DAY EIGHT: Disneyland (Merry Christmas!)

DAY EIGHT: Disneyland (Merry Christmas!)


I had every intention of writing about the hotel last night, but I lay down on the pillow and that was all she wrote. I fell dead asleep in my clothes and didn’t wake up til morning. Rumor has it I was sawing some serious lumber last night. But I was exhausted!! As I slept, Santa came. : )

Ava woke me up, excited that Santa had found us in the hotel. She knew he had because he had brought her the pillow pet she had requested! We are now the proud owners of Princess Pretty Unicorn. The kids checked their stockings and then the opening of the gifts commenced. Ava got a lot of pajamas, and the kids got lots of little things. Santa brought Ava a Zuzu pet (I have no idea if I spelled that right), Reagan got Wii games, and the girls got new phones. Everyone was happy. Afterall, the trip itself was a major gift!

We ate breakfast and headed into the park. Rounding the corner to Main Street USA, we got our first glimpse of the castle. And it was TINY! I think Desirae’s reaction was “awwwwww….its so CUTE!” Literally it seems to be less than half the heighth width and depth of Cinderella castle. We rode Pirates and were impressed by the difference…this one was so much longer than Orlando. Same for Thunder Mountain. It was faster and cooler. The haunted mansion had been taken over by Jack Skellington just in time for Christmas, and Desirae really enjoyed that.

After riding those three rides, the crowds suddenly poured in. And the waits grew and grew. When we got lunch at the walk up burger place, the lines periodically had to shut down and it was a 20 minute wait from time of order to getting your food. The lines for the rides were 60+ minutes, and the Matterhorn broke down twice creating 2 hour lines. We waited 2 hours for Space Mountain, and it was faster and better than the one at Disney World, too. I would love to come back when the crowds are less dense to ride everything!

We all wore our matching “Griswold Family Vacation” t-shirts, and got a lot of attention. People mostly asked if Griswold was really our last name. A few asked why we were wearing the shirts. It was a nice conversation starter with some pretty interesting people!

We left the park and ate in Downtown Disney. Christmas Dinner was at a Jazz-themed New Orleans style restaurant. I ate turducken for the first time! I chatted with a nice family at the table next to us. The mother and father were from Detroit, the daughter was from Fort Lauderdale (her best friend lives in Green Cove Springs!) and the son was a local. She was fascinated by our trip and it was wonderful to talk to such great people.

The rain started lightly right as we finished eating. John wanted to see the fireworks, but I was willing to skip it. There is a Basin store here at Downtown Disney that sells bath balls that fizz and foam and smell so pretty. So John bought me my favorite one, and took the kids to see the fireworks in the rain. As I got ready to jump in the bath, the firework booms began. And I went onto the balcony and got a private viewing, under the cover of the hotel, complete with the music being piped in to the hotel atrium. It was magical. But not nearly as magical as the hot bath I took!

Now John passed out cold early (which is good since he’s the driver), the girls are playing with their phones, and Ava is playing with her toys. Tomorrow we are heading north, and I am excited and nervous all at once about the prospect of snow and the mountains. I just want us to be safe! So keep us in your thoughts : )