6/8/17- Main Street Electrical Parade

Phew! The past few weeks have been a whirlwind for my family and I.  We went to Disneyland, I participated in Susanna Hill's "Would You Read It Wednesdays?", Jack started swim lessons, I got multiple rejection letters from agents, magazines and publishing houses, somewhere in there was the day job, I got elected Vice President of a local non-profit, we all saw Boss Bay (Jack sat for most of it-- can't wait to take him to Cars 3!), family photos, Jack punching and kicking Bobby and I as he got a haircut, a follow mom shared Annie as part of blog post about children's books that have math concepts in them and some other stuff I'm sure I'm forgetting. There are so many stories I could share, but I'm going to talk about our latest Disneyland trip.

I'm not a Mouseketeer, Mousehead, or whatever you call Disney mega fans, but going three times to Disneyland within a 6 month period might suggest otherwise (one time was for a  conference, and the other times for family vacation).   It's just that Jack is still free, Jack loves Disney movies, and clever and sly Disney saying, hey 40% off our hotels!  Then next thing you know, you book another Disneyland vacation.  D'oh!

This time we stayed in one of the Disney hotels, The Grand Californian, and at the club level.  Club level means access to this room that has food, a patio to watch fireworks, movie rentals, and a couple of other perks.  Jack enjoyed going into that special room every day, and not going to lie, so did I! We rented and watched a movie every day.  The staff is so helpful and nice in that special room, and really in all parts of the hotel. The pool at the hotel was one of Jack's favorite things, although the slide wasn't ready/open when we stayed there. With all these perks and the pool, it was hard to convince Jack to leave the hotel for the park (Disneyland).

It was also great to go directly from the hotel into the park. There's still a security line, but it's much shorter. We also ate at one of the restaurants.  While it was good food, it was slightly on the too fancy side for a toddler, meaning an hour is too long for dinner (when you're a toddler).  There was a family next to us that had a four year old, and Jack and him became friends, so that helped a little. We also did character dinning at the Disney Hotel, which Jack loved.

Okay, okay, so at this point it sounds like we spent a lot of money on this vacation.  Club level in a Disney hotel is usually expensive, but remember, we got 40% off.  This trip did cost more than the last Disneyland trip, but it was not more than some our past trips (before Jack).  Bobby and I agree we really want to stay at the club level in the GC for our next visit (I swear it will be a couple of years this time, unless another awesome deal is offered). It really made this vacation pretty awesome, especially since Jack had such high-highs and low-lows at the park this time (he liked the rides and characters, but really disliked the crowd, sun, and any line over 5 minutes).   But there's no way we could do club level again unless there is a great deal. Or we win the lotto.

Besides the club level thing, there was one more thing that really made this trip special for me.  Like I said, Jack seemed to be happy one minute in the park and then cranky the next. On our previous trip, he was pretty mellow, but had just turn 2. He was still a young toddler.  I think he's entering the stage that most parents dread, the terrorism threes, so I think that was part of the high highs and low lows. He was pretty content and mellow for all the time we spent at the hotel (we had a half day at the hotel when we arrived, a rest day in between the park, and also a half day before travel to another hotel/home (we break up the drive by staying in Indio or such)).

So the last night we were at the park, he was pretty much done. He kept asking to go to back to the hotel as we stood waiting for the Main Street Electrical Parade to begin.  I think we had been waiting about 15-20 minutes, and I was torn-- see the parade or go back to the hotel.  I really wanted to see the parade, as it was one of my favorite things at Disneyland as a child, but I also wanted a well rested and happy toddler for the next day. Then the lights dimmed, and we heard the music. If you've seen the parade, you know the music.  That synthesized bee sound.

Then Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, Donald, and Daisy, come around the corner on a lit up train, and Jack screams, "Train! Mickey! Train!"   And I absolutely lose it.  I'm just crying and crying, in the middle of Main Street at Disneyland, during a really fun light parade with horrible (or is it awesome) synthesized music!  Bobby's all, "Are you alright? What's a matter?"  I can't even speak.  Jack's still watching the parade, ignoring his sappy mother, and Bobby put it together (he knows me well), "Are those happy tears?"  All I can do is nod.  I was so sharking HAPPY!  To be able share something I loved so much and made me so gleeful as child with my own child and seeing how gleeful it made him, 30 years later.  It  just made me so sharking happy!

I could have died happy in that moment. So sharking special-- I hope to remember it forever and ever!  I'll be on my death bed, and be like, remember when Jack saw the Electrical Parade just like I did, and I totally bawled my eyes out because of how happy that made me to share the parade with him? (Of course if his kid sees it 30 years, on my death bed it will be instead, remember how much Jack Jr, Jack and I loved the Electrical Parade?) And yes, I'm tearing up just writing about it.  I'll just "zzz, zzz, doo, doo, doo"  myself out now; zzz, zzz, doo, doo, doo!

10/27/16- Mickey's Halloween Party

As part of our trip to Disneyland in early October, we went to Mickey's Halloween Party.  Mickey's Halloween Party is a special event from early September until end of October that includes trick-or-treating, Halloween-themed attractions and Character Greetings, special fireworks spectacular, and a spooky parade that starts with the ride of the Headless Horseman.  It is a separate cost from the regular park ticket, but you can enter the park 3 hours before the the Halloween party starts. (And remember, your child under 3 is free, even for the Halloween party!)

In my post last week, Bobby and I concluded that we could have skipped going to the park in the morning (the extra rest to for all of us to treat-or-trick until the party closed would have been good) and just done the early party entrance.  We still did plenty of rides and saw characters when we attended the party.

We got to the party around 5 pm, and there was a decent line to get in (first security and then actual park gate; Disney-line continues!).  I've heard that the line for parking is also long for the nights that of the Halloween party, so if you are driving, make sure you plan for extra time spent parking.

Bobby and I were excited to read that costumes are encouraged (check the park website for rules about costumes)-- we were going to go as The Incredibles and Jack would be Jack, Jack!  And of course when we go to put him in his costume, he refused.  Such a toddler!  It really didn't stop any of our enjoyment at the party, and it was fun to keep getting told that we looked incredible (from park employees). I love puns.

We started with dinner in the park, and Bobby and I both liked the grilled cheese and basil tomato soup; it felt like the perfect fall/Halloween meal.  Jack had a kid's meal, and only ate the carrots and drank the milk, which since he was about to eat candy, we were not upset about.  We could have packed food, but that's not our style. :-) Then we headed to Tomorrow Land for his favorite ride, Buzz Lightyear.

After the ride, I made the boys stand in our first trick-or-treat trail.  The line for the trail looked long, but it moved pretty quick.  The way the trick-or-treating works is that there are designated rides that become a treat trail. You go through the trail and get candy.  Each trail has about 3-4 candy stops. After the first candy stop on the trail, Jack was excited to hold out his treat bag and even started saying trick-or-treat.

We gave him a miniature candy bar and some M n M's when waiting in line for the next ride. Disney also hands out apple slices and other healthy snacks with the candy.  Jack did eat apples later that night when we headed back to the hotel.  But of course, he liked the candy.  I enjoyed seeing his excitement over experiencing the taste of chocolate.  No, it wasn't his first time having chocolate, but he made it seem like it was, which was totally funny (I should have taken a picture, d'oh!).

We saw the character villains and Mickey Mouse and friends in costume, but since we had pictures with characters from earlier in the day, we skipped the lines to get pictures and autographs.  We watched the special fireworks, which Jack ooh'ed and ah'ed over (he might have been quoting me). The loud noise didn't upset him, as we had practice with fireworks from 4th of July.  We missed the Halloween parade because Jack (and us) wanted to do rides instead.  We did see some daytime parades, so don't feel too bad for us.  I've heard the Halloween parade is cool, so if you go, you might want to check it out.

Overall, we all really liked Mickey's Halloween Party.  I liked the special decorations, fireworks and trick-or-treating (so pretty much all of it), Jack liked the rides and chocolate, and Bobby liked the special decorations and seeing characters that you normally don't see. We all recommend going at least once if you plan to go to Disneyland September or October.  It was spooktacular (told you I love puns)!  Happy Howl-o-ween!  ;)

Check out these websites for more info:
Disneyland- Mickey's Halloween Party
Undercovertourist- Disneyland Halloween Time

10/19/16- The Land of Disney (with a toddler)

Phew! What a whirlwind the past 3 weeks have been.  Jack has either an allergic reaction or an infection around his eye, my mom had a kidney stone removed, and Bobby, Jack, and I went to Disneyland! Despite all the downs, there were ups, and I feel lucky for the ups.                              

Back to the Disneyland mention-- we took Jack to Disneyland for the first time! Some said we were crazy. Some said we'd had fun. Maybe it was a little crazy to take a toddler to Disneyland, but it was worth the smile on Jack's face.  We had so much fun!      

Bobby and I went into this trip with the bar set low.  We expected tantrums, freak outs over seeing a giant mouse, and impatience with long lines. And that was just Bobby and I.

We knew that we'd be spending hours away from the park for naps.  We knew that meals inside the park would be expensive (although we found a decent kids lunch in Toon Town for 6.99; not bad). But there was hope, however little it was, that Jack might like it.

He likes the train ride at the mall and enjoys watching Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, so why not a train inside Disneyland?  There was hope that all the bad things a toddler could experience at a large amusement park would be outweighed by the fun and lasting memories. Plus, children under 3 are FREE.

His free entrance was totally worth it, as Jack's excitement and happiness while at the Land of Disney blew all of the negative expectations away by the first day.  Sure there was still a melt down or two when we had to leave the park at the end of the night, but it was because he didn't want the fun to end.  Sure he didn't want to hug any of the characters, but he still got super excited to see them, pointing and exclaiming, "Mickey!  Donald! Minnie! Pluto!"

I think what made this adventure to the "happiest place on Earth" successful for our family was the prep work we did before.  Research and planning go along way; I highly recommend you do some if you're planning a first visit.  Below are some of my tips for a potentially happy toddler at Disneyland. Please share your own tips in the comments!

1) Expect crowds, long lines, and cranky people (including yourself).  You know your child and yourself best in crowds, so having contingency plans (think plans B and C for stressful situations) for Disney-LINE (as Bobby nicknames) is a good idea.  Maybe it's the engineers in Bobby and I, but using worst case analysis and coming up with possible solutions to WC, I think made the experience smoother.

2) Read the blogs and websites dedicated to Disneyland, specifically toddlers at Disneyland.  I liked  the Disney Parks blogs, where you could search on the topic of toddler. http://disneyparks.disney.go.com/blog/

3) Choose a hotel within walking distance.  If you're child naps in a stroller/your arms, great, then you can stay at the park all day.  However, Jack requires a bed to nap, and a short walk (after lots of park walking) to go rest was awesome.

4) Consider a multi-day pass.  We did a 3 day park hopper pass (for Bobby and I; Jack didn't need a pass as remember FREE) and knowing we didn't have to cram everything into one day was nice.  We also did the Mickey Halloween Party, and if we had known that we could get into the park at 3 pm (we missed it in our research), then we would have done 2 day park hopper pass plus the Mickey Halloween Party ticket.  (I'll review Mickey's Halloween Party in a separate post, but preview, we all liked it!)

5)  Down load the park APP!  We used to it to: find toddler friendly rides (you can filter in the app); book restaurant reservations (restaurants in the park and Downtown Disney fill up fast!); find when the parades and firework times are; see if a Fast Pass for a ride was available; and most important, see what ride waiting times were.  Cutting down the wait time for ride lines with a toddler, that was priceless (the app is free, so literally no price, haha).

6) Get Fast Passes.  If you're unfamiliar with a Fast Pass, it's basically a ride reservation.  You get a ticket saying to come back to the Fast Pass line between such and such a time. You may wait a little in the Fast Pass line to ride the ride, but the wait is way shorter than the regular line.  Short waits so important on toddler clocks (see use of app above).

7) Book your entire vacation through Disney (*I am not getting any endorsement for saying this*).   Unless you're a very savvy saver, which I am not, the price to book our vacation through Disney felt fair. We got the hotel, 3 day park hopper passes, souvenir pin and photo, and coupons.  You can also pay in installments.  It was just so convenient and easy to get everything/whole vacation in one place. Plus, the vacation info comes to you in a very cute booklet (gets you and child all excited)!

8) Bring a stroller (or stroller like device).  It was nice to not have to carry Jack everywhere when he didn't want to walk, as well as it was storage for jackets, snacks, water, sunscreen, hats, blanket, diapers, souvenirs, etc.  If your kid is ain't stroller type of kid, try a wagon or one of those toy push cars with a handle or tricycles with a handle.

9) Bring snacks, water, sunscreen, hats, jackets, etc. Bringing these items were part of our backup plans to help Jack and us when number 1 above happened. Disneyland lets you bring in outside food and water (and I think even juice and milk), you just have to go through security (so yeah there's a long line there too; Disney-LINE for a reason).

10) Go with the flow and have fun (because do you have your backup plans just in case the shark hits the fan)!  Sure riding Buzz Lightyear or the Ariel Underwater Adventure ride 7 times started to wear on my nerves, but Jack loved those rides so much.  Seeing him have such fun on those rides, time after time, brought me back to happy.

Witnessing Jack's awe, amazement, enthusiasm and happiness over the rides, parades, characters, and fireworks made it feel like the first time all over again for me.  His excitement was so contagious that I almost forget we had plan B's.  All the worry over whether he'd enjoy it or not melted away in those moments. Such wonderful, happy family memories made forever.