Disneyland

Wednesday, June 30 we went to Disneyland. We've avoided taking the kids there up until now because we figured they were just too young to enjoy it. I think it was a good choice. Taking the boys a little older turned out to be a really good thing. Ryan was the perfect age for a first trip to Disneyland. He loved every minute of it. He believes that everything is real and the whole day with him was very magical. It was so exciting to see him explore Disneyland for the first time. This was also Colin's first trip to the Magic Kingdom and I think he had a really great time too. Evan was pretty grumpy the whole day, but all-in-all we had a wonderful day. I felt like we got to do everything I wanted the boys to see and we were there for several hours. I was quite exhausted by the time the day was over and slept like a rock for what felt like two days afterward. We look forward to taking the kids back in a couple of years when they've both grown a little and can enjoy the amusement park as big kids.
I accidentally didn't put my stroller in the car when I loaded it up from beach camp so we rented one from the park. It turned out just fine and I was glad to have it when we went for longer walks around the park. Ryan and Evan both rode in it and we were able to keep track of the same one all day long.

One of our family favorites this trip was Autopia. This is the ride with little cars that you get in and can drive. You have to be 30 inches tall or taller to ride and Evan is about 32 inches, so it was perfect for all four of us. What I liked about it is that there isn't a break and the gas pedal is in the middle so whoever is tall enough can push it. Ryan wasn't tall enough to push the gas pedal so Evan obviously wasn't either but they could both steer and felt like they were driving, it was awesome! I wish we had done that one a second time.

Ryan and Mommy driving the car. They give you a driver's license when you ride Autopia and Ryan kept his in his pocket the whole day.

This is when Evan fell asleep. It was nice that we had the stroller and we had decided in advance to take the day at the boy's pace and that was really wise for all of us. When Evan fell asleep we just took turns going on Pirate's of the Caribbean and watching Evan sleep in the shade. Even though Ryan thought Pirate's was a little bit scary, he was brave enough to go on it twice.

Another big family favorite was the Buzz Lightyear ride. It was the second ride we went on for the day and the lines were nice and short.

The whole ride is very cute. You walk through and Buzz tells you that he's sending you on a mission to destroy the Evil Emperor Zerg.

I couldn't get the boys to look away from Buzz long enough for a picture, but it just goes to show you how excited they were about this ride and Disneyland all together.

Here's Evan ready to shoot the aliens with his gun.

Daddy and Ryan shooting their guns.

Mommy and Evan destroying the evil forces.

Another fun thing about this ride is that you can spin the cart around while you ride and get a better shot at the enemies on your sides. It spins 360 degrees too, so that's fun.

Much to the parent's chagrin, they have these stores at the ends of the rides. Here's Evan playing with an alien gun.

We got to ride on the Finding Nemo Submarine Adventure. I've never been on this ride and was glad that we went on it early in the day when the lines were still manageable.

Daddy and Evan about to ride on the sub.

Ryan getting ready for an adventure under the sea.

I really wanted the kids to ride the teacups, that was fun!

Evan going for a spin.

Mommy in the teacups.

And there's Ryan too!

The line for Dumbo was quite long, but we did the ride anyway. This is a good one for the little kids.

Ryan and Daddy in their elephant.

Ryan and Evan in a flying Elephant.

Casey's Circus Train was a great ride for little kids too and there was no line at all! yea!

There's Ryan enjoying the train.

Mommy and Evan!

The train is really cute and the ride isn't very boring either.

Ryan giving a big cheese, Colin being a thug, and Evan being a cry-baby. That's about par for the course!

A close-up of Ryan on the carousel.

We did a fast-pass on Space Mountain and while we were waiting for that ride, I took Ryan on Star Tours. He loved the entrance to the ride but got pretty freaked out by the ride. I guess it was too scary. Space Mountain was about the same for him. But, he was such a good boy, and even though he was scared, he didn't cry or anything. He was very brave!

One of the last rides we did for the day was It's A Small World After All. I liked it because all four of us could ride in the same seat. It's also a nice and cool ride that just sort of floats along. I think Evan liked it best, he was staring at everything the whole way through, almost speechless. And if you know Evan, that's a pretty amazing feat.

No idea why Ryan decided to shade his eyes in all of the pictures, but here we all are!

And the last thing we did for the day was Mickey's Toon Town. I really liked the whole little village. I loved how everything looked like it was out of a cartoon, all rounded edges and really fat looking.

One thing Ryan really wanted to do was meet Mickey Mouse. I'd been telling him all day to keep his eye out for him. While we were in toon town, the kids and Daddy were chillin out with an icee and playing at a little play area. I wanted to look around a little and noticed a sign at Mickey's house saying that you could meet him inside. I grabbed the family and we went inside. I was disappointed at how long the lines were, but glad that we got to go inside and take pictures with Mickey. I really think it was one of the highlights of the trip for Ryan. I wish the pictures had turned out better, but they're pretty cute, don't you think?

Ryan and Evan posing with Mickey Mouse!

And that was the end of our Magical day at the Happiest Place on Earth!