Little Ladybug's Journey: DISNEYLAND TRIP 2013

Where do I begin...We had the trip of a lifetime for Emily's 7th birthday. We have been planning this trip with JuJu, Emily, our aunt Pam, and myself since this past June.The day finally arrived on Monday, October 7th. I surprised Emily with a new Princess Sofia backpack for the plane. It was filled with all new Princess activities, Princess fruit snacks, etc. to help keep her occupied on the plane. She also had a new Princess shirt to wear and new Ariel coat for the trip. We had to wake her up at 5 a.m. to get ready, and she was more than happy to get up and get ready. We got picked up by our wonderful driver Bill at 5:45 a.m. and we were off.

When we arrived at Disneyland after a great flight on Jetblue, we met Pam at the Long Beach airport , and we rode the shuttle together to the Disneyland Hotel...A GREAT PLACE to stay!

Our room wasn't ready yet, so they gave us a beeper to let us know when it would be ready, and we had the bellman hold our stuff and headed off to the happiest place on earth.

We had a good time walking through Downtown Disney and heading into the great place itself! It was so fun to see everything decorated for Halloween. Emily was kind of overwhelmed at first as it was very crowded like a summer day and 85 degrees. We just started out by walking around, letting her take it all in. She waited in line for 45 minutes to meet Tinker Bell, and then we went on the Astro Orbiter ride. She loved that! Her first ride at Disneyland!! She also met Captain Hook and Peter Pan as well that first day. We also watched a great performance of Tangled...Rapunzel. Very cute show! We did the It's a Small World ride and the tea cups ride. We then headed back to the hotel room where Emily had another surprise that I had ordered for her to be waiting there. A Princess basket of goodies! We were all tired from a long travel day, getting up early, etc., so we ordered room service, which Emily LOVED!!!

All the days of our trip we got to go to the parks an hour before they opened to the public, which was a GREAT way to get in the rides we wanted before they got too busy. This meant though, getting up at 5:45 everyday, but SO WORTH IT!!!

During our week long stay, we were able to go on the Radiator Springs Racers, Matterhorn, Peter Pan's Flight, Dumbo, Ariel's Undersea Adventure, Astro Blasters, Tarzan's Treehouse, Soarin' Over California, Goofy's Sky School, Pirates of the Caribbean, It's a Small World, Indiana Jones, Mater's Junkyard Jamboree, the Astro Orbiter, Splash Mountain, Grizzly River Run, and MANY MORE.
We also saw the following GREAT, GREAT shows...Rapunzel, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, Mickey's Magical Map, and Disney Junior. These were all FABULOUS shows, but the one that was the BEST was World of Color at California Adventure. WOW!!!! A MUST for those of you who haven't seen it yet!

If you were to ask Emily her favorite part, she will undeniably say the "Princesses and my birthday."

She had new Princess pajamas to wear each night, a new Princess shirt to wear each day, and the day of her birthday was a day no little girl would ever forget!

She woke up and said, "I'm 7 now?", we all said "Yes, you are." She then said, "I'm not 6 no more, YEAH!"We had hung a banner in our room while she slept and she got to open a couple new gifts before heading off for the day of festivities.

We were able to get in some rides and meeting Tinker Bell again before her Princess appointment at the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique. When we arrived, her Fairy Godmother took her around the shop and let her choose any dress she wanted. She chose a very beautiful blue Ariel dress. Then she got to go put it on and sit in the chair for her beauty appointment. She got her hair done, her nails painted, makeup, a sparkly sticker for her face, and magic Fairy Godmother dust for her hair. Then she got to have a photo shoot. After we got our photos, we were taken by the Fairy Godmother to meet the Princesses with Emily's autograph book. We got to "cut" in the front of the line because of the package we had purchased at the boutique. SO WORTH it as there was a 1 1/2 hour wait to see the Princesses.

Then we headed to California Adventure and to Ariel's Grotto for lunch! You have never seen a more excited little girl than Emily when we entered and she saw Ariel waiting to greet people wearing the exact same dress Emily had on!!!!! During lunch, different Princesses would make a grand entrance and go to each table to meet each little Princess! Then she had a surprise cake and everyone sing to her! SO SPECIAL!

The day we left, we checked out then left our things with the bellman, and hung out by the pool until time to go to the airport! What a trip!! I could go on forever, but I know you all just want to see the photos! There are A LOT so be sure to see all the Disneyland posts.
Love,
Kathy