Rice and Frijolitos: The Happiest Place on Earth

The hubby is super lucky to get the whole week of Thanksgiving off. So, when he also received a nice bonus at work, we decided it would be the perfect time for a family vacation to Disneyland. I'm a big fan of Disneyland. It really does feel like such a magical little place. The attention to detail is just amazing to me. The fact that it'd be our little bean's first visit just made it extra special. We left last Friday night with our 2-day park-hopper passes in hand!

{Yay! Day One}

{the snowy icicle covered castle}

{Our first ride- Dumbo}

{it's so hard to get a good picture of this girl. she loved the teacups! it was my favorite as a little girl}

{little door for a little girl}

{We're excited!}

On our first day the focus was to enjoy Disneyland park as much as possible. We had a great start; nice and early, and were able to enjoy quite a few rides before heading back to our hotel across the street for Amélie's nap. After a nap (for all of us!), we went back and really took advantage of the day. We rode as many rides as we could and fortunately none of lines were longer than a 20 minute wait. We watched the Christmas parade and were able to sneak onto Small World toward the end of the show and avoid the ridiculous 40 wait that it had all day! I have to say it was probably my most favorite ride of all. Amélie LOVED it. She was fascinated by everything and was smiling and clapping the entire time. The park and many of it's rides were decorated for the holiday season and Small World was especially beautiful. I also told the hubby we should stay for the special fireworks display and snow(!!!) that night, which was well past Amélie's bedtime, but we're so happy we did because once we got back to the hotel with a passed out Amélie in the stroller (she never sleeps in the stroller!), we realized the weather report called for rain the next day.

{having fun with hats. Amélie did end up getting the traditional Mickey ears}

{she was actually having fun. getting close to nap time}

{darn handle!}

{just cruising}

With the weather report in mind, the next day our goal was to get to the park at opening time, ride as many things as possible and then head over to California Adventure since we'd never been there; hopefully before the rain started. Well, we did alright. We did get there on time, did ride as many as we could before nap time, but we never made it to California Adventure. It started pouring as soon as we started having lunch before nap time. We went back, slept, and then decided on braving the cold and rain to ride Space Mountain, Peter Pan, and the Haunted Mansion. Just three rides...we could do it in the rain, right?! Well, we accomplished it, but it was definitely an adventure. Amélie's at a stage now where she cannot lose sight of me. So, when Eric and I switched in order for me to get on Space Mountain, Amélie started crying immediately and didn't stop until I got back. Then, we found out Amélie doesn't like being in the rain (even with a raincoat and umbrella) and during the time we were waiting in the portion of the line that was in the rain for Peter Pan, she whined and cried a little. Fortunately, she was totally into the Haunted Mansion and she pointed and clapped throughout the ride. With our goals completed, we headed back to a warm comforting dinner, bath time, and on-time bedtime. Overall, our trip was a big success and we had a wonderful time.