disneyland...day two.

our first morning at disneyland, i think i woke up at four a.m.  yes, you read that right.  four a.m.  between the time change and the flutters of excitement in my stomach, i couldn't sleep.  for days leading up to our trip, i had that giddy, sick-to-my-stomach excitement... you know, the kind you'd get as a kid on christmas eve.  i definitely held my expectations loosely; i knew disney with a three year old and a five year old could hold some not so magical moments... but i just couldn't help myself.  i was over the moon.

i laid in bed, wheels turning, until it was an acceptable time to start thinking about getting ready for the day.  because we were staying in a disney hotel, we had extra magic hours if we got to the park by seven, which was our plan.  i think we were all up by six, ate breakfast from our food stash in our room, packed up and stepped out of our hotel doors into the morning california sunshine.

girls posing with minnie and mickey just outside our hotel

i LOVED staying at the disneyland hotel for many reasons, but one of them was that our hotel doors lead right to downtown disney.  it was about a five to ten minute walk through the shops and restaurants of downtown disney to the gates of the parks.  all around, disneyland was so much more laid back than disney world, where i grew up going.  which for us, having young kids, was perfect.  compared to the pomp and circumstance in florida, having to take a boat ride to even catch a glimpse of the front gates, in california you merely walk up to the gates and there it is.  i kind of loved it's simplicity... no fuss, no strollers, our kids walked the ENTIRE time.  it was awesome.

here we were!  first glimpse of disneyland... we were a little excited (and the girls had no idea what to think!) ;)

heading through the gates, i couldn't wait for the girls to get their first glimpse of the castle.  again, much more simple than disney world... but it was partly pink, so that was a win in their book, nevermind it was half the size :) it was fun to see walt disney's apartment above the fire station and walk the streets he used to walk early in the morning before the park had opened.  after this trip, i am totally fascinated with him as a person.  pretty amazing what a little imagination can bring to millions of families in countless generations.  so inspiring.

first glimpse of sleeping beauty castle!

walt & mickey

it was fun being there at 7:30 before the crowds had gathered... first stop: family pics by the castle, of course!)

we rode a couple of rides in tomorrowland before heading straight through the castle to fantasyland.  after completely terrorizing bella on "pinocchio's daring journey" (literally: she was shaking), we decided the carousel was a good place to go... followed by some rides in storybookland (which was my favorite part of the whole park!)

all dolled up for disneyland's 60th birthday!

carousel!

circus train

dumbo!

for months before our trip, we watched youtube videos on all things disneyland.  our favorite videos were those that told us all about the amazing food at the parks.  seriously; we each had a list of all of our must have snacks (by all of us, i mean even our three year old).  sadly, we hardly got any of them... surprisingly we weren't hungry often, and it was difficult to get to different places we wanted to go if we were in another area of the park... especially with two little ones... even in the name of food.  BUT... we did get churros a couple of times; they were our family's fav.

alice's tea cups!

my favorite disney ride growing up was "it's a small world."  i think i was in preschool when i would make my entire class sit down while i performed the song for them (super embarrassing, but it's true... unfortunately).  anyways, i was so excited to take the girls!  i knew they'd love it.  little did i know how AMAZING the small world was at disneyland!  i think it was almost bigger than the castle.  way cooler than florida; the line is outside where you get on boats, and can even occasionally spy some of the dolls dancing out cuckoo-clock-style as you wait.

turns out, it was the girls favorite ride (we went on it twice)... and, as this video prooves, the apple doesn't fall too far from the tree ;)

next on to toon town, where we got to visit several of the characters!  and get lots of pics :)

pluto!

minnie's house was by far our favorite.  the line was probably the longest one we waited in the entire trip (about 45 minutes) but it was fun while we waited to see all of the details of her digs.

as we got to the front of the line, the girls were getting so excited.  bella said "i wonder what she'll think of us!  we look like her sisters!" ;)

next up, mickey's house!  apparently he was filming a movie and was on the set that day, hence the scarf and sailor props.

our key to no toddler meltdowns on this trip (seriously... i was shocked) was that we would go back to our hotel room every day around one oclock.  we had a nap, some snacks and recharged for the evening.  on our way out of the park that afternoon, we spied someone really special:

that evening, pampered chef put on a special reception for all of us who had earned our first trip with the company!  in typical pampered chef fashion, it was amazing... it was held in one of the ballrooms at the disneyland hotel and included mickey shaped treats, photo spots set up with several disney characters, music and LOTS of celebration.  i definitely shed some tears of joy and gratitude... so so special.

signage

walking into the reception to several of the big wigs and home office employees cheering, clapping and high-fiving

the ballroom

some shots with belle

everything tastes better when it's shaped like mickey :)

family shot

fun getting to see and reconnect with pampered chef friends, meet new ones and especially get to see my upline director, nancy.  she believed in me from day one and sent me encouraging notes and mickey reminders throughout the year, cheering me on toward earning this trip!  loved watching her dance with my girls :)

goofy!

twirling, twirling, twirling

we left the reception and headed back to the park!  

here is the entrance to downtown disney right by our hotel

we went on a "finding nemo" submarine ride and then went on the hunt to find the girls lollipops... we had prepared them for weeks that they could pick out one larger gift while we were there, and a smaller treat... they chose lollipops :)

nemo submarine ride

all this girl wanted was a big, swirled lollipop!

after a lollipop/drink break at starbucks, we stumbled out to the streets already lined for the parade... we ended up wedging ourselves into a spot on main street so we could see.  come to find out, the parade and fireworks were our absolute FAVORITE part of our disney experience!  there's nothing like it.

waiting for the parade

"paint the night" was the special electric parade in celebration of the 60th anniversary

everything about the parade and fireworks was magical.  the girls were absolutely in awe (and so were we).  this is my favorite moment of the whole evening... when bella saw the princess float rounding the corner for the first time... i just love her sweet little face.  pretty much sums up everything that i loved about this trip with my girls:

the thing i love about disney, is the childlikeness it brings out in all of us.  you forget that you're in your thirties, and instead find yourself belting out songs at the top of your lungs, dancing to the music you danced to when you were eight, and waving "hi" to all of the characters with just as much excitement and enthusiasm (or maybe in some cases more) than your own children.  it's awesome.  and what makes it so fun.

after the parade was finished, everyone poured out into the street for the fireworks.  we were a ways from the castle, but the magic sprinkled into main street too, as you can see :)

the fireworks show was a medley of all the disney favorites complete with tinkerbell flying from the top of the castle and projections all over the park.  here are a couple clips where you can see what i mean... bubbles projected onto main street buildings and sea plants popping out of the roofs for "under the sea" (oh, and that's totally nemo "swimming" up to the castle at the end; crazy!)  during "let it go"?  it snowed.  only in disney.

the end to the most magical fireworks show; this soundtrack gets requested in our house daily still, just so you know...

this pic is a little blurry, but i love it.  daddy carrying out his girl at the end of the most magical day.  our hearts were full, and our trip wasn't even half over!  time to get to bed to start over again tomorrow.

best.   day.   ever.

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(read about day one here)