Piper's 1st Trip to the Magic Kingdom

This was Piper's first trip to Disneyland. This was also my mom's first trip to Disneyland in about 30 years! Who knows when she'll be back so we had to make the most of the trip. That means fried chicken at the Plaza Inn, a ride on Dumbo with Parker, and a trip on the Astroblasters with Piper.

A first time for all of us, we checked out the Jedi Training Academy. Parker did his darnedest to get it but, in the end, he was just a tad too young. Sorry little dude. Maybe you'll make it on our next trip. In the meantime, a couple light sabres (one for Parker and one for Chris) should make everyone feel better.

Company Holiday Party

We attended this year's holiday party. Actually, I thought it would be just me and Parker as Chris would be working. But the man of the house surprised me and took the day off so he could attend with us.

Getting there wasn't as bad as I expected -- we avoided down down and took the 610 south...nice ride! Then when we got to the exit, the express lane into the park opened just as we arrived...AWESOME!

Once there, we kept our agenda simple -- pic with Mickey, dinner, and catch our friend Aimee who's singing in the Cast Member choir. We did hit up the Peter Pan ride since the line was shorter than usual. The evening went by super fast because before we knew it, it was already after 10:30p and Chris had a super early AM call the next morning. (Don't tell Parker) but that meant we had to miss meeting Buzz. But we did catch the end of the Main Street Parade, which included Santa, so all was well.

A Disney Halloween

So we decided to take Parker over to Dland to see the Halloween decorations. We were hardly in the park and who do we see? Mickey in all his Halloween finest. And then we turned and immediately saw Pluto. Talk about a good day.

The weather was also in our favor. Cloudy and overcast, the threatening weather seemed to scare people away because it wasn't crazy crowded. (Lucky for Chris!)

We hit up a few Parker favorites -- the train, the carousel, and Dumbo. We even caught up with Woody in Frontierland. Plus a mom and dad favorite -- the Haunted House, which was decked out in all it's Nightmare Before Christmas best.

Of course, we had to introduce Parker to another element of the park. This time, it was the rocket ships that circle in front of Tomorrowland. As expected, HE LOVED IT.

After that, we ended the day early and, as it sprinkled a bit coming home, felt good about the decision since they said they would cancel the fireworks if there was rain.

The Lesser Known Disneyland

Aimee's mom was in town that you know what that means...Disneyland! Now, we've actually haven't been there in a while so Thommy, Geof, Parker and I decided to join them. First stop...the newly converted Pirate Island (aka, Tom Sawyer's Island) where Geof steered us to his favorite spot...Dead Man's Grotto. What's with Disney and the word ''grotto.'' Geof loves it because he know I hate it. Plus, it made his mom scream in fear (a jump scare in the middle) so he knows Parker would love it Yeah...it made him cry. Once out, we spent a few moments on the other side of the island, decompressing. Parker's thought regarding the pirate ship that sailed by...''Mommy, that boat has a book on it.''

After Thommy's required fried chicken lunch, we headed to the Golden Horseshoe for ice cream and a floor show. Unfortunately, edging past Parker's normal naptime, the little guy went into tantrum mode as we waited for the show to start. Fortunately, he was mesmerized as soon as the music started. Surprisingly, the show was pretty entertaining.

From Dland, we headed to California Adventure where Thommy, our resident Pluto stalker, ''found'' Mickey's pet pal. It took three photos for Parker to finally warm up to him. Go figure.


Well, contrary to Thommy believe, we went to California Adventure to check out the Pixar Play Parade (no to stalk Pluto), which truly did not disappoint Parker. He saw all his favorites -- Lightning McQueen, Buzz, Woody, and Mater. He started the parade chillin' in his stroller and ended it on his feet, straining to see who else may come around the corner to squirt him with water.

Now I know what you're thinking...so what did Aimee's mom want to do...what? Okay, I guess, while writing this I see that we may have shanghaied their visit to Disneyland. I hope they didn't mind as we truly enjoyed spending the day with them.

Disneyland Again, But For A Good Cause

Two years old and Parker's at Disneyland…again. But not just because. This time we're celebrating a special occasion. Thommy and Geoffrey had been together for 10 years and we're celebrating with a scrumptious dinner at The Napa Rose. Woo hoo!

But before we celebrate, being two, it's about time our lil' P get behind the wheel and test those reflexes.

Parker couldn't wait to get into one of those little hot rods. And actually, I haven't been on the ride since they revamped it so deep down in side...I couldn't wait either.

I guess this is a good sign of how things were to go for the rest of the night. The plan was to leave the park around 4pm to get some naptime in before we head over to the restaurant. But as we headed out of the park we we're surprised to discover that Parker had fallen asleep...and while sitting on Chris' shoulders, ta' boot.

Things looked a bit dicey when a well rested Parker decided to take a lap around the restaurant during the pre-dinner cocktail.

However, just after the first course…zonk. Out like a light. Awesome! And we had the coolest waiter. He brought out a spare table cloth to cover Parker and even a stack of cloth napkins for a pillow. (We passed on the napkins becuase he seemed to be doing so well without them.)

But with the little guy down, we had a chance to focus on the important stuff...the food, which ROCKED! Actually, we were luckily seated at the same table with the men of honor...Thommy and Geoffrey. So great food and great company ta boot.

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY GUYS!

Jasmine & Disneyland

What? Jasmine has never been to Disneyland? Well we have to fix that situation. (Mainly because I work for the mouse and can get into the park for free.)

On our way, Jasmine entertained us with her skills on the dry erase board. The first image is of me. Who knew my legs were so long and thin. Very flattering! Parker, on the other hand, wasn't too impressed with his portrait. Evidently, he wanted something a bit more serious, less smiley.

Now yes, Parker's been to Disneyland on several occasion but, believe it or not, he had never met Mickey. So we headed over to Toontown, waiting in line and got our picture taken with the famous guy. Once again, Parker wasn't too impressed. I guess he looks shorter in real life.

We also met Woody, but, having never watched Toy Story, Parker was clueless. Judging by the expression on his face, he must think Woody's a bit weird. (It is a weird half costumed character, half actor hybrid.)

While we were in Toontown, we also caught up with Minnie Mouse and Pluto. Okay, the truth is we were stalking Minnie but it was all for Jasmine -- who looks like she fell asleep but really, unlike Parker, she was jazzed to see Minnie As for Pluto, ideally I wanted this to be a pic of just Jasmine and Parker with Pluto but Parker was not working from the same playbook.

At the end of the day, Parker could care less about Disneyland, Mickey, Minnie, and (yes Thommy) even Pluto. What he enjoyed most about this day was spending time with Jasmine, especially sliding down the slide in Toontown with her.

BTW, you wouldn't think it but going to Disneyland on MLK Monday was surprisingly very nice. Not over crowded at all. Bonus!