A MAGICAL Christmas!

Part of the reason we went to California this time of year was to see Disneyland decked out in Christmas decor. As I have said before, Lady Hiva and I are Disney World people, but with distance (and the fact that she is 8 months pregnant) it was a bit easier logistic-wise to go to California instead of Florida.

We have been to Disney World several times at many different times of the year. Years ago my parents took us to Disney World for Christmas. IT WAS A MAD HOUSE. I remember the throngs and throngs of people. Because of that we decided to go strategically between Thanksgiving and Christmas to make sure that we missed the crowds that usually attend during those times.

It was a good choice. The wait times for the rides were amazingly short (compared to the July experience we had) and the lights were so much fun.

Our trip, of course, had to start with a stop for breakfast at Chef Goofy's kitchen. That is something I would recommend to anyone going with kids. You get to eat a good meal and the Characters come by and have one-on-one interactions with the kids. That is way better than waiting in the lines to meet the Characters in the park when there are so many other things to do. Lucky Dragon was so excited to see Goofy, Minnie, Chip and Dale, and Pluto. He was sure that Pluto "licked [his] head!" I have never seen a kid so excited to have a dog lick their hair!

For two days we rode every ride possible. He was tall enough this time to ride many of the roller coasters with me. We conquered the "Mountains" together. Poor Lady Hiva had to sit in her wheelchair and wait for us. It made me so happy to have my brave little guy raise his hands and yell with delight as we rode Big Thunder Mountain or went tumbling down the steep Splash Mountain trail.

"Don't be scared Dustin! It is just little people singing to us." 

 

Right before the "plunge" on Splash Mountain

Of course our little guy loves books

Waiting for the Parade

The best part of it all was, of course, the Christmas theme-ing.  It's A Small World had additional parts to it and the songs were Christmas songs. Other rides also had Christmas decor scattered throughout. Most of all we like the lights at night. Tree exploded in color and there were plenty of themed wreaths and trees.

Watching the moving/changing window displays. They were amazing

Radiator Springs was amazing. Each place had a different type of tree. Mater's Junkyard had a junk tree, the garland throughout was made out of carburetors, the Cozy Cone had trees and stars made of cones, Flo's trees were made out of oil cans. I was so excited to take him on the Radiator Springs ride this time--he was tall enough. He was so excited that Frank chased us and that we were able to race through the scenes of his favorite movie!

He was so excited to watch the Disney Junior show

It was a fun trip. We loved the warmer weather and most of all, Lady Hiva and I love to see the happiness of our little guy. For his souvenir he chose to "make" a Mater. It was fun to see him so excited to choose the parts and build it. He his still telling us about how "he chose" this tire or that rim...