a little bit o' pixie dust

Despite the title, this is not another Disneyland post. However, our trip definitely resulted in a full on Peter Pan "stage" for our little man.

It's so cute and has continued, going on, three weeks now, so I wanted to be sure and document the details. 

Right after our trip, Crew started referring to himself as Peter Pan. He even insisted that we use a British accent as to sound more like the movie (i.e. Peeta Pan). 

A week later, my in-laws were in town and somehow within the week, my mother-in-law was Wendy, Uncle Chase was Captain Hook and I was Tinkerbell. Towards the end of the trip, Crew rounded out the rest of the assignments making Baylee "Darling" (Mrs. Darling), Cole the Crocodile and Taylor a mermaid or Tiger Lily (he seems to flip back and forth on any given day). Rylee got stuck being Nana the dog. And while she is fighting it like crazy - like Chase clarifies below, what the little prince says - goes. 

 

I have no idea how long this will last, but I am truly loving it.

the Happiest Place on Earth: Day 3

Wednesday was our last day in the park and there were so many rides and characters that we still wanted to do and meet!

We started the day at a Character breakfast. This was take or leave for me but Cole and Crew loved it.The food was tasty and Crew loved getting individual time with each character. Favorites were Daisy, Mickey and 

Pretending to be scared. A new trick of late. :)

Really excited to have breakfast with his Disney friends

Just finished his surf dance with Mickey and the other kids.

Loved Minnie and complimented her on her dress and her polka dots

Every 20 or 30 minutes, Mickey would take a break from taking photos with the kids and do a song or game with everyone. Crew was timid the first time but by the time the second one rolled around, he was ready to get his groove on.

Disney Character Breakfast from Maura Lansford on Vimeo.

Then we were off to explore Tune Town. We road our first and only real roller coaster that Crew was tall enough for. Wondering how he did? Wondering how I did? You will get to see both in the video below.



Crew First Roller Coaster from Maura Lansford on Vimeo.

Dumbo was a huge success; we ended up at that ride a couple more times that day.

You can never have too many photos with the man himself, right?

So impressed with Mickey's "projects," which is what he calls tools right now

Checking Mickey's mail

Minnie's Bedroom; the line was long and I was ready to lay down too. :)

Watching the cake rise and fall.

Buzz Lightyear ride was our longest ride line. Out came the babysitter.

Drivin!

And then nothing like wrapping up the day with souvenir shopping, more characters and a repeat of the Disney parade.

Waiting for Pooh Characters.

After asking to "jump" with Tigger.

"You like to eat honey!"

And of course, one last ride on the trip favorite "Peter Pan."

Oh Disney, how we loved you. :)

The Happiest Place on Earth: Day 2

California Adventure felt like it would be hard to top but we used our Magic Morning on Day 2 to run over to Disneyland and hit the Nemo Submarine Voyage ride and Peter Pan before the lines got too outrageous. And then headed back to California Adventure for a fun day of characters, rides and more parade fun.

As you can see the lines were still CRAZY!

Donald was our first character of the day and was a huge hit!

Hanging at the Pier right before getting in line for the Toy Story ride and the Ferris Wheel.

Mickey was well received too.

Anxiously awaiting the Pixar Parade.

Woody and Buzz Lightyear are finally here!

Enjoying the World of Color Show at California Adventure.

Finished up a late night with a photo opp with Mator. Mommy's favorite smile of the entire trip.

the Happiest Place on Earth: Day 1

Our first day in the park we made a beeline for Cars Land. We heard all kinds of warnings about how crazy, busy it would be. The rumors were true, but that didn't stop us from having an amazing time in Radiator Springs. The main street looks so accurate to the movie, both Cole and I were completely blown away. 

Heading out for our quick 10 minute walk to start our day at the park.

Starting our day right with Jamba and oatmeal in downtown Disney each morning.

Meeting Lightning for the first time. Crew walked up the the car, patted the hood in a circular pattern and said "Wow."

Waiting in line to seeing Lighting, while expressing concern to us that he couldn't see Sally "at her Cozy Cone."

Fueling up at Flo's. He loved hanging out at each little business. 

Cars Land was our equivalent to the meeting Princesses. Such a fun day.

After meeting the Cars Land gang and getting our fill of Mator's Tractor pull and Luigi's floating tires, we made our way to a A Bug's Land. This is not a movie I was very familiar with, but what a great area for the younger, shorter guests! I thought every ride was so age appropriate for Crew and since lines were so short, we were able to hit several rides in a short time period. Which was amazing since we were dangerously close to nap time.

Enjoying the Bug's Life Bumper Cars with Daddy.

Waiting in line for Flik's Flyers.

After a relaxing nap, we headed back to the park for the Disneyland evening parade. Wow! I am so glad we did that. The performance was amazing and I was impressed with the effort that the performers made to interact with the kids on the sidelines. Aladdin's genie spent a minute or two engaging with Crew; poor kid has never seen the movie and had no idea who the "blue man" was. 

Tired but loving the evening performance

Carousals seem that much more magical at night. A great way to finish off Day 1.

the Happiest Place on Earth: The Beach

Crew turns three this week and we seized the opportunity to take a trip to Disneyland in celebration.

I had my reservations about him being old enough - there were a lot of rides that he wouldn't be tall enough for, many movies we have yet to see (thus characters he wouldn't know) and so on. That being said, I was wrong. You heard me Cole, I was wrong, and you were right. :)

We had a blast and it was a vacation I will always remember.

So here we go... 

After a long car ride from Utah, our first stop was a trip to Huntington Beach. We were first-timers who took the first parking spot we could find, which made for a very long walk to the pier. But after all the time in the car, it was just what the doctor ordered.

Crew had no fear with the water and spent the better part of two hours feeding and chasing the birds, sprinting towards the waves and then running back the minute he got his feet wet. Gorgeous, amazing, words can't do it justice. 

Picking up shells became searching for treasure and gold doubloons. Ten points to the parents out there who can identify the Disney Jr. show reference there. 

I'm still finding sand in some of our shoes, but what a beautiful day at the beach!