Planning for this trip began at least 8 weeks before it actually happened. Disney discussions actually began right after Cody was born. Since Randi wished to be pregnant with him and then was pregnant with him at the wishing well inside the park, she wanted to take him to get a picture there as a baby too. Her dreams almost came true, but I guess I stole the tickets from her. My version of the story goes like this...
I mentioned to Randi one day when she was picking Cody up after work, that Kristi had 4 free 1 day passes to Disney. She got excited and said that maybe she and Mike could take Cody to the wishing well. I told her that if he didn't want to go, I definitely did. So she secured the tickets from Kristi and asked Mike if he wanted to go. He said no!
The plans then began that we would both bring our baby to Disney and we would have fun on a really quick road trip. Then reality set in as we began to look at the costs and the calendar. We both had a million things going on so we were only able to come up with 2 weekends before the tickets expired that would work.
I said the weekend of my birthday would work best because the Halloween crowd would be gone and the trip could be my present. Over the weeks Carsen started talking about going to Disneyland. He wanted to see the new Cars Land inside California Adventure. My wheels began to turn and we decided to surprise all the boys with a trip to Disney.
Somewhere along the way the date debate began again and Randi got an invite for another event the first weekend in November. She was also concerned about money for the hotel, gas and food. Robyn was going to gift us a hotel, but the dates weren't working with her schedule. Randi couldn't miss work to go on a less busy day. She and Mike were signed up for a class on Saturdays that she didn't want to miss. She was torn and decided that she couldn't go.
I didn't want to let the tickets go. I wanted to give my kids a huge surprise. Anthony and I discussed it over and over, up until the very day we left. It really wasn't decided until we left the house. In the end, I stole the tickets and we went to Disney.
Anthony took off work on Thursday, Nov. 1 and we drove over to California. We got there just before dinnertime. We pulled up to the hotel that Robyn was able to gift me and unloaded our bags. Anthony's sister Marie and niece Rachel made arrangements, at the last minute, to meet us for dinner at Buca di Beppo near Disney.
We had a yummy dinner and even better company.
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| Kolbi, Ace, Derek, Jake & Carsen |
After dinner we headed back to the hotel and into the hot tub. We headed to bed a little bit late, but we were excited to head to the park the next day.
The next morning we got to California Adventure right as it opened.
Our first ride was Soaring Over California. We all love that ride.
Then we headed to Grizzly River Run. I sent Anthony in to get ponchos and he came out empty handed. He didnt want to spend $50 on ponchos. I dont blame him, but I wasnt about to get on that ride without one. So I went back into the store and bought 2 ponchos for Carsen and Jake.
I volunteered to wait and get pictures of the rafters instead.
After the boys had gone once, they wanted to go again. I told them to go ahead, but then Jake offered me his poncho. I took it and stayed pretty dry during the next 3 runs. Anthony, on the other hand, was wet most of the day.
After the boys had their fill of rafting, we headed over to the roller coaster. Derek was trying to talk Carsen into going on Scream.
Carsen agreed to go on with his Dad. We were a bit nervous that he would hate
it and his day would be ruined, but we let him try.
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| (You cant see Carsen, but he is next to Anth and behind Derek) |
While the big boys went on that ride, Jake and I went on the Merry Go Round.
Well, Carsen didnt cry. He same off smiling! He loved it and wanted to do it again! So we got fast passes to come back to it later.
I forced the boys to wait in the very long line for Toy Story Mania. I love that ride, but I did lose to Anthony by a couple thousand points.
After we left the midway we headed over to Radiator Springs. That place is cool. Not just cool, but Disney cool. The details are amazing. It was very busy and we waited 80 minutes to race on the Radiator Springs Racers. That was totally worth it. The ride was so fun!
We also rode Luigi's Flying Tires, where riders "float" in the air on spare tires. It is kind of like a giant air hockey game.
and Anthony and the 2 younger boys went on Matters Junkyard Jamboree, where baby tractors pull riders around in a spinning ride set to music by Mater.
Carsen and Jake were very adventuresome and went on Goofy's flying school and the swings before we headed back to Scream.
Once we got there, Jake decided that he wanted to ride we with us too. So me and all 3 boys got on the huge roller coaster. Anthony was very worried about Jake, but he did great! He smiled and loved it the entire time. I was amazed. All 3 boys love that roller coaster!
It wasn't quite dark, but we were all exhausted and ready to rest. We hit the shops in downtown Disney and then headed back to the hotel and got into the hot tub. We contemplated going back to the Park for World of Color, but we never made it. After a good night of rest, we headed back to Arizona.
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