Rik and I have always been excited at the thought of taking Alessa & Caleigh to Disneyland. He and I went to Disneyland for a portion of our honeymoon & it was there that Rik had his "I want THAT moment at Disneyland". We were sitting in front of the statue of Walt & Mickey silhouetted by Sleeping Beauty's castle. A ways in front of us stood a dad, with his little one on his shoulders. Partially through the firework show, the little one draped her arms around Daddy's neck and placed her cheek ever so gently on the top of his head. Rik was hooked. Come to think of it, that may have been the moment he decided he wanted little ones of his own :)We've always debated when to take the girls for the first time. In my opinion, any younger than 4 and Mickey is still just a giant scary rat. You should have heard little 2 year old Caleigh SCREAM when the poor guy in the Rudolph costume walked by during the Christmas tree lighting ceremony. Some of my first, though very fuzzy, memories start when I was 5 or 6. So we agreed that 5 would be a good age & decided that the likely "first time" would be in the fall of 2010.
However, fate has interceded. Laura, all but a sister to me, asked the girls to be her flower girls in her wedding in October (they'll be 4) down in the Long Beach area (within 45 minutes of Dinseyland). We thought to ourselves, "it seems such a waste to be ALL the way down in Southern California just to have to spend the gas money AGAIN the next year". Hear the chipping sound? That's my resolve. Apparently the Santa that visits my parents' house heard it loud & clear as well. Under the tree this past Christmas, we found 2-day park hopper tickets for our family :::chipchipchip::: And to top it all off, we'll be staying at the timeshares that my aunt & uncle belong to so our lodging and food costs will be very minimal :::shatter:::
So we're going to Disneyland after Laura & Ryan's wedding. :) We've delved into the plans wholeheartedly. From watching the little snippets on the travel channel to picking up travel brochures; making a huge deal when a Disney commercial comes on the television to pointing out everything in their story books; making a mouse shaped mark on the kitchen wall and measuring the girls against it for the past 8 months to introducing them to the classic movies (Cinderella, Peter Pan, Song of the South... just kidding) - we're ramping the girls up for the trip. The Taylors are in full fledged Disney mode.
For the most part, it has proven to be a valuable bribery tool. "Girls, you need to eat your green beans/corn/carrots so you can grow strong and tall so you can go..." "TO DISLEYLAND!!!" Yes, they call it Disleyland. It's terribly cute. However, even the most carefully laid plans can come back to smack you in the face.
We were driving in the van the other day trying desperately to finish our errands. The girls had been very patient.
"Alright girls, we have one more stop and then we're going to go home for dinner."
"No, Mommy," Alessa responds, "we're going to Fresh Choice for dinner."
"No, Honey. We're not going to Fresh Choice tonight."
:::enter Disney commercial::: And with the pleading, glisten-y eyes of the very best cartoon princess, she retorts with...
"We are if you just BELIEVE!!!"
:::sigh::: No more travel channel specials for a while.
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