Emma Meets Mickey Mouse

WARNING: There are a ridiculous amount of pictures on this post! Also, there is a super adorable baby in almost all of the pictures which will make you want to keep looking at them which could take a very long time! If you are busy or don't like pictures of cute babies, this isn't the blog post for you. You've been warned. 

A few weeks ago, our little family hit the road once again.  This time, we were headed to one of my favorite places to visit, Disneyland. I’ve been there many times but I was pretty excited this time for a few reasons. First, my whole family was going to be there; Mom, dad, both of my brothers, and my little sister. It’s been quite a while since we have all been on a trip together like we used to when we were kids. I was also so excited because Sam had never been to Disneyland. I was so looking forward to showing him one of my favorite childhood memories. Last, Emma. Of course, Emma makes everything just a little bit more exciting for me. I couldn’t wait to see her reaction to all of the fun rides, parades, and characters.

In preparation, I spent hours packing, shopping, planning Emma’s meals, and getting things at home taken care of. Christmas would be just a few short days after we arrived home and I wanted to make sure we wouldn’t be stressed out about that during our trip. Getting ready for a big trip takes a lot of effort when you have a little one. If you forget something, it can be a pretty big deal. So, I checked and doubled checked everything on Emma’s list. I was determined to make this trip a success.

On the drive there, my sister joined us in our car. It was really nice because she entertained Emma for the entire drive. She fed her whenever she was hungry, gave her a fresh toy every time she got sick of the one she was playing with, and made sure she was comfortable. At one point, the back seat got very quiet and I looked back to see Emma and Olivia both peacefully asleep-Emma leaning towards Olivia, and Olivia resting her head on the arm of Emma’s car seat. They slept for at least a couple of hours. Emma woke first and poked Olivia in the nose a few times to wake her up too.

We stopped at this old diner called Peggy Sue’s in a little nothing town. It didn’t look like much but turned out to be a really cool place. There were autographed pictures of lots of old and some newer movie stars who had eaten at the restaurant including Gene Kelly, Marilyn Monroe, Andy Garcia, Lucille Ball, and John Wayne.  The walls were covered with Hollywood memorabilia, there were different life sized figurines all throughout the diner and there was a neat gift shop and candy counter. It was a fun little stop and after stretching our legs and filling up, we were back on the road.

Sam and I stayed at a separate hotel from where the rest of the family stayed. We were on the ground floor of a Travelodge hotel. It wasn’t fancy but the room was clean and big enough for the three of us to be comfortable. We got settled in and then met the family at Downtown Disney to do some window shopping. We wandered through shops and enjoyed a gingerbread flavored churro. We especially liked the Lego shop where we saw life sized characters built entirely out of Legos. We all ate dinner at a nice little pizza place and then headed back to our hotels, excited for tomorrow’s adventure.

The rest of the family always made it to the park a little earlier than we did, it’s tough to get out the door early with Emma-well, and Sam. After getting ready, we headed towards the park and I was practically sprinting as Sam walked slowly behind. Of course, at every crossing he would catch up to me before the “walk” sign came on anyway so there was really no point in running but I was just so excited. We got there on the first day just after the park had opened and headed straight to Fantasyland. Emma’s first ride was Pinocchio’s Daring Journey and she loved it! She was wide eyed and looking all around, fascinated. We spent the rest of the morning taking Emma on all of the rides in Fantasyland. We were there early enough that the lines were either nonexistent or really short so we were able to get on to everything pretty quickly. Emma fell asleep right before the Small World ride which was sad because I wanted to see her reaction! My dad held her and Sam and I enjoyed the ride in the back of the boat.

Olivia looks a tiny bit like a vampire in this picture-a hot vampire of course. Emma loved riding with aunt Livie on all of the rides! Here they are on Mr. Toad's Wild Ride. 

Flying on Dumbo! 

Emma really loved this one-so much to look at as you spin around. 

She was pretty fascinated with the gold bar on our horse too. :)

Emma didn't even mind waiting in a few lines...Here we are waiting to ride Alice in Wonderland's ride. 

It's a Small World

I could go on and on about all of the details of our trip but, that would probably be boring to anyone who actually decides to read it so I will just write a few of the highlights:

-Watching Emma’s face light up on all of the different rides.

We went on this ride lots of times! Emma loved it. 

Taking a nice leisurely ride on the Mark Twain River Boat in The Rivers of America 

On the raft to Tom Sawyer Island

-Exploring! There were so many fun places for Emma to see, touch, and experience! Treehouses, nature trails, Minnie's house and more! 

Stuck in the dog pound in Toon Town! 

Getting ready to go inside Mickey's house!

Trying out Mickey's fancy instrument

Hanging out at the water fountain with grandpa. This girl loves water.

Look at my little prodigy :) She loved this piano in Goofy's house! 

"Oh, hi mom!"

Water fountain in Bug's Land

Cutest little hand. 

-Enjoying 2 incredible parades. (Disneyland has the best parades, no contest.)

Watchin the parade with auntie

Watching parade #2

-Amazingly good food! Monte Cristo sandwiches, thick Ghiradelli drinking chocolate, Dole Pineapple whip float, Broccoli cheddar soup in a bread bowl made onsite, beignets, brioche French toast, and more.

I know-I'm horrible! I gave her a taste. She was pretty mad when I took it away. 

Mmm...Pineapple whip float. My favorite.

-Spending almost the entire last day with just Sam and me. My family was kind enough to take Emma so that we could enjoy some alone time in California Adventure. We rode tons of rides, ate a delicious lunch, and ended the day with the most incredible water fountain show, World of Color. Having family there to take Emma now and again made our trip even more enjoyable! It gave us a chance to enjoy some of the rides that were too big for Emma and some time together on our own.

Tarzan's Treehouse

Grizzly Rapids...One of my favorites. 

-Seeing Emma interact with the characters we met. She especially loved Goofy who kept playing “peek-a-boo” and “got your nose” which sent her into hysterical giggles. It was so cute.

Goofy was Emma's favorite

-Spending time with my family! It was just so fun to be with everyone in such a fun place. I love seeing my siblings interact with Emma and she loves her aunt and uncles (and of course grandma and grandpa) SO much.

Picture of a picture but, had to add. I'm too scared to ride this one! (For those who don't know, I am a baby on big rides!)

Finding out which character she is most like with uncle Beau

Grandpa shoulder ride :)

We had such a wonderful time! Emma was a real trooper and did so well with naps in the park. She would literally just fall asleep the second I wrapped her up and we would take turns holding her while she slept. She would sleep through rides we went on or while we took a lunch break. She stayed happy almost the entire time and was just fascinated by everything around us. I think the awesome naps were probably due to all of the stimulation! It was quite a trip for her.

And so, Emma added three new states to her list, I got to show her and Sam around one of my favorite places, and we had a wonderful time together! As always, all of the preparation and planning that these trips take turned out to be so worth the effort. Such a fun trip filled with great memories! Of course, Emma won’t have any memory of it but, as my dad said, “She won’t remember being there, but we’ll remember being there with her.” And being there with her was so much fun!

Can’t wait to go back again!