Team Turrill: Disneyland

When you're standing in the world's most magical place, waiting to go in, it's just about as good as it gets!

I think I like Disneyland for the same reasons I like Las Vegas: all I want to do is walk around with red lips and bows and polka dots and Minnie ears and no one think anything of it. That's true for Disney AND Vegas. ;)

The 60th "Diamond" Celebration!

Let the magic BEGIN!

My kids like to walk by the characters and wave (not stand in line to meet them...which I am FINE with :)

After reading Walt Disney's biography, seeing the place where it all started means so much!

Nothing like the park on a sunny morning...

Throughout our day at the park, I kept noticing a common the ducks who inhabit the park. They wander through the Storybook Canal, munch on the grass outside the Haunted Mansion and swim in the iconic lake outside Sleeping Beauty's Castle...man, what a LIFE!

#ButFirstFantasyland

Waiting in line allows you to see all of the magic that creeps behind every window. (Every few minutes the evil queen in Snow White peeks out of the window).

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While we were going into the park we noticed a boy with a Storm Trooper sweatshirt. Bode commented on it (and tried to take a picture of him). Come to find out, they were right behind us in line at Peter Pan. We started talking to them and realized that they live in LOVELAND! How crazy is that?!? They were SO sweet. We became Facebook friends (and realized that we have so much in common) and hope to hang out sometime.

(what makes this picture even sweeter is that they were both fighting minutes before)

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When you get up early, have been driving, sleeping in a hotel, swimming and you're 4 and 7, you're tired. So all of our Disney mornings go like this:

-wake up early to get to the park

-ride rides like gangbusters

-get hungry and tired and cranky (at 10 am)

Previously, we've left the park at this time and taken naps, etc...but it usually backfires. We've lost momentum (or swam and made ourselves more tired-duh!) and then we miss most of the day and most of the magic.

I decided to try a different tactic this time. Pump the kids full of snacks, lots of little breaks and just keep going...and it worked! Beautifully. Phew. Just goes to show...don't always follow the guidebooks; you know your family best. Also, the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.

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So it was off to Pinnochio for us! How fun to go on rides we've never been on in Disney World before!

Hilarious story...

*Ben and I hadn't been without our children for a whole car ride, a sweet vegas hotel room and now another hotel room...so, when in the back of the pinnochio ride we stole a kiss or to (it wasn't really as x-rated as it looks :) But, it was dark and sweet and felt like it filled our "oh yeah, I love you in spite of how stressful a family vacation can be." WELL...we got off the ride, walked out to the light of day and Mimi goes, "HAA! LOOK AT DADDY!" and I looked and saw my Minnie Mouse red lipstick on his face! HILARIOUS!!!! Mimi didn't even question why..phew! BUT..HAAAAA! What must that boy running the ride have thought when he lifted the lap bar and told us to have a 'good day?' He probably thought that we were dating or something...because usually married couples get a bad rap for no heat in their relationship...!*

BUT, then side note, I saw that my new Loveland best friend mom that we met in line at Peter Pan posted a picture of her and HER husband in the back of a ride with the caption "we got caught making out in the back of the boat!" HA! love it.

(Also, her son who is Mimi's age is named Owen -which would've been Mimi's name if she was a boy and her son Bode's age is named Bo! AND, she taught kindergarten AND loves Jesus. So basically we're sisters from another mister...Hope she won't be sad when she finds out though, I'm actually anti-social and will never want to hang out ;)

Anyways, on to the Storybook Canal!

To me, this ride is what is best about Walt Disney, as simple as it is...creating magic in the smallest details..

Hey California...I like you enough already...then you had to go and throw your luxurious fragrant flowers all in my face.. (swoon).

After Fantasyland, we made sure to head to the next place we had a purpose to see...

TOMORROWLAND. Where it was currently "The Season of the Force!

Right as we walked into Tomorrowland we noticed that they were setting up to do a Jedi Training where they get a group of kids and "train" them to be Jedis. This whole time my plan was for Bode to get a chance to do it. But when we saw it, he said he just wanted to watch. And it was JUST as magical.