Another perk of staying at the resort is getting early entry into Toontown. This part of Disneyland usually opens an hour after the rest of the park, but we got in early. The boys got to watch a town meeting with Mickey and Goofy and others. They also became Honorary Toontown Citizens.
We went exploring through Minnie’s house …
And played with the musical instrument fountain …
There are markers on the ground around the fountain that, when stepped on, make the fountain play music or just make some noise.
Billy and Tommy had a lot of fun finding the markers and stomping and jumping on them.
Then we finally got to see Mickey himself …
I think Rusty was just in awe. Here was Mickey! Tommy wasn’t interested in being too close to him, but he did point and say, “Mouse! See! Look! Mouse!”
After Mickey, the older boys went on the Go Gadget Coaster (I swear, it is the world’s shortest ride) and we explored Goofy’s Garden Playground.
Tommy must have gone down that slide over and over for 15 or 20 minutes straight.
Our next destination was Critter Country and the Winnie the Pooh ride.
I don’t think there is a single bump or jerk on this ride, but I’d been hammering “no hands” into the boys’ heads so much that Ricky and Billy put their hands up just in case!
Tommy followed their lead …
I think this was the day we’d forgotten the pacifier. Tommy was tired and wanted that thing. Not his finest moment. Grandmama and I took him and Rusty on Winnie the Pooh again and then went to get some lunch while Kevin and the big boys went to Splash Mountain.
We ate lunch at my favorite place in Disneyland … The Hungry Bear Cafe. I just love eating there. I love sitting at a table looking out over the Rivers of America and watching the ducks and canoes and boats go by. It was a pretty good distraction for a tired Rusty and Tommy, too.
After lunch, Grandmama went off to meet my cousin, Alice, and Kevin took the two littles back to the hotel for naps (and more homework time for him). The big boys and I took our Fast Passes and headed for Big Thunder Mountain!
The three of us got to ride in the same seat on Thunder Mountain and I was egging the boys on to try not holding on. I don’t know why … I just find it more fun that way. Billy was willing to try. Ricky … not so much.
After our first ride (we had enough Fast Passes to go twice without waiting in line – I love Fast Passes), Billy was very eager to go again and not hold on the entire time. Ricky said, “I will go no hands … maybe when I’m 12.” I’m not sure if it was the pressure of seeing his little brother not holding on or my words of encouragement (I did tell him that it was just fine to hold on – I can be a nice mom, sometimes), but as we left the station, Ricky shot his hands up and told me that he’d keep them up if I held his leg to make sure he was safe. I did and he did and he rarely held on to a ride after that!
Such brave boys!
Next we headed to Star Tours (a 3-D Star Wars themed attraction). The boys LOVED that. I believe Billy’s words were, “That. Was. So. Cool.”
Finally we made it to Space Mountain and were ready to use our double set of Fast Passes. Billy wasn’t as impressed by this roller coaster. I’m guessing it is because it was dark. Kevin took a long time to warm up to it as well, just for the record (love you, dear). After our first ride, I asked the boys what they thought of it and if they wanted to go again. Ricky was bouncing up and down about going on it another time. I knew he would want to because I could hear him the whole time we were riding it yelling, “Awesome! Awesome!” Billy, on the other hand, said, “That was not my idea of a good time.”
We convinced Billy to go again. I think he liked it better that time.
If we did something between that and bed time, I really don’t remember. Huh.
We had a great room at the Disneyland Hotel. We were in the Adventure Tower and our room looked toward Disneyland. This made for fabulous viewing of the nightly fireworks. Ricky got to stay up late and watch them, which he thought was wonderful. “Whoa! You see those! Whoa!”
If you’ve noticed the random band-aid looking things on each of the boys’ arms, they aren’t band-aids. They are temporary tattoos. Safety Tats, actually. They had Kevin’s cell phone number on them under the words, “If I am lost, call …” Tommy’s was the most noticeable since he speaks the least. Ricky’s and Billy’s were hidden under their arms just in case they couldn’t remember the phone number. We got several comments on them (well, on Tommy’s, since it was the most noticeable – did I say that already?). One man thought they were really neat and then showed us his daughter’s arm where he had written his phone number with a ball point pen. Hey, whatever works.