Jenn's Reflections of Disneyland 2009

I'd like to start by saying that Disneyland is, in fact, NOT the happiest place on earth. Anywhere my husband happens to be has that distinction. So, I guess, that for 5 days this year, Disneyland was able to be what it aspired to.

On Sunday, I was impatient to get on the road. I was SOOO excited. By the time we reached Vegas, that excitement had waned and I was just plain tired. I wanted to see the lights and the glamor of the strip, as Adam has frequently described its wonders to me. Sadly, it was late, and everyone was tired, so we just drove to the Bellagio to see the fountain show, which was pretty neat.

The next day, we set out for Anaheim. As we got closer, my excitement returned. By the end of the drive, I was ready to explode with wanting to be in Disneyland. We didn't go on Monday, though. Instead we went to Red Robin for dinner, both as tradition and for Boston's birthday. Adam gave Amy a start with one of Boston's new presents that made me laugh.

After that we went to Downtown Disney, which was partially torture because we were THAT close...but not there yet. We had fun looking at all the cool Disney merchandise. We didn't see anything we just HAD to have, but there is a lot there to want.

Tuesday morning, I was up at 6:30am pacing the hotel room, probably driving Adam crazy with my repetitions of, "Guess what...? We're going to DISNEYLAND!" I went down and ate a big, sustaining breakfast so that my day in the Magic Kingdom would not be interrupted by my stomach. Finally, we left. We went through the bag check, approached the gate and...stared at it. Due to the cost of parking, the families were dropped off and the drivers went back to the hotel and returned in one car. Not a problem and a solid plan...if we all had our passes. So, 30 feet from Disneyland, we stopped and waited for what seemed like forever. I was going NUTS! When the fathers all joined our anxious group, we rushed to the gates.

Once inside Disneyland, we tried to locate Jeremy's family, who had walked there earlier. Then the fun began. We all tried to decide what ride to go on first. So, as a big group, we went on Pirates of the Caribbean. All of us fit into one boat, due to the fact that some people couldn't go on it.

Wednesday, my foot hurt. I considered wearing my walking cast, but it was our 2 year meeting anniversary so I wanted to look my best. I borrowed Alex's red Burningham shirt because she decided not to wear hers and Adam and I looked like a matched set (which we are). At the beginning of the day, we hung out with the family in California Adventure. At lunch, we went our own way and went to Disneyland and got "Happy Anniversary" buttons. Then we went on Peter Pan's flight, Small World, Indiana Jones, Pirates, and the Sleeping Beauty Castle walkthrough. We also rode Monsters Inc., Tower of Terror, and Maliboomer (which was done with the family). We didn't ride Screamin' with the family because Adam's tummy was in distress from the raft ride that spun us like a wet pinwheel.

For dinner we went to the IHOP just outside of the park, which was a wonderful meal. On our honeymoon we dined there because on our way back to the hotel, I needed to rest my foot, so Adam took me to that IHOP for a rest.

Towards the end of the day, we went to different stores in Disneyland and California Adventure looking for the perfect souvenir, which we did not find that day. I also found I could not walk any further and Adam proceeded to carry me until we were safely at the hotel. His feet were pretty bad too, so I felt bad, but Adam refused to put me down.

Thursday was the official T-shirt day. Everyone decided to use their Magic Morning pass to go to the park early that day, but my feet hurt so bad that Adam and I stayed behind until the normal opening time. When we got into the park, we first ran into Bret and Melanie on their way to pick up a gift card and a "Happy Birthday" button for her Birthday. We had known ahead of time and had already gotten a button with Melanie's name on it, so we were glad to have caught up with them before they got another one.

We then went on Buzz Lightyear with the rest of the family. My score was...bad. After we got off, a cast member asked if we wanted "Family Reunion" buttons and then asked how many we would like. "26!" She didn't have nearly that many, so she gave us the 10 or 12 she had and went to get some more. When she returned we all had a button, but there were two different kinds, an orange-ish one and a gray one. Just as we were pinning the buttons on our shirts, Bret and Melanie returned. They were a bit surprised that we already had buttons, because his backpack had 26 more inside that he had gotten while he was away. So, people picked the color of button that they preferred and Bret ended up with a backpack of left-over buttons.

That day we stuck together as much as we could. Jeremy had fun skipping next to Kalli and we all had fun singing to Melanie at the beginning of each attraction we went on (even if she chose to stay behind). We ate at the Pizza Port for lunch while we waited for Space Mountain to be re-opened. We had our picture taken with Mickey, and then by Big Thunder Mountain.

Friday and Saturday were spent mostly window shopping by Adam and I. We did whatever rides we wanted at our leisure and just soaked up the sun.

Friday night was fun because Adam, his parents, Tyra, Alex, and I watched the Electrical Parade in California Adventure. Which was awesome, but really crowded. Then we were on our way to Disneyland for the fireworks and to meet up with Amy and Jason when the show started without us. We sat down on the ground in the plaza between the parks and watched from there. Then came the insane crowd of people going into Disneyland for the Fantasmic show, which we also were on our way to see. The shows that night were all awesome, but given the panic level that the massive crowds caused, I doubt I will ever want to see them again.

After all of that, the family decided to walk back to the hotel together. We hadn't planned on it, but it was very fun. Jeremy and Adam, along with whichever nieces and nephews cared to join in, did their funny walks and runs most of the way. I wish I were the one with the camera instead of Adam that night.

Saturday, Adam and I walked to the park because we slept in and wanted to take it easy. That night we went for pizza at Shakey's and gave Adam's parents our thank you gift, which Adam has described in his post.

Sunday we drove back to Utah. It was a long drive, but it felt good to be home again.

Disneyland is awesome, especially when you are with your family.

P.S. The Princesses get irked when you try to take their pictures through a hedge because the line is nearly three hours long.