The Happiest Place on Earth

So here's the thing. We took our kiddos to Disneyland 2 weeks ago and I haven't blogged about. I don't even have a good excuse.

Grammy Lu had mentioned taking advantage of her flight benefits and scooting to Disneyland for the day for a couple of months, but we didn't have any concrete plans to go. With the holidays fast approaching (what in the NOVEMBER ALREADY?!) and Paddy's INSANE end of the year work schedule, I had pretty much figured we wouldn't be able to squeeze anything in until at least early 2014.

And then, with about 10 days advance warning, Grammy and Bunk asked if we wanted to crash their romantic weekend getaway to Las Vegas, where my dad was dragging Lalli to see his man-crush Mark Knopfler in concert. (Hey, Dad! I spelled Knopfler right on the first try! Who's your favorite kid NOW?)(Take that, MJ.) The timing was perfect, since we'd be celebrating Bug's 4th birthday on the trip. As soon as I could make work arrangements, Grammy Lu and Bunk grabbed a park ticket package at Costco and checked flights out of Las Vegas to California. How great are they?

(Grammy was the designated potty companion for Bug for the entire trip, no exceptions, as per the birthday girl's demands. So the answer here is: REALLY GREAT.) 

So guess what? We did it! We drove to Las Vegas, picking Paddy up from a work trip to Mesquite on the way, and the next morning hopped a nearly empty JetBlue flight to Long Beach. We stopped at our favorite greasy diner for breakfast, and then loaded in the rental minivan (secret: I want one) to talk about the rest of the day.

And here is where you get to see the first video I've ever posted on the blog. Ready for your daily dose of happy? This is the moment we told Bug where we were going for her big birthday adventure. Wait for it, trust me, because when she finally gets it, it's AWESOME. The giggles start around the 1 minute mark, but the real magic hits at 01:58.

Excitement achieved, we dashed over to the park pretty quick, and immediately jumped in line at Jungle Cruise along with EVERY OTHER PERSON ON PLANET EARTH. 

After the serious error in judgement that resulted in a 45 minute wait for that first ride, we hit the Disney app and enjoyed reasonable lines for the rest of the day.

Making spooky faces before Haunted Mansion

 

For reasons she really can't explain, Bug was terrified of the human characters, but not the giant stuffed ones.

After a great day meeting characters and riding all kinds of rides (quick recap: Bug loved Dumbo, HATED getting wet on Splash Mountain, liked Pirates- which is Mama's favorite) we headed to Goofy's Kitchen for dinner with the characters. Grammy and Bunk scored these tickets as part of a Costco travel package, and to be honest, I thought it was sort of a frivolous extra. 

Let me be the first to admit this: NO ONE DOES HOSPITALITY LIKE DISNEY. The food was delicious, and the whole experience was--ready your gag reflexes now--kind of magical. 

Translation: I cried when my son hugged a chipmunk.

In short, the dinner--the whole day, really--was amazing. It was the fastest Disney trip in the world, and we had more fun than I ever could have hoped for. Thank you, Grammy Lu and Bunk for such an amazing surprise!

Happy 4th birthday, Princess. I love you.

 I hope it was magical.