Disneyland Day Trip

My wife and I took our son to Disneyland today. This is probably his fifth or sixth trip by now, but each one provides something new to fascinate him. Now that he is starting to talk a little more, it is getting more fun for us too. Even before we got there, he was pointing out every truck he saw. "Truck...Truck..." He has some thing for trucks apparently, and gets excited when he sees one.

We stayed almost exclusively in Disneyland today, only going to California Adventure at the end. We took him on the Mark Twain steam boat, and he loved it. Every time the steam came out of the pipes, or the driver tooted his horn, my son lit up. We enjoyed watching his excitement.

It was so hot today we stuck to the shade and air conditioning wherever possible. Pirates of the Caribbean was far more packed than usual, probably a sign that tourist season has begun. We skipped Pirates so we could wait in shade somewhere else. We ended up at the Haunted Mansion, which had almost no line. My son is not sure what to make of the ride, so we try to inject humor wherever possible. He seems to be getting used to the ride at this point.

After the Haunted Mansion we went to the Winnie the Pooh ride. He got to see Tigger again, though not as close-up as before. He loves Tigger, probably because his daddy kept buying him Tigger stuff when he was younger. He enjoyed the ride as usual, and then we tried Pirates again.

Pirates is a roller coaster for my son in more ways than one. He is not a fan of the initial drop, or the subsequent smaller one. He is pretty nervous until the Tortuga section, where Carlos is being lowered into the well. At that point the Pirtate's theme song is playing and he lights up. He loves the song. He loves the rest of the ride, and we make sure to point out the dogs, cats, donkey, and any other animal we see. He is a big fan of animals, so this always excites him.

Daddy wanted to buy him a toy at the gift shop, though mommy is usually stronger about that. When mommy went to get the stroller, my son grabbed a toy gun and started playing with it. I grabbed one too, and we played for a while. He later grabbed a second gun, and I found a pirate hat with Mickey ears. By the time mommy came in my son had his hat on and a gun in each hand. He definitely looked like a pirate.

I am looking forward to our next trip to Disneyland. It is nice living close enough to go from time to time at a moment's notice. The season passes are really getting a lot of use.