Disneyland Jackpot!

On the Monday that MOST Southern California students went back to school after Winter Break, my girls' school district took one extra day! I figured that this would be a great day for us to hit Disneyland & California Adventure! I was so very right on this one... we had a fabulous, easy, hardly any lines kind of day! We were able to navigate through both Disneyland, California Adventure, and then back to Disneyland for a fun-filled day! I'm missing some pictures (I'm just about to throw this computer through a window) because I'm having problems with my memory on the hard drive so it missed several pics. Some of which showed Ryan as a participant in the High School Musical 3 Show! She got to be on stage to dance! It was so cute!

Note to all mommies: Always let your children wear costumes to Disneyland!
Steve, of course, would disagree with this practice and I definitely "pick my spots" for this kind of fun day but... the entire Park "cast" acknowledges them ALL day long by their costume names. "Alice, where is the white rabbit today?" "Tinkerbell, have you seen Peter Pan? I can't seem to find him." This happened ride after ride all day long! We have done this a few times and it never fails! The girls feel like complete "Super Stars!" I don't think that I have seen Ryan blush so much in one day and Charlie do "the princess wave" and "the pose" so much in my life! I got a huge kick out of it!
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Since we were having such an easy day, I decided to try to make reservations at Ariel's Grotto at California Adventure! So awesome! Very fancy meal (mojitos too!) and the girls got to meet 5 different princesses that came to our table throughout the meal to talk to the girls! They were in such awe!

All guest meet Ariel first (because it's her restaurant of course). Charlie asked her, "You remember coming to my birthday party don't you?"

And then she showed Ariel where Ryan lost a tooth! Priceless!

Posing with Ariel... Charlie favorite princess by far!

Here is Belle! Ryan's favorite princess came next! (Beauty in the Beast)

Next came the princess of 3 names... Princess Aurora, Briar Rose, Sleeping Beauty!
If you can remember back a couple of years, Ryan was Aurora for Halloween (check the old blog posts. It's cute to compare!)

And Cinderella... an old favorite (Also, a Halloween costume from the same year for Charlie!)

Just look at the dessert sampler that came with our meal! We were in heaven! Chocolate Hot Lava Cake, mini lemon bars, brownies with caramel and brownies, chocolate chip cookie bars, and a giant white chocolate shell! (I so fell off the diet wagon that day!)

Oh ya, and a white chocolate Ariel! Charlie ate her right up!

Charlie never misses a Chocolate Hot Lava cake!

The Grand Finale princess was Minnie Mouse! The girls were so very excited! I would suggest this restaurant to just about anybody! It was so fun to watch the reactions of all the kids in the room!

Back at Disneyland...
I'm calling this "The Day of the Character!" In addition to the princesses at the restaurant, we got to meet Goofy, Alice in Wonderland, TinkerBell and other fairies in Pixie Hollow (normally a 2 hr wait... ONLY a 15 min wait on this day!)

This is the Buzz Lightyear ride. So fun. We also loved the Monsters Inc. ride in California Adventure, we rode it twice.

Driving the cars is ALWAYS a favorite!

LOL... trying to get mommy in a picture so the girls will know in the future that it was ACTUALLY me that took them to Disneyland!

"It's a Small World" still had up their Christmas decorations and songs playing on the ride. I've never been on with the Christmas decor! It was incredible!

Our last ride of the day... The Winnie the Pooh ride! Charlie's absolute fave! (Even though it is completely and utterly the furthest ride possible from the front of the park...geez!)

Best Day at Disneyland EVER!! Love you girls!