Tuesday, June 24, 2008

Disney, Day 3 (AKA happy Birthday, Daddy!)

This morning, we used the Early Enterance that came with our Disney package - this got us into Fantasyland an hour before the park opened. This came in handy, because both Disneyland and DCA closed early due to Grad Night. Our first stop was to get Joel his official Disney Birthday pin. I'm not sure what this got him, other than everyone and their uncle telling him happy birthday, but he did get to ride at the front of all of the rides so...maybe it was worth it?

We headed to Fantasyland where Ava wanted to ride the carousel and teacups AGAIN, and then we rode Alice in Wonderland. Then, Joel went to ride Space Mountain (Emily was asleep, so I took one for the team, er, birthday boy). Then he rode Star Tours. Both rides had no wait, so he took advantage. After that, since Em was still passed out, Joel took Ava on Astro Orbiters, which is basically just like the Dumbo ride, only it goes higher. She really loved it. Joel also talked Ava into riding the Matterhorn Bobsleds (Emily took an almost two hour nap!). She said she loved it, but didn't want to ride it again.

While Emily was doing this:
Daddy and Ava were doing this:


After a snack (which was interrupted by helping Peter Pan find Tinkerbelle), we headed to what I thought was the best part of our trip - the Princess Fantasy Faire. They took an old stage in Fantasyland and set up a huge area with a ton of things going on. You could coloring pages, decorate cookies, meet the Princesses, hear a Princess read a story, attend a coronation, and of course, shop in a special Princess store complete with beauty parlor (which was INSANELY expensive!). The best part was that there were continuous activities, and also things that happened at scheduled times throughout the day - always something to do. We heard Mulan read a story (Ava sat in the lap of one of the Princess helpers for this - sooo cute!), then we colored, then we shopped (and Mama decided that $70 was just a wee bit too much for the Belle dress...and of course, I now regret being such a cheapskate!), then we were coronated as Princesses! Since we'd met the Princesses the day before, I didn't want to wait in line to meet them again - plus they all came out for the coronation! First, we learned to dance like a Princess. Then we learned the Royal Wave. Then we did a really cute May Pole dance. It was so fun! If we hadn't had reservations at the Blue Bayou for Joel's birthday lunch, I'm pretty sure we would have stayed there all day.

Helping Peter Pan find Tinkerbelle:


Ava fell in love with Princess Ella:

Ava at the Princess coronation:


My little pirate baby:


Lunch was yummy - we got a ton of food, and you can't beat the atmosphere (right in the Pirates of the Carribean ride). After lunch, we went back to the hotel for a long nap, and then came

back to the park to ride the Haunted Mansion (my all time favorite ride), and then we got the girls' sillouettes done at the little shop on Main Street. This is one of the best kept secrets at Disneyland, in my opinion. For $7, you get two silouettes done (by a seriously talented woman), and for $9, you get a nice frame to go with. We got both girls done and they are just priceless. Emily's chubby cheeks and crazy curls are perfect, and Ava's l-o-n-g eyelashes and hair are right on. We didn't buy a whole lot of souvenirs, but I'm so glad that we took the time to do this.

After the silouettes, it was time for fireworks, so we stayed untilt they were over, and then we headed to bed.

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