Disneyland Day

Disneyland is so beautiful at the holidays. That’s why I was excited to be able to take a ay off to head up there with Michaela, just a few days before her fifth birthday. d

Mike was going to go with us but ended up having to travel to San Francisco for work, so it ended up that just Michaela and I went. She and Mike used to go (just the two of them) all the time because they had annual passes, but I’d never taken her alone. My goal, therefore, was to make it a great Mom-Michaela trip where we could do things she and Mike didn’t typically do.

And that’s exactly what we did! We stood in line to meet characters after I bought Michaela an autograph book. Merida, Snow White, Cinderella, Mickey and Minnie, Pooh, Eyore, Tigger, Woody… We met ’em all (and have the autographs to prove it). We watched a Disney Junior show at California Adventure that featured Sophia the First, Doc McStuffins, Jake and the Neverland Pirates, and the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse gang. We paid an outrageous amount for a dinner at Ariel’s Grotto that came with fastpass tickets for World of Color. It was great.

The trip exceeded my highest expectations. I walked almost 23,000 steps according to my Fitbit, meaning Michaela walked at least twice that. In spite of that, she didn’t complain AT ALL about her feet being tired. She didn’t complain AT ALL about standing in line for rides or meet and greets. She didn’t complain AT ALL about not buying a ton of merchandise. We were there from about 11 a.m. until Disneyland closed at 10 p.m., plus almost 40 minutes of waiting for a tram and traveling back to our car. There was NO COMPLAINING THE WHOLE DAY!

Not only that, but we had fun! I showed her the things I like to do, she showed me her favorites. We giggled together on the Teacups, held hands on Soarin’ Over California, and I took her on Astroblasters and she actually enjoyed it (normally it’s too loud for her). We sat outside at Arial’s Grotto and watched the nighttime lights while eating and chatted. She told every person who commented on her “Happy Birthday” button, “Technically, it’s not my birthday. My birthday is actually Friday.” It was a hoot.

If this is what 5 is going to be like, it’s going to be a very good year.