The Magic Kingdom

I don't know if it is nesting or OCD or what- but I am on a mission to get in some important childhood activities with Lucy before Baby Boy arrives. High, very high, let's say at the top of my list was Disneyland. So yesterday, with great fanfare, Lucy and I headed on over to Anaheim with her friend Hudson for a day at the Magic Kingdom, where castles and princesses were promised in abundance.

What fun! It's such an amazing place to take kids and so geared towards fascinating their little imaginations. We hit up most of Main Street, Fantasyland and Toontown in our 6 hour visit. Naps were skipped, I carried her the entire time hugely pregnant and with some serious back issues, but these minor hindrances were completely irrelevant (until last night).

Someones eyes lit up very big when she spotted the Princess Castle upon entering the park. The carousel was a big hit because of the horsies, though about half way through the ride, Lucy deemed them a little terrifying. The Peter Pan ride was a big bust. Lucy screamed and cried the entire time, while I whispered how brave she was, and when we got off, she announced over and over, "I DID IT! I'm SO BRAVE! I DID IT!" It was very cute. Dumbo was fun for most of the ride. It's a Small World and the Storybook ride were HUGE hits with repeat rides demanded. The Choo Choo train was also a big hit. Toon Town was a blast- but way too packed, and Lucy got a little annoyed, because she just wanted to drive the toon cars and they are popular photo stops for all the other tourists so she wasn't able to monopolize them the way she truly wanted to. She did get to meet Mickey Mouse and give him a hug. We were lining up for the Finding Nemo submarine ride when both Lucy and Hudson conked out- so we took it as our cue to beat the rush hour traffic, stopping by the Emporium on our way out to pick up the requisite keepsake (this was a big tradition in my family growing up). Lucy's is a surprise (particularly since she was asleep during the transaction) to be passed out at either birthday or Christmas... both which are rapidly approaching!

The big bust of the day? Not ONE princess was out and about to meet. They even have a show where all the Disney princesses are featured but they had "no shows playing today." Guess we'll just have to go back!

I don't know if I had more fun than Lucy- but it was a very very fun day. Completely makes Lucy's non-napped sleep of last night (i.e. non-existent), and my current walk and posture that is reminiscent of the Hunchback of Notre Dame totally and completely worth it.

Another big hit? Hudson has a DVD player in his car- so my little one was glued to the TV the entire trip there and back. She will not be getting one of these for her car. Books, 20 Questions and the license plate game will have to be her entertainment. Once we ween her off the iPad...