leahlefler
01-07-2011, 06:01 PM
Travel Dates: July 16-18
Travel Method: Flight from Buffalo to LAX, car.
Accommodations: Doubletree Anaheim/Orange County (on City Drive)
Cast of Characters: Hubby (30’s), Me (30’s), Matt (4 ½), and Nolan (2 ¾) Grandma, Grandpa, Cousin K (30’s) and his wife S (30’s), and Cousin Baby A (1).
Experience: I used to live in CA and had an annual passport for several years. I have also been to Disney World 3 times (1995, 1997, and 2000). Hubby has been to Disneyland several times. Matt has been to Disneyland twice (2007 and 2009) and DCA once. Nolan has been to both parks once (2009).
The Plan:
We are flying to Southern California to attend a summer school at the John Tracy Clinic for my younger son (Nolan), who has a moderately severe hearing loss. While the primary purpose of our trip is the education at John Tracy, we wanted to include a trip to see The Mouse on one of our weekends off. School is released at noon on Fridays, so I booked a hotel via Hotwire for July 16 (Friday) through July 18 (Sunday).
While the magic of Disney can’t possibly compete with the magic of hearing your child whisper for the first time (courtesy of the experts at the John Tracy Clinic), it was a wonderful and magical trip.
The Hotel:
I booked via Hotwire, which had a link to the Doubletree via hotels.com. I thought I was booking the Doubletree by the convention center, but I booked the Doubletree over on The City Drive instead. Both have free shuttles, so I hope this won’t be too troublesome. This hotel is about 3.5 miles from the airport, and charges $13 per day in parking fees. The hotel cost was $81 per night.
Friday, July 16: Arrival at the Hotel
We left our apartment at the John Tracy Clinic in Los Angeles at about 3:00pm, hoping to get checked in to the hotel in time to wander over to Downtown Disney. In reality, we were trapped in traffic and had to stop for dinner before checking in to the Doubletree. We checked in, and then headed up the elevator, which will become known as the Doubletree Tower of Terror henceforth.
A key card was required to activate the elevator above the fourteenth floor, and our key card did not work. On our way back to the service desk to obtain new key cards, the wheel on our suitcase splintered into 5,000 pieces. We finally got functional key cards, and we went upstairs to our room. It was getting late and Downtown Disney was out of the question, so we headed to the hotel pool for a swim. The pool was a little cool for the weather, but a welcome diversion for the little guys. We had to drag two little shivering preschoolers from the water before they turned blue! We had a good night’s sleep, and headed back to our room for a good night’s sleep.
Saturday, July 17: Disneyland
Plan: Fantasyland, Toontown, lunch at Café Orleans, Tomorrow Land, Fronteirland, New Orleans Square, Tom Sawyer’s Island
Reality: We woke up at 7:00am and prepared the boys for the day ahead. Matt (4) woke up in a foul mood and declared he was not getting dressed. There was no reasoning with him, and we couldn’t figure out what bee had gotten into his bonnet. My husband sent Nolan and I downstairs to wait for them.
Unwittingly, Nolan and I embarked on the first ride of the day, in the Doubletree Tower of Terror. I punched in the 15th floor, where my parents were staying. The key card worked, so we went to their floor. Unfortunately, my mom had given me the wrong room number, so we had to get back into the Doubletree TOT. My key card would no longer function, and we were stuck on the elevator as it went from floor to floor, as it was beckoned by other waiting hotel guests. I futilely would hit the Lobby key, but the elevator would whisk upstairs to the 17th floor, then back down to the 14th floor. We were stuck on the elevator for about 20 minutes, until I finally found someone nice enough (and with a functional key card) to ride all the way down to the lobby with us.
My husband and Matt didn’t show up right away, but after a few minutes they arrived in the Lobby- whatever had bothered Matt seemed to disappear, and we never did figure out what was bothering him.
Unfortunately, after all the morning ruckus, we missed the 8:30am shuttle to the parks. We were supposed to meet my parents and cousins at the “L” in the California sign at 9:00, so we made a mad dash for the car and drove to the Disney parking garage.
We found my parents and my cousins (with the adorable Baby A) and went inside Disneyland. With a 1, 2, and 4 year old in tow, we headed for Fantasyland and Dumbo as quickly as possible. Matt was extremely excited, and held his magic feather very tightly, afraid it would fly away. Nolan rode with us, and he squealed the entire time, “I fwying!”
I had planned on doing Peter Pan next, but Nolan saw the carousel and stopped dead in his tracks. Instead of fighting it, we went with it-and everyone climbed on a white horse. Baby A really loved this ride, and we could hear little baby giggles every once in a while.
We did make it to the “Boat With Stars” (Peter Pan), and both of our boys absolutely adored it. Matt couldn’t believe that he was in “real outer space.” They wanted to ride it again, but the line was over an hour long, so we left Fantasyland for our lunch reservations at Orleans Café. Most of the adults had the Monte Cristo sandwich, and the kids had macaroni and cheese. Getting out of the sun and into a nice, cool place to sit down is a recipe for happiness at the Disney parks!
The weather was quite hot, and a long, cool boat ride on Small World sounded wonderful. The line was surprisingly long and stagnant, and then we noticed the paramedics off to the side of the ride. An elderly person had some problems and had to be evacuated from the ride-she appeared fine on the stretcher, which was a relief. The line started moving again quickly and we settled into our boat for a fun ride. Baby A, unfortunately, fell asleep as soon as we entered the dark, air conditioned building. I’m sure he would have loved it if he had managed to stay awake for the ride!
Since Baby A was sleeping, we ran over to Tomorrowland to get fast passes for Space Mountain. We got passes for 7:00pm, and then found valid Buzz Lightyear fast passes on the ground. Apparently, someone had dumped them since the time was nearly up. We asked around, and they didn’t belong to anyone, so we used them. My parents gamely stayed with Baby A, and the rest of us shot some aliens. Matt claimed this to be his favorite ride, though his “favorite” ride changed repeatedly throughout the day!
Baby A woke up, and we wanted to take him on his first Autopia ride. The ride requirement (as we remembered them) was that a child be one year of age. Disney has added a height requirement of 32 inches, and Baby A didn’t quite meet the height requirement. My cousins sat this one out, and Grandma, Grandpa, and the boys had a great time on this one. Nolan drove his own car (I operated the gas pedal), and refused to get out when the ride stopped. He would have driven all day if we let him!
I had read about the Jedi Training Academy, and I thought Matthew would get a big kick out of the adventure. We sat down for the show, and scooted Matt toward the front. He squealed and jumped, but didn’t get picked on the first two passes. He was defeated and almost started to cry, and I saw the cast members make another pass over the audience. I told him to get out there and yell, and they called out his shirt description. He didn’t hear them at first, and his lip started to tremble. I told him, “They called you- get over there!” He was absolutely over the moon, and donned his Jedi robe. He ate up the performance, and when Darth Maul appeared, they nearly had to pull Matt off of him (he took his job as a Jedi a little too seriously)! The only lasting problem we have is that Matt honestly believes he is a real Jedi: we have had to inform him that Jedi mind tricks don’t work on Mommies.
After the excitement of the Jedi show, we wandered over to Adventureland and rode the Jungle Cruise. Matt got to sit up front-no doubt the effect of his new Jedi mind tricks. Everyone enjoyed the old favorite, and we decided to go to the Tiki Room to take in a show. Baby A was seriously into the show, bouncing and dancing through the entire thing. Our boys enjoyed it immensely, though Nolan had a bit of a problem with the sudden thunder (his hearing aids amplify everything, and sometimes it can get uncomfortable).
Our newly-minted Jedi was clamoring for a “fast ride,” so we thought Star Tours would be a good first “big boy ride” for him. Last year, he didn’t meet the height requirement, but this year he was a good inch over the minimum. My parents stayed with Nolan and Baby A, and we took Matt to the moon of Endor. I was a little concerned during the ride, because Matt kept leaning over to me and saying something. I thought he was saying, “I’m scared of this ride!” I held his hand and told him it would be over soon. When the ride ended, I asked him, “Was that too scary?” He looked disgusted with me and said, “I was SAYING, I always wanted that ride!” He was quite impressed with the ride and we decided to get him a build-your-own-lightsaber in the Star Trader shop. We bought Nolan one as well, since we knew he would want one once he saw his brother’s!
We ate at Red Rocket’s Pizza Port for dinner, taking time to relax. Our fast passes for Space Mountain were ready, so my cousins, husband, and I headed for the line. We only waited about 15 minutes and had a great time-I haven’t ridden this for about 10 years, and it is my favorite Disney attraction! We had park hopper passes, so we headed over to Disney California Adventure after we exited Space Mountain.
Matt wanted to do his second “big boy” ride of the day, so we took him on Soarin’ Over California. We got switch-off passes for my parents, who (very nicely) agreed to stay with Baby A and Nolan again. Matt’s eyes were the size of golf balls, and he kept yelling, “WOW” as the theater seats swung up and over the screen. He was exhilarated after this ride, and kept yelling, “I love that ride!”
We sat and waited for my parents to ride, and our boys had a lightsaber duel while Baby A rode on his daddy’s shoulders. By the time my parents exited the ride, all of the children were shot and we decided to call it a night. We left for our car, the hotel, and a good night’s sleep!
I have lots of great pictures, but unfortunately can't post them because of the requirement to have 15 posts prior to linking photos.
Sunday, July 18: California Adventure
Plan: Redwood Creek Challenge Trail, Midway Mania, and Turtle Talk with Crush
My cousins weren’t with us this day, so we headed out with Grandma, Grandpa, and our own little family of four. California Adventure is a little tough with kids who don’t meet the minimum height requirement, so we planned on spending a bit of time in the Challenge Trail area and the Bug’s Life area. While Matt is just now entering the “big kid ride” arena, Nolan is a little guy (25 pounds and 34 inches tall).
My parents and I took Matt on the Mulholland Madness coaster, which was a little wilder than it looked. Matt, fortunately, loved the ride and declared it his “most favorite ride ever.” Thank goodness he is extremely adventurous (for a four year old, anyway)! Dennis and Nolan were going to ride the Jumping Jellyfish, but he soon realized there was a 40” height requirement for the ride. They gamely waited for us, and watched the other rides in action.
We went to the Challenge Creek Trail and let the kids run free (well, as free as they could be with one of four adults on their tails)! With the cargo nets, slides, and rock climbing areas, our boys were in their version of heaven.
Midway Mania was high on our list of rides to visit in this park, so we jumped in line and waited. The passing roller coaster made Nolan jump out of his skin while we were in line, so we turned off his hearing aids until we were away from the thundering cars. Both boys absolutely loved the actual ride, squealing and trying to hit as many targets as possible. Nolan had trouble with the 3D glasses, with his small face and overcrowded ears. We ended setting the thick, plastic earpieces on top of his aids, instead of trying to fit them onto his ears, and it worked out for a while. He ended up taking off the glasses part way through the ride, but had a marvelous time even without the 3D effect.
We had lunch at the Wine Country Trattoria: some paninis for us and pasta for the kids. The wait staff was very helpful with Nolan’s dietary needs. He has ridiculously severe reflux, and can’t have any tomato sauce. Unfortunately, the Trattoria does not offer any macaroni and cheese or other “safe” food for the little guy. They made him a custom pasta-with-parmesan-and-butter dish, which was much appreciated.
We headed over to the Bug’s Life area, and rode the ladybugs, Flik’s Flyers, and the bumper cars. Nolan somehow made the height requirement for the bumper cars, and he quite pleased with himself after that. We heard a lot of “I a big boy” after that ride!
We felt the end of the boys’ energy level coming, so we decided to go over to Turtle Talk with Crush and then head out of the parks. This show is so cute, and Matt sat on the floor in front of the audience. He wasn’t picked for any of the questions, but he was convinced that Crush was really in an aquarium on the other side of the screen. He kept looking for it when we left the theater!
We left California Adventure, and my parents headed to the parking garage. We wanted to check the photopass pictures from Matt’s Jedi Training Academy experience, so we ducked into Disneyland to get the information on how that system worked. Once we were inside, of course, both boys spied the rockets and clamored for a ride. Apparently, they had gotten a second wind!
The line was a little long, but they didn’t mind. While this ride is just a duplicate of Dumbo to adults, it is an entirely different ride to preschoolers. When I told Matt, “That one is just like Dumbo, are you sure you want to ride it?” he just stared at me. “No, Mom. Those are ROCKETS. Dumbo is an ELEPHANT!” Nolan was beyond happy as he piloted his own rocket ship. This is the stuff dreams are made of, and he talked about it for days afterward.
Since the boys were suddenly quite chipper and the evening much cooler, we decided to take a peek at Toon Town. Both boys loved running through the houses and peeking into the mailboxes. Matt had a sudden desire to meet Mickey Mouse, and since both boys were in such great moods, we entered Mickey’s house. With the objects in the house and the cartoons in the last holding area, the wait seemed really short. Matt had a 1,000 watt grin as he dashed into Mickey’s arms. Nolan is extremely shy and was not as enthusiastic about Mickey, but he did shake hands with Mickey when he was in Daddy’s arms.
After Mickey, it really was time to go. Even though the boys were chipper and we were feeling full of energy, the sun was starting to go down and Nolan had school the next morning. We left the parks and headed back to the apartment at the John Tracy Clinic, knowing Nolan would have a lot to talk about with his teachers the next day!
Travel Method: Flight from Buffalo to LAX, car.
Accommodations: Doubletree Anaheim/Orange County (on City Drive)
Cast of Characters: Hubby (30’s), Me (30’s), Matt (4 ½), and Nolan (2 ¾) Grandma, Grandpa, Cousin K (30’s) and his wife S (30’s), and Cousin Baby A (1).
Experience: I used to live in CA and had an annual passport for several years. I have also been to Disney World 3 times (1995, 1997, and 2000). Hubby has been to Disneyland several times. Matt has been to Disneyland twice (2007 and 2009) and DCA once. Nolan has been to both parks once (2009).
The Plan:
We are flying to Southern California to attend a summer school at the John Tracy Clinic for my younger son (Nolan), who has a moderately severe hearing loss. While the primary purpose of our trip is the education at John Tracy, we wanted to include a trip to see The Mouse on one of our weekends off. School is released at noon on Fridays, so I booked a hotel via Hotwire for July 16 (Friday) through July 18 (Sunday).
While the magic of Disney can’t possibly compete with the magic of hearing your child whisper for the first time (courtesy of the experts at the John Tracy Clinic), it was a wonderful and magical trip.
The Hotel:
I booked via Hotwire, which had a link to the Doubletree via hotels.com. I thought I was booking the Doubletree by the convention center, but I booked the Doubletree over on The City Drive instead. Both have free shuttles, so I hope this won’t be too troublesome. This hotel is about 3.5 miles from the airport, and charges $13 per day in parking fees. The hotel cost was $81 per night.
Friday, July 16: Arrival at the Hotel
We left our apartment at the John Tracy Clinic in Los Angeles at about 3:00pm, hoping to get checked in to the hotel in time to wander over to Downtown Disney. In reality, we were trapped in traffic and had to stop for dinner before checking in to the Doubletree. We checked in, and then headed up the elevator, which will become known as the Doubletree Tower of Terror henceforth.
A key card was required to activate the elevator above the fourteenth floor, and our key card did not work. On our way back to the service desk to obtain new key cards, the wheel on our suitcase splintered into 5,000 pieces. We finally got functional key cards, and we went upstairs to our room. It was getting late and Downtown Disney was out of the question, so we headed to the hotel pool for a swim. The pool was a little cool for the weather, but a welcome diversion for the little guys. We had to drag two little shivering preschoolers from the water before they turned blue! We had a good night’s sleep, and headed back to our room for a good night’s sleep.
Saturday, July 17: Disneyland
Plan: Fantasyland, Toontown, lunch at Café Orleans, Tomorrow Land, Fronteirland, New Orleans Square, Tom Sawyer’s Island
Reality: We woke up at 7:00am and prepared the boys for the day ahead. Matt (4) woke up in a foul mood and declared he was not getting dressed. There was no reasoning with him, and we couldn’t figure out what bee had gotten into his bonnet. My husband sent Nolan and I downstairs to wait for them.
Unwittingly, Nolan and I embarked on the first ride of the day, in the Doubletree Tower of Terror. I punched in the 15th floor, where my parents were staying. The key card worked, so we went to their floor. Unfortunately, my mom had given me the wrong room number, so we had to get back into the Doubletree TOT. My key card would no longer function, and we were stuck on the elevator as it went from floor to floor, as it was beckoned by other waiting hotel guests. I futilely would hit the Lobby key, but the elevator would whisk upstairs to the 17th floor, then back down to the 14th floor. We were stuck on the elevator for about 20 minutes, until I finally found someone nice enough (and with a functional key card) to ride all the way down to the lobby with us.
My husband and Matt didn’t show up right away, but after a few minutes they arrived in the Lobby- whatever had bothered Matt seemed to disappear, and we never did figure out what was bothering him.
Unfortunately, after all the morning ruckus, we missed the 8:30am shuttle to the parks. We were supposed to meet my parents and cousins at the “L” in the California sign at 9:00, so we made a mad dash for the car and drove to the Disney parking garage.
We found my parents and my cousins (with the adorable Baby A) and went inside Disneyland. With a 1, 2, and 4 year old in tow, we headed for Fantasyland and Dumbo as quickly as possible. Matt was extremely excited, and held his magic feather very tightly, afraid it would fly away. Nolan rode with us, and he squealed the entire time, “I fwying!”
I had planned on doing Peter Pan next, but Nolan saw the carousel and stopped dead in his tracks. Instead of fighting it, we went with it-and everyone climbed on a white horse. Baby A really loved this ride, and we could hear little baby giggles every once in a while.
We did make it to the “Boat With Stars” (Peter Pan), and both of our boys absolutely adored it. Matt couldn’t believe that he was in “real outer space.” They wanted to ride it again, but the line was over an hour long, so we left Fantasyland for our lunch reservations at Orleans Café. Most of the adults had the Monte Cristo sandwich, and the kids had macaroni and cheese. Getting out of the sun and into a nice, cool place to sit down is a recipe for happiness at the Disney parks!
The weather was quite hot, and a long, cool boat ride on Small World sounded wonderful. The line was surprisingly long and stagnant, and then we noticed the paramedics off to the side of the ride. An elderly person had some problems and had to be evacuated from the ride-she appeared fine on the stretcher, which was a relief. The line started moving again quickly and we settled into our boat for a fun ride. Baby A, unfortunately, fell asleep as soon as we entered the dark, air conditioned building. I’m sure he would have loved it if he had managed to stay awake for the ride!
Since Baby A was sleeping, we ran over to Tomorrowland to get fast passes for Space Mountain. We got passes for 7:00pm, and then found valid Buzz Lightyear fast passes on the ground. Apparently, someone had dumped them since the time was nearly up. We asked around, and they didn’t belong to anyone, so we used them. My parents gamely stayed with Baby A, and the rest of us shot some aliens. Matt claimed this to be his favorite ride, though his “favorite” ride changed repeatedly throughout the day!
Baby A woke up, and we wanted to take him on his first Autopia ride. The ride requirement (as we remembered them) was that a child be one year of age. Disney has added a height requirement of 32 inches, and Baby A didn’t quite meet the height requirement. My cousins sat this one out, and Grandma, Grandpa, and the boys had a great time on this one. Nolan drove his own car (I operated the gas pedal), and refused to get out when the ride stopped. He would have driven all day if we let him!
I had read about the Jedi Training Academy, and I thought Matthew would get a big kick out of the adventure. We sat down for the show, and scooted Matt toward the front. He squealed and jumped, but didn’t get picked on the first two passes. He was defeated and almost started to cry, and I saw the cast members make another pass over the audience. I told him to get out there and yell, and they called out his shirt description. He didn’t hear them at first, and his lip started to tremble. I told him, “They called you- get over there!” He was absolutely over the moon, and donned his Jedi robe. He ate up the performance, and when Darth Maul appeared, they nearly had to pull Matt off of him (he took his job as a Jedi a little too seriously)! The only lasting problem we have is that Matt honestly believes he is a real Jedi: we have had to inform him that Jedi mind tricks don’t work on Mommies.
After the excitement of the Jedi show, we wandered over to Adventureland and rode the Jungle Cruise. Matt got to sit up front-no doubt the effect of his new Jedi mind tricks. Everyone enjoyed the old favorite, and we decided to go to the Tiki Room to take in a show. Baby A was seriously into the show, bouncing and dancing through the entire thing. Our boys enjoyed it immensely, though Nolan had a bit of a problem with the sudden thunder (his hearing aids amplify everything, and sometimes it can get uncomfortable).
Our newly-minted Jedi was clamoring for a “fast ride,” so we thought Star Tours would be a good first “big boy ride” for him. Last year, he didn’t meet the height requirement, but this year he was a good inch over the minimum. My parents stayed with Nolan and Baby A, and we took Matt to the moon of Endor. I was a little concerned during the ride, because Matt kept leaning over to me and saying something. I thought he was saying, “I’m scared of this ride!” I held his hand and told him it would be over soon. When the ride ended, I asked him, “Was that too scary?” He looked disgusted with me and said, “I was SAYING, I always wanted that ride!” He was quite impressed with the ride and we decided to get him a build-your-own-lightsaber in the Star Trader shop. We bought Nolan one as well, since we knew he would want one once he saw his brother’s!
We ate at Red Rocket’s Pizza Port for dinner, taking time to relax. Our fast passes for Space Mountain were ready, so my cousins, husband, and I headed for the line. We only waited about 15 minutes and had a great time-I haven’t ridden this for about 10 years, and it is my favorite Disney attraction! We had park hopper passes, so we headed over to Disney California Adventure after we exited Space Mountain.
Matt wanted to do his second “big boy” ride of the day, so we took him on Soarin’ Over California. We got switch-off passes for my parents, who (very nicely) agreed to stay with Baby A and Nolan again. Matt’s eyes were the size of golf balls, and he kept yelling, “WOW” as the theater seats swung up and over the screen. He was exhilarated after this ride, and kept yelling, “I love that ride!”
We sat and waited for my parents to ride, and our boys had a lightsaber duel while Baby A rode on his daddy’s shoulders. By the time my parents exited the ride, all of the children were shot and we decided to call it a night. We left for our car, the hotel, and a good night’s sleep!
I have lots of great pictures, but unfortunately can't post them because of the requirement to have 15 posts prior to linking photos.
Sunday, July 18: California Adventure
Plan: Redwood Creek Challenge Trail, Midway Mania, and Turtle Talk with Crush
My cousins weren’t with us this day, so we headed out with Grandma, Grandpa, and our own little family of four. California Adventure is a little tough with kids who don’t meet the minimum height requirement, so we planned on spending a bit of time in the Challenge Trail area and the Bug’s Life area. While Matt is just now entering the “big kid ride” arena, Nolan is a little guy (25 pounds and 34 inches tall).
My parents and I took Matt on the Mulholland Madness coaster, which was a little wilder than it looked. Matt, fortunately, loved the ride and declared it his “most favorite ride ever.” Thank goodness he is extremely adventurous (for a four year old, anyway)! Dennis and Nolan were going to ride the Jumping Jellyfish, but he soon realized there was a 40” height requirement for the ride. They gamely waited for us, and watched the other rides in action.
We went to the Challenge Creek Trail and let the kids run free (well, as free as they could be with one of four adults on their tails)! With the cargo nets, slides, and rock climbing areas, our boys were in their version of heaven.
Midway Mania was high on our list of rides to visit in this park, so we jumped in line and waited. The passing roller coaster made Nolan jump out of his skin while we were in line, so we turned off his hearing aids until we were away from the thundering cars. Both boys absolutely loved the actual ride, squealing and trying to hit as many targets as possible. Nolan had trouble with the 3D glasses, with his small face and overcrowded ears. We ended setting the thick, plastic earpieces on top of his aids, instead of trying to fit them onto his ears, and it worked out for a while. He ended up taking off the glasses part way through the ride, but had a marvelous time even without the 3D effect.
We had lunch at the Wine Country Trattoria: some paninis for us and pasta for the kids. The wait staff was very helpful with Nolan’s dietary needs. He has ridiculously severe reflux, and can’t have any tomato sauce. Unfortunately, the Trattoria does not offer any macaroni and cheese or other “safe” food for the little guy. They made him a custom pasta-with-parmesan-and-butter dish, which was much appreciated.
We headed over to the Bug’s Life area, and rode the ladybugs, Flik’s Flyers, and the bumper cars. Nolan somehow made the height requirement for the bumper cars, and he quite pleased with himself after that. We heard a lot of “I a big boy” after that ride!
We felt the end of the boys’ energy level coming, so we decided to go over to Turtle Talk with Crush and then head out of the parks. This show is so cute, and Matt sat on the floor in front of the audience. He wasn’t picked for any of the questions, but he was convinced that Crush was really in an aquarium on the other side of the screen. He kept looking for it when we left the theater!
We left California Adventure, and my parents headed to the parking garage. We wanted to check the photopass pictures from Matt’s Jedi Training Academy experience, so we ducked into Disneyland to get the information on how that system worked. Once we were inside, of course, both boys spied the rockets and clamored for a ride. Apparently, they had gotten a second wind!
The line was a little long, but they didn’t mind. While this ride is just a duplicate of Dumbo to adults, it is an entirely different ride to preschoolers. When I told Matt, “That one is just like Dumbo, are you sure you want to ride it?” he just stared at me. “No, Mom. Those are ROCKETS. Dumbo is an ELEPHANT!” Nolan was beyond happy as he piloted his own rocket ship. This is the stuff dreams are made of, and he talked about it for days afterward.
Since the boys were suddenly quite chipper and the evening much cooler, we decided to take a peek at Toon Town. Both boys loved running through the houses and peeking into the mailboxes. Matt had a sudden desire to meet Mickey Mouse, and since both boys were in such great moods, we entered Mickey’s house. With the objects in the house and the cartoons in the last holding area, the wait seemed really short. Matt had a 1,000 watt grin as he dashed into Mickey’s arms. Nolan is extremely shy and was not as enthusiastic about Mickey, but he did shake hands with Mickey when he was in Daddy’s arms.
After Mickey, it really was time to go. Even though the boys were chipper and we were feeling full of energy, the sun was starting to go down and Nolan had school the next morning. We left the parks and headed back to the apartment at the John Tracy Clinic, knowing Nolan would have a lot to talk about with his teachers the next day!