Disneyland!

Robert and I weren't planning on doing anything for our anniversary this year but at the last minute Robert decided that just wasn't going to cut it so he planned a quick trip down to Disneyland. Yay! We hadn't been to the Happiest Place on Earth since our Christmas trip with the Blackards back in '09 and a quick getaway was just what we needed. (Robert especially - he'd been working crazy hours for several weeks.)

We stopped in Westwood on the way down to grab some dinner at Jerry's (though Robert didn't get any pickles this time) and take a quick spin around UCLA. For some reason there were still lots of kids on campus and they looked young. Very, very young.  Robert and I felt very, very old. :o(  Even older when we realized we started college 13 years ago. Meeeeeeeeeeeeeew. We marveled over the new construction on campus and remembered how much fun we had there before time forced us to hop back in the car and finish the trip to Buena Park.

Robert purchased our tickets online but he wasn't about to take a chance and have the park close like it did the last time we visited so we made sure we got there bright and early. Which actually worked out really well because I didn't have to worry about Robert's head exploding... or so I thought. The man is the most competitive tram-rider EVER! It's ridiculous. But he mellowed out once we got our physical tickets and walked into the park and we had a fantastic time. There were some definite hiccups - it was hotter than Satan's balls, there were 400 million people, the Matterhorn was completely out of commission both days and both Space Mountain and Indiana Jones were down periodically throughout the entire trip - but because we were there for two days, we had the freedom to wait in line and get to everything. (We got a chance to see the fireworks, the parade and Fantasmic, which neither of us had seen before. It was great!) Without a doubt the line for Star Tours was the worst but we did wind up snagging a FastPass and riding it at the end of the first day. Of course, for those of us with motion sickness it wasn't the wisest decision to ride it and it was actually quite serendipitous that it was the final ride of the day. But! We had a wonderful time and I'm so very glad we made the decision to take a few days to get away from home. :o)

Breakfast at the Carnation Cafe on Main Street.

My delicious Mickey Head waffle.

Robert haaad to have his corn dog, of course. Not that I blame him - I had my cocoa and pretzel, too!

He was very, very...

very excited. :o)

See the 'Happy Anniversary' pin? We wore those the second day. Super cute but I had no idea every park employee had to wish us a happy anniversary upon seeing it. I was proud of me, though - I still wore it the entire day.

Christmas at Disneyland

Robert and I headed down to Disneyland last Sunday with my sister and brother-in-law and let me just say this: I never knew that Disneyland closed. Did you? I am here to tell you, my friend, that indeed it does! It was really annoying - Disneyland totally let people (pay to) park and get on the tram. But when the tram dropped us off at Downtown Disney, we were informed that Disneyland was closed - due to to overcrowding - and that everyone was to go to California Adventure instead. What?!! Now, I took the news well because I didn't even hear it. However, I did hear the garbled "Wah wah wah" of the driver saying something over the intercom and I saw Robert's head about to explode so I knew something bad was going down. :o)

However! We had all bought our tickets online before going down to L.A. so luckily we were exempt from the ban. Whew! Then again, when Disneyland closes because it already has too many people, it redefines the word "crowded." Seriously! When you have to wait in line to wash your hands in the bathroom, you KNOW the lines for the rides aren't messing around. We had park hopper tickets so we were able to escape to the less-crowded California Adventure when necessary but still... We waited over 90 minutes for Indiana Jones and when we got a FastPass for Space Mountain at 1, the return window was from 11PM to midnight!!! Crazy. Most rides 'sold out' of FastPasses by 2 in the afternoon (if not sooner). Still, we were able to persevere and have a great time. We all get along really, really well - Robert and Wade practically share a brain - so the trip was an unparalleled success!! I love, love, love seeing all the holiday decorations at the park - totally worth it. That being said, I don't think we'll ever go after Christmas again! (The attendant said Christmas Day and New Year's Eve are the worst of the worst, but that the days in between aren't so hot, either. You don't have to tell me twice.)