Disneyland Week Wrap-up and Video

So, I'm sure people think I'm crazy. Or a Disney nut. Or both. I think, though, that this silly goal of going every day for a week had some measure of inspiration to it. We all needed to get out of a rut routine, and I needed kind of a vacation with my boys. I read a great blog recently that talked about mommy days being filled with "chronos time" and "kairos time." "Chronos Time" is when you're counting down to bedtime or waiting in line at Target while your kids go nuts. "Kairos Time" is this spiritual, wonderful moment of seeing the beauty and wonder of your kids. Well, I had a TON of Kairos time this week: Beckett singing the "Pirates" song, Hamilton entering the "big kid" phase of Disneyland, singing along to Pandora on the way to the park, playing in line. Very little "Chronos Time." I know every week can't be like this, but I'm hoping I let a little of the Disney Week magic into more of our everyday routines.

Some random notes:

• total hours on Disney property: about 37. ha!
  
• I tried to dress the boys in matching outfits each day for a few reasons. 1. I think they look adorable together, 2. When kids look cute, it's harder to be annoyed by them (this is for our fellow Guests), 3. People know they both belong to you, which makes me feel a little more secure.
• We kept the important routines we enjoy: music class, preschool. And I managed to workout 3x this week! Half as much as I'd like to, but pretty good, considering.
• I did some housework everyday.
• It was really nice to spend less time on the computer...facebook, pinterest, e-mail, etc. I didn't need the escape this week. :)
  
• We spent $58 on Disneyland food/drink the entire week. That might sound like a lot, but it's actually pretty awesome. I'm proud of myself for packing snacks and lunches everyday. Ok, not everyday. I was done packing lunch/dinner by Friday, so we ate out that day....accounting for $25. It was worth it. :)
• I never got bored or felt like we were doing the same thing over and over.
• Kids aren't trying to be "bad" in line; they're just trying to entertain themselves. I curbed a lot of bad behavior by playing "simon says" or having them "jump into the circle and jump and jump and jump" (from our music class). I could sometimes hear other kids in line saying to their parents, "I want to play Simon Says!" I only busted out the iPhone once to look at pictures, while Jasmine and Ryan finished their lunch.
• I'm pretty sure I'll do this again next year. What would I change? Have Alex come for one of the days. This week was crazy busy for him. He could only come Friday night because he would be working all day Saturday.
• On Saturday, Hamilton went to a stake Primary activity, where they "visited" different states. Today at church Hamilton reported his favorite state was "Disneyland." hahahaha! And thus we have proof that I am the greatest mom ever!

And now the video taken from the week...

Disneyland: Day 5

We did it! We made it the final day of Disney Week 2012!

Time: Arrived at the parking garage at 9:40am and left at 10pm.

A note on our time: 12 hours at the park? Yeah, that was unexpected, especially for our last day. Why did we keep on staying and staying? First, we were having fun. Duh. Second, we met up with three different groups, perfectly staggered throughout the day. How could we leave when we had people to hang with?!

Weather: warm but pleasant. ahhhhh...Southern California, you are good to us.

Rides:

• We spent the majority of our time in Disneyland. In fact, a big reason we raced to get to the park early was to attend Jedi Training for the first time. Like any red-blooded, American boy, Hamilton already loves Star Wars. Sometimes I even think Beckett recognizes and says "Darth Vader." Kind of love it. Related parenting story from that morning at home: Alex scolds Hamilton, "I thought you were a Jedi trainee! Only the Dark Side doesn't share." Maybe I'd be alright with all boys.... :)
• Buzz Lightyear, Casey Jr (wild animal cage again!), Dumbo, carousel a couple times, Pirates a couple times, Roger Rabbit, Alice in Wonderland, Pinocchio
• The most important RIDE moment of the day though is when Jasmine suggested we get Star Tours fast passes for the boys. I said Hamilton wasn't tall enough, but Jasmine encouraged me to check and ....(drumroll)...he proved to be 40"! And thus a whole new world at Disneyland opens to him. I think this is a big reason Alex started thinking he needed to meet us at the park. woohoo! What a great surprise. Alex went on Thunder Mountain with Hamilton. When they got off the ride, Hamilton was talking a mile a minute, he was so excited. Alex and I both got to take him on Splash Mountain. I went the second go-around, so Hamilton was chattering on and on about what this was and what that meant. I don't think I've heard him talk this fast and animatedly about anything before. Cutest. Thing, Ever.
  
• Headed to CA Adventure, which was open an hour later, to do Little Mermaid.
  

On our way in!! We strollered right off the elevator and on to a tram. Awesome.


And who better to greet us than Mickey Mouse himself? After our picture, Hamilton excitedly exclaimed to Mickey, "We're going to Star Wars!"


Getting ready for Jedi Training. I sooo wanted them to get picked, but it was our bad luck that a couple of loud, tall boys parked themselves next to us. Boo.


They were entranced nonetheless.


Hamilton and Brandon riding by themselves on Alice in Wonderland "because they're four." I think Hamilton enjoyed this new development as much as the rides themselves.



Jasmine and I jailed the boys to get a break.


While in jail, the boys spotted Pluto, so we had to go over and say "hi."


On the carousel.


The boys fighting Zurg on the way into Buzz.


"Hi C3Po! Hi!"


Back on the carousel, hoping that this ride wouldn't make Wesley sob like Pirates did. Wrong.


This cracks me up.



So, after Alex texted to say he would come, I sent him this picture with the caption, "I just told Hamilton you were coming." That kind of ensured he wouldn't back out. :)


Karen was kind enough to take our photo. Notice that Hamilton and I have the same "look excited!" technique. While on Dumbo, I looked down and saw Alex standing there. Boy, were we excited. The boys rushed to him as soon as they could, shouting, "Daddy! Daddy!" Hopefully, this made up for the 90 minutes of traffic.


While Alex and Hamilton headed to Big Thunder, Beckett and Wesley cruised around together. Amusingly, Wesley got upset on this elephant as well.


After two times on Splash Mountain, we hurried and got on Pirates, all three boys' favorite.


You think they like their daddy?



Beckett didn't make it to the car. Notice the pizza crust in his hand, the cutie pants. He stayed asleep through the diaper/jammie change as well.


Hamilton fell asleep while we waited to leave the garage.


What an amazing week. I'm lucky to have annual passes and such fun-loving boys!

Disneyland: Day 4

Time: Arrived at the parking garage at 2:45 and left it at 7:30.
I need to add a story about our arrival. Because we didn't do the tram at all the day before, I promised Hamilton would do it today. It was totally packed in the "I don't want to fold up my stroller because I'm juggling a bunch of stuff and kids" line, but empty in the others. So, I thought, what the heck. Let's fold it up. Argh, a pain. Luckily, some guys were helpful. However, it meant that the boys needed to get off the tram while I dealt with everything else. I told Hamilton to go sit by the fence and wait for me with Beckett. They did!! They looked sooo adorable sitting there, prompting strangers to comment on their awesome behavior and obedience. "I know!" I exclaimed, "They're amazing!" I, naturally, knew that there was a 98% chance I'd be yelling at them for not listening later, but I needed to remember this moment!

Weather: Warm enough to justify sharing an ice cream cone, but nothing too crazy.

Rides:

• It was a California Adventure day, so Toy Story, of course, was a must. Hamilton insisted on riding by himself--this time he kept his bum on the seat, impressing some surrounding fellow riders: "He's so well-mannered!" Seriously.
• King Triton's Carousel, Flick's Flyers, Hemilich's Chew Chew Train, Monsters, Little Mermaid
  
• Watched "It's Tough to Be a Bug" and "The Muppets"
  

Photos!

on our way in. aren't my eye wrinkles awesome?


There's never too long of a line to meet Captain Mickey. A special shout-out to the Disney photographer for getting this sweet angle on me. But they did capture a snuggly Beckett, so who cares? :)


I'm a sucker for these carousel pics.


Jessie! For the record, we only go see the characters Hamilton wants us to see. It's pretty fun to see him spot them and say, "Jessie! There's Jessie! Let's go see her!"


I got a surprise, awesome view of the emerging Radiator Springs when we went to check out the "Blue Sky Cellar." I had my doubts, but this is looking pretty cool.


I am also a sucker for glasses pics.


See?


On our way into the Muppets!


Look at that purposeful stride! You wouldn't guess I spent 40% of our time saying, "Becks! Becks! Come on! Let's go!"


Getting some last minute instructions from Sam the Eagle.


Attempting to get food into them before we go home.


On our way back to the car. I'm probably as tired as I look.

Disneyland: Day 3

Wednesday was our full day at Disneyland. Whew, what a difference a few hours makes! Add no nap for Beckett, hotter weather, and more people, and there were a couple of moments where I thought, "AHHH!! That's it! We're leaving!" One example is when we waited in line with crazy, hungry kids only be told, "Oh, sorry. We're out of mac and cheese." Noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo! We coped. We stayed. We got to hang out with friends all day!

Arrived in the parking garage at 9:45. And left the garage at 7:30.


Hamilton really wanted to see "Disney Junior: Live on Stage," so I high-tailed it through the construction detour, miraculously making it there on time, only to be told that show had been cancelled. Turned out to be ok for us though because we went to "Turtle Talk with Crush" instead. Hamilton and Beckett looked sooo cute sitting next to each other in their matching Mickey shirts, so I wasn't too surprised when Crush picked Hamilton to talk to! This is the first time it's happened, so I was pretty excited. Here's the exchange:

Crush: Hey, dude. What's your name:
Hamilton: Hamilton
Crush: Cool to meet you Hang-10 Hamilton! What's your question?
Hamilton: silence....I'm four.
Crush: Wow, that's cool! I'm 165. In one year you'll be five! Can you help me figure out what something is?
Hamilton: Yeah.
Crush: bringing out a Buzz figure. What's this?
Hamilton: Buzz Lightyear!
Crush: What does it do?
Hamilton: He flies!
Crush: Cool....Who else has a question?
Hamilton: Beckett does! Beckett has a question!

We then went to the Disney Junior show with the Jasmine, Brandon, and Ryan. I thought Becks would like it a lot more since (confession) he watches some of those shows now. Mostly he was just mesmerized and a little shy.

Other Rides:

• Haunted Mansion. It was shut down a lot, so we were pretty excited when we found it open. Hamilton really wanted to go on this.
• Jungle Cruise, Winnie the Pooh, Rockets, Buzz Lightyear (where I was 1,000 pts shy of Level 5. Blast!!), Roger Rabbit
• Gadget's Go Coaster. It was a big deal we went on this because H has been spooked about roller coasters for about a year. Frustrating. The first thing he said after we got in line was, "Hey! Do I get to go on this? Yea!!!!" Um, okay. Yea!
• Autopia, Nemo, Disney Railroad
  

Three things: Evidence that Beckett now has to do everything that Hamilton does, and I told Hamilton to stop climbing on this approximately 72 times. I'm not a big fan of Toon Town (hot, crowded, full of kid distractions).

No pre- and post- tram picture. We walked today.



I think my favorite place to eat lunch is in Critter Country. Sitting by the river is such a nice break from the craziness of the park.


Later in the day, we met up with Mackenzie, Kieran, and Rhys. SIX boys. When did this happen?


Once again Hamilton driving an Autopia cars absolutely kills me. We fly all over the place. During a smoother patch, I thought Beckett was going to fall asleep! It's a fun ride that almost makes the crazy line worth it. Luckily, "Simon Says" and various games kept the boys somewhat under control. They are just sooo excited to see and be with each other.


Mackenzie and I got suckered into putting off going home/dinner and going on Nemo instead. At the end of the ride, Hamilton got to see the "captain." "Hey! You were our captain!" Gosh, I really love that kid.



Ooooops...earlier in the day. Us on the Jungle Cruise. I promise I'm not drunk, and Hamilton does not have a migraine.


Yo ho!


Sitting still....


Watching a Pixar show. Can't wait for the construction to be done, so the real Pixar parade can come back.


My favorite part of the day:


Rockets! Our friends are in the rocket in front of us. Do not love this ride.



Another fun day, especially because we got to experience it with friends. Hamilton said his favorite part of the day was "sitting on rides with Brandon and Kieran." However, the long day made me extra happy to get back to the car...it also resulted in my purchase of two churros to help the boys make it to the car a little happier. Beckett, of course, refused the $3.50 pastry, so I got to walk to the car happier. :)

Disneyland: Day 2

These days are going to blend together completely if I don't get caught up!

Time: Arrived at the parking garage at 2:30 and left it at 7:45.
Weather: Sunny but cool. Perfect SoCal weather!
Rides:

• Today we stayed in California Adventure, home of my favorite Toy Story Mania ride. The wait time was an amazing 15-20 minutes, so we were able to do it twice. I got 160K+ both times, which means I won a "cat," thus avoiding the awkward "Yea! I won a beaver! I got a beaver, everyone!" Blech. You just know some nerdy Disney computer guy was really laughing it up when he created these prizes.
  
• Mickey's Fun Wheel, which I always seem to forget has moment of total terror. It's quite possible I left my iPhone video camera on, which captured my saying "Oh, shiiiii...."
• King Triton's Carousel, 2 times in a row.
• Monsters, Flick's Flyers.

Self-Created Attractions

• We met up with Karen and Wesley around 5. Wesley is looking so big! I'm not sure how he grew so much light-colored hair in the last month. My boys loved seeing him. Poor Wesley was tickled and snuggled more than he probably wanted.
• Probably my highlight of the day was, oddly enough, playing "Red Light, Green Light" with the three boys in the big open area by Monsters, Inc. It reminded me how much I enjoy playing with my little dudes. Lots of side benefits to this crazy week I concocted!
  

Tram ride into the park:



And tram ride out...


And in no particular order, the rest of our day in photos...

Ok...we did the carousel THREE times by the end of the day.


Hamilton insisted on riding with Karen and Wesley for Little Mermaid.


Ha, ha, ha. Wesley was in total panic mode once Flick's Flyers took off. Beckett's confused, and Hamilton is busy talking about the ride.


Us on that crazy Ferris Wheel. The one where we're all smiling (i.e. I don't look terrified), we are obviously standing still. Beckett loved it. His little "whoa!" was too adorable.


First time on Toy Story. Beckett struggles a little with the whole putting on glasses thing, but usually they're on upside down, so this is pretty good.


Beckett gets his own gun! Hamilton was on the other side by himself. His head only popped up once. Can't blame him...we were sitting still for a long time.


My little action figure.


Thanks for taking our picture, Hamilton!


I love this old fashioned cartoon pictures (or maybe I'm just trying to find the good in all the $!$#@^@ construction), but the boys would not stay still for a picture for anything. As punishment, I'm publishing this one of Hamilton.


Before Flick's Flyers took off....clearly. We tried to eat some dinner before this ride, but I made the mistake of eating right next to the ride, so Hamilton was totally distracted and Beckett was straining in his stroller, yelling, "Ride! Ride!"


Zoning out on the carousel.


It was another great, great day. Fun with the boys, but even more fun because we got to add Karen and Wesley (and her homemade chocolate chip cookies) to our group.