EEK! So excited to share all these pictures of happiness from Disneyland! We’ve been counting down for this trip for about 7 months & couldn’t wait to head to California. Chad got home from his trip to Tonga late Saturday night & we left for California early Monday morning. It was a quick, unpack – repack experience & I had thankfully gotten Presley and I all ready to go that prior week. (I totally love the stress of packing for a vacation – weird, I know). This little lady was very excited to have daddy home, they were snuggling before we left & she kept looking up at him with a huge smile on her face over and over again. It was a pretty easy ride for us to California, we only made two stops on the way there (One for gas, the other for lunch) and Presley napped, watched movies & played on our phones for most of it. We are so thankful she has gotten so much better in the car.
Once we arrived in California, we settled into our Hotel (Thanks again Jason for the amazing discount!) then went to grab dinner & explored Knotts Berry Farms downtown area and all the little shops. Presley definitely loved the candy shop the most – but we loved walking around before heading back to get a big nights rest before Disneyland in the morning! Our hotel was only a mile away from Disneyland, so we were able to watch the firework show from our front door!
The next morning we were up early to grab breakfast and head to the most magical place! I was so excited!!! Presleys been talking about this non-stop for the last few months. She asked every morning, ‘today is disneywand?”
As soon as we got inside (after graciously posing to have our pictures taken), Belle was sitting right there so we got to meet her right away. Presley couldn’t believe her eyes. She hugged her & wouldn’t let her go.
We got in and explored main street, but then decided we should explore the castle and get in line for the first few rides. My little brother grabbed all of our cards and raced off to get fast passes for some big rides, while Great Grandma Marcia & I stood in line for Peter Pan & Chad and Presley went on Pinnochio. We definitely used our resources, the Disneyland wait time app & the Disneyland map to make sure we could fit in as much as we could with our two days there.
After Pinocchio and Peter Pan, we headed to the Carousal. I let Chad be the carousal parent because the last few times I’ve tried taking Presley on one, she went absolutely ballistic and we had to get the thing stopped to get off. So, I didn’t want to be THAT person stopping the ride completely packed at Disneyland. Plus, I wanted to take pictures & I get dizzy. It went really well, she LOVED it. She had the biggest smile the entire time.
Of course, Presley requested to ride Dumbo & loved it. She has been obsessed with Dumbo & Timothy for awhile – so she couldn’t wait to do this ride. We ended up being first in line when it was our turn so Presley got to pick which Dumbo she wanted to ride; of course, she picked blue. Her favorite color!
We stood in line again and got to meet 3 princesses. Snow White (for whatever reason Presley didn’t want anything to do with her), Belle (again) & Cinderella. She was hysterical answering yes to whatever the princesses would say. She would stare into their eyes & listen to every word they would say. I can hardly ever get her to pose for pictures without a bribe & she would smile on command with them! Stinker. As soon as she was done talking with each princess, she would run up to Chad and I and scream “I talked to her, thats the real Cinderelly mom!!” It was so magical.
Then, Presley hung out with ‘Geema’, Grandma Nelly & Grandpa Bruce while Nic, Chad, and I went on a few big rides & then it was time for a nap. Presley was so exhausted she passed out in her stroller and slept for a solid TWO hours while it was crazy & loud. I took that time to find a Dole Whip (which you all graciously recommended I do!) and honestly, I wasn’t that impressed.
Then, Presley woke right in time for us to catch the 3oclock parade & she absolutely loved it. We snagged spots right up front & Presley had the biggest smile the entire time the parade was going. Waving & clapping for everybody. I just watched her face the entire time, I couldn’t even watch the parade!
Then we headed to Toon Town to explore for a little bit & Presley loved exploring Minnie’s House, breaking out of jail, and pretending to drive in a car.
Then, we headed over to do some of our Fast Passes. Chad, Nic & I rode Thunder Mountain 2x! (AH! This is a huge deal, I absolutely hate rides! But I told Chad that I would go on everything because I was so thankful to have this opportunity to go!) then we went on a Buzz Lightyear ride – Presley wasn’t super excited about that one (we haven’t watched Toy Story with her yet) but she didn’t mind it. It looks like our scores got swapped -but Chad actually won!
Then we went to Indiana Jones – Presley was excited to stay and explore with Grandpa Bruce (she loves him) while Chad and I rode the ride. We totally got a chance to hold hands, and flirt (and maybe makeout in line). It was fun. Then, we headed to the Haunted Mansion – I was a little nervous about this one – but Presley enjoyed it. It was decked out in the Nightmare Before Christmas (which Presley just watched AFTER we got home) but she’s always loved Halloween so she had a blast looking at all the skeletons & pumpkins.
Then, we headed to Space Mountain. I new it was a popular ride & that it was pretty fast – but I had no idea how intense it was.
Nic: Oh Taush, don’t worry. It’s just like Dumbo but in the dark. No big deal.
Me: Oh okay, cool.
Nic: (as we are getting strapped in) This is probably the most intense ride I’ve ever been on.
Ha. It was crazy. My head hurt SO bad after we went on it. BUT, we got the Fast Pass tickets for free – I guess they go within the first hour, so we had to take advantage of it!!
Then, we decided to call it a night. Presley was tired & cranky – and we planned to catch the night show the following day. So we headed back & passed out HARD. After getting Presley dressed, I set her on her bed (room service set up all her stuffies – she thought that was the coolest thing!) & she just rolled up and went right to bed. We thought she was faking it, but then noticed she had really fallen asleep. It was crazy. She’s never fallen asleep like that! Then, she slept until 6am & crawled into bed with us for another hour before getting up to get ready for Day 2!
Did you notice our matching shirts? I mentioned them in a previous post – but isn’t this the best idea for Disneyland? You can find them here. Heather is AMAZING to work with, she put these together for us last minute & we got compliments ALL day long!
I’ll be sharing Day 2 of Disneyland tomorrow – don’t forget to stop by!!
Stephanie says
Seeing your family experience Disney for the first time is so amazing!! Disney is (and always will be) a big part of my life, so seeing people experience the magic for the first time (especially a little one, like Presley) is probably one of the greatest things to witness. I’m so glad you took loads of pictures!! Can’t wait to see what day 2 consisted of…and remember, if you get those annual passes we DEFINITELY need to plan a trip!! I can be a personal tour guide! Lol.