disneyland 2016, part 1

Last week was a dream vacation.

I'll just skip over a few things though. Like, the meltdown on the plane, the threats to take one boy back to the hotel on the first day if he didn't change his attitude, snapping at each other over and over again about who walked next to who, a few rounds of tears, a little name calling, and I'm sure other negative things. The bad often accompanies the good so we will take it in stride and focus on the magic of our week in Disneyland.

We stayed at the Camelot Inn. It is right across the street from Disneyland. I think, if I'm lucky enough, I will always choose to stay at a hotel right across the street. It was not too far, even when you are tired late at night, and you don't have to wait for a shuttle. The pool was pretty small, but just right for a little guy who loves the water, but is not proficient at swimming yet. And we had a perfect view of the fireworks every night.

We walked to downtown disney a couple of times. The Lego store was a favorite.

We spent four days at the parks, split evenly between California Adventure and Disneyland. This is so cheesy of me, Eric has even teased me because it brings tears to my eyes, but words can not even express how grateful I am that Disneyland is so accommodating and kind and helpful to those with special needs. Honestly, without the pass to get a return time or a special place to wait for rides without a lot of people or without our stroller right with us packed with stuff to regulate our kiddo, there is no way in this world that we could've experienced a day at Disneyland. And everyone was so kind and understanding and made you feel guilt free. Perry LOVED the rides so I'm so glad it was possible for us to have the experience and do something all together as a family.

And with monkey, goofy, minnie mouse, or the scaring spider with us. and sometimes strapped in for safety.

With four days at the parks and Perry's pass to return to rides at a designated yet flexible time, we were much more relaxed around the parks. I don't know if Jenny would agree with that statement, because it is my nature to go, go, go. But it felt calmer to me and we got to do pretty much everything we all wanted to, some things multiple times.

so sad because of miscommunication she missed the teacups

For me, the best part of Disneyland was watching my children's faces--the smiles, the joy, the wonder, the excitement, and sometimes the fear followed by relief that they survived. ;)

 

 

I will never forget our second ride of the first day at California Adventure. Kacin wanted to ride the swinging ferris wheel. Eric forgot to take his dramamine that morning (a mistake he never repeated), but consented to ride with us anyways. We climbed in, the door shut, and the ferris wheel began it's first rotation. On the first swing and drop, half of us were screaming our heads off, Kacin decided he did not want to be on that ride after all, and Eric was clutching the barf bag. All while Kyler put his GoPro to good use and video recorded the whole thing. By the third or fourth swing, the screamers had become more accustomed. The yells of fear were replaced by hands in the air. And Eric's breakfast had joined us on the Ferris Wheel. All while Kyler continued to record. Poor Eric!

It did put a damper on the rest of the morning and what rides Eric was up to, but by late afternoon he was feeling good again.

We took my sister, jenny, with us. It was so wonderful to have her company, and her help!

It allowed us to take the older boys out by themselves, to take the littles on their own, and for me and Eric to spend time together, too.

 

Purely coincidental and magical, my other sister Jacqui had planned her own family vacation to Disneyland for the same week. It was fun to meet up with her when we could.