The Happiest Place on Earth: Disneyland Part 1!

Since we went to Disneyland last year, we have been talking about going back again. Last year Lucas was just a half inch short to really enjoy the rides like Radiator Racers. So this year we went back. Lucas was now tall enough to enjoy all of the rides except Indiana Jones. Lucas is 42 inches tall! Another reason we went back was to celebrate Lucas' 4th birthday. 

My kids really know how to travel. Chilling out in the back of the car drinking juice and watching movies. They were great travelers. They handled the 8 hours of car riding like champs! 

Of course we had to have a little treat for being great travelers, but what we didn't count on was how fast it would melt. Lucas had it all over him from head to toe. Literally.

The highlight of the car ride for both kids were the "fans." Macie really enjoyed them. She kept shouting "fans!" 

Macie is waving to the fans. Too cute!

After a long day of travel we took a little time to recoup in the hotel room and then we took off to head to Downtown Disney for dinner and a little race car building. Macie and Lucas were super excited to be at Disneyland. I don't know if Macie really understood where we were, but when she saw the Goofy pumpkin she totally freaked out! Macie loves Goofy. Lucas completely understood where we were and was ready to hit the parks. But he would have to wait a day.

Hanging out at dinner!

After dinner, Lucas returned to his favorite toy shop with Grandma and Grandpa Fildes in tow. Last year Lucas made a Lightning McQueen. This year Lucas made a yellow race car. Trust me, I don't understand his decision. He could have made a Mater or a McMissile. But nope... He chose a yellow race car. Anyway, he had a blast building the car with Grandma and Grandpa. Plus, this year Grandpa let him actually do the building. So proud of my mechanic Dad hanging back and assisting. Lucas truly loves his Grandma and Grandpa Fildes.

So proud of the yellow race car.
This was part of his birthday present from Grandma & Grandpa.

One of my favorite pictures from the night!
You can tell he is in awe!

The best part of Disneyland this time of year is that it is decorated for Halloween. It is so magical. 

After a night of sleep for most of us... Macie decided that she no longer needs to sleep in her pack n play because she climbed right out of it. So Macie slept in the bed with Matt and Lucas slept in a bed with me. Lucas slept like a champ. Macie slept like a champ once she fell asleep.

Anyway so after a night of sleep we headed over to California Adventures. Our goal was to get a fast pass for Radiator Racers because Lucas was so excited this year to ride it. Of course walking into the park we ran into Mickey Mouse! Lucas has always loved the characters. We were curious to see how Macie would react. As you know, she is not a fan of the Bobcat at the football games. So it was a coin toss. She would either hate them or love them because they are her favorite characters. Macie did pretty well. She walked up to Mickey and then walked away from Mickey. Short and sweet.

After we got our fast passes for the ride, we took off to ride a few of the favorites from last year.

Macie even took a ride on the carousel... For a minute.
Then she was having none of it. Wanted off!

This is one of Lucas' favorite rides. Toy Story Mania or as we know it, "Pop, Pop, Pop." Last year when we went on this ride, Macie was in a carrier so she didn't really get the full effect. So we decided to split. Lucas would ride with me and Macie would ride with Matt. We were hoping she would love this ride as much as her brother does, especially since Buzz is part of the game. Man were we wrong. She was not a fan. Loved the glasses, but not the ride. She cried the whole time. Poor girl and poor Matt. But I would like it to be noted that I beat Matt. Of course he had a crying little girl. 

Macie enjoying the 3D glasses.

Telling Grandma & Grandpa to bring it on.

Finally, the ride we had been waiting for, Radiator Racers. Last year, Matt almost got in a brawl with the guy who checks height because Lucas was literally 1/2 in short to go on it. This year, Lucas cleared the height limit easily. Also, I am so thankful that we had fast passes. The people who were waiting in line were waiting for over an hour. We walked right on. Nice! Lucas had a blast on this ride. His favorite part is when we raced the other car and beat them. He was so excited that we won! Lucas is very competative just like his dad.

Matt and Lucas waiting for the car to arrive. 

While we were on the ride, Macie tried on different hats with Grandma. This was a lot better for Macie. She loves to wear hats. 

Lucas waiting in line for the Monsters Inc Ride.

Right before heading back to the hotel for a little rest, Lucas met Donald Duck. By that point Macie was too tired to have anything to do with Donald. So just Lucas got his picture taken with him. I just love the smile on his face. You know he is enjoying every little moment. 

We took a little short break back at the hotel to refuel and recharge before heading over to the Disneyland Park for the rest of the day and the evening. Lucas enjoyed the bunk beds that were in our room. Unfortunately the bunk beds were only used for rest time and not bed time. Like I mentioned before. Lucas slept with me in a bed and Macie slept with Matt in the other bed. 

After our rest we headed straight to Mickey's house. Even though we had already seen Mickey earlier in the day, Lucas loved Mickey's house last year and wanted to go back. Plus, we wanted to give Macie another chance to see Mickey. 

Seriously... I love this smile.

Once we let her out of the stroller... There was no way we were getting her back in.
She was free and enjoyed it!

Again. Lucas and Mickey are best friends!

Macie gave Mickey and hug this time. 

But is was short and sweet. 

After visiting with Mickey we saw that Goofy was in front of his house. As soon as Macie saw Goofy she started shouting, "Foofy!" That is what she calls him. Too cute. She had no hesitation walking right up to Goofy. She even gave him a kiss on his nose. 

After doing a couple of rides in Toontown, we headed over to see the Mickey and the Magical Map show. We all needed a little break from the heat and a snack to eat. So this was the perfect opportunity to sit and hang out. It was a great show and I am so glad that we watched it. Even to a little bit of hesitation from Lucas who said he wasn't going to watch it and was playing on Matt's phone. After the show started, he still had a hold of Matt's phone, but watched every minute of the show and enjoyed it!

You can tell they are in awe of the show and all of the characters in it.

After we watched the show, we went on Its a Small World ride. Who would have thought this would have been Macie's favorite ride. But man did she love it. We are still watching the ride on You.Tube every day since we have been home. Macie loved looking at all of the characters and singing the song. Poor girl loves to sing, but it is not her real talent. In another post, I will put up a video of her singing the song. It is too funny!

We also went on Pirates. I knew it would be a gamble taking Macie on this ride, especially with the quick drops right at the beginning of the ride and how dark it is, but she did it! Again, she loves to sing so she sang the pirates song through the whole thing. I think her favorite part were the quick drops at the beginning of the ride. She would clap her hands and say, "I did it!"

This is the giant sphere that is in Tomorrowland.
Huge hit with both of my kids.
Lucas is trying to help all of his "friends" stop the ball from rolling. 

Macie just loved that it was covered in water and that she could be free from the stroller.

The last highlight of the night was the parade. Lucas and Macie really enjoyed the parade. They loved seeing Mickey and watching the people dance and play instruments.

Our plan was to stay and watch the fireworks that night, but our kids had other plans. They were so tired from their adventures that they nearly passed out before leaving for the night. They were both sound asleep by 8:30 and the fireworks didn't start until 9:30. The saddest part was that Lucas was so excited for the fireworks. For months leading up to the trip, he kept talking about how Disneyland was going to have fireworks... Just for his birthday. So we will have to wait until the next time we go to Disneyland to see the fireworks... Just for his birthday!