This was the smile before the additional 20 minute wait for them to open the gates...
Stitch! Stop that! Great, now we have to re-shoot that pose...
Our 'game plan' called for the first half of the day to be in Disneyland - specifically in ToonTown. Since that was on the other side of the park, we decided to take the Disneyland Railroad train around and save a little on our feet.
We had a little time before ToonTown opened up, so we rode the newly refurbished "it's a small world" ride. It was pretty cool, as there was no line at all, and we walked up and got on a boat with another family. As we came around to the beginning and the other family got off, Kayl asked if we could go again. They had us move to the second row to balance the boat, but we went right back around! (Compare that to the 90 minute wait to get on later that day!!!)
Ah, ToonTown - home of most of Disney's craziness...
Our first stop was at Minnie's House, for a pic and our first autograph of the trip! We also started our PhotoPass, so we could start gathering those wonderful Disney magic pics.
We went next door to Mickey's House. Mickey was giving autographs, but wasn't back in his studio for pics - so I had to take them myself.
Sean wouldn't go near Minnie, and we were worried he might still be nervous of the "over-sized characters". But Mickey got him to "high-five", then shake hands, then a head rub, and finally a hug. Got to love that mouse...
Next was a ride on Gadget's Go Coaster. Sean was a bit leery of the speed, but really enjoyed it. Kayl had so much fun, she went back and rode it by herself! Then we headed over to Roger Rabbit's Car Toon Spin. The kids loved that one!
In addition to characters and rides, ToonTown has several 'houses' for the characters that the kids had a great time in. We had already been through Mickey's House & Minnie's House, so next went in Goofy's Playhouse, Donald's Boat, and -of course - the Chip 'n Dale Treehouse pictured above.
As we were headed toward the exit, we saw two more characters giving autographs. Now that Sean was over the initial reluctance, everyone gets hugs!
Just bein' a bit goofy with the "Goofster"! (Notice Kayl's tongue hanging out...)
When we had done most everything we wanted to in ToonTown, we went back in line for the Gadget's Go Coaster. But when we reached the front of the line, they had a power surge and closed down the rides for safety. As it was just about when we had planned to leave anyway, we jumped on the Disneyland Railroad train and headed for the front of the park. One quick pic before heading back to the hotel for lunch and a little rest...
After the rest stop, we headed back to the park, but this time into Disney's California Adventure - and specifically, "a bug's land" for more of the 'little kid' rides. First, we went through the It's Tough to be a Bug 3D adventure show. The kids didn't like it too much... Then, it was straight to Flik's Fun Fair to ride Flik's Flyers, Francis' ladybug Boogie (spinning bugs - kind-of like the tea cups in the other park), Tuck and Roll's Drive 'Em Buggies (bumper cars) and Heimlich's Chew Chew Train.
The kids had a great time together. We're really fortunate they play well together as friends.
Kayl has this thing about finding 4-leaf clovers wherever she goes - and Disneyland is no exception. Who would have guessed it would come in the 30-foot decoration variety...?
As we were winding down and getting ready to call it a day, we headed over to the Bountiful Valley Farm to play a little with the music makers and have a treat. We also walked through the far east part of the Golden State area to take The Bakery Tour and learn about how they make sourdough bread (and get samples to snack on!) Then, back to the hotel for the night.
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