The Carter Family: Disneyland and California Adventure

In late February, we took the kids to Disneyland for the first time. I should start by saying that I was really, really nervous about going. Managing 4 kids at a theme park is not easy. Sleeping in a hotel room with 4 kids is not easy. Flying with 4 kids is not easy. So I was worried that it would end up being a nightmare, and that I would wonder what on Earth we were thinking taking the kids there when they were so young.

Well, I'm happy to report that it was a wonderful trip. We had so much fun. There is nothing like watching your kids experience that magical place for the first time. Yes, it was exhausting, but it was worth it.

I will admit that at one point, we completely lost Paige. Luckily, that morning, I told her that if she got lost, she should go to a Disneyland employee and they would take her to a meeting spot. So she did that right away and they took her to the lost kids place. Not the best feeling when you lose your child at a theme park, that's for sure. I was really nervous, but at the same time, I believed that Paige would go directly to an employee. If it was Kate on the other hand... I would have been waaaay more nervous.

Anyway, here is an overview of our trip...

I think my favorite part of the whole trip was seeing Halle's reaction to the princesses and other characters that we saw throughout the trip. She was so amazed and excited. It was adorable. The longest line that we waited in was the one to see these 3 princesses. It took a little over an hour. It was mandatory though. Halle loved meeting them and she honestly talks about Disneyland every. single. day. She keeps asking if we are going back.

Another thing that I was really happy about was the fact that Nate was such a trooper during this trip. I was worried that he would get annoyed/tired/stressed after the first day, but he really seemed to enjoy it and he was so positive and helpful. It can't be easy being the father of 3 girls, but he handles it well most of the time.

I stayed pretty calm and positive most of the time too, which is not always the case on our vacations. Haha. The picture above is during the Finding Nemo Underwater Adventure ride. It was a really cute ride.

I love how well the characters play their parts. Maleficent was so clever and always had the perfect response to everything. Funny story... Maleficent asked Paige what she planned to do the rest of the day, and Paige said in a serious voice, "Poison people with my poison apples." Funny girl. Then Maleficent said, "A girl after my own heart!"

And then there was the time when Paige touched the back of Ariel's dress (when she was hugging her), which had a huge pile of bird poop on it. Paige was not pleased, as you can see.

The shows at Disneyland are so well-done. They are such a nice break from all the walking and lines too. This was the Frozen play. Halle loved it obviously. The Aladdin play is really, really well-done. It's in a big theater. I don't have pictures of that though.

This is Nate LOVING the Little Mermaid ride. :) He's so photogenic.

On our last day, it rained for about an hour and a half in the morning. We were bummed because they shut down lots of the rides and it was kind of cold and miserable. But luckily, it cleared up pretty quickly and the whole theme park seemed a lot less crowded than the other days, which was awesome.

I LOVED meeting Sofia! Haha. Just kidding. What if I was serious? Something that surprised me and Nate was the number of adults who were seriously thrilled with stuff like that. They would excitedly wait in lines to meet characters, even though they had no children. Okaaaay.

This was the Frozen sing-a-long show, which was really fun.

Once again, Nate is an idiot.

This is on the tram that takes you to and from the parking lots. I always loved finally sitting down and going for a relaxing ride.

Every day we would leave the park around 2 or 3 PM and have a nice lunch at a restaurant and then we would head back to the theme park. For me, it was a necessary break from the crowds and craziness. I get overwhelmed with crowds. I needed to escape, even just for an hour or two. PLUS! The food at Disneyland is such a rip off! We packed lots of healthy snacks in the stroller, so that we could avoid eating meals there. We would eat a big breakfast somewhere else and then snacks until our late lunch at an outside restaurant, and then more snacks in the evening. It worked out well.

I talked Nate into buying the girls some cotton candy on our last day. It was Halle's first time and Paige and Kate's second time I think. Halle wasn't a fan, but the older two loved it. Until they felt like crap, like we all do when we eat straight sugar. It's good at first though. I liked it.