Disneyland Day 5 - March 10, 2008

Well.. we are all home and fairly healthy. I believe Garret is HAPPY to be home. and if you asked him, I am positive he would say that Bonney Lake is the "happiest place on earth". Yesterday we got up and headed to the park. Garret took a trip on the Jungle Cruise with Marc while Katie and I waited for Conner to ride the Thunder Mountain Railroad (again!). Then we all trekked over to the TEA cups. Katie had been begging for them the whole trip. Who knew they were so popular. So, Katie and Mommy had a ride in a pink (of course) tea cup.


Then we also rode on the Alice in Wonderland ride. That was about it for us.. we stopped at the gift shop and loaded up on t-shirts and other stuff. Daddy bought everyone ice-cream for breakfast and we headed back to the hotel for packing. We packed up all the mess we had and managed to check out by 11. The shuttle brought us to the airport and we found Garret a wheelchair so we could manage all the luggage and him. He was pretty weak from not eating anything. We got through the mess of security (did you know we are on orange alert?) and then sat and waited. The kids did get McDonalds and were happy about that. I think Garret ate one chicken nugget. The plane was late taking off (mechanical issues... always makes me nervous@!).. and we arrived home only a little late. Off to get the car and finally home. No one complained about bedtime. Garret went to school today and made it through although I think he will be glad to go to bed.

We have decided we should plan another trip in a couple years... just so we can prove to Garret that it can be fun.

Disneyland Day 4 - March 9, 2008

On Sat. and Sun., the hotel guests get in 1 hour early to the park... we tried that yesterday but Garret was too sick to leave. So, today we all got up early (and because of daylight savings time.. that was EARLY) and headed for the park. We went straight to Finding Nemo as it is "new" and popular with a long wait. We only waited about 15-20 minutes and it was very cute. Grandma and the kids liked it. Then we walked over to the Buzz Lightyear ride again.. but before we got on, Garret felt sick. After a quick re-evaluation.. Grandma and Grandpa brought him back to the room and the rest of us continuued on. We went on the Buzz Lightyear ride again, the Astro Orbitor, plus Autotopia...



Then we headed over to have some breakfast with the characters. We saw quite a few, Chip, Max, Tigger, Fairy Godmother, Minnie Mouse, and others.

After a big breakfast we went to Big Thunder Railroad. Conner went on that one alone while we waited. Marc and I are not big on "rollercoaster" type rides. That and cantaloupe are the reason we love each other!

Then we took a scary trip out to Tom Sawyer's Island (a new girl was learning how to run the raft.. ugh..). We got back safely and although we didn't get pictures... we did see Captain Jack Sparrow!

We headed up and took a ride at the Haunted Mansion and then went and sat for the Tiki Room show. Back to the room to check on Garret and swim and snack. We hope tonight to watch the parade and we had reservations for dinner at the Rainforest Cafe (Conner's choice.. it is his birthday today!.. oh my--- 13 yikes!).

Poor Garret is feeling miserable (see photo above) and Katie and Conner are having a tough time having fun without him. Who knew they loved their brother so much? They have all managed to buy souvenirs along the way. I am hoping Garret will feel better tomorrow.. or it could be a LONG plane ride home.

Disneyland Day 3 - March 8, 2008

Well.. let me start by saying already.. do not ask Garret about his vacation when we get home. We did not make it on Sat. morning to the breakfast we had planned. We rescheduled for Sunday, hoping Garret would feel better. We stayed in the room and had "room service". The kids liked it. Marc then took Katie and Conner out for awhile and I stayed with Garret. Katie and Conner rode on the Winnie the Pooh ride and also did the Jungle Cruise.

Then they came back and we all went to the pool. It was looking hopeful as Garret perked up some and swam a little. But when it was time for dinner, he was throwing up again... he stayed with Grandma and Grandpa and we went and got some dinner. We watched the Electric Parade from Grandma and Grandpa's room (well, Garret was asleep) and Katie liked that very much. We hope tomorrow will be better...

Disneyland Day 2 - March 7, 2008

In true fine fashion.. we could not have a vacation without a little drama. So, watch for that at the end. We are hoping we can still have some fun today.

We got up at 7:30ish, got ready and headed to the park. We ate breakfast in the room (poptarts and coke, Jim are you proud?). Took the monorail into Tomorrowland. We were going to walk straight over to Adventureland.. but got distracted. Decided to go on Star Tours as there was no line. Garret began his usual whining and complaining before we even got on the ride. Once we go into the ride he was in a full blown crying jag... I think the lady in front of us thought we were cruel parents. Then the ride started and he shut up and actually liked it! darn kid. After that Conner wanted to do the Jedi Training Academy. After waiting 15 minutes the announcement said it was cancelled. But we did get a special photo session with Darth Vader and Darth Maul... ohhhhh.

We had gotten Fast Passes for the Buzz Lightyear ride and Garret liked that one too! Shooting anything with a gun is up his alley. Then we headed over to Adventureland. We all took a ride on Pirates of the Carribean. We only waited about 5-10 minutes and when we came out.. the lines was 30 min. long (good timing!). The kids took a trip through Tarzan's treehouse. It was getting crowded so we got Katie her cotton candy and headed for our hotel, for lunch and the pool. The pool has a small waterslide and Garret and Katie both worked up the nerve to go alone (wow!).. so they spent awhile going up and down that.

We came back to the room.. took a little nap and were ready to head back to Disneyland. Garret complained that his stomach hurt. great. So Marc stayed with him in the room while we headed to look for food. Friday night at 7 PM is not a good time to need to eat here. Everything was packed and the wait was 50 min. Yikes. We finally did find somewhere to eat and brought Marc a doggy bag. Garret then proceeded to throw up most of the night. Not sure anyone got good sleep. We had reservations for a Birthday Breakfast for Conner and luckily this morning I got them changed for tomorrow. So.. we will see what adventures today brings. I pray that none of the rest of us get whatever he had. (hope it was the cotton candy he ate too much of).

Disneyland Day 1 - March 6, 2008

(I know this was last March... but I want to go ahead and post about our trip and add pictures so, bear with me...)


Helllooo! Greetings from the Happiest Place on Earth.

Here we are in Disneyland. Made it fine on the plane and Garret did not "freak" out too much. I have to say the landing was a bit upbrupt... I think the pilot put on a little too much throttle but who am I to say? and since the little kids hadn't been before.. I am sure it all seemed fine to them. There was a blessed toddler sitting behind Garret, so even though he was his usual LOUD self.. she kicked and cried enough to make him look good. We managed to catch our shuttle to the hotel even though I forgot the paperwork at home.. luckily I remembered the name of the company, whew~ After we got here we had a little lunch (yuck! the restaurant downstairs serves some lousy hamburgers.. reminded me of Foothills Fare). Then we headed into California Adventure. The first ride we chose was Grizzly Peak Rapids (a round boat and some waterfalls).. well, Garret opted out before we even got on.. NO WAY, I believe was what he said. Grandma stayed with him and the rest of us piled on. It was warm today (about 70 or so) but not warm enough to enjoy being drenched with some pretty cold water. So, Katie was done with it about halfway through.. oops. Not a good first choice for her and the rest of us took quite awhile to dry out. So much for the hairdo today! ha... We then moved on to the Soarin' over California. That was a fun one, pretty freaky though.. you feel like you are flying over land when you really barely left the ground. Garret and Katie did fine with that one... I think Katie even liked it.

We then went to Bug's Life which was a 3D movie. Garret did not appreciate this.. and really hated the spiders that descended from the ceiling, he was screaming.. but we managed to finish it out (I think he closed his eyes). We did see some characters and I took the kids picture with Minnie Mouse.

After that we headed to Disneyland (Katie kept asking when we were going to the REAL Disneyland). We took a few photo opportunities and walked through Toon Town.


Conner and Grandma went on the little roller coaster. Katie and Garret went through Chip and Dales treehouse (do we sense a theme?).



We walked down to the Princess Theatre. Watched a small theatrical performance by Snow White.. Katie loved it. She got a crown and some stickers to decorate it with and did that while we stood in line for "princess photos"... I think we stood for over 30 minutes. I figured the next few days that line will only get worse so we waited. By the time we were in the front.. she was so tired... (Did I mention we were up at 3 AM?) Anyway.. we got a photo with Cinderella, Pocahontas and Jasmine.


Then we headed back to the room. Katie laid on the bed and fell asleep about 5PM. The boys are eating pizza and will go to bed soon. We are all trying to make it to watch Survivor before we go to bed. We plan to get up early and start again. Having a good time. Garret's request for tomorrow is the pool.. .go figure!