I know what your thinking? Dang those Palmers go to Disneyland A LOT! Yes, you are right. This is our 4th year in a row going. Before that since we have been married we went three times making it a grand total of 7 times to disneyland. No matter how many times we go I still love it. I love the magic of it. It’s so much better with my kids. They love it more and more every year. We try to think of something else we could rather do with the money and we always come back to this trip. Just the day before we left we were sitting at our friend Allan’s funeral and I just kept thinking about how he did so much with his kids. Trips with your kids are so important! So many memories are associated with trips and vacations no matter how big or small.
I almost cancelled this trip around Christmas. Because of a confession I have- I’m expecting another baby next summer. And I was sick! So I was worried I ruined our trip this year. I was able to get a hold of it enough to plan the trip but I had to push it back a couple of weeks. It’s hard to go to disneyland pregnant. I’m not going to lie. It took a lot of planning so I wouldn’t throw up while I was there.
First day excitement- just waited for the adventure land gates to open. They know what to expect and therefore are super pumped about it.
Stock had to have this hat on.
Thunder Mountain railroad has been closed FOREVER it seems like. Well at least the two years before we have been and I was too pregnant the time before to go on it so after talking to my dr. and he thinking it's ok to ride some rides I went on with the boys. They have redone it and it was super fun and smooth until what was before.
Restaurant in the pirates ride.
Bryan and the boys on thunder mountain- again. My older boys went on this about 5 times.
tea cups
We have been super healthy this year. Like all fall and winter really healthy. Until the day before we left on our trip Brett had coupe. I took him into the dr and got some medicine and he was great the next day. Then on Monday we were in disneyland he wasn't well. I could tell he felt like crap. So Bryan took him back to our hotel and I took the other boys around Disney. I bought them little autograph books and they really liked that. Since Bryan hates mickeys toon town I took them there.
Donald was the BEST of all the characters. He was so cute with my kids! I told him that he was Stocktons FAVORITE an he did this:
Then he balanced a pen on Ty's head (above)
When we got to goofy they had the disney photographer there with a worker. The worker offered to take my camera so I could be in the picture. He then scooted back and said "why would you have a 50mm on in disneyland? (my lens for my camera- in all honesty its the best one for my new camera that I have and I didn't want to pay 100 to rent the one I really wanted to use) he wasn't really mean about it but I felt so dumb I didn't dare ask people to help take photos for us. I mean yeah he was right. A 35mm would have been way better or better yet a 24-70mm like I wanted to have but I lived.
We waited in the long line to meet Mickey. Something we have never done before.
Meeting Pluto- he was silly and covered Stock's face.
I made Stock ride thunder mountain with us. He is scared of fast rides but I just held onto him so he didn't slam into the side of the car. You do move really fast.
Tea cups some more- Brett's favorite ride once he came back to the park. We went on like 5 times.
This is main street USA. Notice anything missing at the end of the street? Yep- the castle is all covered up. The first day it was half covered and the second it was all the way with a brown tarp. So weird to not see that or be able to walk through. It was especially weird at night. That wasn't the only thing closed. Everything past the haunted mansion (below) was blocked off. So splash mountain, pooh corner and the winnie the pooh ride all closed. It's a small world- closed- peter pan- closed- matterhorn- closed. Which made the park feel really busy. We have been this time of year before and Tuesdays are usually really slow but not this year. It's the 60 anniversary celebration later this summer and It's my guess that they were getting ready for that. They had a huge section of cali adventure closed too. This year their was a measles outbreak that started from a idiot going with them disneyland in December and it gave them to some unvaccinated people who brought the home and shared it with their friends. We were hoping it would make people stay home. Guess not.
This Dale was kind of dumb. He never noticed Brett hugging him. Hello! Oh well.
Bryan and Blake walking into the tower of terror. Ty went on it before and Blake was too scared. He manned up on Day two.
So yeah, the guy was right. My 50 mm made this a hard shot to get. I couldn't scoot back far enough to get the whole picture.
I took the little boys on the toy story ride. The ride is always so long for it that we haven't been on this one since 2012 when I was pregnant with Brett. They really loved it.
A huge highlight of the trip was my boys decided to ride the California screamin' roller coaster. It goes upside down and everything. Last year Ty was too scared and Blake was too short. They have talked all year about going on this so Bryan took them. Not only did they go once but twice in a row. I'm glad I didn't have to do that. I would have been sick for sure even without the baby. They ended up going three times before our trip was done. It's good to see them be brave and proud of themselves for overcoming their fears. Bryan took a video on his phone of Ty on the whole ride. How Bryan didn't drop his phone I don't know but the video is awesome.
Bryan and I have a deal. I told him you have to get a picture at the front gate of disneyland every year it's tradition! I just do that later in the day and not when the park first opens. Then he isn't missing out on a small ride line somewhere. We have these things worked out. =)
We went up in the innovations things for the first time ever while Bryan took the other boys on space mountain. They had marvel super hero stuff up there and Brett and Stock liked it.
While waiting for the older boys to get off space mountain we saw pluto and since Brett missed most of the characters the day before we waited in the little line to see him. Brett was so cute. He totally went up and hugged all of the ones we saw.
It isn't very often we are in Disneyland at night. Bryan is super weird about it because he is done for the day by then. This year we finally had a fast pass for the cars ride and it wasn't until 6:40 so we were trying to kill time until then. I love Disney at night. It's so pretty all lit up. I also think that with my older boys so excited to do everything they could before our last night he was willing to stay longer for them.
The boys on the steps of the haunted mansion. Stockton favorite ride by far.
Bryan decided to take the little boys back to the hotel with about a hour until our fast pass time. They were totally done and we would have had to swap with Brett anyway. Stock was offered to stay but he didn't want to. So my big boys and I had some fun. I told them that their old pregnant mom was tired and they needed to be nice to me. According to a app on Bryan's phone we had walked about 11 miles that day by then. I figured in the end the older boys and I went about 13 miles. They were nice and let me take some pictures of them-
pointing to the roller coaster they went on three times this trip.
Hard to see but that's the tower of terror behind them.
We went on the radiator springs racers ride (my favorite) with our nice little fast pass, came out to find a little "dance party" going on in the streets on radiator springs which Ty jumped into. I have the best video of that. He was going nuts. Then we saw lightening and had to get a picture. I didn't know by this point Blake was about to pee his pants therefor the hand in this picture:
A super rare photo of me with the kids
And a couple of ride photos. Bryan has more on his phone.
Me with my camera and my hair flying. I took a video of the whole ride. This was the year of the videos for us. Bryan got some awesome movies on his phone and I got some really funny ones too. It takes too long to load them or I would put some on here.
Another awesome disney trip in the books! And we are already talking about going next year.
