Disneyland!!!

We LOVE Disneyland!  Every few years we try to buy annual passes, this way we get several trips to Disneyland without the expense of day passes each time.  It only takes about 9 days in the park to pay for itself and we have found that the trip is more relaxed.

My husband and I have always wanted to surprise our kids with a trip to Disneyland.  Last spring we were finally able to do it.  We told the kids we were going to St. George for the weekend so they could help pack their clothes and get homework together.  When we got to St. George we pulled into a gas station to tell the kids we were really going to Disneyland - I couldn't sit still I was so excited to tell them!  They all just stared at us with blank looks - not the reaction we were planning on.  Then to make things worse our 9yr old started sobbing which made our 6yr old think this was scary and he start to cry also.  Definitely not the reaction we were hoping for!  I spent the next couple of hours sitting in the back of the van trying to console the 2 of them and get them at least a little excited for Disneyland.  Needless to say Joe and I were the ones surprised by the "WE'RE GOING TO DISNEYLAND" announcement  :)

Preparing for Disneyland

With small kids an autograph book is a must!  I have made several different books through the years but the books I made this year were my favorite.  My kids used these books all 3 times we went to Disneyland.  It was nice not to have to stand in line for all the characters every trip. 

Each book is the shape of one of the Disney characters - pages, cover everything!  I used the Cricut Mickey Font cartridge and the Cricut software to cut out the cover (front and back) and the pages, then I used the Your Story to bind them.  Each book used  7  12"x12" sheets of black scrapbook paper and then the scraps of colored paper for the details. 

It took extra time to make these but they were a hit and definitely worth the extra effort!

I used cereal boxes to help make the cover more sturdy without adding a lot of bulk then covered both sides of the cereal box with black paper and painted the edges so everything was black.

The signing pages were just the character head with a small part on the head cut off so it could be bound.  Black paper with a silver sharpie is a lot of fun.

 The front cover (with all the detail) was put on after everything else was cut and bound.  I put a ring on them so they could all be put on a carabiner and hooked on our bag for easy access.

 

Driving to Disneyland

We drive from Utah to Anaheim - approx 12 hours - this can get a little rough for the kids (and honestly the parents).  Before we leave our house each person draws a line, with chalk, on the front passenger tire with their initial.  The next time we stop the person who's line is pointing down at the ground gets a prize - I always have enough prizes for all the kids but the "winner" gets to choose their prize first.  My kids love this, although they have said that the driver cheats and knows how to stop the tire so their line is the winner - Dad has almost been banned from the game :)

 

  Some of the prizes we have done are:

Disney pillowcases

 water bottles with Mickey ears and their first initial. 

(I used vinyl and the Mickey Font cartridge for this)

Eating in Disneyland

With 4 kids Disneyland can get expensive so I'm always looking for ways to make it more affordable.  Before we leave I buy tons of treats/snacks in bulk and break it down to smaller bags to take into the park with us.  We try to mix up what we take into the park each day so we don't get tired of it.  This has really helped eliminate the need to buy our snacks there and has made it so we only buy 1 meal a day inside the park.

We get tired of "park food" very quickly.  This was the first trip where we packed our lunch and took it into the park.  We ended up going over to Pirate Island and had a ball!  I had never been over to the island and we only went over because our 6yr old LOVES pirates and was begging to go there.  We were pleasantly surprised!  There are picnic tables, benches, lots of shade and tons of caves, bridges, hideouts and treasure for the kids to explore.  Pirate Island quickly became our kids favorite place to eat!

My kids playing in the Bone Sphere

 

 

Trick-or-Treating in Disneyland

This was the second time we have trick-or-treated in Disneyland.  The first time there were less people and they trick-or-treated in the California Adventures half of the park.  We loved it!  The rides had very short (if any) lines, they had candy and healthy treats, there weren't lines to get the treats and the treat stations were kind of tucked back so you followed a map to find them.  It really did have a trick-or-treat feel to it, it was also the first year they started doing the trick-or-treating and it wasn't as popular which explains the smaller crowds.  This year it was still fun, but it is definitely popular.  It is now held in the Disneyland half of the park, they still have candy and healthy treats (which I love) and the rides have shorter lines.  The trick-or-treat feel is gone and now you just stand in lines at each treat station to get your treat.  It was fun for the kids to say they were trick-or-treating in Disneyland, but they got really tired of the lines and the novelty wore off quickly.  The first year we trick-or-treated our kids got Disney trick-or-treat bags that my mom made (we used them this year too).  They had a nice sturdy handle and zipped closed.  It was perfect for trick-or-treating in the park and I would definitely suggest a good strong - not paper or plastic- bag for the trick-or-treating - the zipper was really nice when they were done trick-or-treating. 

 

 Count Down to Disneyland

On our last trip to Disneyland my 6 year old got so excited to go he was trying to pack weeks in advance.  This wouldn't be a problem if he didn't have to wear the clothes he was trying to pack.  I made a count down chain so he could see how many days it was till we left.  I also put a Disney related activity for them to do and something they need to pack on each ring.  Every morning they would tear off a ring and as soon as they got home from school all the kids were quick to pack and do the activity.  It really helped my little guy stay excited for the trip and also realize that we weren't leaving immediately.

I made the top a Mickey head and used red, black and yellow paper for the rings.