The park didn't open until 9am on Tuesday which made for an easier morning. We were still rushing for the shuttle, but we managed to catch it this time and got to the park ready to have fun. We went to the Haunted Mansion for a FastPass before heading to our first ride of the day, Autopia. The line took a while and the kids were a bit antsy. Leo was hopeful that the ride would be worth the wait.
He decided to ride on his own.
I was Serafina's passenger, but I ended up having to work the pedal because it was a bit far away for her. I helped her steer a bit too. As soon as we started, I knew Leo was going to struggle. I had flashbacks to my own traumatic bumper car experience at the fair when I was eight. Leo managed to get through the course though; he wasn't happy but he wasn't crying.
We decided that the smelly, noisy Autopia was not to be experienced again and cleansed our palate with some fun rides, including Buzz Lightyear's Astroblasters.
Sunday night at Downtown Disney, Leo broke in his gift card with a replica of this ghost horse-drawn hearse. Of course we had to get a picture of the real thing.
Third, but not last, visit to the Haunted Mansion.
I wanted to see the Dia de Los Muertos display and the kids were good sports.
This little gold spike is under the arch of Sleeping Beauty's castle. It marks the exact center of the original Disneyland park. The kids had watched a documentary before we left that explained the spike and when they spotted it, they excitedly shared this fun fact with me.
The Mad Hatter's Tea Cups are a classic.
I didn't want to ride it, but how could I say "no" to these cuties?
Ooof. I didn't feel so good after this one.
After lunch, we met up with Kyle, his mom and his little sister. Serafina went with his mom to do some rides the girls wanted to visit. I took these two goof balls and we went on Big Thunder Mountain.
They had so much fun hanging out together.
I think I've only been on the Matterhorn once in my life and I didn't like it. But Kyle wanted to do it and I figured maybe it wasn't as bad as I remember. Spoiler alert: it's still terrible. The jerkiest, most jarring ride in the park.
The best way to recover from a less than great roller coaster experience is a big slab of carbs.
We enjoyed these Micky pretzels.
After the snack, we got in the longest line we would wait in the whole trip. It was a hour wait during the hottest part of the day, but it was totally worth it. My kids were so enchanted by The Nightmare Before Christmas themed Haunted Mansion that we had to meet the star of the ride and movie, Jack Skellington.
Jack and Sally were so engaging and fun.
They signed the kids books and asked them about their Halloween costumes.
And then we took some great pictures.
After this we headed back to the hotel for a much needed break. My cousin Dillon met us there and spent some time with us while I soaked my weary bones in the hot tub. Leo talked his ear off and it was great to see him even though it was brief. We all showered and grabbed some dinner before catching the shuttle back to the park. Our priority was Haunted Mansion FastPasses, so once that was taken care of we met up with Kyle, his mom and sister for a ride on Pirates of the Caribbean.
After another ride, we parted ways and headed to Main Street for a treat.
Disneyland after dark is pretty fun.
Our last ride of the night was the Haunted Mansion, of course.
As we made our way out of the park, we stopped by the beautiful pumpkin tree.
And one last picture before we said goodbye.
We had the most amazing time. Sure, I was absolutely exhausted every night and driving all the way home on Wednesday was less than great, but seeing our friends, family and Disneyland was more than worth it. We will definitely be going back to Disneyland even if Tom isn't able/willing to come. I proved to myself that I could handle it on my own and it was great to spend time with my kids without the pressures of our regular life. Plus, my kids need to see the original Haunted Mansion and decided if they like it better than the special holiday version.
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