Disneyland - Day 3

Day 3 - December 12th
For our final day we decided to spend our time at Disneyland.  California Adventure was so much fun but there are definitely more attractions for the whole family at Disneyland.  On our way into the park, as we walked through the Disneyland Resort, a family came up to us and asked us if we wanted this balloon.  They were headed home and couldn't take it on the plane.  It was kinda sad but very kind of them to pass it on.  Sadie was so excited and it made it a little easier to find and follow our stroller through the park which was an unexpected perk.

Beauty and the Beast
Right off the bat we saw Beauty and the Beast.  On previous visits we've always walked up to characters and they would stop and sign the kids' books.  This time there seemed to be specific locations characters would stand for pictures and autographs, but most of they time when you saw one walking through the park they wouldn't stop.  You had to just walk with them and then they would sign and let you take photos as they walked.  This made it kinda hard with all the kids but I can also understand.

Dumbo
This ride and the tea cups bring me right back to visiting Disneyland as a kid.  I remember loving this ride!!!  So many things about the world have changed but I love that kids are still kids and they still love this stuff and are making some of the same memories I did.

Mr. Toads Wild Ride

Snow White's Scary Adventures

Teacups: Round 2, 3, and 4
The kids love this ride and the fact that there's no line.

Notice the bubbles coming from Ryan and Katie's teacup.  Grammy bought the youngest 4 the coveted bubble blowers.  This is what Wyatt begged for our entire trip 5 years ago.  Also notice the speed at which Brandon's teacup is spinning.

Captain Hook

King Arthur Carousel

Splash Mountain

Star Wars Land

Woody and Jesse

Gadget's Go Coaster

At this point we split up for a bit. Hazel and Evie really just wanted to meet Minnie and the princess' and no one else was really interested in waiting in line for that so we decided to make everyone happy.  Grammy and I took the little girls and everyone else headed off to bigger rides.

Minnie's House
The line for Minnie's House was pretty long but it was worth the wait.  The girls loved exploring and seeing all her things.

Tinker Bell

We discovered Pixie Hollow on our way to Space Mountain.  Such a cute little spot that we never would have even noticed had a cast member not mentioned it to us.  The girls had a lot of fun meeting Tinker Bell.

Space Mountain

After meeting up to ride Space Mountain we split up again.  Big kids REALLY wanted to ride Splash Mountain one more time and Grammy and I had promised the girls princesses.  

Fairytale Hall

So this was pretty fun!  At fairytale hall you wait in one line and get to meet 4 different princesses.  We meet Snow White, Cinderella, Ariel, and Jasmine.

After this all that was left to do was find souvenirs for the girls and find our spot to watch the parade.  There was a little shop right inside the Fairytale Hall courtyard that the girls wanted to look at so we went in.  It was a tiny shop.  It had one wall of toys, a couple freestanding displays in the middle, a photo booth along the back wall, and then the cashier along the third side.  The last side of the shop was just wide open to the courtyard. The only ways out of this area were through the courtyard and back onto the main street just in front of the castle or walking down a long narrow walkway just to the right of where the cashier was standing.  There were a couple of restrooms down this way and you could see people seated at a restaurant where it opened back into the attractions.  

Anyway, so Evie gives me her toy and we walk up to the cashier.  Mom and one of the babies are standing just outside the shop and when I reach back for Hazel's toy I realize Evie is gone.  I immediately look at Mom and ask, "Do you see Evie?"  She doesn't and we both start to scan the area.  Like I said it's a tiny shop, not many places to hide or get lost so we pretty quickly start to get concerned.   I frantically look around the shop and then run a little way down the hallway but then come right back because I don't see her and figure she couldn't have gone that far.  As I come back towards the shop I see a door to the right where we had exited from meeting the princesses and I think maybe she went back in but the cast member says no he hasn't seen her.  

The rest is kind of a blur.  My mind is racing,  my heart is racing, I'm thinking what could have happened?  Someone must have taken her, how could she wander that fast?  She was literally right there a second ago!  The cast member in the store was really calm assuring me that they'd find her as she got a description.  She had me show her a picture and then radioed it out to the other cast members.  At this point, I went back again to look, leaving Hazel with my mom in the shop.   Other moms around us are also looking and calling for her and I just remember telling them she won't cry or scream, she's clueless.  She probably wont even come when you call her name.  This time I ran a little further but once you turn the corner at the restaurant your in Fronteirland and there are a million people everywhere and by now my heart is sinking thinking every second that goes by is bad and how am I going to tell Brandon and what if I never see my little girl again.  

Thankfully as I come back to the shop to see if they've heard anything a mom comes running to meet me saying they found her, they found her, and then the cast member from the shop runs with me down around the corner into Fronteirland and then left towards New Orleans Square and there she is at a snack stand.  A cast member is squatting down talking to her, she's not crying or panicking, she just looks at me when I run up to her.   I give her a big hug and say "Evie, where did you go?!?"  She just shrugs and seems unphased by the whole.  Meanwhile, HOLEY SMOKES!, I've never been so scared in my whole life. 

My mom and I just keep replaying the whole thing over and over again trying to figure out what happened.  I mean we didn't even have all the kids.  We each had one baby and the 2 girls, I wasn't distracted, she was right there and then she wasn't, and this was the last day, practically the last minutes of our trip.  What in the world?!!!?  12 kids and we hadn't even had any close calls until this.  In hindsight, if this was going to happen, Disneyland was probably the place to have it happen.  They definitely have a plan and very set procedures to find kids quickly.  Later I looked up whether or not kids ever go missing at Disneyland and they don't.  Between the fact that they have photos of everyone in the park, to the fact that there is only one way in or out, to the sheer number of cast members they have and how well they are trained, it is actually really safe but that doesn't mean much in those panicked moments of not knowing where your baby is.  I hope I never have to feel that panic again and will go to bed tonight a little more thankful for the safety of each one of our little ones.  God is good!

Splash Mountain: Round 2









This time Auntie Amy took one for the team and rode again with all the kids.

Waiting for the parade to begin.  So thankful to be sitting with my Evie Rose.


Sourvenirs

 Disneyland Christmas Parade

Well as crazy as this trip was in a lot of ways, I'm so glad we did it.  The kids had such a great time and I love having these memories with them.  They're only little once and Disneyland really is magical.

Thank you Grammy for these memories!!!