Let's Talk Disneyland!

So, the whole time I was at Disneyland, I was thinking in blog terms. I kept thinking of the things I wanted to write about, but real life was waiting for me at home, and I'm just now getting to the actual writing.
NOTE: Daniel is not quite taller than me yet. I must have been bent just a little at the knees. He only needs about a half inch more, but I wanted to make it clear for the record that as of February, 2009, I'm still taller.

We had a great vacation! It was perfect weather; there were minimal crowds; life was good! We were able to go to Disneyland, of course, but we also squeezed in visits to both sets of grandparents as well. At Mom's, Dale took his place as the favorite son-in-law (for this week, anyway) by discovering the root of her wireless internet problems. We're so glad that's fixed. At Dale's mom's house we enjoyed visiting with her as well as Dale's aunt and another uncle who also live nearby. Rather than give a complete play by play, let me just share a handful of pictures and few observations.

• I could live in a state of suspended reality for a long time! It was so nice to have my biggest worry be about which ride to go on next. I didn't have to coerce anyone to do homework. I didn't have to compete with Noah's for Dale's time. I didn't even have to answer the phone. I guess that's how it feels to be independently wealthy. Hmmmm...
• Staying across the street is the way to go. We just stayed in a Best Western hotel, but it was clean, the beds were comfortable, and we literally just had to walk across the street to the entrance. Loved it!
• The early morning entry you get with a multi-day ticket is worth it. I thought it would be crowded with everyone going early, but it turned out to be pretty empty and we rode a lot of rides in that first hour.
• Walking onto Star Tours and having the girl say, "Choose a seat; you can sit anywhere you want," is kind of like going to a temple outside of Utah and having a worker tell you to choose whichever locker you'd like. Both are unexpected responses.
• The inside of Space Mountain didn't look like I thought it would. It was cool to see, but it was also a little like seeing the wizard behind the curtain.
• Space Mountain is still a favorite ride. We did it three times, and Dale pulled a new face for every snapshot.
• It's fun to see Disneyland change with the changing generations. My generation watched "Tom Sawyer" and "Swiss Family Robinson." My kids' generation apparently watched "Pirates of the Caribbean" and "Tarzan" so things had to change.
• Even though my kids have grown up in a pretty sophisticated technological age, Cheyenne can still be completely enamored with birds that talk and sing. Can you believe the Tiki Room is still going strong?
• The world is made up of lots of different personalities. Thankfully, there are those that have the mental and physical fortitude to be test pilots. Those type of people would clearly enjoy California Screamin' (the big roller coaster) more than I did! However, my kids can say I rode it with them -- once.
• I owe my sister Cathy for suggesting I take rain ponchos to wear on the Grizzly Rapids ride. I can only imagine how much whining I was spared that afternoon by not having drenched children. And my underwear stayed dry - that's more than I can say for the poor woman next to me.
• I still love Billy Hill and the Hillbillies. They make me laugh.
• The Jungle Cruise is just campy enough to still be fun after all these years. And are the piranha a fairly new addition?? I liked them.
• Daniel complained that the cars in Autopia are hard to drive. I told him I didn't care 'cause it was January and I was driving a convertible through a park in Southern California while wearing short sleeves. I was in heaven!
• I like 70 degree weather.
• I like it a lot.
• I'm not sure I'd be willing to take the rest of what Southern California brings to have the 70 degree weather. Woe is me!
• Cheyenne was a delight. She was old enough to take care of herself and not run away (mostly), but she was still enthralled by the whole experience. There's not a jaded bone in her body. She was tons of fun.
• Daniel was great fun to be with . He was old enough and brave enough to try some things he wouldn't have dreamed of before (like the Maliboomer), but he was still so patient with Cheyenne and the "little kid" things she wanted to do.
• Cheyenne made me laugh one night when she said, "It's past my bedtime, but that's the point, huh?"
• Did you know they close Fantasyland rides about 1.5 hours before the fireworks are scheduled? Don't plan to ride the Peter Pan ride at that time. It's a bad idea.
• For Heather and Isaac's sake, after riding Splash Mountain we were "so soakin' wet!"
• Disneyland is still magical. We had a great time there and a great time together as a family.

If this summary just wasn't enough for you and you want to see ALL the pictures from the trip, take a look at the photo album here.