We just got back from our first trip to Disneyland with Kallie and it was a huge success. The trip was a surprise so we decided not to tell her until we parked at the airport. I can't tell you how many times I had the urge to just blurt it out but I am so glad I didn't b/c it was well worth capturing her surprise on camera!
We decided if we were going to go we would go all out and stay at the park, so we stayed at the Disneyland Hotel which was great. When we arrived within minutes Minnie Mouse, Goofy and Chip & Dale were greeting kids at the front door. It was so fun to watch Kallie take it all in, she had no idea what Disneyland was or that all of the characters lived there. She was smiling from ear to ear the entire trip (well there were a few meltdowns but those were expected).
After we arrived and quickly got settled we spent the afternoon/evening at Disneyland. We made sure to pack Kallie her Cinderella dress because we bought tickets to Mickey's Halloween Party. The park shut down and only people with tickets were there so the lines were short, there were a ton of trick or treating stations, a costume parade and an amazing firework show at the castle to end the night.
We were up early the next day and back at Disneyland. Kallie loved the small rides like It's a Small World (we rode that 10x's), Tea Cups, Toon Town, Dumbo etc. We learned quickly that she did not like any rides that went remotely fast or into the dark which happens to be most of the rides. Lucky for us there is so much more to do and see than just rides.
We spent Friday and Saturday at CA Adventure which we loved. We spent most of our time at A Bugs Life and watched a Disney Junior puppet show which was amazing. We had one more surprise for Kallie; the princess lunch at Ariel's Grotto where she got to meet all of her favorite princesses. It truly was magical watching her eyes light up as each princess came to our table, priceless!
I will admit both Eric and I were not sure what to expect out of our trip. We wanted Kallie to love it and she did so we were thrilled. I think we were both surprised by how much fun we had too. We actually had a relaxing trip (if that is possible at Disneyland). Instead of running around the parks and trying to get tickets to all of the top rides, shows etc. we decided to go with the flow and let Kallie decide what to see and do. We even spend the afternoons enjoying the sunshine at the pool (it was 85 degrees every day). I am sure one day we will be the parents rushing around to get fast passes and taking turns waiting in line for the best rides but for this trip we didn't have an agenda, we relaxed and most importantly we enjoyed every moment with our baby girl!
