Days 7 and 8 -- Family Vacation

On our way from Morro Bay to Anaheim, we stopped in Santa Monica for lunch. MacTroll loves staying in Santa Monica. It's kind of a weird divide between movie stars who shop two blocks from the water -- and normal people who hang out on the boardwalk and the beach. While we were there, there was a sand soccer tournament going on. But X-man wasn't interested. He wanted to play in the water. After 45 minutes we had to haul him off the beach to have lunch. He tried to make a jail break, but MacTroll caught him just outside the restaurant and sat him down for a talk. There were tears, but he returned to have some lunch before we took him on the ferris wheel on the pier and then back to the car. The whole thing took way longer than I thought -- 3 hours. We ended up getting to Anaheim an hour and a half later. 

I would HIGHLY recommend the Doubletree Suites on Harbor Blvd., about one mile from Disney for anyone who plans on going to California. They are really kid friendly without being overwhelming. They are also very clean and relatively new. The suite had a living room with a TV, desk, fold-out couch, game system, comfy chair and plenty of room for bags. The bedroom was two queen sized beds, closet and dresser, and then you could both access the bathroom through a common walkway. So, X-man could watch bad cartoons on the couch in one room, while MacTroll was on the internet, while I could close the doors, pull the shades and lie down for a bit in the bedroom. There was also a dining room with great food options where kids ate free all day (up to age 12). We particularly liked that we could walk from our hotel to Disney without any hassle. 

That night, MacTroll ran out to the store and brought back fresh fruit and some bread and cheese, and we snacked and hung out before going to the pool. We swam for an hour and then took baths/showers and all climbed into bed in preparation for Sunday -- our day at Disney.

KTDID came over to our hotel and we walked up to Disney. Prices to get into one park for one day are $69 for adults and kids 12 and up or $59 for kids 3-9. The key height, as in other amusement parks, is for your child to be at least 40" tall. X-man is 39 1/2". So, we called him 2. Since he was in a stroller, I don't think they cared. Plus, I'm pretty sure we purchased $60 worth of crap and food to make up for it. X-man didn't blink once when going on any of the rides. His favorite were the Tuck and Roll bumper cars in the Bug's Life area. The waits were also very short in the kid area -- we didn't wait any more than 5 minutes for anything. In a lot of the kid-friendly sections they did a great job of entertaining the kids while they were in line. Flik's voice was around a lot of the bug rides. The Muppet 3-D had an intro TV show made up of shorts while you waited for your movie. Monsters Inc. had a million things for kids to look at and another TV set to shorts. The same cannot be said for the rest of the park. We waited 45 minutes for Mickey's Ferris Wheel, which is too long for little kids. By the time we were done with the wait at that one ride, we headed over to a kids climbing area, so X-man could have some gross motor while KTDID and MacTroll had lunch (X-man and I ate earlier at the fruit/vegetable stand while KTDID and MacTroll went on the Tower of Terror). 

X-man was really excited about meeting Lightning McQueen, and he picked up an aviator cap with mouse ears and some aviator goggles. He looks very cute in them.

At 4:45, we lined up in the main area and found comfortable seats for the Pixar Parade at 5:15 p.m., where there were floats from EVERY Pixar movie. X-man was so very excited. He cheered and screamed. And when the parade was done, he was sad that it was time to go. We took him to the Lego Store in Downtown Disney and let him build a bit, before walking back to the hotel. We had left the hotel at 10:30 a.m. and we got back at 6:30 p.m. 

We ordered room service and played in the room building with couch cushions and playing hide and seek. Then KTDID and I got some hot tub time before she took off for home. 

Then we all fell asleep for an uneventful plane ride home. So we're here, and I'm lazy about pictures -- so if you'd like to check out all the photos from our trip take a trip over to X-man's web site. :-)