Disneyland or bust?

Not a bust! It was quite the splendid trip. I say it like that because I was expecting the worst. Those of you who know me and my children well, know that they do not like the car, nor sleep in the car, and my anxiety in the car is the through the roof. However, everyone did great! We ran a tight ship with the intentions of getting there as fast as we could. This meant no REAL bathroom stops (only exit squat stops), eat in the car, and speed as much as possible while maintaining safety, or until the Burgdorf Suburban ( aka"the land yacht") started to shake. It paid off, we made it in 6 1/2 hours.

notice I-5 in the background

We stayed at the Residence Inn Maingate, which was only a 15 walk or a 5 minute shuttle ride away to the Parks. I had not been to Disneyland in 12+ years, and I had never seen California Adventure before. I actually didn't realize they shared a parking lot (well, I believe DCA was built on the old Disneyland parking lot). Anywhoo, we were well equipped for a fun time. We went with the Burgdorf's, Otto and Trudie, and Brandon's sister Tanya and her two boys, Lucas and Wyatt. I should say, this was a generous trip provided by the Burgdorf's.  They just went along for the ride, and let Tanya and Brandon and I make all the decisions. Otto's only requests were that we ride Pirates of The Caribbean and have a nice "civilized" dinner one night (more on that later).

In Cars Land

We spent our first non-travel day at California Adventure (DCA). This was quite the experience. Tanya's friend of a friend, pulled some serious strings and got us an executive tour guide of Cars Land. What is that you ask? Well, a nice "grey haired man in a Hawaiian shirt" named Tom (this is how he described himself so we knew who to look for) met us outside the park and took us straight to Cars Land. He did tell us stuff about the park along the way, like how it took 2+ years to build, etc...Once we arrived in Cars Land, he asked us how many would be riding the rides (not all of us could at a time since baby Harlan was along for the ride :). We told him six, and next thing you know, we bypass all the lines, and enter through side gate entrances and get right on the rides. The longest we waited was 5 minutes. No joke. I have to say, I felt like Hollywood royalty parading by the people waiting in line, while at the same time wondering if we were going to get hit with a churro by the angry commoners. We went on "Mater's Junkyard Jamboree", "Luigi's Flying Tires",

Cars attire ready for the ride

Mater's Junkyard Jamboree

Tanya and Wyatt

Elle LOVED the racers

Brandon and Lucas on Toy Story Mania

Radiator Springs Racers (twice) and "Toy Story Mania". I will say that Radiator Springs racers, is the only one of the Cars Land rides that is worth the hour + long waits. However, that ride can have up to a 4 hour long wait...but if you or your little ones are Cars fans, it is a must! "Soaring over California" is also a must. It is a very chill ride, but you are up in the air, not just sitting in a theater type setting. I say this because poor Wyatt, was a little traumatized by this (we were expecting the latter).
After we went on those rides our tour with Tom was over and we went to dine with the princesses for lunch. Brandon, Trudie, Elle, Harlan and myself all enjoyed fabulously expensive food while Elle got to shake hands (when they weren't in her nervous mouth) and take photos with all of the [over dressed] princesses. I was hot just looking at them. Elle was not overjoyed, but instead very shy and weary of them (very surprising of my otherwise overly social girl). Sleeping Beauty actually got down to her level and asked her questions and complimented her on her dress and buttons (I see Chotchkie's in her future career path) so she really warmed up to her. If you ask her today who her favorite princess was, she would say Sleeping Beauty. Definitely worth the money if you have a daughter who likes to be a princess. After lunch, we went back to the hotel for a nap and a swim and came back for dinner, some more rides, and I even let Elle and Harlan stay up way past their bedtime, for the "World of Color" show... another totally worth it to do!

Burgdorf Family Disneyland Vacation

The next day was Disneyland. It was a beautiful day, and despite not having a Tom, we had pretty small lines. I think we only experienced a quarter of the park though. You really need way more than a day to see all the park has to offer, but you also get a little burnt out on it all (and the kids sure get tired). We went to Adventure Land first and went on Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters. I sat this one out with Harlan but the rest of the fam went. Elle was a little scared on this one, which was surprising since she had been fearless up until this point. Autotopia, was a hit too (literally). As Brandon said, he and Elle had a blast "slamming into Asian tourists". I could only imagine. Next up was Fantasy Land. Dumbo, Casey's Circus Train and the carousel were among the favorites there.

on the train

on the carousel

The kiddos napping (Elle is asleep under the stuffed animals)

After naps, and the pool we came back to the park to ride Pirates of the Caribbean and have that civilized dinner I mentioned earlier. First up was dinner. Anyone who knows Otto and Brandon, know that they like a beer or cocktail from time to time. Otto was looking forward to that first sip of a cold one once we finally got seated at the New Orleans Cafe. The waiter graciously asked us if we would like some water or lemonade and I said, what about a cocktail? The waiter then said, "oh, only California serves alcohol". Sheer devastation took over the table. In 10 years, I have never seen Otto drink a glass of water (it's usually only coffee or beer). I took a picture to capture the moment.

 The civilized dinner should have taken place outside the gates :( Sadly, Pirates of the Caribbean was a little bit of a let down too. It was not as great as I, nor anyone, remembered. They seemed to have made it longer and changed it to be more Jack Sparrow and less politically incorrect, as I liked it. All in all, it was a great trip full of fond memories. I even survived the 7 1/2 hour drive home!