Back to Disney

Along with back to school came another much anticipated event; the return to Disneyland. Our local passes were blocked out all summer and we sure missed our frequent doses of Mickey Mouse and roller coasters.

Usually we only go for half of the day and fit in a few rides or a parade or a show. But Troy's family came in town at the end of August for a wedding so we decided to make a whole day out of it; from park open to park close.

My father-in-law, brother-in-law and I celebrate all of our birthdays within 6 days of each other and we happened to be visiting the park in between those days. We each received a birthday pin and passes to skip the line on any ride of our choosing. Finn especially enjoyed gnawing on my pin all day which meant the lettering for my name disappeared rapidly. But I'll admit, it was kind of fun to hear "Happy Birthday" from cast members on every corner.

Finn fell asleep just before lunch which worked out nicely except he missed the first round of cousin photos.

All of my Disneyland food dreams came true with the Monte Cristo sandwich at Café Orleans. We hardly ever sit down for meals at Disney so it was a rare treat that I've been anticipating for years. Happy birthday indeed.

We covered more ground and more rides than usual, especially with so many adults to take shifts with the younger ones who didn't meet height requirements. Blake and Nash thought they hit the jackpot when they got to sit in the front row of Big Thunder Mountain with their uncle. They are becoming roller coaster maniacs just like their mama.

Nash had a meltdown about not being tall enough for Indiana Jones, but other than that, the kids were real troopers to last all day long. 

Grandpa and Grandma were beaming, surrounded by their six grandchildren at the happiest place on earth.

We didn't mean to stay until dark but it just sort of happened that way after we found some treats and the last shift of us went on Space Mountain. The new Paint The Night parade and fireworks they added a few months ago to celebrate Disneyland's 60th anniversary was incredible. I've seen it twice now and both times the amount of detail that goes into the performance has blown my mind.

It was magical to share our initial fall trip back to Disney with family. And we're glad that our summer blockout dates are history.