Thursday, February 3, 2011

A Disneyland Vacation...Walker Style - Part III

Our second day in Anaheim began with a bang!  The kids woke up early, scarfed down their breakfasts, and jumped into the strollers, unfortunately a couple hours before the park opened.  Farmer kids.  What are you going to do?   


You start pushing  them down the sidewalk toward Downtown Disney!  That's what!  I love this picture of the caravan of people and kids that is my family.  



Once in the park, Little G and Ellie worked on getting all strapped in for the wild ride of strollering around Disneyland!  I like that word.  Strollering.  I'm keeping it. 




Our first stop was Disneyland's California Adventure Park.  Viewing Mater, Lightening McQueen, and the shop tools made my little J.D. a very happy boy indeed.  




From Grandma D's expression you might assume this bumper car is really zipping around the old track, right?  Um...no.  Check out Little G.  Yeah, pretty mellow.   But I have to say, despite her apparent joy at riding in this incredibly slow moving car, she also took on some pretty crazy rides when the little kids weren't around!  Tower of Terror, anyone? 




This part of the park was devoted to A Bug's Life.  So the whole area was created to look like we were bugs, and we were seeing the world from a bug's point of view.  Giant leaves covered our heads from the sun, huge pencils jutted out of the ground, and this ride looked like one handcrafted by ants.  We sat in a seat that looked like a take-out box being held in the air by sticks.  The kids dug it.





Then the kids met Chip 'N Dale.  Chippendale?  Say what?  





Safari Mickey was there, too.




We were pleasantly surprised at how much we loved California Adventure Park.  I hadn't heard just great reviews from fellow parents of kids under six, so I hadn't gotten my hopes too high.  We had a fabulous time!  




Riding on the swings was definitely a highlight.




But the best part had to be the princess lunch at Ariel's Grotto.  Oh, how exciting it was to see all the little girls dress up to meet and gather autographs from the princesses.  This is such a great shot of Little G and Ellie.  I love that my daughter is the sporty princess, complete with velcro tennis shoes and socks, while Ellie is completely gorgeous and coordinating.  I mean, Ellie IS Tinkerbell, and Little G IS Snow White's soccer playing little sis.



Meeting Ariel was a thrill, especially for Cubby.  She wore her Ariel dress especially for Ariel to see.  Cubby feels a special bond with Ariel because they both have red hair.

   

Cinderella was a special treat for the girls to meet, too.  Even though Emma appears to be grabbing Cinderella's rear, and prior to this picture, Little G looked up Cinderella's dress to check to see if her shoes were really glass, the gracious princess still signed our autograph books and smiled for the camera.



Then the princess parade continued with Princess Aurora.




Belle




Snow White




Princess Cubby




Princess Emma




Our lunch at Ariel's Grotto was fabulous.  So what's wrong with these guys?  Lighten up a little!  It's a princess lunch, not an episode of the Sopranos!!




Ellie made a new friend with a stuffed Dumbo.  What a sweetheart!!



And then it was family picture time.  I love this shot of my sister's family.  




And there we are!  This was such a fabulous, wonderful morning at California Adventure!  What could possibly top this?  Well, just you wait, this afternoon is pretty exciting.....see you next time for Part IV of the Walker Family Disneyland Vacation!!!

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