Disneyland Visit 2008!

Well we are back! It was an eventful week in super sunny southern California but I will try to break it all down for you. Thursday morning broke and Eric, the kids and I were all up and at them ready to go on our latest adventure. We made a quick trip to pick up Eric's dad (he was driving our car back for us) and off we headed to the airport. This trip we were flying JetBlue. Let me just take a quick minute to give JetBlue a plug. They are awesome! It was the quickest, least problematic check in we have ever been through AND! the seats are huge and leather and they have little TV's on the back of each one with tons of leg room. I don't think Eric even felt cramped and he always does. Anyway, back to the trip!

After going through the icky TSA check point (I know they are necessary, but seriously could they be more complicated with kids!) we made our way to the gate. I stopped to get a snack and the boys sat down to help me eat it. Just as we finished our meal Zane started shrieking that he was wet. How could he possibly be wet? He hadn't spilled anything on himself. But sure enough he was wet. Super wet. His diaper had leaked and this mommy had nothing new for him to wear. Why would I? We had just dropped off our luggage. A diaper it was for that boy! And let me tell you he was awfully proud of it. Off he stomped through the whole airport in a tank top, diaper, shoes and socks. And when I say stomped I mean it. It was like he was marching to draw as much attention to himself as possible. I was embarrassed but no one else seemed to mind. There were several smiles from strangers as they walked by though. I am choosing to believe that they were sympathetic smiles. Like things like that had happened to them too!

We had a problem free flight to Long Beach airport, picked up the rental (free upgrade, sweet!) and headed to the hotel. Got all checked in and then headed to Costco. Eric and I are cheap travelers. I refuse to buy all our food at the park. I think I would croak before I got the credit card bill! So, we got food for our breakfasts and lunches and decided to just buy dinner at different places. Hit the pool and then hit bed. Traveling is a lot of work with three kids and we wanted everyone to be good and rested for the trip to Disney in the morning.

In preparation for the trip, we had purchased a City Pass for Southern California. This meant that we we spending 3 days at Disney and one each at the following parks: SeaWorld, San Diego Zoo and Universal Studios. I knew that I would have mutiny on my hands if we went anywhere other than Disney first so off we headed. As soon as we entered the park we found Goofy. Andrew and Zane were thrilled to meet him.

After wandering around and riding a couple of kiddie rides I insisted that Lucy get to go and meet the princesses. She was quite enthralled with Snow White. Andrew on the other hand was not. For some reason she freaked him out. He was just fine with the other princesses though.

Two sweet boys with Sleeping Beauty!

There is so much I could tell about the trip and I am just going to try and hit the highlights! The boys loved the parades. The Pixar Play Parade at Disney California adventure was the favorite. Lightning McQueen was in that one so it had an advantage from the start.

Here Zane is checking out the parade the first night we were there!

We had awesome (or horrible) weather while we were in California. It was hot! And I don't mean "oh, look at the wimpy Western Washingtonians" hot, I mean all Californians run for the air conditioning hot. I think that the first three days we were down there the temp was in the 100's. I don't care who you are or what temps you are used to, that is smokin' hot to be out in all day. The kids were really good about keeping their hats on though. We only ended up with some minor sunburn on Lucy's legs and Andrew's shoulders. Let's not talk about Eric and I though. Sunscreen didn't work as well on us.

After the fun first day at Disney we hit up the other three parks. Brief run down.

SeaWorld San Diego: Shockingly not as good as SeaWorld Orlando. The animals hadn't been as trained and performed fewer tricks. Plus we had to take Lucy out of the stroller for literally every single attraction and carry her. Strollers were not allowed in any of the exhibits. Also, could someone please invest in some palm trees for that park. It was scorching hot out and there was NO SHADE!

San Diego Zoo: A bust in comparison to the Woodland Park Zoo. There was little variety of animals and the park is incredibly hilly. They do have a bus that will pick you up and take you up the hill so that helped and there is a cool SkyTram that you get to ride. Even I liked it and I am terrified of heights.

Universal Studios: Best park next to Disneyland. The rides were great for Eric and there was a fantastic Curious George Play area for the kids to play in. Note to anyone who is curious. Jurassic Park is not intended for 4 year olds that are sensitive. Andrew went on it and was fine with the 84 foot vertical drop at the end, not so fine with the shrieking dinosaurs that preceded it. Plus, Universal Studios has these wonderful fans that mist and blow on you all over the park. You can cool down anytime by just standing in front of one. Wonderful since it was still in the upper 80's the day that we went.

Our last two days of the trip we spent at Disney. They boys had an awesome time and Andrew really enjoyed most of the rides. He didn't care for Pirates of the Caribbean but he LOVED Space Mountain and the Matterhorn. Crazy kid. I can't stand roller coasters but he loved them. Zane also seemed to like every ride he went on. Eric is going to have some buddies for the roller coasters in the next few years! That will be good though since I refuse to get on them!

Our last day in the park we went and had breakfast at Goofy's Kitchen. The food was great and the characters were fun. Unfortunately my mom called toward the end of breakfast to let me know that my dad had passed away. If you are interested in more info on that check out my other blog. I will write more on it there. The kids went to see the electrical light parade with Eric that night too. They had fun.

Finally we headed home! I had two super exhausted boys and a little girl that I think is totally confused about what a real nap in a crib is! I think the next time we go we will spend the whole time at Disney. The kids seemed to like that the best and it certainly was the most little kid friendly. The next week may be sketchy with the posting but I will let you all know how Andrew's birthday goes!