Monday morning we woke up early to the sound of rain. This made me happy. I knew that many people would wait for the rain to pass before heading to Disneyland. The park opened early - 8am, and we were on track to get there for the opening. Unfortunately, we missed the hotel shuttle. We had missed it the night before coming home from Downtown Disney so we knew it was a short walk, less than 10 minutes. Our shear enthusiasm carried us those couple blocks in the rain.
Blurry picture but you can see how happy he is.
After going through the bag check and trying to avoid big puddles, we got in line. We were there to count down the opening of the park. The crowd chanted "ten, nine, eight..." and I was overwhelmed with excitement and joy to be experiencing this with my kids. I didn't want my expectations to be too high in case Disneyland didn't live up to my memory, but I couldn't help but feel giddy being there.
And honestly, it didn't disappoint. We started out by going straight to sign up for Jedi training (more on that later) and once that was done, I noticed there was no line for Space Mountain. Space Mountain is a fast roller coaster in almost complete darkness. At Halloween time, they add some spooky ghost faces on the few screens in the ride. It was pretty intense, especially to kick off the day but the kids weren't totally traumatized. They also weren't interested in revisiting that ride again.
Next up was the Submarines. Since it was still raining certain rides weren't open and there still weren't any lines. The Submarines have a Finding Nemo theme but was still pretty boring. I also realize that going on that ride as a kid is probably what caused the mild claustrophobia I suffer from as an adult.
Walt and Mickey.
Sleeping Beauty's castle and almost no people in the park.
My kids went nuts for this ride and we went on it four times in two days. FOUR TIMES!!!
Pirates of the Caribbean selfie. Everything I loved about this ride as a kid still holds true, even the way it smells.
Churro break.
Castle selfie.
We risked getting the song stuck in our head all day and went on "It's a Small World". Serafina was very charmed by it. Leo, not as much.
At this point, the rain had cleared up and the park was starting to get crowded. The kids experienced their first line waiting for the Astro Orbitor. They were very put out by the wait but it wasn't much of a wait by Disneyland standards. Here they are debating who was going to be in front.
I'm not sure if you can see the look of distress on Leo's face but he wasn't happy. The seat belt didn't fit tightly and once they were up in the air, he became convinced that he was going to fall out and die. Because Serafina was in charge of the lever that controlled the amount of lift, he accused her of trying to kill him. They both came off the ride upset and we had our first and only duel meltdown at Disneyland. Both kids were in tears but those were the only tears in the park we had over the two days.
We recovered with some lunch and listening to the Disneyland Band. While we were waiting for the Orbitor of Death, I pulled Fast Passes for another ride. I thought I was getting them for Buzz Lightyear's Astro Blasters, but I accidentally got Star Tours instead. Star Tours made me feel pretty nauseous the last time I was on it 15 years ago, but I convinced myself it would be fine and we went inside. The kids looked cute in the 3-D glasses.
Well, Star Tours made me feel awful and that lasted for a full two hours after so yeah, never going on that one again. The kids still loved Tomorrowland.
The time for Jedi Training that we signed up for in the morning was fast approaching, but we had a chance to meet Boba Fett before it started. I may have been more excited than the kids about this one.
Then it was time to check in for training. When we signed up in the morning, the kids were asked if they could follow directions and if they were ready to fight against the Dark Side of the Force. They said yes. Here they are with their tickets to participate.
They turned in the tickets and got Jedi robes to wear. I'm not sure why Serafina's is so short.
Once I knew they were in good hands with the Jedi training team, I scurried over to get a good seat for the show. I was front and center.
The kids marched in.
They had to raise the temple using the Force.
Then the bad guys came out and the little Jedi's had to defeat them.
When it was over the kids gave back the robes and lightsabers and were given buttons acknowledging their participation. My face hurt by this point from smiling so much. It was an absolute thrill to watch them do this and be so into it. Hands down my favorite part of this trip.
My phone was almost out of juice at this point, but I was able to document our visit to the Enchanted Tiki Room.
We got delicious Dole Whips too.
We rode Big Thunder Railroad, which was my favorite ride as a kid and is still really awesome. We also went on the Jungle Cruise, which had a bit of a line but our guide was pretty darn funny. We wrapped up our day with a second visit to the Haunted Mansion. The park closed for regular guests at 6pm and since we didn't have the special Halloween party ticket, we headed back to the hotel. My Aunt Sheila trekked out to Anaheim to experience the wackiness of Downtown Disney and have dinner with us. She was a good sport and also spent time with us in the World of Disney, which is a giant Disney store that has just about everything Disney related you could imagine. We got on the shuttle to head back to the hotel and were able to watch the fireworks from the comfort of the shuttle. We said goodnight to Sheila and collapsed into bed. It was an amazing first day, but I felt so exhausted and sore, I couldn't believe I was going to do it all again the next day.
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