Spring Break 2010--Day 2

I've been working on this entry for a lo-ong while now,  so I am very glad to finally have made time to finish it.  Hopefully it won't take me as long to write up the remaining entries about our adventures from the rest of Spring Break 2010!

Wearing their favorite outfits, sporting cool sunglasses, and riding in their own strollers, C-sta and Li'l J were ready for a good day!

Tuesday we left Oceanside behind to spend the day at Disneyland.  As the traditional Spring Break season was pretty much over by the time we got to California, Disneyland was not as packed as it likely might have been a few weeks prior, nor as it would get by the end of the school year in a few more months.  This made for short lines which allowed us to see and do lots of fun stuff over the next three days!

This trip to Disneyland was filled with many "firsts" for us all. Since it was C-sta's first trip to Disneyland, all three kids were given a special "celebration" pin as they climbed aboard the tram that took us to the park entrance.  And as this was our first time taking all three kiddos to Disneyland, even though we began this Spring Break trip with just one stroller, we decided two would be the best way to go when spending a few days at Disneyland with little ones.  C-sta lucked out when J-rod found a reasonably priced "Disney Princess" stroller the night before at a local store and got to enjoy sitting in it for the first time as we started out our adventures on our first day.

Disneyland Day 1--

Our first stop: The Star Wars Jedi Training Academy.

M had been looking forward to being a part of this show ever since he heard we would be going to Disneyland, that he and Li'l J went prepared wearing their favorite Star Wars t-shirts that day.  When we first arrived and were looking at the park map trying to determine where to go first, M very excitedly voted that we go straight to the Tomorrowland Terrace and line up for the first morning show. Apparently we weren't the only ones with the idea to start the day out with our kids training as Jedi's because, by the time we made our way over to the seating area, it was almost filled up!  Once Li'l J saw the number of people present, he decided that he just wanted to watch and cheer on M if he was chosen to participate.

Once the cast of the show made their way onto the stage and the Jedi Master explained how things would work, J-rod made sure M was visible to the Jedi Master by "levitating" M over his head and guess what?  It worked!  The Jedi Master was so impressed with M's ability to "use the force" that he called on M to be part of the training session.  After an "intense" training session, M got to put his skills to the test by crossing light sabers with The Sith.  Once all the trainees had proven themselves, they were all pronounced full-fledged Padawans "worthy of training to become a Jedi, the guardians of peace and justice in the Galaxy" and given a certificate for them to take home.  M was one HAPPY Padawan and Li'l J decided that after big brother had shown him the way, maybe, just maybe, he might like to give it a try if we had time over the next couple of days to come back. : )

After the Jedi Training session, it was off to have some fun on the nearby Tomorrowland rides before lunch.  Since J-rod doesn't do well on certain rides (motion sickness) and I don't do well on others (I'm just a scaredy cat!), we took turns taking the boys on rides and staying with C-sta.  First I rode Star Tours with the boys, and then J-rod took the boys on Space Mountain for their first time.  M LOVED Space Mountain, Li'l J...not so much, but I'm sure he'll grow to love it eventually!

While J-rod and the boys enjoyed themselves on Space Mountain, C-sta and I snacked on a bucket of popcorn that was ENORMOUS!!  Since it was close to lunch time, we paced ourselves and made sure  there was plenty left by the time we met up with the boys again!

Though there was still lots more to do in Tomorrowland we had a lunch reservation to make so, after Space Mountain we took a short ride on the Disneyland Train over to New Orleans Square. While planning this trip J-rod was encouraged by many co-workers that since we had never before done so, we absolutely had to make reservations to eat at the Blue Bayou restaurant in Disneyland's New Orleans Square.

This is the restaurant you can see from right inside of the Pirates of the Caribbean ride.  Before arriving at the restaurant for our lunch reservation, we took the kids on the Pirates ride to give them a little preview of where we would be having lunch.  Once we checked into the restaurant, we happily enjoyed our waterside table where we could see the boats as they passed by and waved to all going past on the ride.  

Though the above photo doesn't do it justice, the atmosphere inside the restaurant was amazing!  While you are in there you forget that you are at one of the busiest places on earth, and feel rather like you are sitting and eating outdoors under the stars.  

At first we were a little worried that the menu wouldn't be "kid friendly", clearly we momentarily forgot where we were--Disneyland!--because they had a kids menu that our little ones were very happy to order from.  The food on the lunch menu for the adults was absolutely fantastic!!  J-rod got their famous Monte Cristo sandwich which was delicious!  We're very glad we took the advice of J-rod's co-workers and gave this place a try! To those going to Disneyland in the future that have never eaten at the Blue Bayou and want to try it out, be sure to make reservations well in advance of your visit as you will avoid a long wait and will be able to make a request for a waterside table.

"Arrgh Matey!"

After filling our bellies, we felt like it was time for C-sta to have some fun on a ride suited for her.  So off to Critter Country for a ride on "The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh."  As you can see by the look on her face in the pictures, C-sta LOVED it!!

We thought that since C-sta had enjoyed the Winnie the Pooh ride so much that she wouldn't mind taking pictures with Winnie the Pooh and his friends after the ride and headed there next.  As it turned out she didn't think it was as good an idea as we did!

Once we finished visiting with Tigger and Pooh, the boys FASTPASS time-slot for Splash Mountain had arrived, so off they went to have a "splashin' good time"!  This was the first time Li'l J was able to ride with J-rod and M, but it certainly wouldn't be his last!!

Only a little wet but  wishin' they'd gotten drenched!

While the boys got wet on Splash Mountain, C-sta and I rode her favorite ride again, had fun taking some pictures of her, and changed her into warmer clothes as the evening and cooler temperatures were fast approaching.  Of all the pictures we took throughout this day, my favorites are the ones where the kids faces say everything about the excitement and happiness they experienced that day!

After having fun in Critter Country, we made our way over to Adventure Land where J-rod took M on the Indiana Jones Adventure ride for his first time.  M was super excited that he was tall enough to ride it, but then after riding it decided that maybe it wasn't his kind of ride after all.  I suspect that given some time, he will eventually grow to like this ride too.

While J-rod and M were off adventuring, Li'l J, C-sta and I enjoyed the leisurely pace of the classic ride the Jungle Cruise, where the jokes NEVER change!!  A perfect place to take a little break and pass the time 'til we could meet up again with the big boys.

Next we made our way through to Fantasy Land and then finished off the day back where we started in Tomorrowland.  As is evident through all the pictures, we all enjoyed ourselves very much throughout our first day of adventuring in Disneyland.  

One of the funniest memories we still talk about from that day is about how the two strollers we began the day with are not the same two we ended up taking home with us at the end of the day!  When we walked out of the last ride of that night to head back to the parking lot, the last two strollers left in front of the "Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage" were ours...the two in the first picture of the day...or so we thought!  C-sta's pink Disney Princess stroller was the same, while Li'l J's was not but we didn't notice it until we were almost to the tram that would take us to our car...as the park was closing.

As I was pushing Li'l J, M pointed out that the shade to the stroller was missing, then I noticed that the handles on the stroller seemed to be up higher  I was used to.  As we looked over the stroller, the light went on: this black, with orange and grey stroller was NOT ours!  Since this and the pink stroller were the ONLY ones left in the stroller parking in front of the ride, we could only conclude that maybe because we'd left nothing in it to distinguish it from any other stroller, someone else in their "end of the day stupor/rush to leave the park and get home" must have mistaken our stroller for theirs!  We kept an eye out for our original stroller over the next two days, but we never came across it again. Ah, good times, good times indeed!