Disneyland was Super Hot!

Literally!

I took the little girls to Disneyland yesterday, we got there at noon and it was 102* when we got there. I'm sure that wasn't the high; I don't even want to know what the high was. Despite the heat, we had a good time. Lines weren't bad at all and there were plenty of characters everywhere we went!

We also found the Baby Care spot - was a nice break! In case you were wondering... It's behind the Photo Store on the end of Main Street, go around the corner and back behind the corn dog stand. It hides back there. In this air conditioned lovely place are two helpful ladies, stalls for nursing (but they looked really small) a play area (with no Mommy sized chairs, oh well) and a room in the back full of nice large sturdy and CLEAN diaper changing tables. There are also two toddler toilets - they were so cute! Not any bigger than a little plastic potty chair, but look just like a real public toilet and they flush and everything. Gracie refused to go potty. In fact, she didn't go potty all day long! She's got a bladder the size of a basketball and amazing control when she wants. They also had a high chair area.

Since I had the two girls by myself, any rides we went on had to be baby friendly. Even with this limitation, we had plenty of things we could do! And we did!

Gracie loved Main Street. We had to look in all the shop windows. They are great, full of fun things to see. We found City Hall and got my birthday button and my gift card. Since I have an annual pass and it was my birthday and I had the free admission ticket for that, I got my choice of a full day Fast Pass, a free pass for another day, or a merchandise gift card. The gift card was for $70! I got the girls a big lollipop and each of them got a doll. I still have $28 on my card.

Finally, she spotted the castle. And she was instantly the happiest little girl ever! She hopped out of the stroller and grabbed her Cinderella costume - she must wear it NOW! She wore it all day, in fact, she's wearing it now. She did take it off to sleep, but that's it.

We went inside the castle and toured through Sleeping Beauty's Story. Then we went to King Arthur's Carousel and rode the bench. Gracie tried to sit on a horse, but she thinks they are too scary. Then we went to the Tiki Room where the birds sang words and the flowers crooned. The Jungle Cruise was next. We rode in a boat and had a great time! Next we hopped aboard a honey pot and rode through the Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh. Very fun for the littles! Then we set sail on a Pirate Ship, the little girls didn't especially like the little bang of the canon firing, but it wasn't too bad. They loved the cruise. Our last ride was It's a Small World. Riding these boats is a must!

We also wanted to ride the train around the park. It's a 20 minute ride but we were just out of time and energy. We'll do it next time!

In between all the rides, we saw lots of characters! Really, Lots of them! I felt bad for them in that heat, but I'm sure they were swapping 'em out every few minutes. We didn't have to stand in line to see most of them this time, we did spend about 45 mins in line to see the Princesses, but the normal wait time is 90 mins - 2 hours. First character we saw was Goofy. Gracie didn't really like him, she said she likes the other dog (Pluto) not that one. Next, we saw Mickey Mouse. We just waved at him because his security crew was moving him - I'm sure he'd been out in the heat long enough. Then we saw Chip and Dale. They are so cute! Again, we just waved. Gracie didn't want to get too close.

The next character we saw was Cinderella's Fairy Grandmother. Since Gracie was dressed like Cinderella, and she just loves the Fairy Grandmother (I know, she's really the Fairy Godmother, but we call her the Fairy Grandmother) Gracie was willing to go see her. There wasn't a line at all, she was ready for us! Gracie talked and talked to her. She showed the Grandmother her "pinkernails" and told her that Lexie painted them Cinderella Blue. The Grandmother loved her beautiful dress and manicure. They discussed magic and smiled at each other a bit. Gracie was truly having a Disney Moment! While we were there, Peter Pan came along. He was great! He also had a nice long visit with Gracie. They discussed the square trees and he told her Disneyland is a magic place and the trees can be square or other shapes. She liked his ballerina tights. And she introduced him to her little sister, Baby Yibby.

Our next real life Disney encounter was with Aladdin. Gracie was suddenly shy and coy. She did manage to muster up enough courage to ask Aladdin where the Genie was, but she spoke so quietly he didn't understand her. That's ok, she was very happy to see him.

The next couple of characters we saw were heading into the back area, I assume they were trading off with other characters. We saw a fox (I think) I really don't know who it was, and we saw a bear that looked a lot like Baloo, but was wearing a vest. I couldn't put a name to that one either. And that's also where we saw Rabbit. We didn't get to visit any of these characters, but they were friendly and gave us a friendly wave on their way in and out of their secret hideaway.

We saw Chip and Dale again. This time they were wearing scarves and western vests. Again, no visitors so they spent a good deal of time with Gracie. Libby just watched from the stroller. Gracie told the chipmunks that we have a gopher in our yard and Daddy is trying to catch it. It digs holes. She wasn't afraid of them at all this time. They blew her kisses and we were off to see the Princesses.

The Princesses are in a special place, and the line is long! But the payoff is HUGE! We saw Princess Aurora (Sleeping Beauty) and she asked Gracie if they've met before. Gracie got to twirl with Aurora and she got a nice hug. Aurora didn't want Libby to sit by her without me holding her, so I got my picture taken with Princess Libby and Princess Gracie too. Next, we saw Princess Mulan. Gracie didn't really know her; I guess we have another movie to see. But she was beautiful and friendly. She wouldn't let Libby sit by her either, so I got to squeeze in with another pretty princess for a photo. If only I had worn my tiara! Lastly, we saw Cinderella! And Gracie was wearing her Cinderella dress too! So precious! Cinderella let Libby sit by her and we took some pictures of the three of them. Cinderella and Gracie had such a nice time together, it was magic!

During the parade, we saw Woody and Jessie, Pooh and Tigger, Peter Pan and Wendy, Chip and Dale (again!), Mickey and Minnie, Donald and Daisy, Goofy, Pluto, and the others passed us by too quickly. The ones I just mentioned danced in front of us and we had a great view of the show. They pulled a few audience members to the street to dance with them and Gracie was one. She took a few steps out into the street and danced a bit. The parade was great and filled with characters - just the perfect way to end a magic day!

When the parade was over, we strolled down Main Street to the ice cream shop. Hit the spot! It was the only thing all day that Gracie would eat. She drank juice all day, but she wouldn't eat a thing. Same with me, it was just too hot. The ice cream was the best ever! I had a scoop of Mocha Almond Fudge and Gracie had Rainbow Sherbet. Yum!

Much to the disappointment of two little princesses, we headed for the parking lot tram. The trams took forever! It was 7:30 when we got in line to board and 8:30 by the time we go to our van.

If you ever go to Disneyland with little bitty kids, I now have a few tricks that will make your day easier: 1. Freeze juice boxes the night before and bring them in a cooler, they thaw and are nice cool yummy drinks! Just the right size too. 2. Bring plenty of water! 3. Bring snacks. This makes your day cheaper and easier to have munchies at hand when the hungries strike! 4. Use the Baby Care Center. Nice place to take a break for mom and the tots alike. 5. Bring Disney toys with you, you know they are already in your toybox, ease the urge to shop and bring 'em along!

My blog post is long enough, so if you want to see photos go to my picassa site.

It was a great trip to Disneyland! Can't wait to go back again. But, we'll wait for a cooler day. As I type this, the thermometer outside in the shade reads 107.