Reagan's Disney Recap

Before I recap Reagan's Disneyland vacation I want to

1) Remind you to check out Monday's post and have you leave me questions. 

I had over 100 people read the post yesterday and only 8 of you commented! Come on friends! Show the love!  Anything you've wanted to ask me?! 2) Thank those 8 of you who commented! Most of you were people who I don't think had ever commented before! Thank you for taking the time to ask! 

Okay- onto the big Disney trip.

Reagan seriously had the.best.time.

It's hard to get too much information out of him because his mind moves like a bee- buzzing around each topic! But after grilling my parents I heard lots of details of the trip. 

The Plane/Flying

Reagan had a great first time on a plane. He was a big boy and wasn't scared at all.

He sat by my Mom flying over to CA and by his cousin Sadie flying back.

How cute is this picture? 

My parents with the 3 eldest grand-kids.

Such wonderful grandparents!

Reagan practicing the security check with the TSA guy.

Love the TSA guy's smile!

Whoo hoo! First flight!

The Hotel

They stayed at the Disneyland Hotel- love it! Reagan shared a bed each night with his cousin Sadie. She really looks out for him and he sure loves her. They were pretty much only in the hotel room for sleeping each night. No day naps for this guys! They stayed at the parks all day.

Resting/cuddling with Papa after the flight in.

Cousins ready to explore Downtown Disney after the flight.

(Thanks for sending the lanyard and pins for him Joc!)

Exploring the hotel.

Disneyland

Because they stayed at the hotel they had early entrance to the park every day. As you read last week, I had made them a travel itinerary of the rides and the order in which to hit them. I thought Reagan would primarily love and want to be in Fantasy Land or Toon Town but turns out this kid was braver than I thought.  His favorites in this park were Splash Mountain, the Matterhorn, The Haunted Mansion, and Pirates of the Caribbean. I guess they rode most all of the rides and many of them twice. 

Star Wars Jedi Training

I read online about the Star Wars Jedi Training Academy at Disneyland.

Although Reagan (and myself) have never seen Star Wars, I knew my niece and nephew are big fans.  So I looked up the tips and tricks on how to get chosen to be in the show. And it worked!

This is not a video of our kids (not sure if Mom filmed it or not). But I found it on You-Tube. Check it out to see what the show looks like- pretty cool! 

Here is my Mom saving the area by the blue line while Dad took all the kids on a ride.

Here are the kids with the signs I made for them to hold.

And my mom got them matching red shirts to wear for the show.

And it all worked - our kids got chosen first!

Reagan participated in the training, but when it came time to fight Darth Vader, he decided not to. I don't blame him. He's pretty scary!

California Adventures

Reagan loved CA this trip. They did tons of new things that we didn't do last year so I think it was a like a completely different park for him.  His favorites were Goofy's Flying School, Jumping Jellyfish, and all of Cars Land. He loved it all but can't stop talking about California Screaming. He can't wait to try it next time. (His cousins went on it lots and he so badly wants to be them!) He's even been playing it in the backyard. Too funny. The family loved the World of Color show (minus Reagan- he fell asleep!)

Reagan and Papa waiting for the Aladdin show.

The kids with Mimi.

Toy Story ride.

This kid loves to wave.

Waiting for Mater's ride.

Sweet cousins.

Lightening McQueen!

Bug's Life

Randoms

Turns out my Dad was the king of Fast Passes (he needs to teach me his tricks) because I completely suck at making the most with them. So everyone was hooked up on their favorite rides. Towards the end of the first day Reagan wanted to be held and carried - thus killing my parents' backs.  So the next few days they rented a stroller which ended up being a life saver. I guess even the bigger cousins took turns sitting in it for a break! My parents brought a suitcase full of food and snacks but they ended up eating every meal in the parks.  The first meal was a character dinner at Goofy's Kitchen.  So fun! Reagan was most excited to eat at Flo's Cafe (this kid loves Cars). But turns out the food didn't seem that appealing to anyone in the group, so they checked it out and left. There were a few things that I had really wanted them to see and do but because they were so ride-crazy they passed. Totally fine. Just means we will have to go back again! :) 

Amy requested a Reagan interview.

So here you go!

Ps- sorry in advance for the little tantrum he has half way through.

PPS- I have since found out the ride he is trying to think of is the Matterhorn.

Thanks for a great trip Mimi and Papa.
The kids are soooo lucky to have you!

Disney Fever!

If you follow me on Facebook or on InstaGram you know that Reagan is currently at Disneyland with my parents. You may remember that my parents gave Reagan and my niece Sadie and nephew Sawyer a trip to Disney for Christmas. (Yes. They are pretty much the coolest grandparents ever!) If you missed the scavenger hunt - click here.

I am by no means a Disney expert but I love planning things.

So I offered to be super nerdy and research all the tips, tricks, etc. for their trip.

I don't want to admit to you how many hours were spent  doing this.

You might seriously judge me as a lunatic.

I typed up an itinerary for their week and provided tips for each land.

It was a little nutty, but I'm happy and proud to say my Mom said they are following it like a Bible and it has been wonderful. Boo-ya. I have each hour of each day scheduled for them. Again- I am a freak. But I think my madness is paying off! 

I made a similar itinerary for us when we went 2 years ago.

Speaking of our trip.

Knowing that they are there right now, I'm having major Disneyland with-drawls(sp?).

I've been looking through our old pics and videos.

Want to see?

Disney Day 1 Recap

Disney Day 2 Recap

Disney Day 3 Recap

Disney Day 4 Recap

Nick and I are hoping to take all the kids in 2015.

The twins will be 2 (the age of Reagan's first trip) and will totally be into the characters and such.

Reagan will be 5 and will still be into all the magic!

I can not wait! 

Ps- Once I get all of my Mom's pictures, I will post about their adventures!

The Disneyland Scavenger Hunt

You may remember that my parents gifted the three older grand kids a trip to Disneyland for Christmas.

It was such a wonderful present that the kids can't wait for!

Click on the above video to watch.

My mom asked me to help with the actual "giving" of the gift and you know me- 

I jumped right on that!

I decided that Sadie and Sawyer were at a great age to do a scavenger hunt and being the sweet cousins they are, I knew that they would help Reagan along the way.

Here is what I did in case you ever want to do something similar as a gift.

I first typed up all the clues and numbered them.

I put the first clue in a Christmas bag and placed it under the tree. 

The other clues I hid around the house (as per the clues) when no one was paying attention.

My parents got a big box and put a large Mickey Mouse balloon in it earlier that day. When no one was looking they put the box/balloon in the laundry room (as per the clue) and covered it with a towel or something.

Here are the clues:

(1)

"You present from Mimi and Papa this year , stated quite simply isn't here. Not under the tree where it's easy to see. But hidden somewhere ... oh where could it be? To find your gift, you'll have to look.  Maybe you should start where Jocelyn likes to cook."

The kids then ran to the kitchen and looked in all of the cabinets to find the next clue.

(2)

"Ta-Da you found me!

Let's try it again.

Find your next clue where Sadie keeps her pen."

The kids all ran upstairs to my niece's desk where she keeps her pens.

(3)

"What good detectives you are!

Your next clue isn't hidden too far.

You use this to keep your teeth squeaky clean.

It gives you a smile like a king or a queen."

The kids next ran to the nearby bathroom and found the clue near the toothbrushes.

(4)

"I wonder where your next clue lies.

You three kids are giving it your best tries.

Find something white that comes on a roll.

You usually find it near a toilet bowl."

The looked near the toilet in that same bathroom but then ran to the master bathroom.

(5)

"Your getting close to finding your gift.

To find your next clue you better be swift.

The box is hiding where you keep the broom.

Go find it and bring it to the living room.

Be careful when opening it and make sure you all can see why this gift is so special it couldn't be left under the tree."

Inside the box was the large balloon.

I had also made 3 totally dinky tickets with the kids' names on them.

I tried and tried to find cute ticket templates but couldn't!

I also made a little sign.

The kids are so excited for their trip and I'm glad I could help! 

Disneyland.....Day 4

Hi! I'm back with the recap of our last day in Disneyland.

It was another early morning as we participated in the Morning Madness (early entrance). Again, we went straight to Fantasy Land and rode the rides there with little wait.

 I loved their character pumpkins!

At 9:30 we headed to California Adventure to get our Fast Pass for the World of Color show and get in line for the Toy Story Mania.

On the way to Toy Story Mania we took some pictures and rode the new Little Mermaid ride!

 It was super cute!

The line for Toy Story Mania was out of control. So Nick stood in line while Reagan and I explored a little and rode another Merry-Go-Round.

Finally it was our turn for the new Toy Story Mania ride. And boy was it worth it. So fun!

We walked around some more and had pizza for lunch. 

We also watched a little show with the green army men from Toy Story.

Next we saw the Aladdin show. It was a great, Broadway-like show. We had wonderful seats and the characters even walked around our seats.  Reagan did pretty well, but got antsy towards the end. He wasn't familiar with the characters and didn't really understand! But I loved it!

( I couldn't take pics during the show, but here is a shot of how close we were to the stage!)

After the show we were all beat. So back to the hotel it was for naps!

After naptime we came back to California Adventure for the night.

 We were excited to meet up with our friends the Hulihee family. They had just started their Disney vacation as we were ending. But we had a fun dinner and rode some rides together.

 Owen, Noah, and Reagan

 Waiting in line for Monsters Inc. Ride

That night we used our Fast Pass to watch the World of Color show.  I had heard wonderful things about it and Star totally recommended it.  I thought it was beautiful but found it hard for a shorty like me to see. I think Reagan had the right idea sitting on Nick's shoulders. The pictures I took didn't come out- but here is a video I shot. 

After that the park closed and it was time to head back to the hotel.

We had a wonderful vacation and I feel so lucky to have been!