San Diego ~ Disney Getaway!

While we were in San Diego, Garrett and I made it an absolute priority to take Kayla on a little overnight side trip up to Anaheim to Disneyland for the first time!!  Let me start off with prefacing this with the fact that I am a complete Disney NUT!  Growing up so close to Disneyland meant A LOT of day trips to the park and even the occasional overnight vacations.  I started collecting Disney DVDs before I was married and long before having children because I knew that someday I would enjoy sharing them with my future little ones.  I have SO MANY precious memories exploring every nook and cranny of the park as a kid (let's face it; as an adult too!) and I was beyond excited to start creating new memories with Kayla.  Garrett and I are totally on the same page in thinking these type of places are not for sweet little babies.  The amount of work one would have to put forth.....it just seems crazy to me to take a baby there; so Gavin stayed with my mom and they had a GREAT two days!


We decided to make it an overnight trip because Kayla still needs a nap to successfully make it through a day.  I wanted to have the flexibility of taking our time, letting her (us) rest when she needed to rest and not try to pack in everything in one day.  I found a great hotel right across the street, walking distance from the front entrance, and it was perfect.


Day one:


Walking down Main Street was a bit surreal.  I thought I would bawl my eyes out, but strangely I didn't.  Kayla was wide eyed looking around, taking it all in.  And then!  Sleeping Beauty's Castle!  Oh, she got excited about this!  

We took a quick stroll up and in the castle and then on to the first ride, the carousel of course.

While Kayla and I were in line for Dumbo, Garrett ducked into the Mad Hatter next door.  Later during lunch he surprised Kayla with her first set of ears; on the back was embroidered 'Kayla's 1st Visit 8-20-10'.  She was stoked and later insisted on wearing them for every photo opt with a character, I think we only missed wearing them a few times. 

Next it was on to Toon Town to meet with the Big Guy himself!

And one of his good friends!

At this point we figured it was best to break while things were going well and head back to our room for a little R&R.  After much coaxing and reassurance that we would go back to Disneyland, Kayla took a much needed nap.  On our way back into the park, the parade was just starting.

We watched it for a few minutes and then dashed over to Pixie Hollow to visit with a dear friend.  Tinkerbell!  While waiting in the line Kayla made a new little friend named Kaylee :)

 

Mickey was exciting, but I think it was Tinkerbell that made her day (and mine! I have been a huge Tinkerbell fan for over a decade, before she was widely popular, and this was the first time I had seen her at the park!)  Garrett rolled his eyes a little bit when I told him he might have to take my picture with her too.  But this was Kayla's moment, and she was so excited, I was so happy for her!

 

Earlier in the day Kayla had been eyeing the Matterhorn and said she wanted to go on it.  I thought 'no way' but it turned out she was tall enough so Garrett convinced me to take a ride.  Kayla was up front and center with daddy, I was behind and away we went!  She loved it and cried a little when it was time to get off!

Tea Cups :)

Before the night was over we went on a few more rides to include Pirates of the Caribbean (loved it) and Kayla began eyeing Big Thunder!  That night Kayla slept like a rock and woke up in the exact same position she fell asleep in :)



Day Two:


By 7am Garrett couldn't take it anymore and woke Kayla and I up saying it was time to get ready to go back to Disneyland!  Kayla jumped out of bed and wasted no time.  The plan was to finish up a few rides at the Magic Kingdom and then skip on over the California Adventures to end the day.  Ride #1: Big Thunder!  Kayla stretched her neck to the extreme and JUST BARELY made the 40in height limit.  On we went, and she loved every minute.

Back down Main Street, on our way out to California Adventures, we were lucky enough to come upon several beloved characters.  Until that point Kayla hadn't seen to many so I don't know how much she realized what being at Disneyland meant.  We were all on cloud 9 jumping from character to character. 


Queen of Hearts                                                                          Dale

Pluto

 

Minnie Mouse was on her way backstage so Kayla squezed in a hug on the run.

Over at California Adventures; it's a smaller park but still a must.  They have a lot of the favorite Pixar characters milling around like........Mater and Lightning McQueen!

Mr. Incredible

And Sulley from Monsters Inc.!!! 

OK, sidenote.......Monsters Inc. has been a trusted favorite of Kayla's for about a year now. The park has a Monsters Inc. ride which we went on of course, and on our way out Garrett asked the escort for Mr. Incredible (photo above) when Mike and/or Sulley would be making an appearance.  He said in about 10min Sulley would be just steps away from where we were.  Holy Moly, I was SO excited for Kayla!  We decided to hang for a little potty/water break and told Kayla 'mommy and daddy needed to take a break for a minute'  HA!  So we're waiting there, Garrett was holding Kayla, and who does she see marching down the square....SULLEY, and he was HUGE, you could see him a mile away!  She about leaped out of Garrett's arms to get to him!  Finally Sulley made it to his spot and his escort, who just happened to be the same escort for Mr. Incredible that Garrett had spoken to, said to the small crowd that had followed them in 'OK everyone let's form a single line starting behind THAT GIRL!' and pointed to Kayla.  It was perfect.  Such a special moment.  Metting Sulley was DEFINITELY the highlight of the entire trip for Kayla.

Kenai, from Brother Bear

The day at last came to an end :(

What an awesome two days!  Everything I had hoped it would be.  We are looking SO forward to when Gavin is old enough and we can all go back as a family!

And Gavin: he and my mom had a great time!