3rd Day - Disneyland!! New Friends and Courage!

We were all super excited to start our first day at Disneyland!! It is honestly my favorite vacation spot. We entered the busy park prepared to have FUN! The very first ride we all went on was Star Tours, Wes' absolute favorite ride in the park. I waited at the ride exit with Violet. We got a rider switch pass so when everyone exited I was able to go through the exit with Lydia and we got right onto the ride. If you are ever going with smaller kids the rider switch pass is a must! I was still able to ride a ton of rides and the girls were able to ride several rides twice.

While they were on Star Tours I got fast passes for everyone for Space Mountain. Fast passes are another absolute must. We hardly waited in any long lines because we took advantage of this system, even though the regular lines were very long.

We had to wait a little bit for our Space Mountain fast pass time so my family humored me and we went to see Captain EO with Micheal Jackson. I had seen the show with my family as a child and I like Michael Jackson's music. I felt like I was stepping back in time.

It's a 3D show so we all got to wear our cool glasses! The seats even move around at times during the show which was fun. Violet absolutely was mesmerized by the show and sat quietly the whole time. The girls enjoyed it as well. Wes and Ellen probably will never have any interest to see the show again.

After Captain EO Wes, Lydia, Ellen and Adelle rode Space Mountain. Adelle was afraid but decided to be brave and try something new. She absolutely thought it was Awesome and said she felt like an astronaut. Lydia has no fear at all anymore and rides everything!! Adelle and I got ready to go on it, but then it broke down :( I knew I would have to try and ride it another time.

From there we headed over to Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. Violet was hungry so we hung out while everyone else went on the ride. One nice thing about having a baby at Disneyland is I got to rest once in a while and take in the sights.
The flowers are so pretty! They put so much work into the parks.

We then got fast passes for Indiana Jones, an absolutely amazing ride!! When I went on the ride with my rider switch pass I brought Wes as my guest. I felt like we were having a mini date!

I tried using this carrier with Violet that I had borrowed and found that it was a tad too small. Her legs started turning colors. I figured that couldn't be good.

We all rode the Jungle Cruise. Violet was fussing because the carrier wasn't comfortable which she was removed from promptly after the ride. The Jungle Cruise is a classic at Disneyland and shouldn't be missed, even if it is a little silly at times.

From there we headed over to the Pirates of the Caribbean! I love that ride. Everyone including Violet could ride Pirates. I love the start of the ride where you suddenly find yourself in the middle of night in the bayou, surrounded by fireflies and soft banjo music. From there you enter the world of Pirates! Violet held on tight when we went down the couple of drops that are in the ride.

We found Tiana and her group singing and dancing in New Orleans Square. They invited the little girls up to join in the fun. Adelle didn't think she was allowed so she just skirted the edge of the crowd. I kept trying to get her attention to tell her to go on in, but it didn't work. She was quite teary after it was over so we told her we would try again another time.

The weather was mild in the morning and evening, but quite hot in the afternoon. I tried my best to shield Violet, but she still got some burns on her arms and checks.

We headed over to the Winnie The Pooh ride which was so much fun. I didn't get a chance to ride it the last time we were in Disneyland 3 years ago. It is super cute!

We got fast passes for Splash Mountain and while we waited we saw Winnie The Pooh, Eeyore and Tigger.

Lydia and Adelle both got their books ready. I was glad that Lydia still wanted to see the characters. I know she liked the rides more, but she hasn't completely given up on getting autographs and pictures. She is growing up SO fast.

We weren't sure how Violet would like the characters. Turns out she absolutely LOVES them, especially Pooh! He loved her back and took extra time to play with her.

Violet kept trying to get to Pooh even when we were taking pictures.

From there we went to Tigger and Eeyore. Violet also enjoyed how fluffy and fun they were. Tigger made sure that I was in the picture. It was pretty funny to see him try and get me in there since he can't talk at all. The characters are great!
From there we all took turn riding Splash Mountain. Adelle was super brave, even though it doesn't look like it in this picture. We all laughed and laughed when we saw it and just had to buy it. I love my girls!

We next rode The Haunted Mansion, one of my absolute favorites. When I was a little girl I wanted to become a ghost so I could live in the Haunted Mansion. It was my dream! I know, I was an odd child.

Violet smiled everywhere we went and enjoyed charming total strangers. We were often talking to other people because she was so engaging with others.

While in line for the Haunted Mansion Adelle found a potato bug. Only my child can find bugs everywhere she goes. Oh, she also finds money everywhere she goes. I think she found over a dollar in change through on the course of the trip.

This potato bug was big!! I kept looking for his Mickey ears, but no luck. Adelle made sure she put him back before we went on the ride.


We were pretty hungry so we headed over to the French Market for dinner. Everywhere you eat in Disneyland is expensive, so we just tried to get as much food for our money. We LOVED the French Market and it was the best dinner find on the trip. They have excellent clam chowder in a big, hearty bread bowel. It warmed me up since I got absolutely soaked on Splash Mountain. I had ridden right in the front, which was amazing.

I was in a super great mood and was very friendly with all the staff which earned the girls the opportunity to become Honorary Citizens of Disneyland. The got special buttons to prove it!

We decided to ride Small World at Ellen's request and because Wes had never been on it before.

They have now added Disney characters in the ride, which made it fun to try and see who we could find. Wes snapped a quick picture of Alice and the White Rabbit.

We weren't planning on catching the parade, but just happened to after we got off of Small World. I love everyone's faces as they watched. At the end of the parade Mickey Mouse confetti shot into the sky and Lydia and Adelle had a fun time trying to catch as much as they could.

We did a little bit of window shopping and then we headed back to our hotel. We had had a very busy day and had a chance to ride most of the big rides in the park! We all slept much better after all of the fun!