A Magical Vacation!

Last week we surprised the girls with a trip to Disneyland. It was a last minute decision on our part to go and we decided to wait to tell Morgan because we knew she would be super excited. So, I packed in secret filling suitcases in our closet so Morgan wouldn't see. On Sunday evening once the girls were in bed we loaded up the van. Then first thing Monday morning we hit the road. Morgan of course was curious as to where we were going so we told her we were going to dinner but that it was a really long drive to dinner. After a while she began to ask more questions like where we were eating dinner and if we would be having to stay the night at a hotel. We finally told her that we had a big surprise for her and it would be better if she just waited to find out. Surprisingly that worked. We made the it to our hotel by 3:00 that afternoon and I must say the girls we absolutely amazing in the car. They were both happy as can be. 

 When we arrived at the hotel Morgan still had no idea where we were. I gave both girls a present to open with a clue inside. When they unwrapped their presents they found new Minnie t-shirts to wear to dinner that night. Morgan didn't put it together, so David and I told her that we were at Disneyland. She was still a bit sleepy from the long car ride so it took a moment to sink in, but once it clicked Morgan was super excited. By the time we got into our room both girls were going crazy shrieking at the top of their lungs.

We had a few more surprises packed away for Morgan which she opened while I unpacked.

Morgan's autograph book.

Grandma and Grandpa also sent a surprise for the girls.

Money to buy their own souvenirs.

After unpacking and getting all cleaned up we headed through Downtown Disney to dinner at Goofy's Kitchen. Morgan really enjoyed the dinner and meeting all the characters, Makenzie not so much. She liked all the characters from afar, but as soon as they tried to get close enough that we could snap a photo she would freak out. It looks from most of our pictures like we took just Morgan on this vacation. 

 After a great dinner we headed back for bed. The next morning we would be up extra early to do the magical early morning at Disneyland. The park would open at 7:00, so we planned on being there by 6:45. That night was rough. Makenzie does not enjoy being out of her routine. She went to bed around 8:00 (about an hour and a half past bedtime) and was up by 1:30 for a good two hours. Once Kenzie finally fell back to sleep less than 30 minutes later Morgan was up. She was so excited about starting her Disneyland adventure that she couldn't sleep.

We made it to the park gates by about 6:50 Tuesday morning. As soon as we entered the park we headed straight for Space Mountain. Morgan was excited that this trip she was finally tall enough for some of the big roller coasters. We were able to get on within 5 minutes and thanks to the riders switch pass Morgan was able to ride it twice in a row. After Space Mountain we headed over to the Buzz Lightyear ride and then to the Astro Orbitor. As you can tell by Kenzie's face she wasn't too thrilled about trying this ride. Of course once the ride got going and she felt the cool air in her face she calmed down.

After that we made a quick stop in Fantasyland to do Peter Pan and It's a Small World. Then it was off to Toon Town to meet Mickey.

The only way Kenzie would get near Mickey was in my arms.

After Toon Town we headed over to Splash Mountain. Again we took advantage of the rider switch pass and Morgan was able to ride twice in a row. Thankfully we didn't get too wet. While we were on that ride Makenzie was able to settle down in her stroller for a nice nap.

 While Kenzie napped we enjoyed a yummy churro for snack. Then it was time to head back to the hotel for a quick rest and some lunch.

 We decided to spend the afternoon that day at California Adventures. Morgan and Makenzie are huge Sofia the First fans so we wanted to try to meet her on day 1. That way in case it didn't work out we would still have two more days to try to meet her. Well, we totally lucked out. When we first arrived at the park it was just about time for a Disney Junior Live show to start. We hopped in line for that, but as we were waiting I told David I wanted to just run over really quickly to where Sofia was supposed to be just to ask a 'cast member' what time she would be out. Well sure enough she was out then and there wasn't a very long line. I rushed back to David and the girls and told them to get out of line. The girls were both very excited to see Sofia, although Makenzie was still too shy to get right up next to her. She made sure to keep Morgan between her and Sofia the whole time.

After meeting with Sofia we went to see the Aladdin show. Both girls really enjoyed this. Then we went back to watch Disney Junior Live. The girls had a blast at this show, especially Makenzie. She was up dancing and clapping her hands the whole time. After the show ended it was time for the Pixar Parade so we grabbed a seat. By the time the parade ended Makenzie was done for the day. We decided to head to Downtown Disney for some dinner and beignets.

That night was another rough one. First, Morgan woke crying. When David went over to check on her and see why she was crying she said, "we're at home."  "No," David said, "we are in the hotel, we are still at Disneyland." "Okay," said Morgan and she went right back to sleep.  Again, Makenzie was up for two hours in the middle of the night.  Thankfully this time she at least went back to sleep in her pack and play.

The next day we planned on spending the whole day at California Adventures. We had another surprise planned for the girls, we would be having breakfast with the princesses. We started the morning heading straight to Cars Land. We were hoping to get to Radiator Springs, but the line was crazy even first thing in the morning and we missed out on the fast pass. Instead, we opted for riding Mater's Junkyard Jamboree and Luigi's Flying Tires. We then headed towards breakfast.

 The girls both wore their Halloween costumes for their princess breakfast.

Princess Cinderella and Princess Sofia

 After breakfast it was time to hit more rides. At this time the weather was starting to turn. There was a brief moment of sprinkles, but that didn't dampen our morning. We headed first to Ariel's Underwater Adventure and then out to the pier. At this time Makenzie fell asleep. We really lucked out with her taking a two hour nap each day in the park.

David and Morgan are somewhere near the top.

Meeting Woody! He was the only Toy Story character we were able to meet due to the rain.

During the one major down pour of the day that lasted only 10 minutes one of the cast members who we were waiting in line with to meet Buzz helped Morgan and I get out of the rain by sneaking us right to the front of the Toy Story Mania line. So nice of him!

As we were just sitting to take a quick rest Goofy surprised Morgan by showing up.

He grabbed her hands and started dancing with her and twirling her. Morgan LOVED it!

After running in to Goofy we took a quick lunch and coffee (for mom and dad) break. We then decided to head over towards Bugs Life and do some of the smaller rides that Kenzie could do too. While there it began raining again so we took shelter by the bumper cars where there is a giant tent.

Kenzie really wanted on this ride too, but she was too small.

Morgan was tall enough this trip to reach the steering wheel so she did the driving!

We then ventured out in the rain, which at the time was a light sprinkle, for the choo choo train.

The rain then picked up a bit so we headed to the Monsters Inc ride which is indoors. Thankfully we beat the crowd there because everyone else had the same idea. When we came out of that ride it was still raining a bit so we headed to the theater to see the Muppets 3D.

Kenzie testing out her 3D glasses.

After the show it was already after 4 in the afternoon and the girls were wiped. Morgan really wanted to pick out a souvenir so we decided to head to the huge Disney store in Downtown Disney and the back to the hotel for dinner. Morgan of course chose a Sofia the First doll as her souvenir.

The girls enjoyed a picnic pizza dinner. I loved that our hotel had this big open area with a couch. It was perfect for having picnic meals in our room.

On our final morning we planned on going to Disneyland, but Morgan requested that we do California Adventures instead. Since we would be heading there first and would be there right when the gates open we decided to split up to try to get on Radiator Springs. David and Morgan planned to head straight for the line for the ride while Kenz and I would head straight for the fast pass line. They ended up opening the gates to the park around 8:30 even though the park wasn't opening until 9:00. I was able to get in the fast pass line while David and Morgan unfortunately got mixed up in a giant mob. Unfortunately they didn't have a line for the ride as controlled as the fast pass line. After about 20 minutes David gave up and decided just to head to rides while Kenz and I finished in the fast pass line.

We met up with David and Morgan outside of Ariel's Underwater Adventure and then headed out to the pier area again. There was NO ONE out there. It was awesome. Morgan and I rode Goofy's Sky school and were able to go around twice without getting off. She then wanted to take David and again they got to go twice. When they got off Morgan asked to go again. In all she rode it 6 times before David and I had had enough. We then went to the Jumping Jelly Fish where again Morgan rode twice in a row. After that Morgan wanted to do a family ride on the Farris Wheel.

By the time we finished on the Ferris Wheel it was time for our fast pass at Radiator Springs so we headed over there. Morgan and I went first and our car won! (at least this is what Morgan claims). We then used the rider switch pass so David and Morgan could ride. Again, Morgan's car won!

Once we finished on Radiator Springs we decided we should head over to Disneyland to spend our last few hours before hitting the road for home. I really wanted to see the Mickey's Magical Map show. At first Morgan was hesitant about going as she really wanted to do some rides, but once we were in the show she had a great time. That ended up being one of her favorite parts of the trip.

After the show we headed over to do the Finding Nemo ride. While waiting in line the girls started being silly and Kenzie wanted to catch a ride with her big sis.

Catching a ride with Morgan.

Both girls enjoyed the Finding Nemo ride. By the time we got off it was already almost 2:00 and our goal was to be leaving by 3:00. Morgan wanted to do Space Mountain as her final ride so we headed over there. Unfortunately at that time the ride was down and they didn't know for how long. Morgan decided that instead she would settle for the Dumbo ride (totally opposite of her first choice) and then wanted to find a wand for another souvenir.

We couldn't find a wand like she wanted so Morgan settled for Mickey's Magic Sword.

We met our goal and were on the road by 3:00. Unfortunately we did not realize that LA traffic starts so early in the day. By 3:15 we were sitting in a parking lot on the freeway. It took us over an hour to go 5 miles. By the time we reach clearer traffic it was 4:45. Morgan needed to use the restroom and Kenzie was hungry for dinner. We ended up finding a place to eat and changing the girls into their pjs. By the time we officially hit the road it was after 6:00. We finally  arrived home at 12:40am, exhausted and glad to be home. It was a wonderful trip and we already can't wait to do it again!