Disneyland

I'm not gonna lie, I was very apprehensive about attempting Disneyland with a temperamental three-year-old and a newborn. Especially in the middle of July. BUT, I am very happy to report that overall the day went really well!

(note: these pictures aren't in order. Why is it that blogger won't always let me rearrange pictures??)
We took the day pretty slowly, deciding it would be better to see a few things pleasantly than everything amidst major meltdowns.

After waiting in line for Small World, I started to step on the boat and Liv flipped out. "I don't want to go on a boat!!" she cried. Well, I wasn't about to get out of line at that point, so I assured her that this type of boat was more like a car in water (I'm not sure what that's supposed to mean, but it calmed her down enough to get her in the boat). Then, just as the boat started moving, Chase (who hadn't heard the preceding exchange), turned to Liva and said, "Livia! We're on a boat!" at which point she, of course, flipped out again.

Luckily I was able to quickly calm her down once more, and she very much enjoyed the ride, but that could have been disastrous!

The parade was definitely a highlight for Livia. She would have been perfectly happy to spend the entire day meeting characters, so seeing them all go by was a big thrill. We had amazing seats, thanks to Tyler, Joelle, Rich, and Cheryl, so were close enough to have characters come up to us, shake hands, blow us kisses, and "talk" to us (Smee wanted to point out to me that we were both wearing blue striped shirts. Yeah, I'm cool like that).

These next two pictures should be at the end, so just pretend they are.

11:00 pm (very excited after riding Dumbo)11:05

We had one tired kid on our hands! But considering she was happy that whole night?? Pretty amazing.

Another highlight of the day was going to the coronation ceremony. They taught the little girls a short dance, and then had Cinderella, Snow White, and Sleeping Beauty come out and dance with them (picture a host of ecstatic, practically worshipful little girls). Then they all did a maypole together. Cinderella came so close to Livia she touched her skirt. To Livia, that was like having a brush with a favorite celebrity. Because, as you know, this is the real Cinderella. Very exciting stuff. I actually couldn't stop grinning myself--it was so cute to watch!


Showing the girls how to curtsyAnother HUGE moment. Meeting Mickey Mouse. The grin speaks for itself.


Now you've seen some of the best moments of the day...here's the worst. I needed to nurse, it was right around nap time, so we decided to see Captain EO, that 3-D movie with Michael Jackson. Now, I had never seen it, and everyone else hadn't seen it in years, so we didn't realize that it was totally and completely inappropriate for our purposes! There were some seriously creepy images in that movie. Poor Livia was burying her face in Chase's chest half the time, peeking the other half. It was LOUD, and the seats moved in time with the beat of the music. Cool...if you're not nursing. Jane was startled every 10 seconds by some movement or sound. I'd have left except we were right in the middle of a long row of people, near the front. It was, in a word, awful. Next time I'll listen to the signs that say "some images may be scary for children."
(hey, it's disneyland, I didn't think it could be that bad!)

Back to the good stuff:

The carousel was the first ride we went on. It's a little bit bigger than the one at happy hollow. Ü

Meeting Pluto. Like I said, she was at her happiest when meeting characters.
Using fast passes and parent swaps, we all managed to ride Space Mountain and the new Star Tours. We also caught the fireworks show, which caused Livia to whisper in my ear, "this is good, mom."

We had few near misses with disaster that day, most noteworthy of which was a barely made toilet run. But Liv did, in fact, make it, so we all breathed a collective sigh of relief and moved on. Disneyland is truly magical for a child. Not just fun: Magical. And seeing your kids light up and enjoy every moment is worth the (rather exorbitant) price.

I should also give mad props to Jane, who was happy in her stroller the entire day. Except for one major blowout when we first arrived, she was positively perfect. We were all very, very grateful. Because a screaming baby could have made that day a whole lot less fun. In fact, it probably would have become Not Fun At All. Thank heavens for unrealized fears!