A few months ago my parents brought up the idea of taking the kids to Disney. It wasn't really on our radar at that point because a) we couldn't afford it and b) we thought the kids were too young. But after watching so many of my friends get struck with serious illnesses or sudden deaths in their family's, I decided that no opportunity should be wasted!
My husband was a tougher sell. He hates the States. He hates commercialism. He hates crowds. So, Disneyland at Spring Break, one of the busiest weeks of the year, wasn't on the top of his list of favorite things to do. He eventually came around, though...and I don't think he hated it...that much....
I was most excited about seeing Small's reaction to Disney. He's got an incredible imagination and I couldn't wait to introduce him to some real life fairies and princesses...especially before his excitement over fairies gets squished out of him by bigger kids at school.
Neither kid was super excited to go. In fact, they were slightly scared about the prospect of Disney. I told Small we'd see all kinds of cool things there...Pirates and tigers and bear, Oh MY! That kinda backfired, though because he was scared of seeing Captain Hook!! Then his brother told him there's a castle there where your dreams come true. Small was even more scared because his "dreams are scary! <He> didn't want his dreams to come true!" Some mom, I am!! I scared them half to death of Disney before we even left the house!!
Our first day there was less than awesome. We missed out on the Cars fastpass from the get go, our walkie talkies didn't work, we lost my parents for over an hour, and then we took the kids to see "It's a Bugs Life."
The whole day went downhill from that point. The sign on the outside of the show said "may frighten children". Honestly? I think it should say, "Guaranteed to Terrify the ABSOLUTE CRAP out of your Kids!" Hello, Disney!! What's were you thinking????
Granted, it had super cool effects and I kinda liked it. But, it was like we were constantly being attacked by a bunch of bugs...in 3D!!
By the time this dude
came out, we'd been fumed by a stink bug and had a ton of acorns chucked at us (in 3D!). I checked on Small, who is notorious for not liking anything even remotely similar to a bad guy, and his heart was POUNDING! I knew it was game over at that point so I picked him up and tried to take him out of the building STAT!
Unfortunately, I wasn't fast enough. Almost at that exact moment, a dozen black widow spiders jumped from the roof and surrounded our heads...in 3D!!
Enter Big bawling in his seat....
Followed by me yelling at everyone around me... "OUT!! EVERYONE OUT!!! NOW!!!!"
Well, you can kinda imagine how the rest of the day went. Big was P.O.'d at us for taking him to that in the first place. In fact, I don't think he'll ever forgive us. And Small? Well, he's used to being scared out of his wits...hence the scary dreams...
Anyhow, we followed that up with a delightful show about Doc McStuffins, Sofia the First (who happens to be Big's first crush :) and Jake and the Neverland Pirates. Apart from Captain Hook making an appearance, all systems were go and we were back on track.
But all good things must come to an end....
And it usually starts with Small....
and his impressively strong will.
It's usually followed by an even more impressive tantrum....
and a lack of backing down...on all our parts...
and since he flat out refused to rest/nap, we flat out refused to take him back to the park for the parade.
Poor kid missed out on his first Disney parade :( I don't think he cared at the time, though because he got to go swimming with his daddy instead. And that, I think was the highlight of his trip. I could have saved a few thousand dollars and just sent him to the local pool with his daddy and he would have been just as happy....
But, I digress....
But, I digress....
The rest of us were pretty miserable about leaving Small behind, despite the awesomeness of the Disney parade. So we called it quits early that day. Figured it was best to count our losses and start fresh in the morning.
The next couple days pretty much ROCKED ROCKED ROCKED!!! And it only got better from there!
We decided to reduce our stress and not try and fit everything in. That was a game changer because we could just sit back and enjoy what we managed to fit in.
My favorite two rides by far were the Star Tours ride and the Cars ride. They were FANTASTIC!!! I also LOVED LOVED LOVED the parades. This was the look on Small's face the whole way through both parades...and the Aladdin show for that matter :) It was pretty awesome :)
I wish I could have snapped a pic at the exact moment that Belle blew him a kiss from her float, though. That moment is forever etched in my memory and it was truly Priceless!! I'm pretty sure he blushed :) If you ask him, he'll tell you that the parades were his favorite part of Disney...and Belle blowing him the kiss was a highlight for him, too:) Awesome!
He also really liked TOON TOWN. I swear, that kid could have spent all day there! Not surprisingly, though because it's totally suited for his personality. Silly. Busy. Bright Colors. Crazy. Fun.
I hope this isn't a sign of things to come....
I hope this isn't a sign of things to come....
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What made me smile most about Small, though was how we'd wait for upwards of half an hour for him to meet <insert any other Disney character here> and he'd be excited beyond belief...Until he got to get up close to them. And then he was all like, "Hell no! Stay away from me scary dude!!" After walking away, though, he'd be all like, "Woot!! I met Goofy!! That was cool!!" and we'd be like, "What??? You barely gave him the time of day????"
Case in point:
The kid cracks me up :)
Big's favorite part by far was all. things. Star Wars. Did you know they have a build your own lightsaber bar there? Well, Big found it. And we didn't hear the end of it until we caved and bought him his own lightsaber. He spent the next 2 days rebuilding it and taking it apart....wash, rinse, repeat. Totally how that kid rolls!
Those lightsabers are going to be the death of me...and my living room!!! Just saying...
Big also really liked the Buzz Lightyear ride. I mean, who doesn't love a ride where you can spin around and shoot at neon targets all over the place. I was sitting next to Big so I didn't get a shot of him, but this pretty much sums it up....
Final scores:
Daddy (56,000) Mommy (26,000) Ammy (19,000) Big (11,000) Small (4200) Papa (1900)
Nope, those aren't typos.
I'll just let those scores sink in for a bit....
<insert Jeopardy theme song...>
Oh hey, Papa! I booked you an eye test...just because...well...you know...you got your butt kicked by a 4 year old....
ummm....moving on...
Final Thoughts:
- The Goofy Flying School Ride was terrifying...in a good way...not like the bugs show!! It is essentially the Wild mouse ride that I've ridden a hundred times and I knew exactly what to expect but riding it with your 6 year old brings a whole new scariness to it. Getting to the edge and almost rocking over the sides when you go around the corner is super scary, no matter how you cut it.
- Disney in 3 days is too much. It's too much for sure for a 4 year old but it's also too much for the rest of us. Spreading it out over 5 days or more would have been much more enjoyable because there would be more time to rest and enjoy some quiet times in between.
- 6 is surprisingly my favorite age to bring a kid. I thought watching Small would be my highlight but as much as I loved watching his face during the parades, I found it just as if not more, enjoyable watching my 6 year old wave to all the characters and ask questions of the characters and get totally immersed in the awesomeness of Disney. I didn't expect that so I was pleasantly surprised.
- I've heard many awesome stories about the Make A Wish foundation and kids with cancer wanting to go to Disneyland. But, I guess I wasn't expecting to come face to face with it. Especially not during spring break when the crowds were at maximum capacity. I am a terrible judge of numbers but I'd say there were easily millions of people filing through there daily. Either way, we happened to sit beside a 4 year old little boy to watch one of the awesome parades. Turns out he's a cancer survivor of 2 years. I don't know much more of that story. It broke my heart too much to find out more. Not to mention the kid on one of our shuttle buses that was taking some mickey mouse ears home for his younger cousin who was terminal. This kid was about 8 years old. I didn't ask how old the cousin was. But, his mom told me how he keeps making friends with other kids in the oncology ward of the hospital but when he goes back to visit, they're not there anymore...they hope that his friends are happy at home but the reality is more like they're not. Again, I couldn't listen to much more of that story but I tell you, I hugged my kids a little tighter that night and was grateful for all of Small's tantrums and Big's grumpiness....I also don't want to imagine how many similar stories there were going on at Disneyland that week we were there. It weighs my heart down too heavily to even think about it.
- Overall, we had a great trip. I'd definitely go back...maybe not at spring break...and probably not anytime soon. What surprised me most was that although Small's response to the awesomeness around him was almost exactly what I had been craving, Big's reaction was so much more exciting. Perhaps it was because it was unexpected or perhaps it was because he was more capable of dealing with all the overwhelming things going on there. Either way, it was really amazing to see his face light up at the Jedi training show and watch Darth Vader fight a Jedi (albeit, he was slightly scared) and to get to go on some of the more exciting rides that Small was too little for. But at the same time, he was waving to the characters in the parades and he was excited to see Sofia the First in puppet form and he even yelled out and cheered for Crush, the animated turtle that was talking to all the kids. He was pretty much the best of both worlds and it was really cool :)
Speaking of Crush....one last thing...we seemed to constantly choose rides that either broke down while we stood in line waiting or while we were watching/riding. I tried not to take it personally and chalked it up to the business of Spring Break week...but it was hard not to think we were a bad omen of some sort. The most disturbing breakdown was at the Talk with Crush show. Crush was this animated turtled that talked to the kids through some dude in the back doing voiceovers. My kids were totally believing it was a talking turtle, though so they were doing something right. But right when Dori the fish came out, a whale came out from behind and smooshed her against the glass....and that was how it ended....with Dori smooshed up against the glass by a giant whale...Umm, can you say malfunction??? They quickly shoved us out the door so they could "send some divers down to save Dori" which otherwise means, "unstuck the animation reel". But, man!! Every time we walked past there, Small kept wanting to go in and see if Dori was saved yet. I mean, if it wasn't the Scary Bugs, Captain Hook or the Castle that makes his scary dreams come true that gave him nightmares, I'm sure Dori smooshed against the glass by a giant whale probably didn't help!!!
And that, my friend's, is how the Magic Begins :)
- I've heard many awesome stories about the Make A Wish foundation and kids with cancer wanting to go to Disneyland. But, I guess I wasn't expecting to come face to face with it. Especially not during spring break when the crowds were at maximum capacity. I am a terrible judge of numbers but I'd say there were easily millions of people filing through there daily. Either way, we happened to sit beside a 4 year old little boy to watch one of the awesome parades. Turns out he's a cancer survivor of 2 years. I don't know much more of that story. It broke my heart too much to find out more. Not to mention the kid on one of our shuttle buses that was taking some mickey mouse ears home for his younger cousin who was terminal. This kid was about 8 years old. I didn't ask how old the cousin was. But, his mom told me how he keeps making friends with other kids in the oncology ward of the hospital but when he goes back to visit, they're not there anymore...they hope that his friends are happy at home but the reality is more like they're not. Again, I couldn't listen to much more of that story but I tell you, I hugged my kids a little tighter that night and was grateful for all of Small's tantrums and Big's grumpiness....I also don't want to imagine how many similar stories there were going on at Disneyland that week we were there. It weighs my heart down too heavily to even think about it.
- Overall, we had a great trip. I'd definitely go back...maybe not at spring break...and probably not anytime soon. What surprised me most was that although Small's response to the awesomeness around him was almost exactly what I had been craving, Big's reaction was so much more exciting. Perhaps it was because it was unexpected or perhaps it was because he was more capable of dealing with all the overwhelming things going on there. Either way, it was really amazing to see his face light up at the Jedi training show and watch Darth Vader fight a Jedi (albeit, he was slightly scared) and to get to go on some of the more exciting rides that Small was too little for. But at the same time, he was waving to the characters in the parades and he was excited to see Sofia the First in puppet form and he even yelled out and cheered for Crush, the animated turtle that was talking to all the kids. He was pretty much the best of both worlds and it was really cool :)
Speaking of Crush....one last thing...we seemed to constantly choose rides that either broke down while we stood in line waiting or while we were watching/riding. I tried not to take it personally and chalked it up to the business of Spring Break week...but it was hard not to think we were a bad omen of some sort. The most disturbing breakdown was at the Talk with Crush show. Crush was this animated turtled that talked to the kids through some dude in the back doing voiceovers. My kids were totally believing it was a talking turtle, though so they were doing something right. But right when Dori the fish came out, a whale came out from behind and smooshed her against the glass....and that was how it ended....with Dori smooshed up against the glass by a giant whale...Umm, can you say malfunction??? They quickly shoved us out the door so they could "send some divers down to save Dori" which otherwise means, "unstuck the animation reel". But, man!! Every time we walked past there, Small kept wanting to go in and see if Dori was saved yet. I mean, if it wasn't the Scary Bugs, Captain Hook or the Castle that makes his scary dreams come true that gave him nightmares, I'm sure Dori smooshed against the glass by a giant whale probably didn't help!!!
And that, my friend's, is how the Magic Begins :)
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