OMG Enough Disney Already

Lucie, though we love her dearly, is a bit of liability in a theme park. I thought it would be nice to have a special Brennan-and-Mommy-and-No-Babies morning while at Disneyland, so I arranged for a sitter Wednesday morning.

Remember how I mentioned skipping the park on a sunny Monday was a mistake?

Per the weather forecast, I'd packed for some 60-degree weather, but the rain caught us off-guard. It's one of those things you don't question - never get involved in a land war in Asia, it will be dry in Southern California until winter, etc, etc. I did at least buy our custom hooded Disney trash bags before we even entered the park, as it was clear that was our only chance of staying partly dry. Actually, we could have just stayed on the Disney train all morning - Brennan would have been content to do so, shouting "that dinosaur is having lunch" every time he saw the animatronic brontosaurus (yes, I know they're really apatosaurus, but this is a 1960's diorama)in the cave between Tomorrowland and Main Street USA. But after 2 full circles, I forced him off in Adventureland - where he saw another train:This was the last time he was happy on the Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. While tall enough to ride it, he spent next 3 minutes clinging for dear life to the bar and squeezed tight against me like a barnacle. At the end, he declared it "too scary, Mommy". He didn't seem to have any long term trauma, though - we stood outside the railroad and he hooted happily every time the "train" shot by us.

Returning to our safety zone in Fantasyland seemed like a wise decision, anyway.

By the time we reached "It's a Small World", I was wet enough that the company of singing dolls seemed preferable to staying outdoors. Also I thought Bren was its target audience.

It appears I was wrong about that, too.

We briefly wandered over to Toontown, where we discovered it would be 45 minutes to see Mickey (who we just saw yesterday in his yachting ensemble)- no thank you. Brennan declined to ride some Roger Rabbit themed thing because it involved going indoors, which he now associated with alarming noise, flashing lights, and lurching, thanks to Mr. Toad and Buzz Lightyear. So it was back on the train (Yay! That dinosaur is eating lunch!) and then back to the hotel, where we rescued Lucie and took her to lunch downstairs. She enjoyed a spoon, Brennan had chicken nuggets, and Mommy had a well-deserved glass of wine.

I was feeling like I was close to cracking the code on this place. For Day 4, we got up ridiculously early, stuffed Lucie in the stroller, and set out for "magic morning". This is when the park opens an hour early for Disney hotel guests and multi-day ticket holders, i.e., almost everyone going to Disneyland. (note to Disney management: magic morning could be a little more appealing if you upped the exclusivity) I thought I had one trick up my sleeve - the monorail from Downtown Disney to Tomorrowland was only open to hotel guests during the "magic" hour. Unless, of course, there's some random construction going on, which there was.

Oh, well. It was a lovely morning, and Bren got his first chance to ride the teacups at the Mad Tea Party. He was a little hesitant at first -

- but quickly warmed up to it -
and was pretty happy at the end.
Or just watch the action here.

Yeah, we rode 'em again.

I finally figured out how to get Brennan over his fear of giant Disney characters - flooding therapy! Not really - but I had noticed him excitedly peeking in the windows as we passed the hotel restaurant during the Chip n' Dale breakfast the past 2 days. So I booked a reservation for "Breakfast with Minnie & Friends" at the Plaza Cafe, hoping he'd like it. And he did! Somehow the approach of large animal-like things became non-threatening once surrounded by upholstered chairs and waffles.

Lucie, not so much.

While the characters were too much for her, Lucie did quite enjoy the Mickey waffles.

It was already a pretty special day, but then it got even better - Daddy got out of his conference early! He met us in Disneyland for a little fun, then we went swimming and had lunch by the pool. Then we went to California Adventure and made him go on rides that make him edgy -

Like the big ferris wheel -
and the jumping jellyfish -
As much as it pains me to admit, I actually had fun in the Magic Kingdom, rain and all - perhaps deep down I am a theme park person, after all. Of course it helps to have a 3 year old along - his happiness and enthusiasm must have been contagious. I think Lucie even caught a little.