It's a Small World After All

I guess no one can accuse us of wasting time during the last week of winter break. After a five-year absence, we returned to Disneyland and California Adventure for a three-day park-hopping extravaganza. It was Evan's first trip, and Nathan was only two years old when we last visited in December of 2007. It was a busy, but awesome trip, as Disney vacays always are. We were lucky to hit when the weather was really pleasant--no rain and no freezing cold (it got chilly when the sun set, but there were plenty of nice hours before then).

Despite our nostalgic longings for Disneyland, we spent the entire first day in California Adventure. We absolutely had to check out the new Cars Land, themed after the Cars movies. It really didn't disappoint, and it felt as if you were walking into a real-life version of the cartoon.

Evan was just an inch too short to ride the new Radiator Springs ride (in fact, he was an inch too short for many of the big rides, but we didn't make an issue out of it), but Nathan and I loved it.

We spent lots of time in A Bug's Land and on Paradise Pier, where we happened to meet up with our friends the Shelofskys, who were visiting the same day. Nathan, Abe and I rode the ferris wheel. I didn't freak out until we got to the top.

 

Evan loved the carousel. I love this shot.

We opted not to eat dinner at the park, and by the time we walked back to our hotel (which was a fair hike), we were famished. We drove to a local CPK where I think I had the best meal I'd eaten in a long, long time: barbecue chicken salad and white pizza for me and Brendan and individual pizzas for the boys. I stuffed myself silly.

Our second day allowed us early entry into Disneyland. Unfortunately, the stroller rental area didn't open that early, so by the time Brendan and Evan got in the park, they missed a lot of that early hour. Boo! But Nathan and I hit several rides, walking on Star Tours and Space Mountain. I really don't know how I convinced him to go on Space Mountain, but fortunately he really liked it. In fact, Nathan liked all the big rides at Disneyland, accompanying me on Space Mountain, Splash Mountain and the Matterhorn (Thunder Mountain is closed until the fall). I don't think he especially liked the Splash Mountain drop, though.

We got to meet Mickey in his house and get one family picture in. I'm glad we got plenty of pictures of Evan with that hat because we lost it during lunch later than afternoon. Sigh...

We hit up the Jedi Training Academy show in the afternoon, where Nathan was lucky enough to be selected as a padawan. Really awesome show, and I don't think he'll forget it for a while. How many kids get to fight Darth Maul?

On our final day (and second at Disneyland), we made good on our promise to let the boys sail on the Columbia ship and then play on Pirate's Cove, previously known as Tom Sawyer's Island. They probably could have run around there for days.

Hey, Woody!

We really couldn't have asked for a better trip. The day after we returned was freezing, so we hit the weather just right. The boys liked staying at the hotel (but did NOT like sharing a bed, so we separated them at night). Yes, the Disney parks are very expensive, and even in the middle of the week in January, still pretty crowded. But you can't deny that they know how to create a perfect little microcosmic fantasy. And for a few days at least, the real world seems as far away as Neverland...or Tatooine...or Sleeping Beauty's castle.