Olivia's First Disneyland Trip!

It's no secret that I have had serious Disney fever.

So when Aaron surprised Livi and me with an annual pass, we were super stoked!

Well, I was.

Saturday morning was a little chaotic getting ready to go; as always, we didn't leave

as early as we had planning to, but we were going to DISNEYLAND...so the

frustration didn't last long. The drive to Disneyland was a little longer than expected,

(gotta love LA traffic) but we were going to DISNEYLAND! Again, we couldn't

stay frustrated long; plus, Olivia napped on the way there, we were thrilled. We

wanted a well rested little girl for our fun day!

Watching Toy Story 3 (AGAIN) to get in the Disney spirit! 

We made it to the parking lot! Let's go Daddy! I'm ready!

For the sake of saving a little money, we opted to pick up Subway sandwiches to

take into the Park. We ate them at a cute little cafe in Downtown Disney where we

realized that food at the little places cost about the same as our Subway sandwiches!

We'll definitely go for the cajun food over Subway next time. Olivia could tell something

exciting was going to happen, she was wired and pulling all kinds of silly faces. She

kept us laughing all during lunch (and entertained our table neighbors too!).

No caption necessary. :)

Finally we got a good one. I love her cute cheesy grin these days.

Daddy chowin' down! 

Downtown Disney is such a lively, fun place to walk around and people watch. Even

midday there were performers and plenty to see and do. We didn't stay long, however,

we were too excited to get to the Park. After picking up our official annual pass cards,

we tried to find the shortest line possible to get into Disneyland! Aaron was not 

impressed that annual pass holders don't have a special entrance. Can't say that I 

disagree with him. Haha. 

Waiting in line at the entrance! Olivia was not interested in smiling for a stranger.

It's amazing how quickly you're overcome with the magic of Disneyland. We took

our photos in front of the Mickey on the lawn and the train station (tradition), and

already I was giddy with excitement. I love Disneyland for many reasons - all of

which would be reason enough for my giddiness - but today it was about sharing

Disneyland with Livi. I couldn't wait. I'd already done my homework figuring out

what rides she could and could not go on, the best times to ride each one, and even

found a mobile app to tell me where and when. Awesome.

Same stranger, still no smile. But WE'RE HERE!

After we had our photo taken, Olivia walked back to the spot and posed for more photos! 

As we were walking to Tomorrowland, we saw Snow White and the Queen on their way to the wishing well! We followed suit to snap a photo with them! Olivia was absolutely terrified! I couldn't stop laughing. Poor girl. The Queen stepped away and Liv calmed down a bit - but she wouldn't take her eyes off of Snow White! First Disney Princess, First Day at Disneyland! :)

Terrified.

VERY hesitant.

Olivia's favorite movie is Toy Story 3. She's watched it near 50 times by now I'm

sure. And her favorite character? Buzz Lightyear! She LOVES him, especially

Spanish Buzz. :) When he comes on she gets the giggles and impersonates his

dances. It's the cutest thing. Sometimes I play just that part so I can watch her.

That being said, we knew we wanted to take her to Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters

first in Tomorrowland. She was terrified while standing in line (dimly lit hallways,

strange flashing lights, strangers), but as soon as she saw and pointed out Buzz,

she was captivated. She sat on Daddy's lap while he "blasted" the evil Emperor

Zurg and his minions. Mommy had so much fun watching Liv and Daddy that

she forgot she had a gun too! I had to laugh because although Aaron had 20,000

more points than I did, we were still in the same scoring bracket at the end! Yes!

That's my kind of game.

Tomorrowland, Daddy's favorite.

Look Dad! It's Buzz!!!

We found him! Livi's hero!

Aaron loves this ball thing, and Livi did too!  A nice way to cool off without getting too wet.

After Buzz, we took Liv to It's a Small World. When I was a kid, it was my

favorite ride; and from what I hear, I wanted to ride it over and over again. Can you

imagine the joy?! Haha. Olivia sat content during the entire ride. The only time she

got overly excited was when she saw Woody, Jessie and Bullseye in one of the

countries! I don't remember there ever being movie characters throughout It's a

Small World before - it was kind of odd to see Peter Pan flying around Europe

and Lilo and Stitch surfing in Hawaii. Nevertheless, it did give Liv (and other kids)

something to connect with. As parents, we loved the escape from the hot sun!

These are the faces they pulled when I said, "Smile!" And I wondered where she got her goofy faces from. :)

Here we are on the boat! So happy together!

Peter Pan is my favorite Disney movie, so naturally, my favorite ride in Fantasyland

is Peter Pan's Flight! When we walked by and saw the wait was only 30 minutes, we jumped

in line. Not 20 minutes later, we were climbing onto our very own pirate's galleon to

soar over London and then off to Neverland. There is something so magical about

seeing all the twinkly stars, Olivia's eyes were huge as she took in all the sights below.

I took that as a sign that she liked the ride. :) Even Aaron commented about what a 

great little ride it is. 

Olivia has had a recent fascination with jungle animals, inspired by a puzzle I bought her

with jungle animals and her trip to the zoo. So how could we pass up the Jungle Cruise?

Again, we hardly waited in line before hopping aboard. Olivia pointed out the hippos,

the rhinoceros, the elephants, the lions, and the zebra. She loved the waterfall, and I 

could tell she was disappointed when we didn't go under it. One of my favorite moments

was when Aaron thought a hippopotamus was going to spray him with water! He 

freaked out and even hid behind Livi!

Next was Pirates of the Caribbean, a Phelps family favorite. I love the musty, murky

smell of the ride, the music, and of course the storylines - and I love the new addition

of Captain Jack Sparrow throughout it. Aaron was a little concerned that the ride

might be too scary for Liv - what with the drops and the mist and darkness - and

although she clenched onto Aaron throughout it, she seemed rather content. We told

her the drops were like slides; I thought there were 3, but alas, only 2. 

 By this time, little Liv was pretty worn out. It was hot in the sun, and she was a little

overwhelmed by all the new sights, smells and people. Daddy bought us a frozen

chocolate dipped banana (a Disneyland must for me, right outside Adventureland), 

and he got a strawberry popsicle. We enjoyed our frozen treats while listening to 

the Ragtime pianist - who was amazing. Olivia couldn't sit still and had to keep 

getting down to dance, run, or check out the piano. Aaron and I would have loved 

to ride Space Mountain or Indiana Jones - but that will have to be on another trip.

Cool tip: there is something called "rider swap" for parents with little ones. Your 

whole party waits in line, one spouse rides the ride while the other waits with your

kid, and then you switch out! You ride the ride while your spouse holds your kid.

Brilliant. Can't wait to try it out.

We saved the best for last - Dumbo! From the moment Liv saw the Dumbo ride,

she couldn't wait to try it out! Try explaining to a 20 month old the concept of 

waiting in line. Haha, not so easy. She and her Daddy kept chanting "Dumbo-Dumbo"

as we waited. Finally she was given the coveted feather (her ticket to ride Dumbo),

and off she and Aaron went to choose which Dumbo to ride. I opted out so I could

video her and take photos. Her little face just lit up. Up in the air, around and around,

and each time she passed me she was smiling and waving. As all rides do, this one

came to an end. It was then I realized someone was going to make a scene. Sure 

enough, when Livi realized we were taking her away from Dumbo she had a complete

meltdown! I couldn't help but laugh. At least she was crying because she had had 

too much fun to leave. She calmed down once we took her to the photo-op Dumbo.

She climbed on and off in between Aaron and I trying to snap a few photos.

Thankfully, there weren't any other kids vying for Dumbo's attention.

On our way out of Disneyland, we stopped to watch the parade. My oh my, little Livi

loved the parade of characters! Her favorites? Rapunzel (Tangled is her second favorite

Disney movie), Simba, the entire Toy Story crew, and of course - MICKEY!. The 

music was fantastic, she couldn't take her eyes off all the princesses, and she seemed

intrigued by all the characters and dance. What a great way for kids to see all the 

characters! By the end of the parade, we were starving and ready for dinner in 

Downtown Disney. 

Before dinner, we stopped in the Disney Store (or whatever it's called) to find Livi a 

souvenir for the day. After searching and finally asking for help, we found her the 

cutest tshirt that says "First Disneyland Trip". Looking back, we should have purchased

it at the beginning of the day so she could wear it! Olivia loves it because it has Buzz

on it. :) We then ended up eating at a little cafe called the Jazz Kitchen. Decent

priced delicious food; they even have kids meals (Olivia loved her mini corn dogs and 

fries). 

I didn't think our day could get any better.

And then I heard the live swing band. My heart skipped a beat. I love that music. As we

got closer I realized that not only was there a band, but a dance floor! It was packed

with dancers - the majority dancing Lindy Hop! My heart ached for it all. I stood with

Aaron and Liv watching until my sweet sweet hubby finally encouraged me to just go

dance already! So I did. Talk about fun. I miss my dancing days. Aaron was amazing,

he battled a crying Livi and still managed to capture some video of me dancing. I love

love love to dance.

We couldn't believe we had stayed until 9pm! We watched the fireworks from the freeway,

we had one sleepy girl and two exhausted parents. We'll save all the fireworks for another

visit. :) We had such a magical day seeing Disneyland through Olivia's eyes.

PS - If I can cut our videos shorter, I'll add a few later. :)