The Stickiest Place On Earth

How do you condense 2 days at Disneyland into a blog blurb (a blurg?)? For one thing, it was hot. Not just regular southern California summer hot, but OH MY GOD I'M GOING TO MELT RIGHT NOW GET ME SOMETHING COLD TO DRINK AND FOR GOD'S SAKE TAKE THIS BABY OUT OF MY ARMS hot. When the hell did southern California turn humid? Wherever it came from, let's send it back. You know it's bad when the people visiting from Phoenix are complaining. Add to that the crowds and the long lines. You know the ones, where you're crammed into those twisty windy lines for a really long time with people on every side? Well, let's just say that this post could easily have been titled "The Stinkiest Place On Earth. "

Now that that's out of the way, I can tell you that the trip was magical. There's nothing like being at Disneyland with kids. My daughter is so happy when we're there that she spontaneously starts dancing. It's that good. Ethan is finally at an age where he gets it, and believes all the fairy tale stuff to boot. It's great to be 3 at Disneyland...once you get over your crazy fear of every single ride, which your mean parents drag you on despite your extremely loud protests and you dragging your little feet as hard as you can. I've never seen his eyes open wider. Because this was a special time, treats abounded. At one point he decided he wanted candy and then a cookie. We obliged. We rode the choo-choo train (a highly underrated way to travel around Disneyland, in my opinion). We bought lollipops. We stood in the hellish line for Dumbo. We bought pins (yes, it appears that we are now a pin collecting family). We went on Buzz 3 times (don't miss this one if you're at the park and if you happen to have an infant with you make sure he or she is wearing socks, even though it may be 100 degrees out, because that's the policy. Whatever.). We did it all. In the midst of all this, we also juggled the 4 month old who needed nursing and burping and diaper changes and holding and loving and cooling down. Poor little guy was a trouper and came through OK, but he wasn't happy with us by the end.

This trip we also made it over to Disneyland's ugly stepsister, California Adventure. It wasn't so bad, it turns out. The crowds were so lovely and small. Most of the lines were much shorter. There was definitely some cool stuff there, including A Bug's Land, which is a no-brainer if you're traveling with small kids. The highlight there was one of those fountains where the water shoots out randomly from under your feet. Our kids were ecstatic, and soaked (photos to come later). There's definitely something for everyone there, but it's no Disneyland, even if they did steal the Main Street Electrical Parade.

We stayed at the Hyatt a few blocks away, and I HIGHLY recommend it for anyone traveling there. For about the same price as the Embassy Suites, we got a 2 bedroom suite (just bedrooms, no living room) with a king bed in one room and bunk beds in the other. It was great for the kids to have their own space and they LOVED the bunk bed. The second night we got smart and put them to bed at different times. With breakfast included and free shuttles to the park (no more dealing with those crowded crazy trams), you can't beat it.

After months of looking forward to this trip, I'm sad it's over. But we had an awesome time and it feels good to do this with and for our kids. It's hard to imagine that they enjoyed it even half as much as we enjoyed watching them.