Disneyland 2008

JUNE 2008 FAMILY VACATION:

After not going to Disneyland for six months, we were all itching to go.
We spent two nights at Disney's Paradise Pier Hotel and played in the parks for three days.
Here's our adventure and pictures (just click on the thumbnails for the full size):

Day One -

We left home at about 9:00AM and arrived at our hotel by 10:30AM. We checked in early and had them hold our bags until we could get into our room at 3:00PM. We then headed over to the Magic Kingdom. First things first - we had to go to the Annual Passholder Center to renew our passes. When we were done with that, we went to Coke Corner on Main Street to eat lunch. We all enjoyed our hot dogs and cokes and then decided to head over to Adventureland and ride some of our family favorites. Unfortunately, the Pirates and Indiana Jones rides were both closed. So, we got in line for the Haunted Mansion. Before we returned to our hotel at 3:00PM, we were able to ride Winnie the Pooh, Jungle Cruise, Tiki Room, Splash Mountain and the Shooting Arcade.

We returned to our hotel and of course, the boys wanted to hit the pool immediately! They had so much fun! There was an awesome water slide that they loved!

Our hotel room had a nice view overlooking California Adventure. Here's the view (daytime and nighttime):

After the boy's swim and a little rest for us weary grown-ups, we went back over to the Magic Kingdom around dinner time. We ate at Red Rocket's Pizza Port. We then decided to ride the Disneyland train around the park. With all the times we've been to the park, we've never taken the time to ride the train with the kids. Jamie got a kick out of it because he's really starting to get into trains. After that, we waited in a looong line for the Autopia. I rode with Jordan while Scott took Justin and Jamie. Jordan and I had so much fun - he was driving like a maniac! After that, we went back to Main Street and had a snack while we watched the fireworks. Jameson had never seen fireworks before. He just looked at them with a bewildered look on his face. After the fireworks, we headed back to the hotel and called it a night. I had been very worried about how Jamie would handle sleeping in the hotel. I was kind of expecting a rough couple of nights. When we turned off the lights to go to sleep, Jamie did start crying, but all he wanted was a light left on. So, I turned on the bathroom light and closed the door to a crack. He seemed to be happy with that and we didn't hear a peep from him until the next morning. Yay!

Day Two -

We started our day at the 'Lilo and Stitch' Character breakfast at our hotel. The boys got to meet Minnie, Daisy, Goofy's Son Max, and Lilo. Stitch was there too, but never got over to our table...

Max played with Justin's hair and then took Jamie's milk from him - it was very funny! Poor Jamie didn't know what to think!

After our crazy breakfast, we got to Disneyland for opening at 9:00AM. We decided to go directly to the Finding Nemo Submarine ride. It's a new ride and since it's opening the line has been incredibly long (2+ hours!). So, we never had the chance to ride it. The wait was still about 40 minutes, but it was nice to finally experience the ride. Scott and I were not that impressed, but it is now Justin's favorite ride!
After Nemo, we did Fantasyland and went to Toontown for lunch and to play. We then headed back to our hotel for our afternoon rest (and of course, the pool!)

Later that afternoon, we went to California Adventure for the first time. Jordan wanted to ride the Grizzly River Run Water Ride, but the line was very long, so we told him we'd wait and ride it the next morning. That grumped him up a bit, but he eventually came around and started to have some fun. We went over to the Redwood Creek Area. The boys were able to do some rock climbing, and tire swing riding (Jordan was actually too TALL for that one!) Jamie enjoyed running around and playing on the playset. After a few more rides and dinner at the Boudin Bakery, we went back over to the Magic Kingdom for the evening and then called it a night.

Day Three -

Our third and final day at the park was pretty laid back. Scott and the boys spent the morning at the hotel pool and then we all went right over to the River Run Ride we promised Jordan we'd ride. We then ate lunch, bought the boys some souvenirs, got a big ice cream treat and headed out. Overall, it was a great trip and we all had a wonderful time.