My Favorite Disney Photos ~ Thursday Thirteen

As you know, we recently returned from our family vacation to Disneyland... the first time with children. Everyone had a fabulous time and we are already talking about our next visit when Buddy celebrates his 5th birthday.

Mickey and Minnie were amongst the first characters we got to meet. They were on Main Street and we were fortunate to not have to wait long for autographs and photos. As it turned out, crowds were not an issue the entire time - October is a great time to go to Disneyland. I especially liked how the park is decorated for fall.

We flight departed Central Oregon on Tuesday at 6 a.m., thereby requiring us to be at the airport at 4:30. This made for a very long day and both the kids fell asleep in the park.... Sweetie on the sidewalk awaiting to be seated for lunch and Buddy in the stroller (what became his typical afternoon pattern - although he doesn't always nap at home).

We spent an entire day at California Adventure. I have to admit, I actually like it better than Disneyland itself because I love A Bug's Life and the Soarin' Over California ride. The roller coaster looked like a lot of fun, but I didn't get a chance to go on it... the kiddos and I were on the merry-go-round while we thought he was in the necessary... turns out he went on the coaster as well!

Buddy loves Cars and he was elated to get a photo op with Tow Mater and Lightening McQueen. Another favorite in California Adventure was the Redwood Creek Challenge Trail where we scrambled across rope bridges, slid down hollow logs, and met Koda and Kenai of Brother Bear. DH said the Grizzly River Run was the ultimate water ride. You can bet it will top my 'must do' list when we go again.

Wednesday night, we stayed late for the Parade of Dreams. As we were tired, DH sat down with Sweetie on Main Street outside the The First 50 Magical Years to hold a spot for us. Buddy and I did a little shopping, picking up ears for both kiddos and a Tinkerbell sweatshirt for me. As this was the last stop on the parade route, we had a great vantage point. Sweetie was wearing a 'birthday' button and we were surprised by a special greeting from Peter Pan. I almost missed the photo op because I was videotaping the parade. As it was, I had to pull this still from the video, so it isn't the best.

On Thursday night, we spent the evening at California Adventure for Mickey's Halloween Treat for trick-or-treating and special guest appearances. Buddy danced with Sulley from Monsters, Inc. and interacted with a impromptu scarecrow outside Bug's Land. When we were about to leave (though Mickey's Halloween Treat was from 6-10 p.m. - the last shuttle to our motel was at 8 p.m.), we saw the evil step-sisters from Snow White. There was a rather lengthy line for their autograph, so I snapped a photo of them as they posed with another little girl (I'll crop the photo before I scrapbook it). :)

This was one of the first photos taken at Disneyland but it is one that I like the best. She looks so sweet in this one. Kudos to DH for capturing her true spirit. :)

By the fourth day, we were pretty well spent. We didn't have much enthusiasm left. The only thing the kids wanted to do was ride the Disneyland Railroad around the park. Who knew that the train would turn out to be their favorite ride?!



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