Saturday, April 7th:
Ella, Logan, and Lia all wearing their Mickey ears (that they received as Christmas gifts) while waiting for our plane at the airport.
Ella and I seated on our plane and ready to go!
Sunday, April 8th:
After arriving at our hotel at 11 p.m. the night before, we were very grateful for a slow morning the next day. The kids stayed in bed and watched cartoons on the TV while Ron went to the grocery store to stock up on our breakfast and lunch food for the week.
After breakfast, the kids immediately wanted to go to the pool. Luckily, since the weather was so nice, it was warm enough to go swimming at 10 o'clock.
Ella getting ready to jump in the pool.
Ron holding Lia up in the air. This is one of their favorite "games" to play in the water. The funny thing is that Ron used to do this to me when we were dating and newly weds.
Logan getting ready to push off the wall.
Ron and Lia posing for mama!
We then went to Downtown Disney two times this day. The first time before lunch to shop at the Disney Store and the second time in the evening for dinner (after attending a sales presentation and swimming a second time in the pool). Here are the kids and I standing below the entrance of Downtown Disney before heading in for our morning shopping.
The children were all fascinated with the Lego Store and the amazing Lego creations in front of it like this Belle and the Beast.
Ella loved the water fountain and practically wanted to jump in it!
Of course, Logan had to get in on the fun.
All three kiddos.
The girls and me posing with the Lego "Friends" girls. We have loved this Lego line for years ever since Lia discovered it when she was five.
We ended up eating at Tortilla Jo's in Downtown Disney because they did not have an extremely long wait. We even were seated upstairs out on the balcony and enjoyed delicious food with a wonderful view below. However, Logan scared the living daylights out of me after sneaking a complimentary candy from a jar on the way to our table. He then put it into his mouth before I had any idea what was going on and then starting choking on it like crazy before the candy got stuck in his throat. It was so scary! Luckily, Ron remained the calm one and took him to the restroom where he was able to convince Logan to stick his finger down his throat and throw up the candy in the toilet. I couldn't believe it when they got back to the table, but I was just so relieved that everything was okay and that the candy was out of Logan's throat. Needless to say, we had quite the discussion about never eating candy before dinner without permission again!
Monday, April 9th:
We left our hotel room at 8:30 in the morning to make the drive up to Hollywood to take the kids to Universal Studios for the day. This theme park would normally have never been on our bucket list until they opened up the Wizarding World of Harry Potter last year. Since Lia and I are die-hard fans of Harry Potter, I decided to run the idea of going to this theme park past Ron a few weeks prior to our trip. To my surprise, he was actually game--mainly because he loves scary rides and Universal Studios has several of them. We kept it a secret from the kids until they found tickets for "Platform 9 and 3/4" in their Easter baskets last week that I had printed and cut out. Lia was so excited when she figured out that she was getting to go to "Harry Potter World" (as I call it). Here are all three kids in the backseat of our rental car driving in traffic on the way to Hollywood. It took us 1 hour and 40 minutes to get there on Monday morning because the rush hour traffic was so bad. It's a good thing that Ron and I are very used to this kind of driving in Southern California.
A family photo taken in front of the famous sign right inside the entrance.
Ron, Lia, Logan, and Ella walking down the red carpet.
A close-up of the entrance to Universal Studios.
The kids and me standing in front of the entrance to Hogsmeade (or Harry Potter world). We proceeded to spend almost five hours in this area of Universal Studios and I loved every bit of it! In fact, I could have stayed in there another hour or so, but Ron was dieing to explore some other parts of the park before it closed. It really felt like we were inside a Harry Potter book which was a dream come true for Lia and me. The attention to detail was amazing and it was so fun walking down the cobblestone streets of this village that contains so many elements from J.K. Rowling's novels.
A close-up of the Hogsmeade sign with the rule, "Please respect the spell limits" included at the bottom.
The Hogwarts Express train right inside the entrance of Hogsmeade.
The amazing, Hogwarts Castle off in the distance.
A family shot in front of the iconic castle.
Another shot with the kids and me with the entire castle behind us.
We decided to go on both of the big rides first thing in the morning before the lines got really long. We only had to wait for 20 minutes for the "Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey" ride which we really didn't mind as there was always something to look at as we followed the line outside and inside the castle. Here are the kids standing next to some mandrake plants growing inside a little greenhouse.
There was hundreds of beautiful, floating candles inside the castle where we boarded our "seats" for the ride. It reminded me so much of the floating candles that we hung on our kitchen ceiling the evening after Lia's birthday party. Ron and I were able to take turns going with Lia on this ride while the other parent waited back in the children's waiting room which was located right next to where we got on the ride. I am so glad that Logan and Ella were not tall enough to go on this ride as it would have scared them to death, but the rest of us had so much fun!
After we went on the castle ride, we immediately went to the Hippogriff roller coaster ride. Since the Hippogriff was a pet of Hagrid, this ride was located in his yard. Here is a picture of the awesome, Hagrid cottage that we walked by while we were in line.
Ella and Lia in front of Hagrid's cottage.
There was also a life-size, mechanical Hippogriff in his nest that we could see as we boarded the roller coaster. Logan was actually tall enough to go on this ride and screamed through the entire thing as it was also pretty scary. I felt bad that this was his introduction to theme park rides this week, but he managed to survive.
After we finished both rides, we decided that it was time to get a break from the heat and have some lunch. We headed over to the one main restaurant in Hogsmeade, Three Broomsticks. The food was British and delicious and we were all able to try out Butterbeer for the first time which was absolutely divine! I don't think I have ever drank something as good as this famous drink from the Harry Potter books. Here are the kids and I standing outside the entrance of the restaurant.
The beautiful ceiling and chandelier inside the restaurant.
All five of us ready to eat our British lunch.
The kids and I drinking our Butterbeer.
Lia and Logan enjoying their butterbeer (please notice Logan's mustache).
After we finished our lunch, we headed over to Ollivander's wand shop. This is the awesome room that we waited inside for a few minutes before being ushered through a secret door where we watched a witch choose a wand for a volunteer in the crowd.
After participating in the 'wand experience,' we moved to a third room which was the actual shop where the children picked out their beautiful wands. Lia chose Ginny Weasley's wand and Logan chose a Death Eater wan (because it had a skull on the end of it). These wands are made out of resin and are beautiful, but cost a whoppin' $44! We luckily found a wonderful alternative for Ella and bought her a plastic, toy wand for $30 that lights up every time she moves it.
After Lia got her wand, I had her put on her Harry Potter cape for one minute (since it was 92 degrees that day) to pose for a picture in front of Ollivander's shop.
A close-up of my darling witch with her wand.
We then wandered through a bunch of the shops in Hogsmeade. In one of them, we found the actual dress that Cho Chang wore for the filming of the Triwizard Yule Ball. Here are Lia and Ella posing next to it!
Right next to Cho's dress, there were replicas of Hermione's beautiful, Yule Ball dress. If it hadn't cost over $100, I might have been tempted to buy it for Lia to wear one day!
We then wandered over to HoneyDukes Candy Shop to explore the amazing kinds of candies found in there. Here are the kids in front of some fabulous, candy dispensers.
There were many shop windows with "magical" items moving around inside them that Ella was fascinated with. Here she is looking at a tower of tea cups that were constantly being filled by a tea pot stacked on top.
We also walked through the small replica of King's Cross station where Lia pretended to buy a ticket to Hogwarts. If she could, I think this girl would buy a one-way ticket to Hogwarts without blinking an eye!
Posing with a conductor in front of the Hogwarts Express on our way out of Hogsmeade. Although, I really did not take any more pictures the rest of the day, we spent about three more hours going to an animal show, the Water World show, the Minion play area, and the Jurassic Park ride (where I watched Ella play in a dinosaur-themed park while Ron took the older, two kids on the ride). We left Universal Studios around 6 p.m. before hitting an In & Out to pick up dinner for the car ride home. We managed to get back to the hotel in an exactly an hour which allowed us to put the kids to bed at a somewhat decent hour before starting our marathon day at Disneyland the next day!
Tuesday, April 10th:
We got up bright and early on this day and headed out of our hotel door at 7:15 to be at the Disneyland gates at 7:30 for an 8 o'clock Magic Morning. I learned a few years ago that it is best to be in line at the gates 30 minutes before opening and we made it right on time! And, to our satisfaction, they actually opened the park ten minutes early. Our first stop was the traditional, family pose in front of the giant Mickey head inside the park entrance.
And a horizontal shot.
The kids and I were so excited when we entered the park! After making our way down Main Street, we stopped in front of the castle for the second, traditional, family pose in front of the Sleeping Beauty Castle.
We headed first to Tomorrowland and got in line for Star Tours since we knew that everyone would love this ride. The line was only five minutes long! Here we are about to board our "space ship."
We then walked across the way to the Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters ride. I knew that Logan would just love this ride and I was right! Here are Ron and Logan shooting away!
Logan flashing me a smile.
Lia giving me a smile while shooting her lazer gun.
We then hurried off to ride the Astro Orbitor before the park opened up to the rest of the public at 9 a.m. Here are Ron and Logan ready to blast off. I have an almost identical picture taken of the two of them three years ago.
Ella and Lia waiting for me to get into their rocket before 'blast off.'
At this point, the girls and boys separated for one of many times during our two days in Disneyland so that the girls and I could do some character hunting while the boys went on some other rides. We first ran into Mary Poppins and Bert. Ella immediately took to this 'character hunting' and LOVED every minute of it! She definitely enjoyed meeting princesses and getting autographs as much as the rides!
The girls with Mary and Bert.
We then got in line to meet Aurora who showed up a few minutes later. Here she is signing Lia's autograph book while Ella looks on.
Aurora with the girls.
Getting a princess hug!
One of my requests during our time at Disneyland was not to miss joining Logan for his first time on the Pirates of the Caribbean ride. Since I knew that we would be splitting up numerous times, I made sure that Ron knew to wait for me before taking Logan on this ride. So, after meeting Aurora, we ran over to Pirates where we met the boys and got in line. Here the kids are about to go inside the building. Logan was so excited!
After riding Pirates (which did not disappoint) and checking out the fabulous pirate, gift shop that we had been telling Logan about for months, we headed over to Thunder Mountain Railroad. Amazingly, Ella was just barely tall enough to go on this ride and so we insisted that she come! Lia and Logan NEVER would have gone on this ride a week after they turned four years old, but luckily, Ella is wired a little differently than her older siblings and is more courageous and brave. Although she did not love it, she endured and survived the ride!
After Thunder Mountain, the girls and boys split up for their biggest amount of time during our two days at Disneyland. The girls first went 'character hunting' again before heading over to Bippity Boppity Boutique for our 11:40 appointments for both Ella and Lia. Logan and Ron then went and did their own thing for almost three hours before we met up again with them for a late lunch at 2 o'clock. We first found Tiana down by the river boat and got her autograph.
The girls and the Southern Belle of Disneyland.
We then ran into the Evil Queen and barely got a smile out of her while she signed the girls' books and took a picture with them.
In the mean time, Ron and Logan took the river boat over to the Pirate's Lair on Tom Sawyer's Island and guess who they found? Captain Jack Sparrow! A dream come true for Logan.
Logan was too scared to pose with his favorite pirate alone, so Ron jumped in the picture.
The girls and I then headed over to Bippity Boppity Boutique for their 11:40 appointments. This was something that I said I would never do at Disneyland because it costs too much money. However, Lia and Ella both were able to use birthday money to pay for almost all of it themselves. Since Ron and I only had to pay for tax on Lia's Castle package and $15, plus tax, on Ella's Crown package, I agreed to make the girls reservations and I am so glad that we did. It was so much fun and a definitely a once in a lifetime experience! Since Lia paid for the more expensive, luxury package, Ella was able to tag along for free and enjoy all of the perks. Here are the girls being escorted into the dressing room where they both were able to get dressed in their princess gowns (Lia in her new, Belle gown and Ella in our Ariel gown that we brought from home).
After coming out of the dressing room, we ran into Gaston who was already in the boutique flirting with and teasing the other "brides-in-training." Since Lia was wearing a Belle dress, he was all over her! It was so funny (and kind of strange) to see a grown man flirting with Lia. She didn't know quite what to do with him.
Lia's fairy godmother-in-training styling her hair while she sat in her salon chair.
Gaston made his way over to Lia a second time while she was in her salon chair to harass her some more. At this point, Lia had totally slipped into "Belle mode" and wanted nothing to do with him. I have never seen her interact with a Disney character like this!
Luckily, Ella was placed in the salon chair right next to Lia so I was easily able to watch, talk, and take pictures of both girls without having to move. Ella was so cute the entire time she got her hair, makeup, and nails done. She was very serious about the entire thing, yet I could tell that she was loving every minute of it!
Gaston made his way over to Ella and tried to flirt with her, but Ella was so shy that she just buried her face into the salon cape she was wearing.
Ella's fancy braid with pink and blue woven into it. Ella chose this hairstyle and the colors of the fake hair.
Lia's fairy godmother-in-training putting makeup on her eyes.
Ella's fairy godmother-in-training putting lip gloss on Ella's lips.
At the very end of the makeover, the fairy godmother's sprinkle sparkles (or pixie dust) all over the girls' hair with this adorable wand with a star-shaped end. Lia and Ella had to hold up a plastic shield to protect their face from getting covered in sparkles.
Ta-dah! The finished product! A beautiful Belle.
Ella holding up her shield while the fairy godmother sprinkles sparkles all over her hair.
Ta-dah! And another finished princess--a beautiful Ariel!
Lia with her fairy godmother.
And Ella with her fairy godmother.
Since Lia had paid for the Castle package, she was entitled to a few more perks than Ella. In addition to getting a new dress, crown, and wand, she was able to have a private photo shoot in an adjacent room to the boutique complete with a miniature, Cinderella carriage. Luckily, Ella was allowed to go with her. Here are both of our beautiful princesses posing with some animals in the studio.
The girls in front of the darling, Cinderella carriage.
The girls inside the carriage.
Another shot of the carriage with the girls inside of it.
The final perk of purchasing the Castle Package is that another fairy godmother-in-training personally escorts you to the front of the line at the Royal Hall (a.k.a. "the princess house) which normally has an hour or so long wait this time of day. We were able to walk straight into the house and meet Cinderella first!
And, our beloved Ariel was next!
Ariel posing with our little princesses.
Since Ariel has been a family favorite since Lia was three years old, I had to jump into a picture, too.
Lastly, the girls met Snow White in the Royal Hall.
Posing with Snow White after having their autograph books signed.
After leaving the Royal Hall, I remembered to take a picture of the girls all dolled up in front of the castle.
After meeting up with Ron and Logan for lunch, we wandered over to the carousel to take a spin around on the horses. Here is Ella all strapped in and ready to go.
And Lia, too.
And, also Logan.
All three of our adorable kiddos.
We then went to Alice In Wonderland's teacup ride which is one of my favorites. Here are Ron and the kids ready to go in a turquoise teacup that Lia always insists we ride in!
A close-up of the kiddos.
Lia, Ella, and I then split off from Ron for a few minutes to go hunt down Elena of Avalor--one of the new princesses in the park that Ella has recently fell in love with! While waiting in line, Ella made friends with this adorable, little girl dressed up as Belle. Here is a picture of the two of them waiting their turn to meet Elena.
Lia and Ella talking to Elena. Look at that gorgeous gown!
One of my favorite memories from this trip happened during this meet-and-great with Elena. Ella told Elena that she had just gotten an Elena "jamma dress" (nightgown) for Easter the week before. When Elena heard this, she immediately declared that they needed to have a slumber party! It was so cute! Ella has since asked me multiple times when we are going to have Elena over for a slumber party at our house.
The girls hugging Elena goodbye.
As we were walking back to meet Ron and Logan, we ran into the Fairy Godmother by mistake. She was just changing locations, so Lia and Ella were able to walk with her from the front of the castle to the back of the castle which was super fun.
The girls with the Fairy Godmother.
We then met up with Ron and Logan again at the Royal Theatre to watch an adorable, live version of Tangled. All three children sat together on a circle carpet on the floor to watch the play.
Flynn Rider and Rapunzel acting out the scene with the floating lanterns.
My friend, Andrea, gave me the great tip to stay after the show for the chance to meet Flynn Rider and Rapunzel. The Disney employees do not announce this, so only a few people "in the know," remained in the theatre to wait for Flynn and Rapunzel to come back out. It totally worked and we only had to wait in line a few minutes before Lia and Ella got to meet them. Here are the girls listening to Flynn explain where Belle stands to meet people outside the theatre in the afternoons.
The girls with Flynn and Rapunzel.
We then enjoyed a cruise on the river boat. It was the perfect way to get in the shade for a few minutes and to escape some 80 degree weather!
The kids looking out of the river boat before setting sail!
Ella and Logan crossing the rope bridge at Tarzan's tree house.
We ate dinner at one my favorite restaurant in Disneyland, the French Market in New Orleans Square. The service is fast, the food is delicious, and there is seating in the shade. As a result, I suggested that we eat there and everyone was happy there.
After dinner, we then hopped on the train right next to the restaurant where we ate and took a ride around the entire park on the Disneyland Railroad.
Our last ride of the evening was taking the kids on the Autopia ride. Lia was brave enough to drive her own car so that Ron could be with Logan and I could be with Ella. It was absolutely hilarious watching Ella and Logan try to drive these cars around the race track.
Here is Ella flashing me a smile while driving like a crazy lady! We then finished off the evening buying some delicious Dole Whips to help refuel us for the 9 o'clock Fantasmic Show over Tom Sawyer's Island. I had remembered when I lived in Southern California and went to Disneyland on a regular basis that Captain Hook's pirate ship was part of this show. As a result, I did some research last week and learned that the ship is still part of the show and has since been transformed into a Pirates of the Caribbean ship. I decided that it was a must for Logan to see this. So, we rallied all of our energy (although everyone was so tired) and went and found a spot to view the show with just a few minutes to spare. Logan was able to stand up on the stroller seat while I carried Ella which allowed both of the little ones to have a decent view of the show which did not disappoint. The pirate scene was so much fun and was such a surprise as the ship came out of no where right in front of us. There was a massive battle on the ship including Jack Sparrow and Elizabeth Swan! It was such a fun way to end a marathon, 14.5 hour day!
Wednesday, April 11th:
After our long day to Disneyland the day before, it felt so good to have a slower morning the next day. We woke up without alarm clocks, got ready for our day in Laguna Beach, and headed out around 8:30 in the morning. Ron and I both agreed that breakfast at Las Brisas and a day at our favorite beach, 1,000 Steps, was a must when planning our week in Southern California. We headed off to our favorite restaurant in Laguna Beach first and easily found parking and our way into the restaurant with no crowds (which is something that we aren't used to since we used to always go to this restaurant on Saturday mornings when it is packed). Here are all three of our kiddos posing outside the entrance to Las Brisas.
After getting seated, we all grabbed our plates and went through the amazing buffet. Lia and Logan immediately spotted the chocolate fountain like we had at our hotel in Mexico last year, and dipped plenty of breads and rolls in it. Here is Logan showing off his chocolate face after enjoying some of his breakfast.
The Hartland fam enjoying the best breakfast buffet on the planet. Oh, how I have missed this restaurant.
A close-up of more chocolate on Logan's face.
After breakfast, we walked outside to enjoy the amazing view next to the restaurant. It is always so beautiful, lush, and tropical here that I find myself thinking this part of Laguna could easily be mistaken for Hawaii.
A family picture with Laguna Beach in the background.
A shot of the beautiful Pacific Ocean.
We decided to take the kids down to the beach below the restaurant before heading off to 1,000 Steps beach. Here they are running down the path.
Look at that view!
Ron and the kids dipping their toes in the Pacific.
Before Ella and Logan had the chance to get completely wet and covered in sand, we decided to pull them away from this beach and head to 1,000 Steps which is so much more beautiful.
After parking our car on the PCH, we grabbed all of our stuff and headed down the 222 steps down to the beach. Here is Ron with the kids.
After we made it to the beach, we were a little bummed to see that this part of Laguna was still covered with a solid layer of clouds. However, we didn't let it slow us down and eventually the clouds burned off and the sun came out. We set up "camp" at my favorite, Southern end of the beach and enjoyed the next several hours playing in the sand, the surf, and in the water. I eventually got so hot that I went swimming in the ocean for about 15 to 20 minutes at the end of our stay. Although the water was freezing, it was absolutely glorious to be floating out in the Pacific.
Ella running down to the water's edge.
Lia and Ella running away from the surf.
Having so much fun!
Logan immediately set to work on building a sand castle.
I had to get in on the fun with the girls.
The kiddos and me.
Ron helped Ella and Lia with their castle.
And I helped Logan with his.
Posing for the camera.
Ella struck a funny pose for me when her castle was completed.
Logan standing proud next to his finished castle.
My four, beach bums relaxing on their towels.
Once the sun came out, I had to take some more pictures of the beach.
And some more shots with the kids.
A close-up of my cuties and me.
Lia doing a cartwheel on the beach. I just love this picture!
Mom and the kids playing back in the surf.
The girls running up the beach.
Running...
and more running!
After spending a few wonderful hours at 1,000 Steps, the kids all declared that they wanted to go back to the hotel for some more pool time. So, we packed up and headed back arriving at our hotel around 3 o'clock. Since I knew how tired Ella was from the previous days, I convinced her to stay back in the hotel with me for an afternoon nap while Ron took the two, older kids to the pool.
After some pool and nap time, we all got dressed and headed out to our beloved Long Beach for the evening. First Stop: CSULB, Ron's Alma Mater. Here he is posing with the kids in front of the cool shrubs that are always trimmed in the shape of the letters of the school. Ron took us back to his book store where he went on a shopping spree for over an hour buying all sorts of clothing items that he can wear to work on 'College Monday' that they have at his high school every week. From socks to shirts to hats to ties, he came out of the store with quite a bag of goodies.
A close-up of Ron and our kids. Oh, the places he's gone since he left this place.
After finishing up at CSULB, we immediately drove the few minutes to our beloved Taqueria La Mexicana that is just down the street from our 'newly wed apartment' that we lived in for our first two years of marriage. We ordered our food and ate it on the drive back to Anaheim. The food was just as delicious as it was when we lived there. Oh, how Ron and I have also missed this place.
Thursday, April 12th:
Today was the day I had scheduled for our one day at California Adventure. Luckily, the park did not open until 9 a.m. this day, which allowed for us to have one extra hour at the hotel in the morning which was so needed. We headed out at 8:15 to get to the park entrance by 8:30. After waiting several minutes, the gates opened, and in we went! The boys and girls immediately split up for the first half hour or so. I took Ella and Lia to meet Elsa and Anna first thing in the morning while Ron and Logan went down to Cars Land to play around. They spotted Lightening McQueen driving by right as they walked through the main drag of Radiator Springs.
Mater was also coming down the street, but Logan was too scared to walk up next to him to have his picture taken...so this was as good as Ron was able to get. They then went on a few rides while they waited for the girls and me to finish our visit with the princesses of Arendelle.
After having to wait over 20 minutes (because Elsa and Anna were late), the line finally started moving and we were one of the first ones in to meet this beloved pair of sisters. Ella and Lia were both so excited!
The girls talking to both princesses while they signed their autographs.
Elsa asking Ella a question.
Cheese!
Next to Ariel, these princesses are the most loved in our family. As a result, I had to join in for a picture, too.
Saying goodbye to our Frozen sisters.
After we met up with Ron and Logan, we spent the rest of the day with them since there were no other characters in Adventure that the girls and I had to hunt down. It was really nice to be able to spend the entire day with Ron and Logan. We first met them at Mater's Junkyard Jamboree for a spin around in these crazy tractors. Here are Logan and Ron before the ride started.
The girls and I ready to go.
A family shot in downtown Radiator Springs before the crowds got crazy.
The girls and I ready to start "dancing" in Luigi's ride.
Logan and papa in their sweet, yellow ride.
After playing around in Cars Land, we had to head over to Arie's Undersea Adventure to show Ella what we have been talking about for so many months. Here we are in our giant, clam shell at the beginning of the ride.
Logan and Ron in their clam shell.
We then headed back to Radiator Springs since it was time to use our Fast Pass to Radiator Springs Racers. Here are Ella and Logan waiting in line while looking at the fountain.
Lia, Ella, and Logan.
A sixth person joined us for our car ride and we all had the times of our lives--except for Ella who was a little scared, but she did a great job for being barely four! And, just like with Thunder Mountain, her older brother and sister never would have gone on this ride when the were her age!
The kids standing in front of Stanley's statue in Radiator Springs.
After lunch, we headed over to the Hyperion Theater to see the new Broadway Musical, Frozen, that is now performing there. The last time we were at Disneyland, they were still performing the Aladdin musical in this theater. As one would imagine, they did a spectacular job transforming this movie into a musical play. It was wonderful to watch and so nice to be able to escape the heat for an hour.
Elsa "letting it go!"
Elsa making her ice palace right there on the stage.
After watching the musical, we headed over to my favorite ride in all of Adventure--Soarin' Around the World. This is the first time we have been back to the park since they changed this ride from Soarin' Over California to a new version that goes around the world. Ron, Lia, and I thoroughly enjoyed it, but surprisingly, it scared both Ella and Logan. It even made Logan cry!
After Soarin', we stopped for a quintessential, Disney treat--Churros!
A family photo in front of the Carthay Circle fountain located in the main square of Adventure.
At my friend, Andrea's, suggestion we visited the Redwood Creek Park where there is plenty for the kids to climb on, slide down, and play with for several hours. We spent a good half hour in there letting the kids run around this giant sized park that is supposed to be set in the Red Woods. Here is Logan playing with the animal prints that light up inside the Spirit Cave.
Ella going down a slide.
And Logan, too.
Lia perched from a top a boulder.
We then headed over to Bug's Land to enjoy all of the kiddie rides in there. Here are the five of us on Heimlich's Chew Chew Train.
Logan enjoying the train ride.
Lia, Ella, and Logan waiting in line to go for a ride in the bumper cars.
Lia ready to take her Tuck & Roll bumper car for a ride.
Ron, Lia, and Logan getting ready to take a spin in Francis' the ladybug.
Ella waiting to spin our Francis around.
Mama and the kiddos waiting to take off in one of Flik's Flyers.
Another shot of the entire flyer.
A nice silhouette shot I was able to take of Grizzly Peak as we were leaving Bug's Life.
Lia and Ron broke off from our group to head over to do Guardians of the Galaxy ride together while I took Ella and Logan back through The Little Mermaid ride. Here is the photo Ron took of the picture taken while Lia and him screaming their hearts on the ride.
We then met up for dinner at the Pacific Wharf where we dined on Asian food from the Lucky Fortune Cookery. While we were eating dinner, we ran into a teacher from Lia's and Logan's school who was also visiting Disneyland for Spring Break. She told us the fabulous news that Adventure was planning a dress rehearsal of the fabulous, nighttime parade called "Paint the Night" that Lia and I had seen in Disneyland together back in October 2015. This parade was being moved to Adventure and was having its opening night the next night when we were going to be in Disneyland. As a result, I thought we were going to miss it. So, we were absolutely thrilled to learn this news. In addition, she told us that they would be starting in much earlier at 8:15 which was great news since we were talking about heading back to the hotel after dinner because we were so tired and there was really nothing left in the park we wanted to see or do. So, at 7 o'clock, we finished our dinner and headed over to find a spot to watch the parade.
On our way to find a place to watch the parade, we decided to go and meet Mickey. We must have found him right after he first came out because there was barely any line to see him, but by the time we were done talking to him, the line was huge! This was the first time that Logan had the interest to meet a character with the girls and it was so much fun. You could tell that Logan really got a kick out of it. Mickey even recognized Logan's new pirate necklace and covered up his eye (to make an eye patch) and started swinging his arm back and forth (to go along with the "Yo Ho Ho Ho, A Pirates Life for Me" song). I immediately understood what he was doing and started singing the song. Needless to say, Logan loved all of that!
Ella getting a hug from Mickey.
The kids and Mickey.
The kids, mama, and Mickey. Believe it or not, Lia and I have never taken the time to meet Mickey before. I just had no idea how fun and cute it would be to interact with this fur character who couldn't even talk.
We had to wait about an hour for the "Paint the Night" parade to start, but it was so worth it. We got a spot on the curb right where the parade began and thoroughly enjoyed being a part of the first audience that got to see this parade take place in Adventure. I loved seeing this nighttime parade so much back in 2015 and I was so excited that all three of my kids and Ron got to see it during this visit!
Rosetta, Iridessa, and Silvermist--the fairies who were at the beginning of the parade.
The amazing float that followed the fairies with Tinkerbell flying out front and Peter Pan up on top.
A close-up of the drum with Peter Pan sitting atop.
Mike on the back of the Monster's Inc. float.
Lightening McQueen all lit up.
The amazing Under the Sea float with Ariel at the front.
The even more amazing princess float with a giant Belle at the front! The parade wrapped up at about 9 o'clock and we made it back to our hotel room at 9:30 after putting in a 13-hour day. Poor Ella fell asleep with her head on the tray of her stroller on our walk back to the hotel. She had put in another long day without a nap and really did a great job as well as the other two children. Needless to say, they all fell asleep really quickly after we put them to bed that night.
Friday, April 13th:
Our last full day at Disneyland! We left the hotel a little after 7:30 this morning and still made it to the entrance of Disneyland before its actual opening at 8 a.m. The kids and I first went on a few of the little rides inside of the entrance of the castle when there were absolutely no rides (Snow White, Pinocchio, and Mr. Toad's) while Ron went and got Fast Passes for Space Mountain.
We then met up with Ron to go on the Jungle Cruise.
Lia getting ready to sail away on the boat.
We then ran into Captain Jack Sparrow in front of the Pirates of the Caribbean ride and had one of the funnest character interactions ever at Disneyland. He had just finished with a group of people before taking Lia's autograph book and pen and running away with it. We then had to chase after him and got to walk with him from the Pirates ride to almost the Haunted House ride. A huge line of people formed behind us and it was so much fun to watch the kids have Jack all to themselves while getting to walk with him. This actor also portrayed Jack Sparrow just like Johnny Depp--he moved like him, walked like him, and talked like him. If it weren't for the slightly different face, he could have totally passed for the real Jack Sparrow!
Jack talking to Logan and Lia.
Jack signing Ella's autograph book.
The kids with Jack! What a fun and memorable experience this was for them.
Lia and Ron then ran off to have the time of their lives on Space Mountain while I took Logan and Ella back to go on the Pirates of the Caribbean ride and to the pirate store for more shopping.
We then met back up at Pixie Hollow where Lia and Ella got to meet Tinkerbell.
Tink signing their books.
The girls and Tink.
We then ran off to find Moana who was hidden next to the Tarzan tree in a very appropriate, tropical setting. She was so nice and warm like any Polynesian princess would be. Here she is giving Ella a hug.
Moana talking to Lia.
Moana posing with the girls.
We all then climbed up into the Tarzan tree after meeting Moana. Here the kids and I are crossing the rope bridge.
Lia and Ella from atop the tree house.
Logan playing with some of the toys found at base camp at the bottom of the tree.
Lia and Ella swinging from Tarzan's rope.
We then made our way over to the Royal Theatre to watch the other play that is performed there on a daily basis, Beauty and the Beast. Just like before, all three children watched from their circle carpet on the floor and were thoroughly entertained by the retelling of this beloved story.
Belle in her beautiful, yellow gown.
Just like with Rapunzel, we hung around the theatre after wards and were treated with a 'surprise' visit from Belle a few minutes after the play had ended.
Belle handing back Ella's autograph book.
The girls and Belle.
We then stopped for lunch and a break from the day. Lia, Ella, and I left Logan and Ron sitting at our lunch table while we ran over to the wishing well to meet Jasmine and Aladdin. Luckily, the line was super short and we were back to the boys in about ten minutes.
Posing with Jasmine and Aladdin.
Ella getting a hug from Jasmine.
After we finished up lunch, Lia decided that she wanted to go looking for Merida. Although Merida had been missing from the 'character app' on my phone all week long, Ron had seen her earlier this morning when we he was alone. This alerted us to the fact that she was actually in the park. However, after talking to several Disney princess employees, we learned that she did not have a schedule or a designated location where you could find her. I told Lia that it would be almost impossible to find her and it would be a waste of time to go looking for her. But Lia begged me to go looking for her just one time and so, reluctantly, I agreed. We decided to just make a loop around the castle (like we had been told to do by the princess employees) and Lia seriously spotted her less than five minutes later. I couldn't believe my eyes! Merida was off to the side of the main walkway across from the Matterhorn playing a game of "Duck, Duck, Goose" (or really "Bear, Bear, Mor'du") with a little group of girls. Lia and Ella quickly join in and played several minutes of this game with the absolutely hilarious Merida! It was pure Disney magic!
Merida touching the girls heads as she walked around the circle.
Both Lia and Ella got chosen and got to have a turn walking around the circle. Here is Lia about to touch Merida's head.
Ella and Lia looking on.
Ella's turn!
Ella chose Lia when it was her turn. So, here is her sister chasing her back to her seat.
Merida helping Ella back down.
As if this moment couldn't get any more magical, Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum suddenly wandered over and joined in on the game. It was so funny!
And then to make things even funner, a marching band suddenly came walking by. All of the girls except Lia, Ella, and one other dispersed to watch the band with their family. As a result, Lia and Ella got to join in on a private dance party with Merida!
The girls dancing away!
After the band passed by, Merida announced that it was time for her to go home. Since Ella and Lia were standing so close to her, they were both able to get hugs from her...
and even a picture before Merida skipped off into the crowd! This was definitely a highlight of the day for the girls and me!
After our chance encounter with Merida, we met back up with Ron and Logan only to discover that Alice and the Mad Hatter were signing autographs right next to Pixie Hollow. We had tried to find them on Tuesday before our appointment at the Bippity Boppity Boutique and were unable to find them, so it was total luck to stumble across them without even having to look for them today.
Ella and Lia talking to this hilarious duo. I learned on our last trip to Disneyland about how funny these two are together. They always make me laugh out loud!
The girls posing with the crazy couple!
We then wandered back to New Orleans and decided to get an afternoon snack of ice cream before heading off to Jedi Training!
Logan's messy mouth covered in ice cream.
Andrea had also told me that the Jedi Training was a must-do activity. Since we had never done this before, I was grateful for her tip that we had to get tickets for our kids to perform in a specific Jedi Training show first thing in the morning before all of the spots filled up. So, after going there first this morning, we signed Logan and Lia up for a 3:30 show. However, after showing up, Logan completely lost it and began crying as he was just too scared to go with Lia. As a result, our barely 4-year old (which is the minimum age for participating) immediately offered to take his place! She never ceases to amaze me. So, the two girls went off to get fitted in their Jedi robes and to have their pictures taken. Ron, Logan, and I were then escorted into the area where we would be watching the kids perform. A few minutes later, all of the children were brought out by a few adults in charge and placed on the stage. Here are Lia and Ella standing near each other on the stage. I couldn't get over how little Ella looked up there compared to most of the other children.
A close-up of my future Jedi Knights!
Ella and Lia listening to the instructions.
After being trained on how to battle an enemy with their lightsabers, the girls were escorted off the stage and asked to wait in two different lines to wait to battle a villain. Here is an adorable picture of Lia checking in on Ella to make sure that she was doing okay.
Ella waiting in line to battle the enemy.
Another adorable shot of Lia talking to Ella.
Both Darth Vadar and Darth Maul appeared out of the temple to fight the Jedi Knights in training. I couldn't get over how realistic they looked.
Ella looking on as the other children fought Darth Vadar and Darth Maul. I was amazed by how calm she was while waiting her turn.
She was doing this cute thing playing with her tongue while waiting in line...so here is a close-up of it.
Lia waiting to fight Darth Vadar. I, sadly, was only able to get video of her fighting Darth Vadar and so I don't have any pictures to include, but she did an awesome job and perfectly performed the routine she was taught by the Jedi Knights.
Ella was one of the last kids to go up on the stage to fight Darth Maul. She was so brave and calmly followed the Jedi Knight (standing behind her) up to Darth Maul and hit his lightsaber a few times before being escorted off the stage. I still can't believe that she did this as Darth Maul looked and acted so fierce!
Since we were already in the vicinity, we decided to head over to the Star Wars Launch Bay to see if we could meet all four Star Wars characters that can be found there. Luckily, we were able to meet all four of them. We started off with one of Logan's favorite, Boba Fett. He was very intimidating and the kids barely said a word.
Posing with the notorious, bounty hunter.
The kids found an awesome, life size version of BB8 made completely out of Legos in the Launch Bay, so we had to take a picture with him!
Next stop: Chewbacca. The kids absolutely LOVED interacting with him. It was like getting to meet a giant, huggable teddy bear! Here is Ella getting a hug from this huge Wookiee.
Chewie immediately took the kids over to his control panel to show them all of the buttons.
A group pic with this adorable creature!
Group hug! He was definitely the highlight of the Star Wars character.
Next stop: Kylo Ren. He was very intimidating and the kids did not say a peep--not even Lia.
Posing with Kylo.
Last stop: Darth Vadar. Kylo Ren had nothing on this guy. He was so intimidating that Ron and I didn't even talk to him while we were taking the pictures and video. The kids wouldn't even look at him or smile, never the less talk to him.
Posing with the infamous, dark Lord.
We decided to take the kids back for another spin around Autopia in their cars after visiting with the Star Wars characters. Here is a selfie Ron took of Logan driving like a mad man.
I rode with Ella again and this is the adorable smile she gave me while driving her green, sports car.
After Autopia, we decided to go for a complete ride around Disneyland, Adventure, and Dowtown Disney in the monorail which is something that none of us have ever done before. Here we are getting ready to take off!
We then stopped for an early dinner at one of my other favorite restaurants in Disneyland that is indoors and air conditioned--The Plaza Inn. We were able to quickly serve up our buffet style dinners and find a corner table with a view outside. As with other evenings, this break was well needed and well deserved.
The reason why we had an early dinner was so that we could watch the brand new, Pixar Parade that was debuting today at Disneyland. We made sure to get finished with dinner and find a spot on the curb before it started at 6 p.m. Here is the brand new, Pixar lamp float that started off the parade.
Mike and Sully rolling by us.
Mrs. Incredible cruising by.
The brand new, Inside Out float with Joy and Sadness on top.
The bugs on the Bug's Life float swinging around.
Carl atop the new Up float.
As the sun set on Disneyland, we enjoyed a few final rides including Ron and I both taking Lia on the Matterhorn before heading over to Alice's Mad Tea Party. I had forgotten how beautiful this ride looks at night with the lanterns all lit up.
Ron, Lia, and Logan about to go for a spin in their tea cup.
We finished off with our last ride of the day on the beloved carousel. It was so fun to finish off our three days in the Magic Kingdom by going on this ride with everything inside the castle all lit up and magical. Here are Logan and Ella ready to go.
And Lia, too.
In addition to debuting their new Pixar Parade, Disneyland was also debuting their new Pixar-themed fireworks show, Together Forever. Since it was the first evening of this show, people were lining up hours before it started and we decided that it probably would be a good idea to do the same since the area in front of the castle and most of Main Street was already full by 8 p.m. So, with a 1.5 hours to spare, Ron and Logan parked our stroller on Main Street to save us a spot while Lia, Ella, and I went to find Minnie. Luckily, we were the last ones allowed in line before the employee closed it off to anyone else. After waiting several minutes, the girls go to meet this famous mouse. Here is Ella about to get a hug from Minnie.
Hugging Minnie.
Signing autographs!
A cute pose with Minnie! We said goodbye to her and then went shopping for a t-shirt for Lia before coming back to find Ron and Logan on Main Street.
After a long wait (and Ella falling asleep in the stroller), the fireworks show began at 9:30 and it did not disappoint! It was the most amazing fireworks show I have ever seen at Disneyland with projected images moving up and down the shops of Main Street the entire time in addition to the music and the fireworks over the castle. Everything was Pixar themed and I am pretty sure that every single one of their movies was featured in this show.
Beautiful fireworks above the castle.
Images of the characters from Coco projected on the store buildings.
Actual skeletons popped up from the tops of several of the buildings during the Coco segment of the show. At 10 p.m., the show finished and we slowly made our way back to the hotel after another 14.5 hour day at Disneyland. Poor, little Ella slept through the entire fireworks show and the walk back to the hotel. We really pushed our kids hard this day and they all did such a great job. We saw and did so much and I am so grateful for this wonderful end to our Spring Break trip.
Saturday, April 14th:
After I stayed up very late the night before packing up the majority of our belongings, we left our hotel this morning around 8:30. We stopped by a grocery store to buy some lunch before hopping on the freeway and driving up to Burbank. Since it was a Saturday morning, there was very little traffic and we made it to the airport with plenty of time to return our rental car and check in for our flight. We had a smooth flight home and were totally shocked to land back in Seattle in cloudy, cold, and rainy weather after spending an entire week in the 80s and 90s. It was such a wonderful way to spend our week off from school together and I can't wait for the time when we can return to the Magic Kingdom again!
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