Disneyland

Wow. I came out this overstimulating-happiest-place-on-earth with the notion that my kids won't see that place or anyplace like it until they are around 7 years old. I don't know if I'll stick to that or not, but it will definitely be a while.

My sister-in-law called and said that her son was out of school on Friday and she was taking him and her 7-month old to Disneyland. They live here in SoCal and have annual passes, so they can go for a couple hours and not feel like they have to stay all day to get their money's worth. Her sister was also going with her 1 year old. I wanted to try it. The kid in me came out a bit I guess. I talked my mom into going with me (otherwise, it would have been completely impossible) and after their morning nap, we piled 3 17-month olds into the rental minivan to go to Disneyland.

We got there about an hour before my sisters-in-law got there so we headed through Fantasyland and back to the "small World" ride. It was closed, along with Jungle Cruise and the Merry-Go-Round. Bummer.

We changed our plans a bit and decided to sit in the shade and feed the kids. After a turkey sandwich, a pb&j sandwich, applesauce, pears, cheese and countless fishy crackers, we decided to try a ride. We stood in line at the "Storybook" boat cruise. I think that if we had the park to ourselves and could walk on any ride at any time, the kids would have been on some more kiddie fun rides. As it was, 17-month olds don't so much like to stand in lines only to sit in a boat and not touch the water. As usual, we got lots of attention in line and one lady even pointed out, "He's eating something off the ground!!!!" Heavens no! I graciously informed her that my 3 toddlers constantly eat anything off the ground and unless he chokes on moss, it won't kill him. Toddlers explore with their mouths, right? =) Maybe I should have told her what else they've put in their mouths before I've been able to stop them....poop, dirt, gum off the bottom of a chair at the airport, pacis off the street, sticks, rocks, grass, lint, candy wrappers off the ground. There, how's that? All of you out there should be feeling much better about what your kids eat.

After we met up my sisters-in-law, nephew and nieces, we went over to Jungle cruise. Closed. We decided to ry our luck and that of the babies with Pirates of the Carribean. Would I do that one again with infants? No. Probably not, but they did okay.

Ellie, Lily and Liam are faithful afternoon nappers and they have done remarkable well skipping an afternoon nap.

We decided to try Toon Town. Luckily they had a little play area with slides and fun climbing things for the kids. They even had a little house with a piano and chairs that the kids loved climbing on. It was nice for them to get some energy out.

We headed over to Fantasyland again and tried our luck at Pinnochio. What a totally frightening ride!!!! I had forgotten or more likely I just had never ridden that ride with the mindset of a toddler. It is dark, has loud scary voices and the little car heads straight for a wall and then either turns really fast or the wall opens up and they are facing another scary face. Ellie had her eyes covered the whole time. Poor baby. We got off and some older ladies said, "That ride is too dark for babies." Well. Thanks.

Our final ride was the Tea Cups and it was nice to end on a success. We sat in the cup and didn't spin our individual cup. They turn on their own and that was enough. The kids liked that one!

Overall, I think they liked it. It was a little overstimulating for them and they went straight to bed when we got home. If we lived here, I'd be tempted to buy an Annual pass just to go on a random day during the week when it wouldn't be so crowded (we went on a Friday). If it weren't crowded and some of the toddler-friendly rides were open, then it would be worth it.

Our next journey will be on Friday when we leave the house at 4:30 am to drive from Orange County to LAX for a 7am 5-hour flight to Hawaii. Maybe I'll be wishing for Disneyland again.