It's Definitely Magical!!

Disneyland is definitely a magical place. We were so worried that Lexie was too young and that she would have meltdowns and tantrums, but she was an angel throughout our visit. Another worry was that she might get lost in the crowds, but she really listened to us. If we had to get somewhere quickly or do a lot of walking, she complied and sat in her stroller. And when we let her walk around, she stayed close to us and would our hands.

On Saturday, Disneyland opened at 7:00am for hotel guests. We hung around in Fantasyland and rode Dumbo.

We went on the Peter Pan ride because that one is usually the most crowded. It was nice to just walk up to those flying boats and jump on right away. Lexie has never seen Peter Pan, but she recognized Captain Hook, Smead and the Tick Tock Crock from "Jack and the Never Land Pirates." We went on Alice and Wonderland (very bizarre) and Snow White (that witch is pretty scary). Lexie loved these tunnel rides and she wasn't scared of being in the dark or even when the scary witch kept popping up.

That morning, we got to go into Toon Town an hour before it opened to the public. Another ride that is usually crowded is Roger Rabbit. Again, we just walked right on it. Lexie liked the spinning. Lexie got to see Minnie. Don't Lexie and Minnie look pretty in red?

We walked around Toon Town and Lexie is hilarious and would pose for these goofy pictures. She knows how to make us laugh.

We got to be part of Mayor Mickey's welcome ceremony. Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Goofy and Pluto dance and sing and they make everyone into Toon Town citizens. We all got buttons.

Lexie was so happy to finally see Donald Duck. For some reason, she really wanted to meet him.

Toon Town was fun, but it was starting to get crowded, so we thought it was best to start heading off to other areas of the park.

We went to the Haunted Mansion. One of Eric's favorite movies is "The Nightmare Before Christmas," so it was a big treat to see the mansion transformed into Jack Skellington's home. For the line being so long, it moved pretty quickly. We were worried that Lexie would be scared, but it didn't even bother her when we were locked in that claustrophobic room and she heard the thunder. It was a very different ride from the traditional Haunted Mansion and we felt lucky to be a part of it. Lexie loved all of the jack-o-lanterns and she was dancing to the strange music. Our girl is fearless!

One thing that disappointed us was the petting zoo. We had gone on two occasions and it had been closed because of the cold weather. When they finally opened it, all there was in there were goats. There was a donkey and a turkey but they were fenced off. You would think that this being Disneyland, there would be more animals. I didn't think it was very impressive, but our animal lover didn't mind that there were only goats.

Lexie is such a good sport. Even though she wasn't quite sure what to make of this guy, she still went up to Woody and took a picture with him.

We walked over to California Adventure Park for some lunch. Disneyland tends to get more crowded in the afternoons. We stopped at The Pilot's Grill and ate really delicious ribs. Then we went to see the Disney Junior show. It was very interactive for the kids and Lexie got to sit right up front. She danced with the music and was excited to see her favorite friends, such as Mickey, Tubby, and the Little Einsteins. The animatronic puppets were very cute and each skit had a surprise for the little ones to be a part of the show. There were bubbles with Handy Manny, the kids helped to make the rocket fly really fast for the Little Einsteins, and there were gold doubloons falling from the sky. Lexie also got to see Toodles.

After Lexie took her afternoon nap, we headed back to California Adventure Park. Lexie and I ate yummy clam chowder and sourdough bread. Eric ate stir fried beef and rice. We've found that the food is better at California Adventure than at Disneyland. We visited a Bug's Land. Lexie loved riding Flick's Flyers.

We waited in line for 45 minutes for Toy Story Mania. It's worth the long wait. We got to ride on this twice and Lexie loved being able to pull the string to shoot at the 3-D graphics. This one was one of my favorites. We also went on the new Little Mermaid ride. It's very cute, but once was enough for us.