All Things Elise & Alina: Disneyland Trip 2012

Sunday, December 9, 2012

Disneyland Trip 2012 - Fantasyland Fun Pt. I

Exploring Disneyland - Fantasyland fun

First family trip to Disneyland - December 2012

Walt Disney and Mickey Mouse statue

Owl statue guarding Sleeping Beauty's castle at Disneyland

Storybook boat ride through the mouth of Monstro

Casey Jr. Train Ride

Beautiful sights via Casey Jr. Train and the storybook ride

The Matterhorn at Disneyland

Plenty of smiles and laughter on our first day of fun

Dumbo the flying elephant ride - the girls loved it!

Disclaimer: I must inform you that over the next few weeks this blog will undergo a transformation into "All Things Disneyland", woohoo! We just spent FIVE days exploring Disneyland and California Adventure Park, and we pretty much covered both parks in their entirety. Elise had been putting on the pressure for about three months before we finally decided to grant her wishes. A friend at her preschool went and raved about it, so from then on she knew she had to go. It's funny how they suddenly develop such strong will, but who can blame her, after all, it is the "Happiest Place on Earth". We are very happy to report that the girls did fantastic on this big road trip and travel adventure. We were cautiously optimistic about how well they would do, especially considering how often you hear comments that it is better to wait until your kids get older to visit the park, etc. Elise is 3 1/2 and Alina is 15-months-old, and they both loved it there. Granted there were more than a few meltdowns, as we had long days and they didn't always nap, but overall they were both little troopers.

Elise and Alina loved the rides. We were also fortunate to have nana spend the first day with us. Nana was a trooper as well. Despite her broken ankle, she still made the long trip and went on all the rides. The girls enjoyed having her there to share in all the fun and excitement. We probably went on at least 20+ rides the first day alone, most of them being in Fantasyland. Many of these rides brought back those fun childhood Disneyland memories. Alice in Wonderland was one of my favorites as a little girl, so it was quite fun getting to take my daughters on the ride 25+ years later. Elise especially loved the Teacups, Dumbo the Flying Elephant and the Casey Jr. Train ride. She definitely preferred the outdoor rides, as the other darker Fantasyland rides were a bit overwhelming for her at first. In the beginning, she hid her head during all the dark parts, but by the end of the day she built up her courage and insisted on going on every single Fantasyland ride regardless of how dark it was. Alina enjoyed all the rides, she didn't care if they were dark or not, that little daredevil was just happy to be on the move, and in her case the faster the better.