Disneyland, "Let the Memories Begin"

Well, I guess the main question is, "Where to begin?"  After Ragnar, my family flew out to meet me and we spent the next few days at Disneyland.  Cambrie has been waiting for this trip for so long, and I was soooo excited to introduce her to all of the Disneyland magic.  Before we left the hotel that first morning, Leesa gave both the girls a small gift.  Cambrie got an autograph book for all of the characters we would be meeting.  Her neighbor's daughter, Jamie made it for her and she did a really cute job. 

So once she was armed and ready, we headed into the park.  We took a nearly postcard perfect picture (for our family) right inside the front gates.  And then we were off to find some fun!

Because we ended up booking our tickets as a package, we were able to go to Mickey's Toontown Madness for a little show and to become Honorary Toontown Citizens.  We weren't sure what time it started, so we were about ten minutes late and missed the parade which was too bad.  But we made it in time to see some of the show.  What a way to start a trip to Disneyland!  Look at all of those Disney superstars we were able to see first thing in the morning! 

Cambrie couldn't believe her eyes. 

After the show, the characters spread out a bit and we were able to put some pretty signatures into Cambrie's book.  First we found Chip. 

Then Dale. 

Then we got in line to see the man himself, Mickey Mouse.  We didn't have to wait too long since it was still early.  And the girls were so cooperative it was a breeze.  I love how this family picture turned out!  Yea for happiness and Mickey Mouse. 

After we left our pal Mickey, we wandered through his house and Cambrie thought all of his furniture was just silly.  But she did comment that Pluto's bed was not very comfortable. 

Once we walked out of Mickey's house, we headed next door to Minnie's.  Smile girlies! 

Inside Minnie's house we had a little tea party, checked out her cheese supply in her fridge, and Cambrie baked and re-baked a cake in her oven. 

Our first ride of the trip was on the Gadget Coaster.  When Cambrie noticed that the roller coaster was made out of giant toothbrushes, thread, floss, and match sticks, she mentioned that "everything in Disneyland is silly."  It was a great ride to get warmed up on, and after that Cambrie was done waiting in line to see the characters, she just wanted to go on all the rides. 

But before we did that, we took a few minutes for some cute photo-ops in Toontown.  Smiling up on the Miss Daisy.  

Breaking out of jail. 

Under the gazebo, trying to get Cambrie to smile. 

And who's idea was it to give Cambrie the wheel? 

Nana and McKenzie sitting by the fountain. 

By this time we were realizing that McKenzie was not feeling too well.  In fact, she had a fever and was acting miserable.  So she spent most of her morning in someones arms asleep. 

While she was sleeping, we headed over to Tomorrowland for some Autotopia driving.  I thought Cambrie would love being able to drive, but since the steering wheel was so stiff it was jerky and hard to keep straight.  She decided that it was too bumpy for her liking. 

Her next request was the Matterhorn.  There's no fast pass for that ride, so we had to do it the old fashioned way by waiting in line.  While we waited Jeremy ran to get fast passes for other rides for later in the day.  We finally made it to the front of the line, sat down in our sled, and were told that there were some mechanical problems with the ride and we would have to come back in about 45 minutes.  Bummer!  We went to Space Mountain only to find out that it was also temporarily shut down for mechanical reasons....hmm...I guess it was time for Alice in Wonderland.  Half-way through that line they had to shut it down for about 10 minutes while they retrieved a lost purse...we were definitely on a roll.  We eventually made it onto that ride and Cambrie had fun.

To keep with the Alice in Wonderland theme we headed to the tea cups.  After an intense Gravitron experience a couple of years ago, Jeremy and I just haven't been the same on rides.  I knew getting onto this ride that I would walk off feeling sick, and I had every intention of just waiting by the exit.  But can you really say no to a three-year-old at Disneyland?  Here is our "before" picture while we are still happy with settled stomachs. 

Here is Cambrie's "during" picture while on the ride.  Doesn't she just look dizzy to you? 

And I'll spare you the "after" picture.  To give our stomachs a break we headed into the Mad Hatter's shop and tried on all sorts of silly hats.  I think this picture is my favorite. 

For more calm rides we stayed in Fantasyland and went on Peter Pan's adventure.  Before we left Colorado I had promised Cambrie a swirly lollipop.  She has had two unfortunate experiences with swirly lollipops in Logan...they always seemed to break on her.  So I picked one up while we were waiting in line and it was the perfect entertainment for a long wait time. 

After our stint in Fantasyland, Leesa and McKenzie met back up with us (they had gone back to the hotel for a nap).  And we were able to use all of those fast passes Jeremy had picked up.  We were able to combine those with stroller passes too and managed to fit in eight rides in just under two hours.  It must have been some sort of record.  In fact, we were flying through Space Mountain, Indiana Jones, and Big Thunder Mountain Railroad so quickly that I don't have a single picture to prove we were having so much fun.  But before we left the park, we were able to get one final parting shot of Sleeping Beauty's Castle, and two very tired girls.  Luckily for them we just get to do the same thing again the next day!