Disneyland Character: Me

I wasn't going to include myself, but I have some interesting insights (at least I think so) this time around. I went to Disneyland when I was 9 and again when I was 17 (only this time it was in Tokyo where Mickey spoke Japanese). Then Cliff, Cheryl and I went a few months after we got married. Cliff's parents took us when Mason and Kaiah were little, and we went with the Carlsons in 2007. So I guess I have been several times.

This time was interesting because I have developed a few different interests since our last trip:

Photography: 

I noticed the details this time. The amazing work in every nook and cranny. On more than one occasion I was lagging behind photographing the artistry,

the arches, 

the amazing doors, 

and the plants and trees. 

They were just gorgeous! I even found some animals to photograph. Mason was on the lookout for birds and we found some of those too :)

Type 1 Diabetes: 


Though not a love, I am definitely interested in this topic more now than I was before and I found it interesting the things that I noticed. Stroller after stroller with kids eating ice cream, cotton candy, soda, huge hunks of Turkey legs drenched in sugary marinade, and other treats of almost every kind.

I noticed the Bug's life ride that has a cottage cheese container as a seat in the ride. On the side of the carton was the nutritional information... and I found myself (while standing in line) calculating to see if they had used an actual container as their example or just made up numbers...

I was surprised at how unprepared we were with Kaiah's diabetes supplies staying near her at all times. At least twice she was standing in line with me while Cliff (who had the juice and meter) was out with Lochlan when she started to panic, feeling like she had a low blood sugar. We were stuck in line and couldn't exactly leave and get back to our place in line. We learned after the first few times of this to keep the supplies with whoever was with Kaiah.

Only 1 time did we need to stop what we were doing in order for Kaiah's sugar to come back up and for her to feel the energy to keep walking... Here Mason is bored, Kaiah is trying to regain strength after a juice, and Cliff is singing the Sleeping Beauty song with Cambria...

 

Lots of Little Children

I'm pretty interested in these little guys :)

I found that I really didn't mind missing out on a ride here and there and having to stay out to watch the younger kiddos. I genuinely enjoyed seeing the looks on their faces just as much, if not more than experiencing the ride myself.  

I think this, in part, is because I had already done most of those rides in the past few years. 

Slowing Down

Yeah. I like slowing down. I liked the breaks, not only because my ankle was still swollen from my December injury, but because we got to participate in some really fun things when we took our time to rest and occasionally stray from the more popular areas. 

We got to see the Toy Story Army Guys in a back lot of California Adventure, 

play in a hillbilly band with washboard and wooden spoons, 

 listen to some really fun music,

and visit with random people from all over the world and, as it turns out, those close to home. Locke, Bria and I rode in a Ferris Wheel with a family from Christ Church, New Zealand whose home had been damaged in the huge earthquake. It was really interesting visiting with them. And I discovered another guy in the line for Dumbo who was a believer, who had worked with my sister's speech therapist and currently worked 2 miles from my home! We had a very interesting conversation about Autism and speech therapy... (it was a long line that time).

Efficiency and Time/Money Saving Tips

I am obviously interested in this because of the category above. When you have 4 kids who need to eat, drink, go the bathroom, not get too tired, and the list goes on and on... you need to save money and time whenever possible.

We tried to plan ahead and figure out which shows and things were available when. We also made good use of the fast pass and stroller pass system. These were essentials! I found that we all got exhausted when we strayed from the plan too much and hopped back and forth from park to park with no real plan. We also discovered a lot of things while we were there just by asking questions and clarifying things.

For example, after the Princess Fantasy Fair all the people leave and go up to stand in line to see some of the "B list" princesses for an hour or more sometimes. But we discovered that if we just stayed for an extra 5-10 minutes, Sleeping Beauty, Snow White and Cinderella came right out onto the floor with virtually no waiting! Bria was 2nd in line for Sleeping Beauty's autograph and individualized attention. I couldn't believe our luck!

I think we could have done an even better job with this aspect if our internet connection in the hotel wouldn't have been cutting in and out. We found out that people with I-phones had apps that showed waiting times for each ride and all kinds of other helpful info inside the parks. I tried not to covet... but it was difficult! :)

We also packed our own lunches for all but 4 meals, saving us a lot of money and time. We just used a locker to store everything and ate lunch either at the hotel or as we were leaving one park and entering another.

The only things I would change about next time would be to bring parkas for the wet rides. That way you can go on them and not have to worry about walking around in wet clothes all day if the sun is not our. And we would probably not do 5 days in the parks. We would have purchased 4 hopper passes and spend the third day at the beach doing something that didn't involve walking all day.

It was a wonderful trip but Cliff and I both feel like we don't need to return anytime soon :) Disneyland is out of our system for a while :) Here are some photos of our family: