Heflin's Head West - Disneyland

Disneyland was one of the places that I was most excited to take the kids on this trip because it was one of the few places that I had actually been before. I had been there as a child with my parents and then most recently last year Jennifer and I ran a race there. I knew what to expect and kind of had a plan in mind of how to conquer and see as much as possible. The parks are right next to each other and the tickets that we bought included the park hopper option. We didn't do this last time, but I think it really worked out great and I would highly recommend it if you were ever to go. I would also recommend using the mobile fast pass option. You have to pay $10/person, but it is worth it. It even includes all your pictures from the rides and with characters.

The Heflin kids 1st visit to Disneyland and California Adventure!

Our first day we planned to go to California Adventure first, but instead of waiting for the gates to open we just went into Disneyland so that we could go see the castle. Jennifer and the kids waited in line to meet Mickey and I headed back into the park to get fast passes for the Fantasmic show for that night.

Family picture at Disneyland with Walt Disney and Mickey Mouse! 

Sometimes they actually like each other, or at least they are good at pretending.

Landon had his first meltdown within just minutes of being in the park. He refused to be in the picture with us so here are the only happy Mickey ear wearing Heflin's! 

Brinley with a little Minnie Mouse statue. 

Next we headed over to California Adventure. We had intentions of jumping in line for Cars to try and beat the rush of the day. However, we were informed that it was closed for mechanical issues. So, instead we headed in the other direction and our first ride was Goofy's flight school. 

After 2 rides on Goofy's flight school we headed over to the Musical Swings for a couple of rides on them. For one ride we were literally the only people on the ride. 

I caught this one while riding the Golden Zepher. We were kind of sad that the pier was closed and we couldn't ride the big ferris wheel or Toy Story Mania. 

This trip Landon was finally tall enough to ride everything! There are some rides that he was never tall enough for at Disney World. One that he always had wanted to ride was the Tower of Terror. Both of the girls hated it on their first experiences. So, we had never been able to have a family picture on the ride. Since I knew Brinley would never get on if I said it was the same as Tower of Terror I just chose to omit all of that information. The girls said it wasn't as bad, but they still never wanted to ride it again. Landon LOVED IT! He said he wanted to ride it again.

The kids actually got to meet Groot! They knew who he was because they watched Guardians of the Galaxy with me once. They were happy that he talked to them. He said his traditional "I am Groot!" 

We also got to meet Mater! This is one of the coolest character meet and greets because he carries on a conversation with you. Most of the non people characters just smile and are moving around and using body language to communicate with you. 

Landon and Brinley were also now both tall enough to ride Space Mountain. The flash is so bright after being in almost complete darkness that Landon and I couldn't keep our eyes open. Brinley was terrified of the ride and Landon loved it!

Disneyland also has a pretty awesome set up back in Toon Land. They have the houses of all the main Disney characters: Mickey, Minnie, Donald, and Goofy. Here the kids are in Minnie Mouse's kitchen.  

You have to wear your ears when meeting another mouse! 

We also explored in Mickey's house. Here is Landon at his front door. 

I wonder how much a mailbox like this would cost me. I think it is really neat. 

Nothing better on a hot sunny day than a Mickey shaped ice cream! Except for maybe a Dole Whip Float. 

We made our way back over to California Adventure when we heard that the lines were back open. However, we were unable to get a fast pass. Since we didn't know if the ride would be functioning properly the next few days we decided to wait in line. It was a long 2 hours, but the kids loved it! The kids acted great in line. They played with our phones for a while and also became friends with the kid in front of us. They played rock, paper, scissors for a solid 30 minutes. Watching them helped pass the time. 

Brinley showing off our treat for the night, Mickey shaped beignets. We tried the original ones with powdered sugar and also the strawberry flavored ones. This was while we were waiting for the Fantasmic show. We had missed the earlier show which we had fast passes for. I very politely asked one of the workers about missing the earlier show and he told me that we could sit in this roped off section that was probably some of the best seats in the place. It does pay to be nice! Also you will never know what someone will say unless you ask. 

What an awesome and fun first day at Disneyland and California Adventure. Everyone had a great day and we recovered nicely after that first little meltdown from Landon. 

Landon told me that he wanted to ride Guradians of the Galaxy so the next day we were the first people in line. We got in the front row so that nobody was blocking the view of Landon. My little man is not scared at anything! My new riding partner. 

Landon said it was awesome! He said it was his favorite ride. Later he told me that he didn't want to ride it anymore though.

The kids got to meet Lightning McQueen! They were so pumped. Again it is awesome because he talks to you. He references Brinley's shirt that had Cruz Ramirez. The kids thought it was pretty cool. 

These cars sit at the front of Cars Land. They were dressed up in Buzz and Woody costumes for Pixar Fest. They actually change the decorations here with the seasons too. When we were here last November they had a Christmas theme.

Pixar Fest also brought all kinds of special treats. This was a Mike Wazowski ice cream whoopie pie sandwich.

Brinley with the big rock formation in Radiator Springs.

Probably the most iconic picture at California Adventure has to be with the big Mickey Fun Wheel. 

Another special treat was a strawberry flavored churro.

We were taking some pictures on the street in Radiator Springs when Lightning McQueen came out to meet people. The photographer caught this awesome picture.

This is my all-time favorite ride. This was Landon's first time riding it. We asked for the front because we didn't want anyone to block seeing Landon's face. Too bad that his poncho blocked half of his face. The rest of the picture is classic, especially Jennifer's scream.

Brinley didn't like Space Mountain, but Jennifer and Landon both said that it was their favorite ride at Disneyland. I told Brinley to ride next to me this time. I held my arm around her to try and make her feel more safe. She said that it was a little better. She also told me that there was 10 drops during the ride. I thought it was funny that she was keeping count.

Ride on the iconic Dumbo!

Our 3rd day at Disneyland we headed back to Toontown. We met Mickey at his house.

We also met Goofy just wondering around Toontown.

Landon taking Goofy's car for a spin.

We also met Pluto wondering around.

Another picture with the Mickey Fun Wheel and the soon to be Pixar Pier in the background.

I love that my little 4 year old has his arms raised up in the air and the woman beside him is trying to hide her face. 

The kids favorite ride was the Radiator Springs Racers. We actually rode it 3 times in a row with some fast passes that we had got from having one of our fast pass the day before get cancelled due to a ride being shut down. How lucky is that!

Since we had rode every ride at both parks I told the kids that everybody could pick one ride that they wanted to ride again. Jennifer and Landon said that their favorite ride was Space Mountain and that is what they wanted to ride. Landon and I had to work hard to keep our eyes open for the picture since we had them closed in the other ones. 

We signed up the kids to do the Jedi Training academy. They had done this before at Disney World so they knew what to expect. 

Jedi in training Landon!

Landon fighting Darth Vader.

Brinley fighting the dark side.

The kids got to meet Rey.

The kids actually gave Kylo Ren a high five and Brinley was even trying to use the force just like Kylo Ren in this picture. Harboring her inner dark side.

Both kids liked meeting Darth Vader. They both gave him a fist bump when he asked if they wanted to join the dark side.

My favorite ride and one that I wanted to ride again was Splash Mountain. The kids were not excited about riding it again, especially Brinley. I knew that the back row seated two and told her that she could ride with me. Then Landon wanted to ride next to someone. We almost couldn't get him to sit down for the ride to start. Turned out to be another great picture. Jennifer waited until we were right about to drop down the final hill to pull Landon's hood off his head. In the picture he is trying to put it back up.

I finally got my favorite Disney treat - a Dole Whip Float.

I love this picture that I snapped of Landon on the carousel with the castle in the background.

The kids trying to remove the Sword in the Stone.

We took turns waiting for about 3 hours in order to get the best view of the fireworks show. We were front and center of the castle and didn't have a single person in front of us for the show. It was an amazing fireworks display. 

Silly Disneyland picture.

Disneyland is a wrap! 

We had a great time and the we got to all experience so many new rides for the first time as a family. Landon was finally big enough to ride everything that his big sister had been able to ride. The next morning we were going to get up and drive to our next stop, the Grand Canyon. Thanks for reading and God bless!