Friday, January 27, 2012

Disneyland Trip

We decided to take Finn to Disneyland during December to see the Christmas decorations and enjoy the park.  Jamie and I took an extra day off work so we could go during the week (MUCH less crowded) and opted to stay the night at the Disneyland Hotel.  I stayed there as a kid and remembered how much I loved it, really made the whole experience extra special.  The hotel was recently renovated and now reminds me more of a Marriott, with a few Disney touches thrown in.  Nice but not quite as special. Although they installed a huge headboard that lights up to display a starry sky and the castle, and plays "When you Wish Upon a Star".  That rocked, even the 45th time Finn flipped the switch.

Some of you may remember that last spring we took a family vacation to Florida and visited Disneyworld, and that it was not a huge hit with the Finner.  We knew we were taking a change but hoped that by pumping him up about it and the extra 6 months of worldly experience he'd like it.

He did!  We had a little trouble with the darker rides (didn't realize how many Fantasyland rides are dark and scary, nice job Walt) but he LOVED the Teacups, Toontown and the Jungle Ride and many others.  Because we stayed at the hotel we were able to ride the Monorail into Tomorrowland an hour early, no lines, no hassle.  That in itself was pretty much worth the extra money. 

We met my brother Geoff and his girlfriend for dinner the night before which was a bonus.  He lives about 20 minutes away from Disneyland. Loved getting to spend a little time with him and of course Finn is a big Uncle Geoff fan.

The morning after Disneyland Day we had breakfast at Goofy's Kitchen and met a few random characters before heading back home.  A great mini-vacation!

 Geoff, Sandy, Finn and Jamie
 This is fantastic!!  He loves to spin around so this was heaven.
 In front of his beloved Snow White and animal friends statues.
 Steering the ship in Toontown.
 Composing a love song for Abi in Toontown.
 Jungle Ride
 Waving to Santa in the Christmas Parade.  Huge hit.
 Goofy's Kitchen
 Bashful with Alice, she was so pretty he got nervous.
Hamming it up with Dale (or is it Chip? I forget).

1 comment:

  1. Fun, fun, fun! You guys are so smart to go during the week- we always do too. It's so much more enjoyable. Bummer to hear the Disneyland Hotel turned super commercial and lost it's old charm. The starry display sounds really neat! We thought we would wait to take Mia when she's 4 or 5 but now you have me wanting to go earlier!

    ReplyDelete