Trip to Anaheim – Disneyland Day 2 (Sunday)

Brian and I were much better prepared for this trip.  We downloaded an app to find ride wait times.  We got up, dressed and packed the backpack before the girls awoke so that we could get an earlier start.  Things definitely went a little smoother.

We got to the park about an hour before we did the day before.  We already knew what we were doing as far as parking, shuttles, stroller rental, etc.  We got to the park and promptly rode several rides with virtually no waiting: Pirates of the Caribbean, The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh and the Jungle Cruise. 

 After that we took a nice little break in the New Orleans area to munch on some Mickey Beignets.  Suffice to say, Naomi was a big fan. 

She did share the smallest of bites with Olivia...

Then we split up.  Brian took Naomi on the Disneyland Train (no strollers allowed) and I wheeled a dozing Olivia over to Tomorrowland where the train would drop them off.  We would have loved to ride the Nemo sub, but the line was nearly an hour long, so no way.  In fact, Tomorrowland itself was packed so we quickly got out of there.  I took Naomi on the It's a Small World ride while Brian wheeled Olivia around some more.  She just sat there in awe the whole time.  After the ride, we stopped in the gift shop to pick out what would be her new "potty prize".  (We really struggled with using the potty on this trip.  My girl is not a fan of public bathrooms; don't blame her a bit.)  Her new prize stayed safely in the bag until I needed to deploy it.  :)  

We decided it was time to grab some lunch and get back in time for a nap.  The plan was to eat at Bubba Gump again, but after a little mishap finding our car (despite actually knowing the correct lot, row number and section letter - don't ask), we ended up in the Del Taco drive thru.  By the way, that place is cheap, cheap, cheap!  

The girls took a good nap and afterwards we stopped back by Bubba Gump for an early dinner before heading back to Disneyland for some evening festivities.  We missed a Mickey Show that I wanted us to see, but that's okay.  Everyone was well rested, fed, un-rushed and happy - way more important.  We still got there just in time for the parade and got a great viewing spot!  

On the way in, Naomi insisted on sitting on some "Mickey blocks", so I took a picture.  

Once we finally got moving we ran into Princess Aurora (Sleeping Beauty).  She was so sweet to walk, holding hands with Naomi for a little while and to stop and take a picture.  I know she was probably just doing her job, but it totally perked Naomi up and made a world of difference for us in that moment.  

The girls got a little bit antsy waiting for "Mickey's Sound-sational Parade" to start (a whopping 5 minutes), but once it did, they were captivated. I'm also glad Naomi was strapped into her stroller.  It seemed to periodically drive her nuts, but I think she would have tried to join the parade otherwise.  :)  I took a ton of pictures and this is just a few of them.  

After that we just went back to Toontown to let Naomi run around and explore and enjoy her last hour or two at Disney.  She spent most of her time driving the Toon Car - she still talks about it.  

 There were lots of cool rides we didn't ride and things we didn't do that we would have done had it just been the two of us (or if the girls were older), BUT watching the girls faces light up meeting characters, watching the parade, and experiencing new things was all we needed to make us happy and just perfect.  

We hopped on the bus to our car, drove back to the hotel, put the girls to bed, and readied for my solo flight with the girls the next day.  

Trip to Anaheim – Disneyland Day 1 (Saturday)

The night before our first Disney day, Olivia didn’t sleep well because of a little stuffy nose., so nobody slept well.  The morning started out with some cranky girls and Naomi seemed very tantrum prone.  We took a little bus from the parking lot to the park and Naomi had the biggest tantrum.  To quote Brian, “This is the happiest place on earth and I am not happy!” We did not have our finest parenting moments, but we did debrief that later as usual and discussed things we could do better next time.  

After several more tantrums, we finally made it to Mickey’s Tune Town and she got to meet Pluto and Minnie first. She was not a fan of standing in line, but it was worth it, she was mesmerized!  We have some great photos coming on our Disney Photo Pass which I'll share later, but for now, here are the ones we snapped with my phone. 

Next we played around in Goofy's house for a bit which she seemed to enjoy.  

Then we went to Mickey's house.  I raced through Mickey's house with Olivia to get us in line to meet Mickey while Brian dawdled through Mickey's house with Naomi.  It worked out great and really minimized Naomi's time just being in line.  She LOVED meeting Mickey.  We ended up being the last family in our admission group to get to see him, so we didn't feel rushed at all and I think having less people around really helped Naomi to enjoy the experience.  

Next Naomi drove the Toon Car for the first of what would be many times.  She really liked it.  

We checked out Minnie's house and had little tea parties in her kitchen and on her patio.  Of course, Naomi had to play with her computer too.  

After that, we ran into Goofy on the streets of Toontown and took pictures with him.  

Naomi rode a little train with Daddy while Mommy wheeled a snoozing Olivia around in circles.  

We stood in what looked like a quick little line for the Storybook Boats.  It wasn't.  Naomi was SO done with the line and made sure everyone knew that.  By the time we got on the boat she declared that she was taking a nap and laid down on the bottom of the boat.  

We decided Disney Day 1 was over.  We also decided that the blog that I read that suggested not worrying about naps was so very wrong, at least for Naomi.  Tomorrow, any activity that involved more than a 5 minute line or so was not on our agenda. 

On the way out we ran into a little street performance with Minnie and Mickey, so we had to stop and watch.