ADDisneyland...

So... not that you all have been waiting with baited breath for the next installment of the Freeman Family Blog, but here is what happened....as I remember it.

In September we went to Disneyland with the boys for the first time. We were excited and ready for three days at the Happiest Place on Earth. As much as I wanted to recount this story in the blogesphere, I have found that sensory overload created writer's block and this entry has kept me from continuing our adventure in blogland. I felt like this trip HAD to be documented, but I just couldn't do it. These kids seriously provide countless content for us to write about, but this really seemed like a daunting task, so as with  most things, I just opted out- it's my new life strategy. I coined a quote a few weeks ago that summarizes this...

This quote was written when I was training for the Malibu Marathon several weeks ago. I realized I just needed to finish the race - not win- so why was I soooo stressed about how fast I was going...or if I walked...BUT...this posed too be too stressful for me at the moment...so I am not going to run it. I feel AWESOME about that! OK- back to D-Land.

Since we are now a month out, all I can give are bullets...that is how I think anyway, so it's a win-win. Let them also serve as advice for future visits.

• Pinocchio was a bad jumping-off point for Disneyland. Nothing can sour an experience like a ridiculously scary ride. Now, we were well aware that Disney was launched in the non-PC time of 1955. Pretty funny that the scariest part of the theme park is the area designed for their littlest patrons. Having visited D-Land for "work" a few years back, I was sure to not venture onto Snow White's Scary Adventures or Toad Hell Mr. Toads Wild Ride. I did not remember Pinocchio though. This ride basically soured Ryder for the remainder of the day. He clearly stated "I DON'T WANT TO GO ON ANY MORE RIDES"...crap... we had 2 and a half days to go.

• It seems that Babies like all rides...you won't know what's scary or not, unless they wear a heart monitor.  Hayden was mellow and stone-faced on almost all of the rides. The only fluctuation I felt from him was after the first "drop" on Pirates of the Caribbean and it was my hands wrapped around his upper body that allowed me to feel his heart jumping out of his chest.

• Ryder talked about the Haunted Mansion & The Tower of Terror the WHOLE TIME. This from the kid who said the Winne the Pooh ride was scary. Oh, he didn't go on it, just mentioned them in every other breath. The Haunted Mansion is also closed in mid-late September while it turns over into "A Nightmare Before Christmas" decor.
  
  
• Follow up any scary "inside-ride" with an outside ride. Autopia, rocked. Those inside rides are DARK!

• Small World three times. Ryder asked if Small World had a "Happy Ending" I said the whole thing is a Happy Ending....because of the Air Conditioning of course.

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• Don't do this. You will get in trouble (but we got the shot).

• Characters are scary. Ryder DID NOT want to meet anyone but Goofy. He had the most star-power for our son. We finally caught a glimpse of Goofy, and you have to stand in line (yes, a line at Disneyland) to meet these guys. When we got to the front, we were told that it was time for Goofy's smoke break lunch break. So this was as close as we got to a photo. Andy has a great pic of Goofy heading to the "break area." We thought that was the funniest part, since our imaginations of who was in the costume and what he was thinking took over...

 

Watch Fireworks from  the Magic Castle your hotel room. Honestly, this is more for the parents, but after spending $1 million dollars on Disney, this felt like my money's worth....ah...comfort!

 All in all a great trip. A lot of bribing strong encouragement to go on rides (see Pinocchio), but a magical and momentous event in our family's life. Ryder is now asking to go again...and visit the Haunted Mansion. We have an obsession currently with A Nightmare Before Christmas...a hint to what's coming for Halloween. I am thinking about honoring this request around Thanksgiving in an effort to secure myself as a finalist for MOM OF THE YEAR.

OK, I feel so much better now that I got this post out of the way. I can resume...