Done Disney Land

What an amazing day. We had a blast at Disney Land today. For three of us, it was our first visit. For Ken (DH), it was his first return trip since visiting as a kid. It was fun to see what Ken remembered as we went through. In true Disney style, everything was beautiful. We are so spoiled by the grounds at Busch Gardens and Disney keeps up as well.

We each had a favorite ride today:

• Kaleb - Matterhorn (it was a rollercoaster of course)
  
• Peter - Buzz Lightyear (of course . .. LOL. He got a very high score shooting at Z's)
  
• Ken - Pirates of the Carribbean (we rode it twice - it was just like he rode when he was a kid)
• Theresa - Indiana Jones ride (I almost got off before it started, but it was amazing! Great movements and great sets. The rolling ball was the best part.)

We were surprised, but thankful that the park was so empty in the morning. We got on most rides in 10 minutes or less until we took a break at 2 PM. It helped us get to ride things more than once.

One surprise was Space Mountain. I was a bit concerned about riding it again because I don't like roller coasters with big drops. Ken was so kind to encourage me to go enjoy it and reminded me how many times I've ridden Space Mountain in WDW (As a teenager, I once rode the ride 30 times in a row b/c the girl I was with liked one of the CMs . . .LOL). Needless to say, I loved Space Mountain (again), however, Ken came off a bit queasy. He jumped right back on the horse to ride the Matterhorn . . .

Speaking of CM (Cast Members) . . . I must say, the ones here at DL are much friendlier and more helpful than the ones in WDW. Repeatedly, we were offered help in the morning when we were lost. I was extra impressed with the CM who offered to walk us to our dinner venue and help us get reservations. It also a treat for Ken to chat about how things were at DL when he was a kid.

We took the monorail back to Downtown Disney for dinner. We dined at Ralph Brennan's Jazz Kitchen. It was spectacular! Ken and I split a meal of filet minion medallions and Kaleb tried some Jambalaya. We brought enough home for lunch tomorrow. It was a special treat to have such wonderful Cajun food.

Well off to bed. We have a full day at California Adventure and meeting some of friends from the Disney Cruise.

We Made It to California!

We were up at 3:30 AM this morning. It wasn't until we were on the airplane that this really started feeling like a vacation. Oh and did I mention we just barely made the plane? Seems my luggage that was an acceptable size only 3 months ago, suddenly grew (and I had packed LESS in it). The luggage had grown an entire INCH which suddenly required an additional $29 to be able to bring it with us. US Airlines are such a sham!

We flew from home to Atlanta. The wait was only 2 hours. Unfortunately, then we discovered there would be no food whatsoever on the plane; not even food to purchase at exorbandant prices . . .LOL. At the last minute, we ran to Moe's for breakfast burritos. For our five hour flight, we were thankful to have the food (and made the stewardess a bit jealous with the great smell).

I was blessed to sit beside a missionary headed back to China. It was a great way to spend five hours. I learned so much about China in that short period. I also learned how much more we need to pray for the churches there.

Once we landed we headed straight to our hotel: Best Western Park Place. We chose this hotel because it was exactly across from the entrance to Disney Land. Disney only has two hotels here and they can be pricey. There are a ton of hotels all the way around Disney Land. Although this hotel had great ratings, it was less than we expecting. What I didn't realize is how old most of these properties are. It's clean and the air conditioning works well. What more do we really need.

We spent the rest of the afternoon exploring Downtown Disney. I loved the Anne Gedde shop (the only one in the courtry). The boys were excited to explore the LEGO store. This one had to be the biggest one we have been to yet! Both boys selected a suviniour which we'll pick up on Saturday.

For an early dinner, we headed to the Rainforest Cafe. It's one of our favorite eateries. We were so tired, it was hard to eat . .. LOL

We're back early because Ken surprised us with TWO day hopper tickets to DL. We had only planned to spend one day. Now we can hop around and enjoy both DL and Disney California Adventures.

Off to get some sleep for me, too. More soon . . .