Disneyland and California Adventure

Yesterday, we got to go to Disneyland and California Adventure! It was the perfect day to go. The weather was great and there were no crowds! My cousin Danielle, works for Disney, and was able to sign us in for FREE. Many thanks to you Danielle and to your co-worker Jeremiah for taking time to do this for our family.

Here is Elsie, Danielle and I just outside the monorail in Downtown Disney. The hotel she works at is closer to the monorail than the entrance, so she signed us in there, we hopped on the monorail and were let off in tomorrow land.
Our first ride of the day were the Teacups. Wayne had to slow it down a bit for both Seth and I, but the girls enjoyed going fast.

This was the first time that Elsie was able to understand and fully enjoy the Disney experience. She wore the biggest smile on her face all day.

She liked this door because it was just her size.

Our next stop was Alice and Wonderland. I forgot that this ride was so dark inside and Kya does not like dark rides. Luckily, she sat right next to Wayne and he was able to talk her through everything.

Yup, this is how we ride!

Next we made our way over to California Adventure for a little while. First stop was King Triton's Carousel. Kya wanted a fish and Seth wanted a Sea Horse. Luckily, they were right by each other and Elsie didn't care what she rode on, she just wanted to ride! She did get mad at me when I casually laid my arm over her Sea Otter's eyes though.

Seth and his Sea Horse

On our way to lunch Seth spotted Woody. He LOVES cowboys and has just recently learned who Woody is. He was thrilled to be able to meet him in person. I just wish the movie Toy Story was out right now so I could buy it for Christmas.

Wayne just had to go on the roaring rapids ride. Kya was the only one tall enough to ride it with him, but she is smart and said she didn't want to get wet. So we found a lookout area to watch him go down a hill and round this bend. Elsie wound up just as wet as her Daddy thanks to the spray of the water.

Then it was time to become a bug over at It's A Bug's Life area. We went on Heimlich's Chew Chew Train and Seth said that it wasn't a real train. Smart kid!

Elsie was too small to ride on the bumper cars and I don't really like them, so Seth and Kya took turns riding it with Daddy.

Kya said it was her favorite ride.

This was also a great day to see and visit with characters. On our way back over to Disneyland, we saw Minnie Mouse. Kya even gave her a big hug!

Kya really wanted to see Minnie Mouse's "Boyfriend" Mickey Mouse, but once it was our turn, she would not go up to him. Seth on the other hand was more than willing to give him a hug and have his picture taken. Elsie would just wave at him from a distance and then as we left she yelled out Bye Mickey! She did the same thing with Goofy.

Another first for both Seth and Kya was that they each rode the Matterhorn. Even though Seth is smiling for the camera, he and Kya both said they didn't like it and will not ride it again. We will see when they get older.

Even though you can barely see Kya and I here, I had to post it. I tried to enlarge it, but obviously I don't know how. Maybe you can click on it to make it larger.