Disney Magic!

In the fall, Thomas and I spotted a Southwest fare sale that was too good to be true.  Naturally, we decided that another Disneyland trip was in order... $39 each way from OAK to SNA has to be put to use!  We had taken Virginia to Disney when she was about 22 months old, but we thought she'd get a lot more out of this trip at a few months shy of her third birthday, and we were certainly right.  She knew even more of the characters and was ready to dive into the experience.  And we were especially thrilled to get to see all the beautiful Christmas decorations.  Thomas and I had never been to Disneyland during the holidays before and it was pretty magical.

We spent the big bucks and sprung for a Disney hotel this time around, just to see how the experience differed from our usual plans (we usually stay at the cheap places across the street from the main entrance).  We stayed at the Disneyland Hotel, which had just been renovated and was quite nice.  Virginia especially loved the headboard which had a carving of the castle and lit up with a fireworks display.  Thomas and I especially loved the newly added tiki bar, Trader Sam's.  The hotel was a bit more of a walk than some of the non-Disney places, so we'll see whether we stay there again.

(Trader Sam's Menu and Drinks:)

We hit Disney hard.  Because we stayed at a Disney hotel, we got early entrance one morning.  We took advantage of it to ride all the Fantasyland rides that usually have terribly long lines.  It always helps to avoid lines with a toddler in tow!  As always, we used Ridemax to plan our trip and were able to avoid most lines altogether (yes, we are geeks and use a software program that minimizes wait times, but it is truly a miracle product - we've been using it for years and we get to ride 5 times more rides than everyone else in the park).

It's hard to sum up everything we did in our three days, but it was a blast.  We got to hang with Uncle Doug, who joined us for one of our days in the park.  Virginia wanted nothing to do with Thomas and me when Uncle Doug was around, so she accompanied him on all the rides.  We met pretty much every Disney character available during our visit - Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Goofy, Chip & Dale, Alice, Winnie the Pooh, and Sleeping Beauty to name a few.   We had breakfast at Goofy's Kitchen in our hotel, complete with visits from more of the characters.  

Virginia's favorite ride was Winnie the Pooh, which we rode 5 times.  She loved that the doors that the cars went through were dripping with honey.  Every time we passed through them she exclaimed "Honey Doors!"  Other favorite rides included Finding Nemo and Dumbo.  Best of all, Virginia even braved the Matterhorn!  She just met the height requirement, so we decided to chance it.  It turned out to be too long of a ride for that kind of intensity and she cried a little near the end, but we don't think we did any permanent psychological damage.  Our gal is tough!

Thomas and I ended up hobbling home with blisters on every toe, which means our Disney visit was a success!!!  Can't wait to go back.

 Loving Winnie and Friends:

"When I see an elephant fly..."

The family chilling with Donald:

 Virginia's favorite character right now is definitely Alice in Wonderland!