Disneyland dreams

Many times during our trip to Disneyland I thought about things I would tell other friends about our trip, especially those with kids. I thought about the little things I would do to make it more bearable or to try to pace yourself. And I thought about all that I didn't know about Disneyland. How little research I did before the trip and how I kind of think we did okay despite that. I lowered my expectations of what we would see which I think made it easier to just enjoy what we did see.  Not that I didn't get a little panicky by the end of Day 2.  I was filled with anxiety about how our final day would go and if we would be able to get up early and hit the ground running since we hadn't been pushing ourselves on the first two days.  But by Day 3, things really did come together.  We made it to many more rides than I expected and Nacho and I both enjoyed a few moments of indulgence that made up for all the waiting and tending to the kids.  As I've said before, this wouldn't have been the ideal time for us to try a theme park, with Carolina not even walking and Elisa not even 4.  I still think the ideal age for this kind of park is probably somewhere between 6-9 years old.   But with Stacey and the gang leaving California soon, the chance to do a grand family vacation at the original Disneyland was ending. We summoned our strength and in the end, I can only say that Disneyland was a total success. It wasn't that we did everything so efficiently or saw everything there was to see. But sometimes it's more about enjoying what you have and I definitely did.  By the time we walked out of there on Friday evening, I was happily exhausted and satisfied.  Getting up and getting home the next morning was a cruel end to our marathon week, but it felt good to get back to our home and our routines.  Traveling with kids isn't for the faint of heart, but I'm always so glad when we do. We did it. We made it to Disneyland clear across the country. We survived our very first family vacation (i.e. staying in a hotel) and we even had fun. Pretty good in my book. And if Elisa doesn't remember any of this in a few more years, at least we have the pictures to prove it.  And of course, I have the memories of her spinning in the tea cups until she was dizzy or getting anxious before every ride telling me she only wanted "to look."  She was her usual high and low with nothing in between. And that is just what I'd expect in the happiest place on Earth.

Since I took too many photos to possibly post here, visit my FB page to see our whole trip.