The Happiest Post on Earth

 Tuesday morning was the big day! The girls and I were up and ready early and we took several blurry hotel room selfies while we waited for Daniel to be ready. (Side note: that never happens. Daniel is always ready before me) I severely lack in selfie skills. We got birthday pins for Sadie and Elise at Anna and Elsa's boutique so we didn't need to pick them up in the park. I also bought the girls new shirts for Disneyland. 

When we arrived at the park we had to wait for half hour in the line just to get in. Elise told us she wanted to go back to the hotel room. Awesome. When Daniel told her he wouldn't carry her she pouted. We were off to a great start.

All was soon forgotten when we passed through the gates. We took a picture by the entrance and then walked onto Main Street and ran into Mickey himself! While Daniel and Elise waited in that line Sadie grabbed a quick autograph from Daisy Duck. 

We took a very happy picture with Mickey and grabbed another iconic shot in front of the castle.

We then continued on to our first exciting ride. Dumbo. And the wait was over half an hour. I tried to stay positive about waiting that long for a glorified carnival ride since Sadie and Elise were excited. 

 The girls insisted on the carousel next. Daniel and I took a deep breath and tried not to think about how much we paid for these dinky rides. 

After that things picked up and we rode several things in Fantasyland. We made a few mistakes. We rode on Snow White's Scary Adventure, which is a slow ride that focuses all on the evil queen. The girls were both a little scared, but then I made everyone go on Matterhorn. I had no memory of it being super scary, but Elise was crying by the end and declared that she wouldn't go on any more rides. Again, Daniel and I had to take deep breaths and not think about how much money we paid. Elise and I waited in a long line to meet Cinderella, Snow White and Cinderella, while Daniel and Sadie went on Peter Pan's Flight. Lou didn't complain about the wait, so it was ok with me. All my pictures with the princesses came out blurry except this one. Oh well.

Watching Elise meet the princesses was pretty adorable. She had tears in her eyes and she gave them all the most sincere hugs. We did some more rides, including the tea cups. Yay for Dramamine! 

Splash Mountain was a highlight. I loved the guy behind us. Elise wimped out right before the ride so she and Daniel didn't go on it. 

 

Toontown was kind of a bust but we got a few cute pictures and rode on the small roller coaster.

 

We also met Aurora and Tinkerbell. I felt bad for Aurora. A very awkward teenage boy a few people ahead of us in line requested a dance with her, which she obliged. But then he didn't stop. It was so so so awkward to watch. 

Tinkerbell was adorable. She was so tiny and incredibly engaging with our girls.

We rode on more rides, including Thunder Mountain and some other things I am blanking on. Thunder Mountain was probably the family favorite of the day because there was nothing scary about it. My girls like the thrill portion of roller coasters, but they don't like the scary/spooky parts that Disney adds. One of their favorite rides was Small World, which is kinda lame in my book.

By 4:30 that afternoon we were all feeling tired but I was determined to stay at the park all day, so Daniel and I decided to try eating at Cafe Orleans, which we told Elise was Tiana's restaurant. The girls ate that up. They loved it. While we were waiting to be seated (and Daniel and Sadie were riding rides) Lou and I checked out a crystal shop. Crystal shop meaning everything in the store had crystals in it or was made of glass. 

Elise tried on every single tiara they had. I counted and I think there were like 55 of them? The above series of pictures cracks me up. Lou was in heaven.

We were all in heaven once we got seated at Cafe Orleans. I didn't realize how tired my legs were. I drank my first Diet Coke in 2 months and it was amazing. The girls were thrilled that Daniel ordered gumbo, since Tiana is famous for it. I got a braised beef crepe which was mighty tasty. And of course we had to try Tiana's other specialty- beignets. These ones were shaped like Mickey because, duh. The girls ate most of them. Daniel and I got a few bites in.

 While the restaurant dinner at Disneyland was totally out of my overly frugal comfort zone, I think it was well worth it. We all recharged and went on a few more rides before settling into our spots for the big parade. My friend Savannah told me it was life changing and she cried (not dramatic or anything) so I was interested what would happen. 

Well what do you know? I didn't cry but it was probably my favorite part of the whole day. Sadie and Elise's faces were priceless. It was the best parade I have ever seen.  

All of our favorite Disney characters were in it. The floats were spectacular. The music was fun and catchy. Disney knows how to do it. Looking at these pictures of the girls still makes me happy.

 And of course the best part- Anna and Elsa.

 Our spot was right by the start of the parade so when it was over we got up and followed the last float and danced. Daniel took some pictures of us but it is hard to tell we were dancing. We followed the parade back to the castle so we could watch the fireworks show.

 The fireworks show was also the best fireworks I have ever seen. It was gorgeous and fun and a great way to end the night. We made the short walk back to the hotel and the girls were asleep in 2 minutes.

On Day 2 we went to California Adventure. We were dreading the line to get into the park, but there wasn't one. Interesting that so many more people go to Disneyland first thing. We got in line to meet Anna and Elsa and Daniel grabbed fast passes for Radiator Springs Racers. By the time he got them the passes weren't until 6 PM, so we couldn't use fast passes the rest of the day. It worked out fine since most of the lines weren't too long. 

Back to Frozen princesses. That line was really long. So we took turns waiting. I took the girls to a Disney Jr show, which was cute. Daniel went on California Screamin', which ended up taking a while so when we got to the front of the line we let other people go ahead.

The girls really didn't mind the waiting. The Frozen meeting place is in the Animation Studio and there were screens up above us all around showing highlights of Disney movies, along with original sketches of the scenes. My girls were captivated by it.

And finally...the big event.

 Anna and Elsa were very true to character. Anna was outgoing and bubble. Elsa was a little standoffish. But they ended with a great group hug. Elise ran to Olaf when she saw him. That girl gives good hugs.

We went on lots of rides because the lines weren't long. Sadie's favorite was California Screamin', which Lou wasn't tall enough for. Lucky for us because the carousel, Elise's favorite ride, was right next to it. While Sadie rode on California Screamin' 7 times, Elise rode on the carousel probably double that many times. Daniel and I switched off. We did all the rides in that area. Mickey's ferris wheel was terrifying when it swung back and forth. I just wasn't expecting it to scare me and I screamed. Sadie and I got stuck at the very top of Goofy's Sky School so then we got passes to cut to the front of any line we wanted. We chose the Buzz Lightyear ride.

Sadie was too short to be seen in most of the pictures, but she rode California Screamin' enough to figure out the exact timing on when to push herself into the camera's view. She and I perfected the ride camera timing on our last ride of the day. 

 

Cars land was incredibly well done. It felt and looked just like Radiator Springs. The girls enjoyed the dinky rides there and we all enjoyed Radiator Springs Racers. That ride is fun. The ride cameras all make me laugh. I love them. Whoever thought of them is genius.

That evening was another important event. Our dinner at Ariel's Grotto with the princesses. My parents sent us the girls' birthday money early so we could take them here. 

 We thought the food was fine, but you don't eat there for the food. Although, I have heard the breakfast is better than the lunch/dinner food. The girls had stars in their eyes the whole time. 

 Jasmine was the highlight for sure. The girls were glued to her.

 Just look at the way Elise is holding Jasmine's hand in this picture. So so cute. 

 I was so glad we bought the autograph books because that made the experience even more fun for the girls. Sadie went through her book and labeled the autographs she likes the best.

 Then, because we told them we were celebrating the girls' birthdays they brought out dessert with candles in it and sang. Sadie and Elise feigned embarrassment, but they loved it. 

 My assessment of the princess meal: super cute and fun to watch. Overpriced. I wish we had done it first thing our first day so then we knew which princesses to wait in line to meet later. Elise and I had already met 3 of the princesses, which was fine because she was very happy about seeing them again. But it would have been even more fun if it was the first time meeting them. Since we won't be returning to Disneyland any time soon I am glad we did it.

Daniel convinced the girls to try Tower of Terror after dinner. He bribed them with gas station treats for the ride home the next day. And it actually worked! They were goofing off in line but definitely got scared the minute we got on the elevator. They both had built up the scariness in their minds and ended up thinking it wasn't as scary as expected, but they didn't want to go again. You can see us on the front row in the ride picture below.

We tried a few rides in Bugs Land and then relaxed by the fountains to wait for the show to start. It was gorgeous and well-done, not surprisingly. I liked the parade better, but the fountain show was still wonderful. On the way back to the hotel room that night Sadie asked why they talk about Walt Disney so much at Disneyland. Even she felt a little beaten over the head with the idea that Walt Disney is the greatest.

We got out the door and back on the road by 9 AM the next morning. Here is Daniel modeling the carrot sculpture he created. He does weird things when he is trying to entertain himself on long car rides. 

It was a very fun and exhausting trip. We are glad we went but we have no desire to return until Millie is old enough to ride everything, so maybe in 5 years? We were SO happy we didn't bring Millie with us on the trip. Carolyn, thanks for making that possible.