Magic: The Gathering in Disneyland... of our Family... Together

Every year we take a summer vacation. On odd years, Chris and I go alone and my parents, the saints that they are, take on the kids. 2014 is not an odd year, so that means the kids got to choose where we went. That means Disneyland. We are not one of those families who try to take our kids on educational trips. The vacation fund is limited and childhood is short.

Here are some of our favorite magical memories from this vacation:

We stayed at the Fairfield Inn "across the street" from Disneyland the first night in order to go a little easier on the ol' vacation fund. It turns out that "across the street" actually means that it was about 3/4 of a mile from our "real" hotel. The magical part is that our kids hauled (for the most part) their own luggage during this great migration. Jane made it a good quarter mile with her bag.

Note the stroller Chris is hauling? Although we haven't used it for years, we brought it along in anticipation of Jane's short little legs getting tired on our trip. We didn't want a perfectly good trip to be ruined by whining. We hauled that stroller through two airports and three hotel rooms and back through two airports. We never even unlatched it. Jane walked an average of 8 miles a day. That is magical in my book. 

Here we are, just completing our long journey to the Grand Californian. 

Right after we entered Disneyland, a custodian walked up to us and asked us if we liked Peter Pan. Of course we do but the dumb line is half an hour long. Totally inappropriate for a first ride. He told us he wanted to give us a magical moment and let us on Peter Pan without having to go through the line. That was pretty awesome. He wasn't to know that Jane had forfeited her right to ride Peter Pan two years ago after she peed on Chris while in line. So Jane finally got to ride Peter Pan. In so doing she discovered that Peter Pan is the kind of ride worth holding your bladder for. 

She also had the patience to stand in line for Dumbo. She talked about that 2 minute ride for the rest of the trip. We are in the pink elephant. It's hard to get a good photo on Dumbo. 

As usual, we had some good old BBQ at Big Thunder Ranch. Emily and I have a tradition that started 4 years ago at the Big Thunder Ranch. Emily noticed a certain peaceful culture wishing peace in all their pictures. She too wanted a peaceful picture. And it became a tradition. 

Emily at 4:

Emily at 6:

Emily at 8:

Peace.

Emily chose Elsa at the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique. I wanted her to be unique instead of one of the ten thousand Elsas in the park. But I also let her make her own choices, as evidenced by this interesting hair do. She redeemed herself by accessorizing the Elsa dress with a Merida bow and arrow. 

Jane lost her BBB privilege, and cancelling her appointment was so hard on me that I actually made Chris do it. It broke my heart. But I would like to say to future Jane: You lost it fair and square despite more second chances than I can count on one hand. And if you ever again doubt that we mean business, please note the lonely Elsa in this photo. 

But we did purchase the Elsa dress of Jane's dreams and are giving her a chance to earn the dress with good behavior. If she fails to earn it, the dress is actually worth double what we paid for it on the Frozen black market, which is substantial. Either way, we win. 

Jane was really looking forward to driving her own Autopia car this time. She is a terrible driver but she looks adorable when she is concentrating. 

Real magic comes in the form of Dole Whips in the Tiki Room. If you doubt me, you've never experienced this wonder. 

In a similar vein, there is a Ghiradelli shop in California Adventures. We visited no fewer than 4 times and I ate no fewer than 3 ice cream creations from this shop. It is heaven in a box.     

Observe the wonder. 

Of all the amazing things we did on our vacation none was more so than Chris and Rachael's Date in Disneyland. Yes, it happened. We dropped the kids off at Pinocchio's Workshop where they colored and made s'mores and had a grand time while we did this:

A real, adult dinner at a place where they do not serve corn dogs or "mickey shaped" anything. 

A ride on California Screamin' with the love of my life 

and more Ghiradelli ice cream. Because it was there. And that's enough of an excuse. 

After that the girls got ready for bed and we watched fireworks by the fountain outside our hotel and let them eat popcorn in their pajamas. 

Which left us just enough time to get a good night's sleep before Storyteller Cafe character breakfast. I think this guy is from Brother Bear. Or something.

We limit the girls to one stand in line meet-and-greet. Half an hour in line buys you a picture with exactly two fairies. It's pretty magical that we would actually submit to something like that. 

One of the most magical moments of the trip was when we realized Jane was beginning to act like a Human. Here's how it happened:

I got 4 fast passes for Tower of Terror, thinking Emily could go once with me and once with Chris while Jane went on Monsters Inc for the millionth time and waved at Boo. But when our time came, Jane insisted that she wanted to go to Tower of Terror. We tried to talk her out of it but she was determined. So she went. 

Yes, she was a bit scared but afterward she was all smiles. 

She still has her incomprehensible list of rides she doesn't like, such as Radiator Springs Racers (!?)

but she went on those anyway and always liked them after the fact. This, combined with her indefatigable little legs mean that Jane is quickly exiting the Baby phase and entering the Fun Kid phase. I like the Fun Kid phase. The Baby phase was exhausting.

The perks of being a Human include riding Indiana Jones, which Jane, true to her random form, loved. 

Emily continued to love Disneyland like most people love air. We had some great moments that included riding the Matterhorn one night while the fireworks were going off, taking several trips down Splash Mountain, and riding California Screamin' together (She finally hit the magical 48''!). I love sharing new experiences with Emily because she loves new experiences. 

Our last night we had a totally Disney experience: dinner at the Carnation Cafe while watching the parade. 

Jane loved the parade so much she could barely be bothered to take more than a couple bites of her $8.00 make-your-own PB&J. Oh the magic of Disney. 

And then, the moment that Emily had been looking forward to the entire trip - making her own light saber. 

She defended her bunk bed with style. 

The last day was made super magical by these babies:

The hotel screwed up. They expected us to just take their crap, but Chris complained. And got these babies in return. Two fast passes for ANY attraction. Not just the ones that take fast passes. And the ride operators kept returning them to us so we had them almost all day long. With our golden tickets we rode Matterhorn, Peter Pan, Indiana Jones and Grizzly River Run. All with no line. 

So... that was Disneyland. We will remember this stuff forever. So, while we would love a bigger house and a new car and, well... cable, those things are all temporary and kind of dumb in the grand scheme of things. We choose to give our kids a little bit of magic instead. I'm certain we will never regret that choice.