Mickey's Trick or Treat Party, But Not Really

Richelle and I decided to skip Mickey's Trick or Treat Party this year. We were irritated at the ticket cost going up (and a couple other things they changed)...thought it might be fun to change it up a bit and go at Christmas time instead. Then Robyn called with her plan: She had a meeting in California in October, so she rented us hotel rooms, bought Sydney and Everett plane tickets to Phoenix...and thought we could all drive over for a Disney weekend before her meeting. I honestly wanted to go (of course), but didn't want to be anywhere near DL on a weekend. In the end, we had a blast! It wasn't the normal Trick or Treat Party, but it was a super fun, exhausting, sugar-filled weekend. I could have slept on a bench on the park...I'm so thankful we had hotel rooms so close.

We drove over on Friday. Richelle thought we should leave super early, so the kids could all swim and run around before our late dinner reservation at Goofy's Kitchen. We arrived in Anaheim around 2pm...the kids all swam and played for a long time before we had to head upstairs to get ready for dinner. 

Dinner at Goofy's Kitchen was yummy! The kids all loved the characters (except Everett...he didn't care for them)...especially Ellie. We walked through Downtown Disney and bought our park tickets before heading to bed. Purchasing tickets took FOREVER! We were so glad we took care of it the night before. 

The next morning we were up early and headed for Disneyland for the day AND night. The parks were estimated to reach capacity (the reason I don't do DL on weekends), so we knew we couldn't leave for naps. We loaded everything we needed into the stroller and headed for fun.

My kiddos both loved all the rides. Blip was big enough to go on all the rides in DL, so he was lucky enough to run off with Richelle and her boys when Ellie had other needs. It's such a blessing for Blip to be on of the boys...his cousins treat him like he's their brother...in the all the good ways. 

I got to ride Splash Mountain with Blip! He rode Space Mountain, Autopia, Buzz Lightyear, and a few others with the boys and Aunt Chelle. Ellie did so well with all the noise and all the people. I was really please with how she handled herself. She wasn't a great napper, but she likes her bed (and I forgot to bring a binki with us to the park). Both kiddos loved the carousel, the rockets, Pirates...I know we went on more, my brain is just tired.

We got back to the hotel LATE, so we all dropped as soon as we got there. Quick showers and pj's...then up a few hours later for another crazy day. Day #2 was spent at California Adventure (until we went over to watch fireworks at DL). We did Cars, Toy Story, the carousel, the Golden Zephyr, the swings (both kids were big enough!), Soarin', the water ride, a bunch of stuff in Bugs Life, and Guardians of the Glalaxy. We LOVED the changes they made when they switched it from Tower of Terror to Guardians...it improved the ride a lot!

Ellie LOVED meeting the characters. She wasn't afraid at all.  She was purely thrilled. It was fun to see. She also loved the rides, so she is a thrill seeker just like her brother. It makes me excited for the big roller coasters we can go on someday! (Hope I'm not too old to enjoy that when the time comes!)

We all slept in (until 10am!) on Monday. We then tossed our crap into our suitcases and hauled them downstairs. I loaded the car while breathing in smoke from a nearby wildfire that started a few minutes prior. I felt sick the rest of the day and had voice issues. It took us FOREVER to get home...we left around 11am and didn't get home until about 10pm. We drove around the newly burning fire, stopped for lunch at two places, stopped to use the bathroom/change diapers, stopped at the outlets for under 1 hour, stopped for dinner, and on and on...I was beyond exhausted when we got home.

I'm so glad we made the trip. It was super fun and our kiddos all loved it. I'm not sure Everett likes DL or crowds, but I'm glad he came along for the ride with the rest of us. I was pleased with how well my kiddos behaved and did on (a lot) less sleep than they are used to. Ellie had a rough few days adjusting after we were home, but nothing too ridiculous. I love my sisters! I'm so thankful for them and for the time I get to spend with them. I've always been so spoiled too have them all live nearby, but with Robyn moving across the country it's a lot more important to take every opportunity to be with each other since those opportunities are so much fewer and further between.

We are planning to go back for one day at Christmas time, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed that we can make that happen for some Christmas magic Disney style!

p.s. We opt'd for the Max Pass for our California Adventure day on Sunday. You can buy the pass per day if you do it through the app once inside the park. If you purchase the Max pass at the ticket window, you purchase it for every day you've bought tickets. It's $10 per person per day, so the expense adds up quickly. However, it was REALLY nice not to run around getting fast passes. AND it told us to the minute when we could get our next fast pass, so we got more passes than we typically would have. We thought it was more important for our DCA day because of Cars, Guardians of the Glaxay, and Soarin'. We didn't attempt Scream because my kids are too little anyway...and you can go single rider on that ride no problem. Overall, I think it's "worth the money," but I still think it's a crock. How much money can they get you for before you can't ever go again? With ticket prices at $110 per day, a large drink costing $3.99, churros up to $4.75...I think it's getting closer and closer to that day for my family (like when the baby turns three in a few months and needs a ticket). And we make decent money, both work full time, and I LOVE Disney. Pretty soon I won't be able to justify spending that amount of money for a couple of too busy days...