The Young Family: Disney 2013

An abundance of pictures that followed an abundance of fun at the Happiest Place on Earth!
Spring Break 2013 also fell on Mike's 40th Birthday. He's been waiting 40 years for his mom and dad to take him to Disney (sigh), and since I got tired of waiting, and I thought our kids were the perfect age to enjoy such said vacation, we booked it and anticipated it for week on end.
We prepped, planned, discussed, and pumped up everyone to have a great time. Kade got sick a few days prior and although you couldn't tell it, he was pretty miserable those first few days. He could barely talk, being horse from coughing so much, but he still ran circles around all of us.
Heading to the Hotel - they are crazy!

It was packed being spring break for most of the US, but the weather was perfect, and sometimes too hot, and overall we had a great time. The kids were such troopers walking and walking and walking. They never complained about standing in line and managed to pass the time just with excited talk. We stayed about a half mile away from the park (which was only 3 blocks), and we walked there and back each day, and one day even twice. I think the parents (or probably mostly myself) complained about the heat and walking more than the kids.
Of course it's a magical place where you step inside a fantasy life. It's part of what they do so well there. There is nothing half-assed! The parades and shows are spectacular and kids of all ages love them.

The kids loved meeting and randomly seeing all the characters walking around. Reagan got 26 signatures in her autograph book and that will be a bragging point for awhile I think!! The characters make it so fun for kids. Most can't talk, (because of those huge heads), but the princesses, fairies, and such that can, always pay special attention to hairs in buns, colors of shirts, remarks the kids make, etc. They ask their names and then address them by that. While waiting in line for Ariel, a footman pulled a fork out of his jacket and handed it to Reagan and said, "see if she remembers what this is". Little touches that make it a great experience. She exclaimed "Oh! My dinglehopper! Where did you find this?", and then she combed her hair with it :)

Tinkerbell thought it was great that Rea was wearing a green shirt, her favorite color, and that my hair was in a bun "I love buns!" she said :)

I love Kade's face here!

Minnie and Mickey, hug, touch, and love on the kids. They make them seem so real and so magical.

The little gesture of holding Kade's hand was sweet :)

Goofy was so funny and mimicked Kade and he got a total kick out of that.

The highlight for Reagan was probably waiting and seeing Merida (from Brave). She and I waited in line for probably 45 mins (the longest we waited for anything - or should I say, wanted to wait), they said right before we got there she was leaving to feed her house. I was irritated, but then she let Reagan come up to her, gave her a hug, showed her the bear brothers, and talked about her. Up walks Kade, and he says "Hey, I Kader-Tot (which is legally his name to him and how he approaches everyone), and Merida laughs and sweetly says "Oh, I LOOOVE tatertots" ;o) After pictures and signatures, she grabbed their hands and said let's take a walk to my horse, and away they went down the streets of Disney skipping - or trying to skip- along. It was so cute and so special for them. They thought they were in a parade and waved to everyone they passed :)

The downside was the crowds, and while we mostly enjoyed Disney, California Adventure was a nightmare. It's mostly geared for older kids anyway, but it is the one place to see the Toy Story (HELLLLLOOO WOODY!!), and the Cars Land. By the time we got there and inside and ready to go, there were no fast passes even left for rides in the park. So the Cars ride and Toy Story ride were 2 hours wait. No ride is worth that kind of wait. The kids didn't know any different and so we just walked around, did what we could, and left early to prepare for another day at Disneyland.

This was Kade afte waiting in line for a bit to meet Woody, only to have Woody leave when we were just a few shy of getting to the front. Thankfully, Woody, Jessie and Buzz rotated the same spot every 20 mins so they got to meet all three!!

I love the look of excitement on his face as he's showing Woody his Bullseye

(The "photo takers" at Disney have a much better one of them, so I'm definately purchasing it to have for him!)
We went early the last day and were able to do a lot of things. Kade got to ride the Buzz ride a few times, and we enjoyed the Star Wars ride (which they both loved), and of course the family favorite (except Reagan) Splash Mountain!! Kade couldn't ride it enough. He'd squeal with excitement and say "Let's go up, up, up, and then down, down, down". He was just tall enough for the rides! We rode it the first night we were there and Reagan's face and scream of fear were priceless. The next time we rode it was in the day time and there was no WAY she was going on the ride after that:)
Shootin' the bad guys