The Happiest Place on Earth

One of the very first things we did once we moved to California was buy annual passes for Disneyland.  The idea was to give me something to help me adjust.  We had also been planning a trip there all year to meet up with my cousin and her little family, so it seemed like as good of a time as any.  Little did we know just how much of an escape from reality we would be needing.

As we had gone about planning this trip, our group grew bigger and bigger.  By the time we all gathered together our group included my cousin, her husband, their two girls, her parents, her sister, my sister, and my brother-in-law.  The majority of this group hadn't been to Disneyland in 12 years or so.  Needless to say, we had been looking forward to this Disneyland trip for a long time.

We met up Thursday morning and had a great time showing everyone around the park.  The crowds were minimal, the little girls (and all of the adults too) were loving the entire atmosphere.  The little girls especially loved meeting Mickey and his friends. 

Meeting Mickey

Playing with Pluto

We had enough adults in our group that we were able to divide and conquer pretty easily.  We were able to hit both parks and cover a lot of ground in the first day.  As one of the most experienced Disney-goers in the first group, I was elected fast pass runner/tour guide.  I had a great time showing all of the "newbies" the best way to maximize their Disney vacation.  That was possible my favorite part of the entire vacation.

Splash Mountain for the First Time

Not so sure about Mr. Toad's Wild Ride

Post Matterhorn

Loving Big Thunder Mountain

Round and Round on King Triton's Carousel

The next day was the first official day of Halloween Time in Disneyland.  Decorations sprang up practically over night, the characters had all changed into Halloween costumes, attractions (Haunted Mansion and Space Mountain) had been redone, and more Disney villans were wandering around the park.  It is truly amazing how thorough Disney is in creating atmospheres and moods.

Halloween decorations start at the parking tram

Terrified of Space Mountain: Ghost Galaxy

After spending two and half days in the parks and saying farewell to all of our family, Jason and I hobbled home where we spent the rest of the weekend recuperating from our little getaway.  Just the way a good Disney vacation should be!  Thanks for helping us have a great time everybody!