Disneyland

The time had come for us to take our first trip to Disneyland. I imagined London meeting the characters and her eyes growing big and full of wonder as she saw the sights for the first time. It was hard for me to go to sleep the night before! We set out the next day on our trip and I felt a tinge of guilt for leaving Zoe behind but kept telling myself that she was still a bit young; she's only a year and a half, and that we would take her next year when she could enjoy more. Truthfully, Scott and I really wanted to focus on London and let her have this special day to herself so she could fully enjoy it without distraction or moody meltdowns from her younger sister.

After a slightly long car ride of an hour and a half, we arrived at the park and went through Main Street. It was fully decorated for Christmas and extremely crowded for a Monday. We went in search of our first ride and settled on the Jungle Cruise. It was cool but I wish I had a mute button for the guy doing the talking in charge of the boat. Really bad jokes. Next we went to Mr. Toad's Wild Ride and poor London got scared. We tried to see the Princesses but the wait was an hour long, so we headed off to have a snack and check out ToonTown. It was cute but where were all the characters? Tigger finally surfaced at one spot and he had a crowd around him.

I had promised London that she would meet the fairies, so we set out for Pixie Hollow. It was nice there because the fairie music was playing while we waited and then finally it was our turn. London turned the corner and saw Rosetta and voila! Her eyes got big and she ran toward the fairy and threw her arms around her as she cried out her name! "Rosetta!!!" I felt my heart burst and I felt so much joy for her as she met her hero. They posed for pictures and London talked to her, then headed off to meet Tinkerbell around the corner. Once again, London gave a big hug and a proud smile as she posed for our cameras. The look of sheer happiness and contentment really did make the whole day worthwhile. I will always remember that.

Pirates of the Caribbean was a must for Scott and we got in pretty quickly. I had forgotten the two big drops so that was an exciting surprise that I loved! The restaurant inside there looks so cool and is a definite for next time. London was scared at times but we both held her tight and reassured her. At the end, the parrot told her "good job" and she was so proud of herself for finishing the ride and told us how she was brave.

After a quick pep stop to get two Cafe Mocha's, we spent the later part of our evening at California Adventure and London saw a parade with Woody and Jessie from Toy Story, as well as a few monsters from Monsters Inc. and then we toured the wharf and carnival rides to see the glowing lights at night. It was beautiful and reminded me of the boardwalk attractions on the East Coast when I was little in New Jersey. We took a ride on Heimlich the Caterpillar from Bug's Life and the coolest part was the fact that when we went through the watermelon it actually smelled like one and the cookies too. Very cool. I remember sitting there with London and Scott in the little car and seeing the moon over our head and I felt so happy to have my family and that time together. The only way to top it is to go back next year with Zoe and have all four of us together. This story to be continued in 365 days...