Two days ago we made the trip to Disneyland. The weather was nice. The crowds were decent. The children were well-behaved. It was a good time. However, I think all of us agreed that California Adventure was a more relaxed and nicer place to be than Disneyland itself. It probably is something that varies due to the ages and interests of the group going - but the new Cars Land won us over instantly. It was amazing. They did such a wonderful job of recreating everything! Lightening McQueen and Mator are a huge hit in our house and have been for quite a while...so to see them (and yes, they were lifesize talking and moving vehicles) was magical for Jackson...maybe even moreso than Mickey Mouse - although that was a sweet moment as well!
We thought that possibly we would make it to 8:15 pm for the water/color show - BUT - Jackson didn't nap a wink all day and Sawyer was surviving on 2 short 15 min cat naps! It would have been like playing with fire staying the additional couple hours. As it was, we had eye rubbing and short fuses happening! We didn't even want to risk our always anticipated Rainforest Cafe dinner as I just didn't think it would be enjoyable with the tired children! So we left around 6:30/7 ish.
I thought we were in a blissful state of quiet on the way home when both boys crashed...but about 45 mins away from home, Jackson woke in a bit of a panic. Crying, coughing, crying some more. He kept saying 'woke up...woke up'. You couldn't reason with him. After (what seemed like forever) about 10 minutes of this behavior, I think he woke up more completely and we were able to talk and, I use this term loosely, reason with him. Really we were just able to talk him down and distract him. He went to bed almost instantly...and slept til morning. The next morning when he woke up I asked what happened last night in the car and he said 'I scared Mama.' Break my heart :(
BUT - that 10 minutes was the worst part of the whole day. Everything else far exceeded my expectations. The boys were great. There were NO potty accidents (I'm shocked!). The lines were short. And there was magic on Moose's face. Mission Accomplished.
Melted my heart that he walked up to him with open arms!
What are the chances of two characters at once?! VERY rare!
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| Perfect timing when Pluto sauntered across the street to join Mickey for the last two kids before their show! |
Waiting patiently for his turn with McQueen
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| Ka_chow! |
Enjoying a sucker!
Bustin' a Move!...
Probably mine and Mooses favorite ride! Did I mention we loved Cars Land?!?!
Christmas decorations were already out!
Jackson had a thing with greeting the characters with a 'pound' - funny!
There's this store...and I'll admit...I figured it would be a HUGE waste of time and money...where you can customely build your own vehicle - kindof like a Build-a-Bear for Boys! Anywhos...Trev was dying to do it with Moose. We left it til the end and I was pushing to pass on it because of the level of tiredness...but they did it - and I'm so glad they did. "Monster Mator" as Moose calls him has rarely left his side and he sleeps with him too. He chose which car, he chose to make it into a monster truck, and he loves it. On the way home we asked what his favorite part was, and he said "Monster Mator". So - in the end it was worth it. He got to help build him with the tools. It was all around a good father-son activity! Cute.
He stopped right in the middle of the store to play with him.
This was the wrap up activity! And this little boy was ready to pack it in!...
Thank You Disneyland...we will see you again :)
