California, part 2 (Disneyland)

Disneyland was the part of the trip I was looking forward to the most, and the part that was making me the most nervous. However, the entire day went so well I was amazed. We didn't wait more than 20 minutes for a single ride (not that we went on many) and they got to meet Tinkerbell, 6 of the Disney princesses AND see 2 parades so they could see all the other characters they know and love. (Feel free to skip the monologue and browse the pictures below).

We started off the day with Buzz Lightyear's AstroBlasters, then a quick visit with Tinkerbell, where there was virtually no wait. We almost went on Matterhorn, but left when we saw the new bobsled design (lucky for us, poor Lynne got all the way to the front and learned they'd changed the height requirements). We, instead, went to the Finding Nemo submarine ride, then headed on over to meet the Disney princesses. Also lucky for us, Belle and Ariel (Cadence and Megan's favorites, respectively) were the first ones we met. One of the Disneyland workers suggested we view a princess show and the girls got to see three more princesses. We even got to dance around the Maypole with Princess Aurora, then meet Cinderella and Snow White afterward.

We went on Pirates after that, but a royal meltdown by Ms. Megan warned us the girls were reaching their limit, so we trekked back to the hotel for lunch and a break. Then, it was right back to the park to get on Ariel's Undersea Adventure and a few trips around King Triton's Carousel. On our way back across the park, we stumbled upon the beginning of a parade and decided to stay and watch when we saw Monsters Inc. characters at the front. Following behind them were characters from many Pixar films, including Toy Story and Cars, two more of the girls' all-time favorites.

After a few more rides at California Adventure, we headed back to Disneyland, where we ran into yet another parade. This was just as enjoyable as the first. Peter Pan came up close to high-five and wave at us before Captain Hook pulled him away. We saw the princesses again, and Aladdin and Simba, and lots of other familiar characters.

We didn't stay much longer. We visited Toon Town (our reason for returning to Disneyland) for a few more minutes of running around, wandered through Sleeping Beauty's castle, and then headed back to the hotel for a very late dinner and bed. The girls put themselves to sleep, they were so worn out! Unfortunately, the next morning we had to say good-bye to Aunt Erin, Uncle Jeff and cousins. Then, we piled into our own rental car and returned to Bakersfield for the last few days of our trip.