I love Disneyland. I feel like maybe I should not like it because of commercialism and what not, but it really is a wonderful place. It is magical, childlike, clean and the best theme park out there. Sure, there are lines, but that can for the most part be avoided with fast passes. I was lucky enough to go to Disneyland as a child, and again a few times later. These experiences made Disneyland a magical place in my mind. A place where Cinderella lived, you could fly like Peter Pan, be a pirate, and run through the maze of tunnels on Tom Sawyer's Island. I have wanted to take Elanor there, because Disneyland is more fun with kids (at least I think so)! It becomes a whole new place as I see it through her eyes. She was just the right age, loved everything, and was in a good mood almost the entire time, even until late at night. My parents took us, and paid for it all, so we are so very thankful for them! Thank you Mom and Dad! My brother, Erik, also came which was great to have some more time with him before he leaves on a mission in three weeks.
I did not get a ton of pictures, as we were all having so much fun. I also got a few pictures from my family as well.
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| Elanor with her ticket to get in! |
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| Walking down Main Street USA with Nan. |
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| Family picture with Disney and Mickey. |
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| With my Dad. |
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| The first ride Elanor went on was the carousel in Fantasyland. |
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| We then went on Dumbo, and Elanor loved it! |
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| Later, we ran into Princess Tiana in New Orleans Square. |
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| I love Tiana and wanted to get in the picture too! |
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| Elanor's favorite ride was Splash Mountain! She has always been a bit of a daredevil and went on it five times over the course of two days. Anytime we asked what she wanted to do, the answer was Splash Mountain. She even went in the very front on her last time. |
Here are all of the Splash Mountain pictures:
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| I did not go the first time, as I was unsure about going since I am pregnant. However, everyone assured me that it was very smooth and it went on it. It was so fun to go with Elanor. For anyone that is wondering, I had an appointment yesterday, and the baby is just fine. I did not go on any of the roller coaster rides. |
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| Tyler, Erik and my Dad were really into making silly faces. |
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| I love Elanor's face! |
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| We did go on it five times, but we are missing a picture. This was the last one, and notice Elanor was trying to make a silly face. She is sticking her tongue out on purpose, something she was quite proud of. |
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| We also ran into Jessie, from Toy Story. I don't know why they wear those weird heads, though. She could just wear a yarn wig and look a whole lot less creepy. |
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| We went to Cafe Orleans for dinner and it was very tasty and had good prices. Also, notice that Disney gives out good crayons (Crayola's), not those horrible waxy things at most restaurants. |
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| We went to a parade on the first night as well, which was really fun for Elanor. It was a musical parade, that had floats and songs from all of Disney's movies with good music, so a little of everything! |
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| Princesses. |
The next day was just as fun and Elanor was able to see a lot of characters.
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| Peter is one of my favorites. |
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Elanor was so in awe of all the princesses.
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| In Tomorrowland with her Minnie hat. |
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| We went on Jungle Cruise a couple times, and while in line, my mom snapped this great picture. Elanor was really into making silly faces and teaching people how to be silly most of this trip. |
One of my favorite places in Disneyland, is Tom Sawyer's Island or Pirate's Lair, as it is currently being called. You have to take a little ferry over, which is cool. There are never many people there, there is plenty of room to run, caves to explore and pirate treasure to find.
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| Elanor's joy upon finding the treasure. |
We went on several more rides, pretty much all of them. Elanor's favorites were Splash Mountain (of course), Thunder Mountain Railroad, Dumbo, the Tea Cups and the Peter Pan ride.
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| We found this little Frozen scene, which was pretty cool, even if she did not ever see Anna and Elsa. |
Disneyland was a wonderful experience and so worth it. We are grateful my parents took us, that our good family friends, the Kupferers, hosted us at their house, and that we were able to spend a day at the seaside. It is hard to live so far from the ocean in Utah.
There will be another post this week all about Halloween and Elanor's costume!
