DISNEYLAND

We stayed at Disneyland's Paradise Pier Hotel. The biggest reason was to be able to get into the park an hour early because we heard that CarsLand is insanely busy after the park opens. ...And I'm a big believer in feeling safe and comfortable on vacation. Like I'm not scared to walk on the carpet without shoes, for example. 

Goofy was there to welcome us

Finn is easily impressed by round tummies. 

Our room was a sight for sore eyes! So cute and nice! Covey can see California Adventure out our window.

"Balls!"

We walked over to the Grand Californian Hotel to swim in their pool. I heard that if you stayed at any of the Disneyland Hotels, you could swim in any of the pools. But when we got there, our room key didn't work on the locked gate. A cheerful employee came over and said, "Room key doesn't work? Let me let you in." So, I'm still not sure if we were supposed to be able to do that or not. This pic was at the entry gate. Everything about the Grand Californian is so nice. 

We're so glad we checked out the pool there, it was way fun! There were 3 pools actually. This one had a mini slide for little kids and a big, fast slide that Matt and I went down.

Finn mastered the mini slide in no time. He'd climb right over the rocks, sit himself down and push off. I'd catch him at the bottom and he'd want immediately to do it again and again and again. Someone else was impressed by it, too. Jaleel White (aka Urkell) was there! He was standing right by the slide taking pictures of his daughter in the pool and he motioned to Finn and laughing said "I love this kid." 

Finn was also fascinated with the words "Thank you" on this sign.

Meanwhile, Covey had a great time bobbing around and making friends with other kids.

After we showered and dressed, we had dinner at the hotel's restaurant. Here Finn ran into a table ledge and produced a large bruise on his forehead just in time for all the Disneyland pics. Dad is mastering his chipmunk impression to show to Chip and Dale. 

We also tried on some mouse ears at the gift shop.

The next morning, it was Disneyland Time! Bright and early.

The first day was California Adventure. Everyone raced to Carsland first thing.

Covey was excited!

This was Mater's Junkyard with tractors dancing to music.

It was the only ride with a height limit that I could convince the workers Finn was tall enough to ride. 

We met McQueen who talked to us.

And Mater!

We rode Luigi's Casa Della Tires.

They did such a good job with Cars Land. Everything was just like the movie. It was so fun to watch both boys react to the real Radiator Springs. 

Radiator Springs Racers is finally open! Let's go!

Finn couldn't go, so he had lots of time to run around. He paid respects to Stanley,

played with this rope,

and generally ran around like a crazy person.

Then, because of the awesome Rider Switch Pass for parents, Covey got to go on Racers again right away with a much shorter wait. This time with me. That is the look of pure delight. 

It was dang awesome! We all chose it as one of our favorite rides.

Then, I convinced Covey to go on Tower of Terror with me while Matt and Finn did Bugs Land. 

This is Covey's scared face.

I thought he did great. He didn't seem scared at all. But after it was over, he said he didn't like it and wouldn't go on it again. Not from the dropping part but just the spookiness at the beginning. Woops! Apparently it's Matt's favorite ride and he didn't get to go on it. That seems like something I should've known.

The Little Mermaid ride.

Mickey's Fun Wheel. I went on this with Covey and was actually pretty scared with those carts rocketing towards the middle all the time. But Covey wasn't scared at all. He's super brave!

Covey loved this ride, too.

Phineas and Ferb!

We told Covey we would buy one treat a day. Today it was churros. We bought one once at Costco and he wouldn't touch it. But this time, he did and contrary to his facial expressions, he loved it.

"What do ya think of it? Good?" This was his response:

Luckily, Finn fell asleep in the stroller so we didn't have to go back to the hotel for a nap.

I hung out with sleeping Finn and watched a little show by Minnie while Matt and Covey went on Soarin' Over California. He wanted to do that one a bunch of times.

After Grizzly Rapids, we checked out Russell's Wilderness Explorer Camp. At first we didn't think we'd find much to do here, but it turned out to be one of the best parts of California Adventure. Both boys loved it, and it wasn't crowded at all. 

As we waited to meet Russell, Finn just moseyed up  to this other family and made himself at home. 

While Covey was off exploring, Finn had a great time just stomping in this tiny stream of water...

going down this slide...

and laying on his back, looking up at the trees.

Covey loved this rope swing. He did it about 5 times.

It was around this time that we caught a little show Mickey was doing in the street. Covey was enamored with this Mickey because he was actually talking and singing. At the end of the show, Mickey said he was off to Hollywood Studios to be a star and hopped on a trolley that took him away. Covey ran up to us and said, "Mickey's going to Hollywood! We HAVE to follow him! Come on!!" Matt and I looked at each other and followed the trolley, pushing them in their strollers. We were losing sight of the trolley fast, so Covey yelled "STOP!" and jumped out and started running as fast as he could to catch up. Matt ran after him and explained that he wasn't really going anywhere that we could follow. It was so sad. Covey burst into tears. It was so magical and real for him. His first encounter with Mickey. 

We told him maybe he meant Muppet Studios and we'd see him there. Which we didn't, but after awhile he calmed down and enjoyed the 3-D show. 

Finn was so funny. He kept his glasses on almost the whole time and was trying to touch and catch all the things that he thought were right in front of him.

Finn loved the Animation Studio.

And they both loved dancing at the Radio Disney dance party. (Wet bum courtesy of Grizzly Rapids.)

Covey decided to go right up to Drisella, one of the ugly stepsisters, who happened to be in the market for a prince.

The next thing I knew, she was leading Covey to a spot on the dance floor.

She gave him a little training on how to stand like a prince.

We came across Sofia the First.

And thankfully stumbled upon Toy Story Mania, which we had forgotten about. Mr Potato Head was awesome, telling jokes and talking to you. Yeah, YOU! You in the orange shirt!

It was a reeeeally long line!

But, when we made it near the front, guess who we saw again! That's Urkell and his group talking to a worker and probably getting access to go right on in. That's fine with me. As my sister's long-time crush, he deserves a few perks.

We tried to talk to Covey a little about Walt Disney and how all of this was here because he had a dream and made it happen. 

We had finished all the California Adventure rides, so we headed over to Disneyland Park just in time to stand in line to see some characters. 

Pluto

Mickey

Goofy. BIG HUG!

Matt and Covey went on Star Tours, while Finn and I rode Dumbo and he fell asleep in the stroller on the way back to Tomorrow Land. Star Tours made Matt sick, so he sat out while I happily went on it again with Covey and then on Space Mountain. 

On our way out of the park, Covey crashed.

Day 2! We used our hour early to go on Toy Story Mania 4 more times...

...and Radiator Springs Racers again. By then, the line was already pretty long, so Finn had plenty of time to follow Lightning around,

and Red,

get a picture in front of the sign,

pet a tractor,

and ride a few more rides in Bugs Land.

Then, it was back to Disneyland Park.

(It was SO much busier here than at the other park!)

We went straight to Fantasy Land to ride all the classics.
(That face!)

I loved that Finn was able to ride everything there.

Matt happily volunteered to take pictures while the three of us rode on the teacups. It was 8 1/2 years prior that these same teacups worked their magic on Matt and he barfed in the closest garbage can he could find. 

After we finished the Fantasy Land rides, Matt took Finn back to the hotel to give him a quick nap and check out of the hotel. Covey and I headed over to Critter Country.

We met Tigger,

Eeyore,

and Pooh.

And went on the Winnie the Pooh ride.

Splash Mountain and then on to the Haunted Mansion. Yes, I partly knew Covey wouldn't like it based on his aversion to the spooky scene at Tower of Terror, but I thought it was important he do it anyway. 

...He didn't like it. After all was said and done, he said he loved every ride except for two. :)

The boys met back up with us and Finn and I went on Winnie the Pooh while Covey and Matt tried to go on Splash Mountain again. They got halfway through the ride when it broke down. :(

Our little Chip n Dale!

We went on Pirates of the Caribbean and then rode the "Choo Choo" around the park. (Not worth the wait.)

While the boys played inside Tarzan's Treehouse (formerly known as the Swiss Family Robinson Treehouse), I waited over an hour to buy our one treat of the day: Dole Whips. Mmmm Yum!

Then it was off to Toon Town while Finn screamed like a banshee the whole way. A quick bum change and being let loose in a play area for a good long time set him right.

Mickey Mouse's house!

After weaving through his house, yard, and movie barn, we got to meet Mickey again!

Finn doing his first photo bombing. 

 The 2nd ride that was not worth the loooong wait, was Roger Rabbit. :( We'll know for next time.

Covey and I rode Star Tours again, his favorite ride. And while he and Matt went on Space Mountain again, I took Finn over to It's a Small World. The line was so fast and the ride was so much cuter than I remembered it, that I told Matt and Covey to meet us there so we could all go together. When I asked Covey if he liked it, he said "That was a beautiful ride!"

Then, we went back to California Adventure to ride Radiator Springs Racers one last time. We heard you had to go at night when it was all lit up and we were so glad we did! Luckily we had a Rider Switch Pass that made it possible. We caught the end of the water fountain show (World of Colors) as we walked back to the hotel. That was amazing! But Covey was so tired, he just wanted to leave. So, we trucked it back to the car with the boys asleep in the strollers and Matt drove us back to Santa Barbara. It was so much fun and we were sad to leave the happiest place on Earth. Next time, hopefully we can stay a 3rd day and go in the off season.
The boys also got one souvenir each. We chose a Mickey Mouse for Finn and Covey picked a bucket of Toy Story aliens.

Our Favorites:

Finn: the dance party, Winnie the Pooh, and It's a Small World.

Covey: Radiator Springs Racers, Star Tours, and It's a Small World.

Julia: Radiator Springs Racers, Space Mountain, and California Screamin' (although I didn't get to ride it this time.)

Matt: Radiator Springs Racers, Splash Mountian, and Tower of Terror (although he didn't get to ride it this time.)