The Great Disneyland Post

As much as I would love to blog every single detail of our D-land trip, I'll resist the urge...I'll just write about almost every detail.

We arrived Monday evening just in time to jump in the pool and cool off. Even though the mercury said it was only 85, it felt more like 95. We brought water wings for Joseph, something we'd never put on him, but now wonder how we lived without. (Not that he let go of us while in the water, but it was nice having that extra protection.)

We woke up bright and early and headed over to Disneyland. It's been so long since I've been, I'd forgotten the excitement of walking through the gate, the feeling of anticipation as music fills the air, the cleanliness of the "streets" and sidewalks. (I need a Disney crew at my house.) We immediately spotted Goofy, Pluto, Minnie, Donald, Alice and, of course, Mickey. From a distance, Joseph excitedly pointed and yelled, "Mickey Mouse" but up close, he held fast to a deep distrust of the six foot mouse.

Side note: I find it a testament to Disney's marketing genius that my son, who does not own a single Mickey Mouse cartoon or product, recognized him without any prompting.

We marched through Main Street and made our way to Adventure Land where we rode the Jungle Cruise, climbed Tarzan's Tree House and took advantage of Fast Pass to get tickets for Indiana Jones. Afterwards, we walked over to Dumbo. I think of all the "circle" rides, this one is my favorite. It doesn't go too fast or too high and it has a wide circumference - important if you happen to get motion sick on a merry-go-round. Joseph loved it. Then he got to ride Casey Jones. His excitement over riding in a train was infectious. We then made our way over to Toontown and spent an hour or so wandering through houses.

(Aren't you glad I'm not blogging every single detail?)

After lunch, Joseph and I went back to the hotel to take a much-needed nap while Chad joined his parents, Matt and Sophia for fun with the over two crowd. We met up with them later (after being trapped on the wrong side of Main Street during a parade) and ventured into California Adventure.

I have to admit that I liked California Adventure better than the Big D. Sure, Disneyland was nostalgic and much more visually interesting, but CA had fewer crowds in the children's area plus a water feature that Joseph could cool down in. After spending a morning trying to get Joseph to understand the concept of waiting in line for a half hour or so, it was nice to be on a ride in five minutes or less. He rode all the rides, some more than once and spent quite a bit of time splashing under the giant hose spigot. We walked around, looking for a place to eat, and found a pizza place that wasn't too bad.

Side note: As "good" as all the prices were for adult meal, the kids meals were ridiculously small and overpriced. The kid's pizza, served in mouse plates, was the size of an English muffin, yet cost the same as the adult slice.

We ended our evening over by the King Triton's carousal, riding it over and over again. (Short lines.) We had wandered in and out of shops all day looking for a fun toy for Joseph as a souvenir. He finally found one he wanted...a Buzz Lightyear doll. I think Chad was relieved that he didn't end up picking a baby Little Mermaid.

I think I'm going to have to do this as two posts after all. Stay tuned for Part 2 of the Great Disneyland Post.