Ahhh! The happiest place on earth is even HAPPIER when you get to take your own kids. A few months ago, Ethan suggested that we take a road trip to Disneyland and take Amelia for her first time. I was immediately on board cause I had be asking him when we could take her since she was born! With little sister on her way in the next couple of months we wanted to do something as our little family of three’s last hoorah before she joins us! It was the perfect little trip. We are savoring these last handful of weeks with our sweet little girl!
We decided on just doing one day at Disneyland. With me being in my third trimester and Amelia being so young we weren’t sure how we would handle one day at the parks so we just started with that and honestly it was perfect! We were able to ride all the rides we wanted to and more. One thing I wish we were able to do was spend more time watching the parades and going to meet the characters. Amelia wasn’t the biggest fan of the rides we took her on but she loved seeing all the characters around the park. Due to a few things that happened and the timing of our fast passes and boarding pass to the new Star Wars ride, we just didn’t have a lot of extra time to meet the characters. Or when we did, she was napping or resting in her stroller! So that is something we will definitely make time for during our next visit to Disneyland!
Ethan and I spent the good part of our engagement and first part of our marriage road tripping and it had been a while since we had a good road trip so we both wanted to drive the 11ish hours to Disneyland. We did it all in one day. Surprisingly Amelia did SO WELL! We stopped about half way to let Amelia stretch her legs and get all her wiggles out. We packed a lunch and took it to a park and had a quick picnic which was perfect for her and much needed. We also had an iPad loaded with movies so she watched that the majority of the time! I highly recommend having a device for your kids to watch a show on.. it was a huge lifesaver! We arrived in Anaheim around 9 pm. The last hour of the drive Amelia kept trying to fall asleep but I kept her awake so she would be ready for bed when we got to the hotel!
We woke her up the next morning so we could get to Disneyland before the park opened. With all the hype of the new Star Wars ride we knew we needed to be in Disneyland Park before opening so we could hop online to get our boarding pass for the new ride. Our timing was great and we were able to get settled in the park before opening and in line for Indiana Jones right when the park opened. We also were able to get our boarding pass for Rise of the Resistance which was our big goal for the day. They literally book out in minutes so we were so lucky to get one!
While our party went on the big rides that Amelia wasn’t able to ride, we walked around the shops and parts of the park that were near each ride. We found fun musicians next to Pirates of the Caribbean and she got out and danced right along with them! It was so cute. Pirates was the first ride we took her on and she wasn’t a fan. I think the darkness of the ride scared her and getting splashed on the little drops startled her each time. But she did like seeing all the animatronics during the ride.
We also took her on Jungle Cruise, Dumbo and Tea Cups. All of which she was a little unsure about. I’m sure as she gets older, she’ll love the rides! The rest of the day she spent walking around the park which she loved just exploring and doing her own thing or she was resting in her stroller. I bought a portable sound machine before the trip and I am so glad I did! It was perfect to use in the car and also around the park when she was taking her naps. We got this sound machine off of Amazon. We also fell even more in love with our UppaBaby Vista stroller on this trip. We LOVED how we could flip her seat around backwards and recline it so easily. It was perfect for naps and the extended sun shade on the canopy was perfect as well. I loved how much storage space this stroller had. It fit my diaper bag, blankets, and all of our jackets and souvenirs and still had ample of space left.
Our day at Disneyland and California Adventure was perfect. We loved seeing the magic of Disney through her eyes. It definitely made the whole experience so special. We loved hearing her ‘ooh and ahh’ as we walked through the park. We loved finding some of the best things to eat at the parks as well which I cannot wait to share my findings with you all in an upcoming post! So stay tuned for a Disneyland Tips and Tricks post and a Disneyland Foodie post!
xoxo,
Kayla
