Disneyland, April 2010

Early morning on Main Street

Sleeping Beauty Castle

Coral and I sat this one out.

Mr. Toad's Wild Ride-Leith informed me that it wasn't 'wild'.

Storybook Land was really lovely-amazing plants!

It's A Small World-with a lot more Disney characters than in the past.

The girls and I pose-JK! The boys were not into 'characters', but the girls definitely were!

We stopped in the Mad Hatter store...

White water rafting in California Adventure

The landscaping was amazing in both parks!

Leith tried cotton candy for the first time.

Taking it easy in Mickey's house...

and in Minnie's kitchen.

The man, err, MOUSE, himself!

And, Minnie!

We saw several duck families in the park.

Mint Julep break-with live jazz in the background

Waiting in line for Big Thunder Mtn Railroad

We could live like Jack & Sally....

Or just like Jack!

Near Indiana Jones

'ToonTown

These pictures don't really capture our Disneyland experience which consisted of riding as many roller-coasters as possible. Leith was a thrill-seeking maniac. He rode every fast ride numerous times, exclaiming, "That was awesome!" after each one. Niall was only interested in fast rides and complained about all the 'kiddie' rides. He did discover, however, that he doesn't like open air roller-coasters. One trip on CA Screamin' was more than enough for him. Not for Leith, though! The boys are fortunate that Kevin is a 'process' obsessed, energetic leader. He maximized the fast pass system and other tricks to make sure we rode all the crowded rides multiple times with minimal waiting. We were on a serious 'schedule' and were nearly dead with fatigue each night.

We 'did' CA Adventure for the first time. Highlights included the fast rides, of course, and Muppetvision 3-D.

At times, we did enjoy some of the more relaxing parts of the park. We ate in the fancy Blue Bayou restaurant, located inside the Pirates of the Caribbean. We heard live jazz and blue grass in other restaurants. We admired the beautiful, imaginative gardens. And, we had the most ideal spot possible-right in front of the castle on a bench-for enjoying the amazing fireworks show.

Coral and India, while enjoying fast rides, were dedicated to a more well rounded experience. They hung out with all the characters they could find, they shopped, and looked through an exhibit on the history of the park. And, they appreciated the 'kiddie' rides.

Actually, we all enjoyed all of it, even if Niall can't admit that he liked Small World!

It was a great vacation-Niall told me a few days later that he missed 'the Frosted Flake lifestyle' of the hotel breakfast buffet. The girls have spent countless hours sorting, editing and posting photos. And, Leith has been so cute as he relives all the experiences he had.