Disneyland Trip Part 3

Okay, finally I am doing my last installment of our trip. What a busy week it's been getting back to reality. (And not a little bit depressing.)

This is a picture I forgot to put on my last post. Macy inherited her dad's thrill-seeking streak. That girl has no fear when it comes to adventurous stuff and is first in line to try out something new and exciting. The second we got to Disneyland all she wanted to do was go on the big roller coaster rides, like The Matterhorn, Big Thunder Mountain Railroad (her favorite) and Splash Mountain. Payson and I hung back on Splash Mountain, not because he was scared of the drop, but because he was scared of getting splashed on. (Don't get me started on that boy's fear of getting splashed.) Here is Bill and Macy's picture from the ride. (Again, dinosaur computer = scanner not working = me taking a picture of a picture.)

A closeup so you can see Macy's look of sheer terror.

That was the one ride that finally reached her limit. She immediately announced she would not be doing that one again.

Our third and final day at Disneyland was busy. We knew we had to pack in the parts we hadn't got to yet, our favorite rides we wanted to do again, and California Adventures, which, in hindsight, was not a great idea. (It is almost as big as Disneyland, for those who don't know, and needs three days in and of itself.) First we hit Disneyland.

LOVE this statue. I'm embarrassed to say it makes me tear up.

During the day they do scheduled showings of a Jedi Training Academy, where a Jedi comes out and picks kids out of the audience to train to be Jedis. They learn a series of moves with a light saber and then fight Darth Vader and Darth Maul. Payson wanted to do it SO BAD. We secured spots up front 45 mins. before a show to try and get him picked but, alas, he was not the chosen one. It was still cool to watch.

In the afternoon we headed over to California Adventures, which I had never been to. I was loathe to leave Disneyland and, even though C.A. was cool, it just wasn't the same. We spent less than two hours there. (Mainly due to lack of time and due to the fact that it's geared toward older kids.) We did get to meet Mater and Lightning McQueen, which was very cool.

The one place that was geared toward little kids was A Bug's Land. It was so fun. The whole place is built as if you are a bug, everything is ginormous and looks like it's made out of littered stuff, like, all the posts are pencils or Q-tips. All the bug characters were hidden throughout the park. We had fun finding them.

Clovers towered over head as big as trees.

The lights were just like in the movie...bugs.

Shortly after this we were so exhausted we could barely move. We went to Disney's Downtown District, another new feature I'd never been to that was so cool. The kids and I ate there while Bill ran back over to California Adventures to ride the big, scary rides, like the Tower of Terror (free-fall drop) and the California Screamin' roller coaster (which closed down for technical difficulties when he was the next person in line to get on. He was so ticked!). He LOVED the Tower of Terror though, which I couldn't even look at. The minute I saw puke shields on each seat I was out of there.

Then we headed back over to Disneyland to watch the fireworks show, which was amazing. I thought it was just fireworks, but I should have know that with Disney, it would be much cooler. It was a whole show with music and cool effects and stuff. I didn't get any pictures, sadly, because Bill and I were juggling a sleeping Payson at that point. But the memories will last forever. Then we drug our tired bodies back to the hotel and crashed. As I walked out of Disneyland for the last time I seriously wanted to cry. I didn't want to leave this other world, the feeling I have when I am there. It seriously is magical, there is no other word for it. Even the smells make me feel...wonderful. I know that is beyond cheesy but I don't feel this way often about stuff so when I do, you're gonna hear about it. If you EVER have a chance to go there, do. And when you do, appreciate all the little things, experience it all, not just the fast rides. There's so much more to it.

And then we went home. After another exhausting day of traveling, it was so great to get home, back to our own beds and our sweet kitty. A huge thank you to Stacia and Kelly for taking care of him for us, and to Mike and Cindy for ferrying us to and from the airport and babysitting our car! You guys are the best.

Oh, just one more picture...my kids' first airplane ride. They loved every second of it.