We went to Disneyland on Wednesday, July 9th.
We took the shuttle to Disneyland from our hotel.
It was already warm by the time we arrived mid morning but we were excited to spend the entire day here. I was mostly excited to see Riley's excitement from his surroundings. My mom and sister came along with us.
Riley ever so cute posing for pictures next to big brother and sister. A picture here is a must. I have several from my childhood when we would visit. It's always hilarious to look back at pictures and make fun at how we used to look, lol.
This spot is also a must to take a picture.
Our first stop is always the Indiana Jones ride, ever since it was built. The line was about an hour long. Since Riley is too small to ride we decided to get fast pass tickets for Jacob and myself, then we went on the Jungle Cruise while my sister, mom and the kids waited in line at the Indiana Jones ride.
I knew Riley would like this jungle cruise ride. You get to see all sorts of cool things. Whenever he would get scared of a wild animal coming too close to the boat or tribal people throwing spears he would hide behind daddy and close his eyes.
After the jungle cruise we went to Tarzan's Treehouse. My sister, mom and the kids hadn't come out of the Indiana Jones ride yet so we took advantage of some free time to take this little guy up to Tarzan's hangout.
There's some pretty views from up here.
Once the rest of my family were out of Indiana Jones we handed over Riley to them while Jacob and I used our fast pass. Indiana Jones is so fun. We only waited about five minutes. Pretty cool!
Good thing we got on this ride early on because by noon we heard that this ride had stopped working. That happens sometimes.
Our second must stop is New Orleans Square where The Pirates of the Caribbean and The Haunted Mansion is at. This area is my utmost favorite in all of Disneyland. Ever since I was a little kid.
It was already muggy and we had drank about two water bottles by this time. No doubt there's a lot of people standing in line but it really went fast. We never stood in line longer than 25 minutes and sometimes the wait was ten minutes long. Not bad at all.
I was a little worried that Riley would freak out on the first drop. It's not a steep drop but for a small child the drop could be scary. I remember that Nathan cried every single time we went down the first drop. He stopped crying once he was about 8 years old. What a cry baby.
Safe to say that Riley did great! He didn't get scared at all on that first drop. I was impressed. However, he did try to hide behind Jacob a few times whenever he would see a skeleton. Ha! I'm not worried about that. All good fun.
We then made our way to The Haunted Mansion. The wait here wasn't bad either but it was tough waiting in line under the hot sun. Darn sun! I was sweating like a pig and my entire body was sticky from the muggy weather. Yuck! Anyway, as soon as you walk in the first room you can feel the freshness.
I didn't take any pictures in this ride because I wanted to enjoy it myself. But Riley did get scared at this one since there's ghosts all over the place and when we came across the mirrors and saw the ghost sitting in with us he turned his head. Funny! That reminded me of myself when I was little. I would do the same thing.
Then Jacob, my sister and Sydna went on Splash Mountain. I didn't go because I wasn't in the mood to get wet and have to walk around with wet clothes. So me, my mom and Nathan found a shady spot and we waited for them for what seemed like an eternity, around an hour.
Riley, just seconds before he passed out for a nap. Nathan was complaining a bit because we had been waiting for a while but I reminded him that he chose not to go on Splash Mountain. He's scared of the drop. I can't believe him, at 13 years old and he's still afraid.
My sister took a picture of their picture,lol. My sister is the third from the bottom, then Jacob, then Sydna. Jacob is such a dork! Made me laugh.
My sister got the most wet. Jacob got a little wet but Sydna didn't get wet at all.
After that ride it was time to have lunch. Our tummies were grumbling. We had lunch across from Tarzan's Treehouse at River Belle Terrace. We've eaten here before and we liked it. Their pasta salad was good then. I got the Tennessee turkey breast on ciabatta bread with herb aioli. Man, the turkey was super moist and delicious. Felt like I was eating Thanksgiving dinner. The ciabatta was the most softest bread I've had to date. And not to mention the herb aioli. It was seriously delectable. Unlike my last experience here this pasta salad lacked flavor and it wasn't seasoned ... plus, I don't like beans in my pasta salads. So this was just ok.
Riley was still asleep while we ate. I didn't dare wake him because I didn't want to have to deal with an insufferable child at Disneyland, of all places. Just trying to make my life as stress free as I can. I figured he would eat soon enough.
We walked over to Thunder Mountain next. Again, we had to split up since Riley couldn't ride. Jacob, Nathan and I waited while the rest of our family went on the ride. We didn't wait long. My sister told me that my mom was screaming. That's too funny.
After they were out it was our turn next. We had gotten fast passes for this ride too so we didn't have to stand in line long. Sydna and Nathan rode with us. Riley stayed with my mom and sister.
While we were waiting to get on I spotted these guys. Missed my baby!
Then it was go time!
Jacob again being a goof ball.
I asked Sydna what the heck was she looking at, lol. She doesn't remember.
Jacob took Riley on the Dumbo ride. Nathan decided to tag along too.
Then they spotted the carousel so of course they had to ride it. This would make Riley's 3rd carousel ride during our vacation. Never gets old I guess.
My mom and sister left at this point. Mom was tired and hot.
We still had lots to do.
Next we got on the Pinocchio ride. There's a whale that's in this ride and it scared Riley. We sat together and I felt him jump. Poor thing. I already had my arm around him and when he got scared I brought him closer to me. Sometimes, these so called "kid rides" scare a child more than the regular rides. And what's up with Jacob looking all greasy? lol.
It's A Small World ride.
So much to see. Riley loved it!
A not so great of a picture but I still wanted to share.
After this ride, Sydna and Nathan wanted to ride the Matterhorn so I told them they could. We made plans to meet up in Tomorrowland. That's where the Zurg and Buzz ride and Autopia is at.
We stopped by Redd Rockett's Pizza Port so this little guy could grab a bite to eat.
Once his little belly was satisfied we headed over to Astro Blasters. I couldn't wait to see Riley's face, shooting at Zurg with Buzz's laser gun.
You're able to email yourself the picture. Riley looks so little and Jacob looks all into it. That's funny.
Unfortunately, Buzz was nowhere to be found. My friend tells me that he's usually at California Adventure park. We didn't go to that one. Too bad. So, this was the best alternative. He didn't care. He enjoyed himself on the ride and at the store.
He got a laser gun and Rex.
When we were waiting in line in Autopia, Sydna texted me and said she could see us. I wasn't able to find them though. So cute that Riley got to drive ... well to steer.
Hey, look at the driver. Not even looking at the road in front of him. So not safe!
I laughed when I saw this picture. Hilarious!
Towards the end we got stuck in traffic for like five minutes or so. My car turned off and I freaked. Good thing that when you pump the gas three times the car turns back on.
The kids wanted to get on Space Mountain but the wait was too long and there's no fast pass so we skipped that ride. We headed over to Toontown. Good thing we did too because that area closes at 8:30 pm and it was already 7:40 pm when we got there.
Jacob and the kids rode this children's roller coaster ride. At first I didn't think nothing of it but then I became nervous because again, like in Pirates, I thought Riley would freak out and I didn't want that experience to stay with him forever and end up having a fear of roller coasters. I even texted Sydna to tell her dad that I was concerned but Jacob reassured me that Riley would be ok.
I'm bummed that I couldn't get better pictures. But I'm glad I do have these pictures and although they're blurry and not the best quality they still caught that moment in time.
I could see Riley smiling and Jacob tells me that he was laughing the entire time. That's awesome! I am so relieved and happy that he liked the ride. I'm so proud of him for being brave!
As soon as he saw me he told me about his experience. He was smiling so big. It was so cool.
He drove Mickey Mouse's car .......
..... and we went inside Mickey Mouse's house.
He sat on Mickey's desk chair ......
..... and played Mickey's piano.
After we left Toontown, we stopped at the spinning tea cups. Sydna and Nathan wanted to get on. I definitely didn't. Last time I got on I got very nauseous.
We saw the fireworks, well in a way. We didn't really get a good spot since we got to this area late and all the good spots were taken. So from what we could see it was neat. I'm sure it would have been cool to see the entire thing from the very front, right in front of the Princess castle. Oh, well. We've never really been big on watching the fireworks at Disneyland anyway. We even missed the parade. We'd rather go on more rides than have to sit for hours to get a good spot to see a parade. Maybe one day we'll do this but not with a small child. Too hectic.
The one show I do like to see when we're here is Fantasmic. This show is pretty awesome! Besides, this is the one time you'll get to see your most favorite Disney characters ... including Woody and Buzz.
This is my favorite duck.
And this was the best picture I could get of these two. Aw, it was so cool to see them. This part of the show always gives me chills. Too bad that Riley had fallen asleep again. Sad that he missed it.
Before we left we stopped by the stores on Main Street. Riley got a coloring book with stickers, a sword and some bath toys that have Woody and Buzz. He was happy ... and very tired.
Disneyland was a lot of fun and after going on my favorite rides I really don't care what else we do there. So it didn't bug me that we didn't ride the Matterhorn or Space Mountain. Sydna and Nathan had a lot of fun. It felt good not having to worry about them when we allowed them to go off together. I trust both of them.
It'll be a lot more fun once Riley is a bit more grown and hopefully by then he wont be such a picky eater.
I was telling Jacob that it would be cool to go to Disney World in Florida once all the kids are grown. That way we don't have to worry about height requirements, too many restroom breaks or stopping to rest.
Since Disney World is enormous I want to have the utmost fun. I want to be able to stay at one of their resorts, splurge on souvenirs and clothes and eat good food. So we would need to save for a couple of years to make this happen. Looking forward to this.
