Not the Happiest Place on Earth

We watched the weather and debated the pros and cons for many days before pulling the trigger and buying four day park hopper tickets for Disneyland. We wanted to go before Mia turned three (and had to pay) and because we were engaged there about 10 years ago!
Snow White's Grotto (where Ken proposed)

While we had a lot of fun, it was not easy to go with a toddler and a baby. We were lucky that my mom joined us. She was a BIG help to us. Even with four day passes, we did not get to do everything at both parks. Mia was not keen on any of the indoor rides that were in the dark except, It's a Small World. So we went on Dumbo, the Mad Tea Cups, and the Carousel more times than we care to count. We did "force" Mia on a few rides that her instincts told her might be scary by convincing her they were fun. But on the other hand, she did not like the fireworks the first night, but asked to view them the next couple of nights and actually enjoyed them. It had a lot to do with Tinkerbell's appearance at the beginning and end of the program.

Mia's most favorite activity at Disney was going to the Princess Fantasy Faire where we stood in line for 40-60 minutes to meet and greet three different princesses. Mia took pictures and had them autograph her princess t-shirt. I'm no fan of the princess marketing, but my little girl was all wide-eyed and I could see the obsession beginning before my eyes. At the fair, there is a huge area hawking all sorts of Disney princess paraphernalia along with make-up and hair-do chairs. Your daughter can get pics and go home looking almost exactly like Belle or Cinderella.

Our first trip through the line, I was glad to see Mulan there albeit she probably wasn't really Chinese. But get this, there are no Mulan costumes and very very little Mulan merchandise. What's up with that??? On our last day, Mia got to choose one princess item. I had her look the previous day and told her she had to think about it for a day. While I was glad she chose a set of books, (The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, Cinderella and Aladdin) the content isn't terribly appealing.

Mia and Mulan


All in all, it was a fun family trip, but we won't repeat Disneyland until our kids do not need naps, strollers, diapers, or any parental supervision. I'm just kidding on that last one. It was hard to get a lot when we had to return to the hotel for naps. Although we kept Mia up past her bedtime, it was hard on her the following day. Ken and I did have the chance to ride Space Mountain thanks to my mom who stayed behind with David.