'Tis the Season

Long before children, long before marriage, in the quiet, simple world of dating, we would take our yearly pilgrimage down to LA to go to Disneyland at Christmas. True, we went to DL many times during the year (how easy traveling was then!) but Christmas time was special. Some people go and get their Christmas tree the first weekend of December, but we always went to So Cal. It was the best time of year: the Thanksgiving crowds were gone, the decorations were up, but the Christmas crowds weren't there yet. It was perfect. But then came pregnancy and Luke-pie, and our trips were set aside. I had decided that Luke wasn't going to go to DL till he "was old enough to enjoy it." (I'm sure many of you quietly snickered when I said that. Thanks for not being obvious.) So this year, Grandma Linda took us to Disneyland for our Christmas present. I was so excited!!

Sleeping Beauty's Castle all decked out!

Luke getting ready for the tram. "TRAAAAAAAAAAIN!"

Please note: the Tuesday after Christmas = not a good time to DL. Yikes. We had waited in 5 lines before we could actually be free to enjoy DL. (For the record, the waits were: the parking lot, the tram, the bag check, the ticket booth and stroller rental) What's nice was that Luke is so into trains, the tram was a great first ride.
Dumbo is rad.


After finally getting INTO DL, we headed to Small World, as a good intro ride. By the time all was said and done and we were in the park, there was no chance at all the quality "first-time-at-DL" rides, ie: Dumbo, Peter Pan, etc. so Small World it was. Simple boat ride ("BOOOOOOOATTTTT!) and fun kids singing. I love Small World (strange?) and I especially love it at Christmas. (shocking.)
Small World decked out.

Luke actually did surprisingly well in the lines, considering the wait times for everything was ridiculous.

In front of Small World with a slightly put-out little boy. Sit on Daddy's shoulders or stand next to Mom and Dad. What kind of choices are those?? Lame.


The magicalness and wonderment of Small World. (Don't deny it, you have it too.)

He did great during the ride, many a "whoa!" and "wow!" throughout, but then, right at the end . . . the boat stopped. That's right. It stopped. What did I do to you Small World? I loved you like no other! And you STOPPED. You stopped the boy who craves speed and will make him sit in a boat that wouldn't move?? Daddy saved the day: let Luke stand between his legs and let him jump. That's right: we're those parents. But the alternative would not make any passenger on the Happiest Cruise to Set Sail a happy passenger.

SMALL WORLD RULES.
And in the end, it might have been Luke's favorite part of the ride. He makes his own fun.

Terrible picture of a terrible mom. I had decided that I needed to take my child on at least traditional Fantasyland ride and apparently, I thought that the best option (out of the non-Peter Pan options) would be Snow White's Scary Adventure. *sigh* I don't remember it being scary. You know, from an adult's point of view. Hey Self, you're not a toddler. Thanks. Luke did surprisingly well as we were all just as chipper as we could be during the ride. ("A witch! Hooray!") Just big eyes from Luke-pie. Not so sure about it, but no tears, either. But some reflection time on this before taking him to the "hot place" on Mr. Toad's Crazy Wild Driving Extravaganza might be a good idea.

So we hoped that Luke would be tall enough to go on Autopia, due to his increasing addiction to all things with a motor that go "vrooom!" He was tall enough (when did that happen??) and he rode with Daddy. And Daddy let him drive! Apparently, he laughed hysterically the whole time.
I snagged one picture at the end.


Luke was about done with the whole idea of standing in line by this point, but we had to take him on the carousel. He loved it and I was able to ride with him.

Luke got his first pair of "ears" and I cried. Shocking.

What a good lookin' kid. I didn't even intend to color-coordinate him with the ears, but coincidentally it worked out pretty well. (I usually dress him in the "what are the most clean items in the room?" style.)

And then it was time for family pictures. Luke was not into the ears, nor was he interested in sitting anymore.


By that time, it was lunch and we decided to go out to the Country Bear eating zone, simply because there are a lot of tables and its far out from the main areas, so we figured we'd have a better shot at a faster lunch and a table to eat it at. And I wanted to give Luke some solid time in the stroller, just in case he might fall asleep in the stroller.

He is by no means a "stroller sleeper" (EVER) but in the overwhelming experience of DL, he passed right on out. We were able to eat a quiet lunch and then venture into Toontown. Luke isn't quite there yet, but he loved it and will be ready in the next couple of years.

After that, Grandma took Luke home to play and relax while Todd and I were able to spend the rest of the day/night at DL. Luke was so happy - he really had a great time. Until we had to leave.

Then, it all started to *ahem* fall apart. But Grandma brought the magical Great Grandma cookies and life was good again.

We stayed until the wee hours of the morn and fully enjoyed our "date night at DL." We stayed up way past my bedtime. * I was clearly delirious enough to want to take a picture of the clock."