The One with Disneyland Semi-Alone

I've been wanting to take the kids to Disneyland by myself for awhile now, but just couldn't muster up the courage. I LOVED taking Fox to Disneyland by myself pre-Jane - he loves it, I love it, win-win! In fact, Disneyland is one of the two three-syllable words that Fox can say (the other is "dinosaur"). But two kids under two is a whole new ball game. I've still only left the house with them both a handful of times. I'm getting better about assembling the double umbrella stroller and taking the dog to go potty with both kids. And perhaps the biggest reason I wanted to take them by myself, I'm flying to Washington next week to spend 8 days with my family and I'm taking the kids. By myself. I didn't want my first time being really and truly out and about with them to be on the plane, so Disneyland seemed like a good trial run. When Veronica emailed the South Pasadena gals and asked if anybody wanted to go to Disneyland I raised my hand and said "LET'S!" I told her I'd be out the door at 8am. It ended up being 8:17 - not too shabby! I had to dress everyone, pack a day bag, take the dog to go potty, pump a bottle for Jan, and make sure all the animals and apartment were set for the day without me. Fox has had some diaper explosions the past few days so I decided to bring an extra pair of clothes for him, just in case. About 5 minutes away from the Disneyland exit, Fox started crying. Then he threw up tons, all over himself and the carseat. I pulled over and changed him into the handy dandy extra pair of clothes and wiped everything off best I could. That's his third time throwing up in six days... But other than throwing up he's been acting fine! All of a sudden out of nowhere he hurls. If it happens again, I'm taking him to the doctor. I probably should have gone home, but Fox was happy and smiling and we were sooo close to the happiest place on earth! V was already parked and I told her I'd be there soon. Remarkably I was directed to park right in front of her, even though I arrived 10 minutes after her. I unloaded my kids into the stroller and we made our way to the elevator.

We walked to the tram and once it was our turn V got on with her crew and then she held Jane while I loaded up Fox and the stroller. Hardest part was over and it wasn't too bad!

First we went to Fantasyland. The Peter Pan line was already much too long so we went on Snow White. I held Jane and Fox followed us. I was afraid he would take off on a run and not look back, but surprisingly and thankfully, he stayed pretty close. It definitely helped to have V there with her kids cuz Fox followed Mariah like she's a queen! Then we went on Pinocchio, then King Arthur's Carousel.

I put Jane in the Bjorn since she was asleep. Next we wanted to go on It's a Small World, but as we were walking to it we saw a meet-and-greet with Princesses. V wanted to wait in the line so Mariah could get some autographs, but since my kids aren't partial to characters quite yet, we went on It's a Small World by ourselves. And survived! Fox didn't try to hop out of the boat - success! I definitely didn't have enough hands to take pictures of this feat though! Once we were off V was right at the front of the line so we met up with her. It was sooo cute to see Mariah interact with the Princesses. She was so animated and excited and told them her life story :)

Meanwhile, Fox held a protest and sat his bum down to eat some goldfish right in the middle of it all.

Fox could care less, but I'm sure Jane will be into the Princesses in a few years! After mingling with the Princesses, Fox needed something more masculine to suit his needs so we went on Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters. Fox was sooo happy to see his hero!

His hands aren't big enough to reach the trigger, but that's okay, he was still mesmerized.  

Then we walked over to Adventureland to get some lunch. Chicken strips and fries! 

I LOVE this tree! It's like a Christmas tree, but with Halloween decorations instead of ornaments.

As I was nursing Jane, Fox and Mariah played and chased each other. Again, I was so happy he didn't just run off! After lunch we went on Pirates of the Caribbean. Two adults and four kids!

After Pirates we went into a little gift shop and that's when things started going downhill. Fox wanted something but he couldn't have it so he had a tantrum. He refused to leave. Jane was out of her Bjorn so I couldn't pick him up so V and I picked him up by both arms and carried him a few feet, but he was still freaking out so we let him go. Graciously, a nice lady offered to help so I handed her Jane and she followed me over to the stroller. She kept saying things like, "Been there, done that! I totally understand!" She was so nice. And she said I made her day by letting her hold a baby :) Once we got to the stroller, we walked a few feet to the Tarzan treehouse. We created a long backup cuz Fox wanted to walk up and down the stairs by himself. Oh well. That's what you need to be prepared for when you go to Disneyland - LINES!

After meandering through the treehouse we went on Haunted Mansion. My FAVORITE!

The ride stopped once so I was able to get a good picture in the dark. 

After Haunted Mansion we went on Winnie the Pooh. As we were in line they paused a bit to help a woman in a wheelchair get on. Once we were on the ride and about to exit, we slowed down. We figured it was the woman in the wheelchair getting assistance off the ride. But then the music turned off and the lights came on. Staff had to come around and help everybody out. We were the very last car helped out. Holy moly Fox was trippin' and Jane was crying and at this point I was done. We'd been there for 6 hours and I'd had my fill and was satisfied with how things went. We had fun! Fox was a good boy, up until it was his nap time, understandably. He fell asleep instantaneously in his stroller so I walked rather than rode the tram back to the parking structure. And then I couldn't remember where I parked. I was relying on V to remember where we parked! My phone had died so I couldn't call her to ask where we parked. So I went up to the 5th floor and walked to "4A" cuz I remember that's where we had parked, I just didn't remember the level. Nope. No car. I went down to level 4. There wasn't a vending machine outside the elevator door like I remembered so back into the elevator I went. I got out on level 3 and pressed my car alarm. Success! I found the car! Alls well that ends well.

Practice makes perfect so we'll definitely be going to Disneyland Chris-less again! Sorry babe :)