The Best Vacation Ever (Part One)

Teag and I had talked for awhile about taking the kids to Disneyland. The oldest two had already been, but it had been years, and that trip had some not so great memories associated with it. We felt like Finn was old enough to be able to both enjoy and remember, so we started saving up for it, and this past January, it was time to go! We didn't just hit Disneyland either. Given my total love of all things Harry Potter, there was no way I could be that close, and not go to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter while we were in California. We took a million pictures, and in order to break it up a bit, I'm going to blog based on location, not by day. So first up: Disneyland! We had a countdown running, starting from January 2nd, and every day, the kids would check it to see how many days were left.

When the day finally arrived, there was much excitement and anticipation, especially because they still had to go to school that day. But finally, we were on our flight, and ready to go.

We rented a house for our stay, which turned out to be a truly wonderful experience. Having so much space, and the ability to cook our own meals was definitely worth it. We ate at home often, or packed lunches, and it helped all of us from getting really restaurant food fatigued. Once we arrived, we assigned kids to their rooms, and they were off to bed to get rested up for the next day. Our first day in Disneyland was pretty sunny, which was lovely, and we got right into the park to get to the busy rides right away. We nearly walked onto Star Tours, which quickly became a family favorite.

Finn and Rory especially were fans of the Nemo submarine ride.

And of course, the teacups. Teag was wise, and chose to opt out of those swirling cups of nausea.

Our first night there we got to see some pretty awesome fireworks too. Fireworks are never a bad thing as far as I'm concerned.

Space Mountain, which is now called Hyper Space Mountain became another family favorite. Of all the Disneyland rides, I think we rode the Star Wars themed ones the most. Finn was just big enough to ride them, which really helped. Teag and I quickly made it a competition to see who could have the best post for when the camera flashed.

Our second day in Disneyland, we got there just in time to get a picture with an icon.

She was very friendly, and gave each kid their own hug. Who doesn't love Minnie? We also rode Splash Mountain, and this picture is truly worth a thousand words.

The Main Street Electrical Parade had literally just returned, so our evenings in the park were often spent either trying to watch, or trying to avoid the huge crowds of people watching the parade. I think I saw it when I was five and came with my parents. Still has the same music and everything.

Our last Disney day was spent in California Adventure. This turned out to be a bit of a bust. Lots of rides were broken down, and the wait times for several, even with Fast Passes, were astronomical. It made for a rather disappointing day, especially as all the others had been so great. I don't think we're really California Adventure people.

Finn was too short to ride California Screamin', and as the line was so ridiculously long, I ended up taking him (and Rory, who didn't want to ride it) to the Boardwalk to do some of the more carnival-type rides.

Disneyland was fun, and magical, and we rode many more rides than what I included here. Toys were bought (with money they'd earned and saved for four months prior), photos were taken, and memories were made. We had a great time.