Life, or something like it...
As some of you know, I just returned from a trip to Disneyland with my daughter. I cannot tell you how much it meant to me to be able to take her there.....a place that I had never thought I would be able to afford to take her.
We left Abq on Thursday morning and arrived at LAX at 130 that afternoon. Kalli was an angel on her first plane ride. Her ears bugged her a bit on descent, but not nearly half as bad as mine did. Either way, we made it through the flight unscathed and she actually sat still for it. I was impressed.
After making our way to the rental car place we started on our journey to our hotel. My sister was driving and somehow managed to get us a little of course....somehow she managed to drive us through Compton as opposed to the route that mapquest had suggested. My oldest niece and I thought it was amusing that we were driving through Compton...noone else seemed to see the humor in it. I called Noah just so that i could tell him that I was calling him from Compton. He wasnt as amused as I had hoped.
Once we made it to the hotel the girls went to the pool and i took a short nap. My head was killing me from the evil descent of the plane ride, and i was tired to begin with, so some sleep was definitely a good thing. Once they returned we all got dressed and headed over to Downtown Disney to do some shopping. I managed to find stuffed Si and Am kitties, which i had been searching for. After wandering through Downtown Disney for a bit, we headed over to the DIsneyland Hotel to have dinner at Goofy's Kitchen. For those of you that have never been, Goffy's Kitchen is this giant buffet thing with a buttload of Disney Characters wandering through the restaurant. They come over and interact with the little ones, sign autographs and pose for pictures. My daughter was in heaven. The minute she saw Goofy her whole being lit up and she smiled like i have never seen her smile before. Yeah, it made me want to cry knowing that I was able to give her something that made her so happy.
While we were there we made nice with Goofy, Pluto, Max, Minnie Mouse, Chip from Chip and Dale and Aladdin and Mulan. My kiddo was the happiest kid on earth, and I was bubbling over with happiness. It was fucking cool as hell. I have some great pics of her with the characters, as well as some of Goofy breakdancing. Fun stuff.
After dinner we all headed back to the hotel to get some sleep since the next day was Day 1 at Disneyland.
We got up at 8 am, had breakfast and got showered and dressed and headed over to the park.
As we walked onto main street I looked up and saw SLeeping Beauty's Castle looming before us. I looked down at my Princess and saw the look of awe on her face and my eyes teared up once again. I leaned down and hugged her and whispered "honey....we're here. Welcome to Disneyland". She hugged me back and continued to gleefully look around main street. It was a lovely moment. I called Noah, but my reception sucked ass. I wanted him to share in our moment, but Cingular is a piece of dog shit.
After that we did all the normal Disneyland stuff...we rode the Dumbo ride and all that shit. Kalli had a blast. On occasion my sister, Britt, Syd and I would break off to ride the big people rides. We started with the matterhorn and worked our way through all the good stuff. We pulled Fast Passes for Indiana Jones and Splash Mountain....which meant that we got to go to the head of the line at our designated time, which was after 8 pm.
We headed over to California Adventure in the afternoon, where Kalli rode the Jumpin Jellyfish ride and loved it. She rode the carousel and the kiddie rides with my mom while Britt and Karen and Syd and I hit the Tower of Terror, the MaliBoomer (freefall ride) and the Roaring Rapids. While we were in line the rapid ride broke down, along with the roller coaster, so we saved them for the next day. But man, the Tower of Terror rocked so much nads. :)
That night we hunted for a place to eat and finally managed to refuel around 8. From there we headed to Indiana Jones (which kicked mucho butt) and Splash Mountain. Much fun. After that, we caught the tail end of the Fantasmic show on the lake. It was beautiful, and I held my daughter in my arms so that she could see Mickey fighting Maleficent over the lake. After Fantasmic was the "Dreams come true" fireworks display....I held Kalli again and as the fireworks started I heard the words "When you wish upon a star..." echo through the park....and I held her closer and sang to her as the fireworks went off. She kissed me and held me close and laughed and smiled at the show. It was such an amazing moment that I tear up just thinking about it.
After that, we wandered around a little more before heading back to the hotel. Once in bed, Kalli and I passed out before the lights were even out. Sleepy girls!
Next morning we started the same way. Shower, breakfast, then off to the parks. We hung out at Disneyland for a bit. Kalli rode more rides, Sat on Goofy's lap and he kissed her hand (bastard! Getting fresh with my angel!). She sat and watched the 50th Anniversary parade. Cinderella waved to her....and once again I cried. All she wanted was to see Cinderella, and there she was, leaning over the side of the float waving right at Kalli. Awesome.
After that we headed back to California to have some big girl time. Mom hung out with Kalli and took her on the kiddo rides some more while I rode the Roaring Rapids (and got soaked to where it looked like i wet my pants, thanks), and the California Screamin Roller Coaster. At 4 that afternoon, we took Kalli to see Playhouse Disney live....wow...she had a blast. They opened with Bear in the Big Blue House (she was thrilled to see Bear up close) and then went through Jo Jo's Circus, Stanley, and the Book of Pooh. She was having the time of her life! And again? yeah, i cried.
After that we went in search of food. Ended up bumping into Brittany and Adrian, who drug me on the coaster again. Then the freefall ride again. Finally ate, and then went back to the hotel to put on jeans, since it was pretty chilly. Once back, Adrian noticed that the line for the coaster was short, so we went on it again. All in all we rode 4 times before making it back to the group. We left California Adventure as it was closing and headed into downtown disney again to wrap up some shopping. Hung out there for a bit, but Kalli was exhausted so we ended up back at the hotel by midnight.
The next morning, we headed out to the airport, had breakfast there, and flew home.
Seems like a short trip, and I dont have time for all the details, but Im posting the memories that really stand out here.
Im just really happy that I was able to give this to my daughter. I hope that she never forgets.....
P.S. While in a restroom on the way home, my kiddo managed to pick the handicapped stall that has the elevated toilet seat. She pushed into me right before i was gonna pee, and I managed to get attacked by said toilet seat. Fucking thing bit me. Hard enough that i have an enormous toilet seat induced hematoma on the inside of my thigh. Yeah. I am the only person I know that has a major toilet injury. Go figure.
We left Abq on Thursday morning and arrived at LAX at 130 that afternoon. Kalli was an angel on her first plane ride. Her ears bugged her a bit on descent, but not nearly half as bad as mine did. Either way, we made it through the flight unscathed and she actually sat still for it. I was impressed.
After making our way to the rental car place we started on our journey to our hotel. My sister was driving and somehow managed to get us a little of course....somehow she managed to drive us through Compton as opposed to the route that mapquest had suggested. My oldest niece and I thought it was amusing that we were driving through Compton...noone else seemed to see the humor in it. I called Noah just so that i could tell him that I was calling him from Compton. He wasnt as amused as I had hoped.
Once we made it to the hotel the girls went to the pool and i took a short nap. My head was killing me from the evil descent of the plane ride, and i was tired to begin with, so some sleep was definitely a good thing. Once they returned we all got dressed and headed over to Downtown Disney to do some shopping. I managed to find stuffed Si and Am kitties, which i had been searching for. After wandering through Downtown Disney for a bit, we headed over to the DIsneyland Hotel to have dinner at Goofy's Kitchen. For those of you that have never been, Goffy's Kitchen is this giant buffet thing with a buttload of Disney Characters wandering through the restaurant. They come over and interact with the little ones, sign autographs and pose for pictures. My daughter was in heaven. The minute she saw Goofy her whole being lit up and she smiled like i have never seen her smile before. Yeah, it made me want to cry knowing that I was able to give her something that made her so happy.
While we were there we made nice with Goofy, Pluto, Max, Minnie Mouse, Chip from Chip and Dale and Aladdin and Mulan. My kiddo was the happiest kid on earth, and I was bubbling over with happiness. It was fucking cool as hell. I have some great pics of her with the characters, as well as some of Goofy breakdancing. Fun stuff.
After dinner we all headed back to the hotel to get some sleep since the next day was Day 1 at Disneyland.
We got up at 8 am, had breakfast and got showered and dressed and headed over to the park.
As we walked onto main street I looked up and saw SLeeping Beauty's Castle looming before us. I looked down at my Princess and saw the look of awe on her face and my eyes teared up once again. I leaned down and hugged her and whispered "honey....we're here. Welcome to Disneyland". She hugged me back and continued to gleefully look around main street. It was a lovely moment. I called Noah, but my reception sucked ass. I wanted him to share in our moment, but Cingular is a piece of dog shit.
After that we did all the normal Disneyland stuff...we rode the Dumbo ride and all that shit. Kalli had a blast. On occasion my sister, Britt, Syd and I would break off to ride the big people rides. We started with the matterhorn and worked our way through all the good stuff. We pulled Fast Passes for Indiana Jones and Splash Mountain....which meant that we got to go to the head of the line at our designated time, which was after 8 pm.
We headed over to California Adventure in the afternoon, where Kalli rode the Jumpin Jellyfish ride and loved it. She rode the carousel and the kiddie rides with my mom while Britt and Karen and Syd and I hit the Tower of Terror, the MaliBoomer (freefall ride) and the Roaring Rapids. While we were in line the rapid ride broke down, along with the roller coaster, so we saved them for the next day. But man, the Tower of Terror rocked so much nads. :)
That night we hunted for a place to eat and finally managed to refuel around 8. From there we headed to Indiana Jones (which kicked mucho butt) and Splash Mountain. Much fun. After that, we caught the tail end of the Fantasmic show on the lake. It was beautiful, and I held my daughter in my arms so that she could see Mickey fighting Maleficent over the lake. After Fantasmic was the "Dreams come true" fireworks display....I held Kalli again and as the fireworks started I heard the words "When you wish upon a star..." echo through the park....and I held her closer and sang to her as the fireworks went off. She kissed me and held me close and laughed and smiled at the show. It was such an amazing moment that I tear up just thinking about it.
After that, we wandered around a little more before heading back to the hotel. Once in bed, Kalli and I passed out before the lights were even out. Sleepy girls!
Next morning we started the same way. Shower, breakfast, then off to the parks. We hung out at Disneyland for a bit. Kalli rode more rides, Sat on Goofy's lap and he kissed her hand (bastard! Getting fresh with my angel!). She sat and watched the 50th Anniversary parade. Cinderella waved to her....and once again I cried. All she wanted was to see Cinderella, and there she was, leaning over the side of the float waving right at Kalli. Awesome.
After that we headed back to California to have some big girl time. Mom hung out with Kalli and took her on the kiddo rides some more while I rode the Roaring Rapids (and got soaked to where it looked like i wet my pants, thanks), and the California Screamin Roller Coaster. At 4 that afternoon, we took Kalli to see Playhouse Disney live....wow...she had a blast. They opened with Bear in the Big Blue House (she was thrilled to see Bear up close) and then went through Jo Jo's Circus, Stanley, and the Book of Pooh. She was having the time of her life! And again? yeah, i cried.
After that we went in search of food. Ended up bumping into Brittany and Adrian, who drug me on the coaster again. Then the freefall ride again. Finally ate, and then went back to the hotel to put on jeans, since it was pretty chilly. Once back, Adrian noticed that the line for the coaster was short, so we went on it again. All in all we rode 4 times before making it back to the group. We left California Adventure as it was closing and headed into downtown disney again to wrap up some shopping. Hung out there for a bit, but Kalli was exhausted so we ended up back at the hotel by midnight.
The next morning, we headed out to the airport, had breakfast there, and flew home.
Seems like a short trip, and I dont have time for all the details, but Im posting the memories that really stand out here.
Im just really happy that I was able to give this to my daughter. I hope that she never forgets.....
P.S. While in a restroom on the way home, my kiddo managed to pick the handicapped stall that has the elevated toilet seat. She pushed into me right before i was gonna pee, and I managed to get attacked by said toilet seat. Fucking thing bit me. Hard enough that i have an enormous toilet seat induced hematoma on the inside of my thigh. Yeah. I am the only person I know that has a major toilet injury. Go figure.