Friday was our last day at Disneyland. We were up early again, but this time it was so we could pack up our hotel rooms and check out before going into the parks.
We first went into California Adventure hoping to ride the Radiator Springs Racers one more time. It wasn’t meant to be as the ride wasn’t up and running yet. So we settled on Mater’s Tractors again.
Rusty just HAD to have one more picture by the cute little tractor.
Our shirt theme for the day was Harry Potter. It wasn’t as obvious but we still got quite a few comments through-out the day. And different comments, too. The cast member on Mater’s Tractors stopped me and said how much he really like our shirts – that was typical enough, but the guy in the afternoon who flashed his own 9 3/4 tag at Kevin with a knowing smile was a less typical. Then there was the worker on Thunder Mountain who actually approached me, leaving her post, to say that, “I never do this, but because of your shirts, I thought you would want to know …” She then told me how there are some lanterns at the end of the ride that are a homage to Harry Potter and to keep my eyes out for them. I might have seen what she was talking about but I don’t think we are quite as Harry Potter-ish as she is … we just thought the shirts would be fun.
Our real fun of Friday morning was eating at the Plaza Inn on Main Street Disneyland. It is a character breakfast and is just one of the most fun things EVER!
Where Goofy’s Kitchen is fun and nice, this is crazy chaos fun! These characters come by so often you barely get a chance to eat!
And they play with you and talk with you WAY more. The Fairy Godmother wanted to know all the boys’ names and guessed what they were nicknames for … then she remembered them when she circled by a while later. Awesome!
Dale was especially adorable with Bobby. Well, they all were but I think the chipmunk loved that he wasn’t afraid.
There was some nose protection needed though!
Followed by a Billy hug!
Another fun part about this experience is that the characters seem to be friends and interact with each other. They come up behind each other and tease and play and it is just so much fun – for grown-ups, too.
Ahhh, Tigger!
It made me sad knowing that we had to leave the magic when I saw sweetness like this …
You just felt like the characters really were your friends. You hadn’t waited in line for a photo op … they came to you! They posed with YOU. As a mom, it was just really neat to see.
Did I already mention how much I loved it?
Sigh. Love.
Pure joy.
And playfulness!
We didn’t take as many pictures on Friday. We didn’t keep track of our list of rides and attractions. This day we just kind of went with what we wanted to do and what wasn’t too crowded.
The camera didn’t come out as often because I was too busy playing with my boys!
We were on the Mark Twain Riverboat for this photo-bombing experience…
We spent some time on Tom Sawyer’s Island. The boys loved running and exploring the caves and treasures!
We rode rides like Thunder Mountain and Splash Mountain and Pirates of the Caribbean. We window shopped. Kevin and I even took Ricky and Billy on the Astro Orbiters and felt horrible guilt. Rusty had been wanting to ride them all week, every time we walked by, but the line was always so long. Mom and my cousin Alice (who works at D-land) were watching the youngest 3 so we could go ride Space Mountain but it was closed for a bit. They were going to meet us in Tomorrowland, so we decided we’d get in the Astro line and pull Rusty and Tommy in with us when they walked by. But they never did. There was a lot of mom guilt and “you don’t need to mention we rode that ride” talk to Ricky and Billy afterwards.
I love my husband. It was a hard decision to spend the money on this wonderful Disneyland vacation when he was out of work and had been for so many months. We had saved up and been planning on it for 3 years, though, and he said, “Yes. Let’s go have fun.” He is my favorite!
So are these other 5 dudes!
Normally I’m not a fan of screaming children, but put us on a ride and I want to hear the squeals of joy!
Kevin’s squeal of joy is pretty awesome, too!
My dad was the one to take me on these fast rides when we went to Disneyland as a kid. I’m sure my brothers and sister were there, too, but I have very distinct memories of waiting in line for Space Mountain with Dad. I miss my dad but taking my boys on those rides that I remember riding with him keeps Dad close.
Billy really did like Space Mountain. He just has a more serious ride face!
And then it was over. Grandmama had gone to get her shuttle to the airport. We’d ridden the Railroad through the dinosaur tunnel one last time. It was the hottest day we’d been there. And it was finally time to say good-bye. It is hard to say good-bye to something so much fun.
As we finished checking out at the hotel, Rusty found one more photo op … this car was just hanging out around the corner from the lobby. We hadn’t seen it all week, but he got one last “ride.”
We made it back to Grandpa Brent’s much later than we had planned. There we found this waiting for us …
And our day ended with some visiting and a family prayer. Bobby folds his arms the right way now (August) so I am glad we caught his cuteness then.
