and I paused for a mother-daughter.... no wait, that's Bradyn and the mean grasshopper from the movie 'Bug's Life'. (sometimes even I get confused)

All I am going to say about the show "World of Colour" is that it is an absolute MUST do when you go to California Adventure park. It was amazing. They direct video pictures at the water, which serves as a screen. Very cool.

As we raced around after the show, trying to catch anything we'd missed (because we wouldn't be going back to California Adventure this trip), Kevin & Bradyn took me into "Character Close-Up" and "Sorcerer's Workshop", which they had checked out earlier in the day. Bradyn was so excited to show me the book in Beast's library, where she could become part of the story. She was too short for the camera, so all you could see was her eyes and crown - too cute! On the way back to our hotel we stopped at good old "Denny's" for an official dinner, then dragged our sorry butts 'home' to bed.

On Saturday morning we were back at Disneyland by 8:30 am and the absolute first thing on Bradyn's list was "Pixie Hollow" so she could be shrunk down to fairy size and meet Fauna and Tinkerbell.

Tinkerbell was very chipper for 8:30 am - I am definitely not Disney cast member material.

The "Matterhorn Bobsleds" had been closed, and just re-opened Saturday morning, not long before we arrived at the gates. Roller coaster ride to give me a headache first thing in the morning.... Check!

We ran back over to Tomorrowland to check out the show "Captain EO" featuring Michael Jackson in his 1986 performance. (did I mention it was a 3-D movie?)

Giving in to Kevin's dream to hit every single major ride in the park, we finally headed over to Splash Mountain. The first time we went on the ride, you couldn't see Bradyn at all. At least here you can see her right shoulder and arm under mine.

Our last official family photo at Disneyland. The Reeves family with Gepetto (not sure where Pinocchio was). Bradyn loved this guy! She was waving, giggling and smiling at him, and he was totally playing it up right back at her.

Many times we had walked by a building in Adventureland that was clearly where Aladdin and Jasmine should have been, but they were never there. Since Bradyn had decided that she wanted a Jasmine costume instead of a Princess Tiana dress, we just HAD to get a picture with her. After finally figuring out we could ask one of the information people about visiting hours, we were thrilled to learn that they were going to be back in 15 minutes. Bradyn was first in line so after that we headed for ice cream, to buy her costume and go for an 'early' dinner.

Our flight home on Sunday was at 2:15 pm, so we had to be back at the hotel by 11:30 am to catch our shuttle to the airport. In true Reeves style, we hit the Disneyland gates at 8:00 am and made a mad dash to jam as much as we could into our last 2 1/2 hours. Bradyn and Kevin hit Thunder Mountain first (I politely declined because I wasn't up for another early morning headache). When Bradyn wouldn't let me take her picture after the ride, we suggested that she take a picture of Kevin and me and she was more than happy to oblige. The first shot had a lot of sidewalk, and Kevin almost lost the top of his head. We asked her to give it another try, and told her to get the mountain in the picture. Not a bad shot I must say.

We went back over to Toontown and finally met Pluto. Sadly, we never got a picture of Bradyn with Chip and Dale. I admit that this had been my photo quest for the trip. We have a picture of Kevin and Dallas with Chip at Disneyland, and one of Sherri and I with Dale at Disneyworld, so I wanted one of Bradyn with them both. The ironic thing is that I had left Kevin & Bradyn on the Disneyland Railroad train to finish the loop of the park while I picked up some last-minute gifts and who did I see as soon as I got to the bottom of the train station stairs? You guessed it. I called Kevin's cell and he asked if they should get off of the train, but I knew that Bradyn wanted to do the ride one last time (and that they were going to hit a few last rides), so I said no. Oh well - next time.

I met up with Kevin & Bradyn again beside the castle so that we could check out the Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs statues before heading back to the hotel. Again, Bradyn refused to let me take her picture, but she was more than happy to take ours.

We have so many wonderful memories from our trip, and I'm sure we'll be reminiscing and giggling about things for years to come. I know we'll be in Disneyworld in a few years with Sherri, Jason, Kiera and Robee, and that we'll probably be back to Disneyland again, but I will always remember and cherish our family vacation to the place where dreams really do come true.