Our Sweetest Mission: Disneyland

Disneyland is our family’s favorite place to go… mainly because of this quote. We have so many things going on in our lives: school, work, church callings, chores, etc. and it’s nice to be able to “leave today” and everything that comes with it behind for a little bit and have no worries. That’s what Disneyland does for us. Yes, we might be able to escape into the mountains or the beach as well, but we also like to “enter the world of yesterday, tomorrow, and fantasy.” No one quite does that like Disney. Disneyland is more than just characters and rides; it’s an experience like no other. Their attention to detail is unparalleled. Most people don’t recognize the little things, but everything in the park has a specific purpose and adds to the atmosphere. The color of the trash cans. How far the trashcans are spaced out from each other. No gum being sold at the park (because of the mess). The transitions of the walkway as you go from one land to another. The layout using the Partners statue as a hub, and everything else as an appendage to it. These are but a few of the small details that help make Disneyland what it is- “The Happiest Place on Earth.”

Now on to our trip…

This trip to Disneyland was our first that was geared more towards Santiago than to us. So a lot of the rides we went on, or places we went, were mainly for him (most of them anyways J).

When we got there we wanted to find a place that Santiago was able to walk around. This is a bit difficult because he is still so small, and there are so many people, we don’t want him to get trampled. We decided on the Big Thunder Ranch Petting Zoo. Neither of us had ever been, so it was going to be everyone’s first time, and we’re glad we went. It’s kind out of the way, so there aren’t many people. This was the perfect opportunity for Santiago to walk around. First we saw a donkey.

He looked very depressed and said. If he were able to talk, I’m sure he would’ve said, “Thanks for noticing me.” He was kind of boring, so we went on to the goats. They were MUCH more entertaining.

First he saw them from the outside. Then he started to pet them.

But that still wasn’t good enough, so he went into the pen with them.

After we were done with the petting zoo we went on a few different rides, and then explored Toontown. It turns out that there’s this little padded playground area for kids just around Santiago’s age, and he LOVED it.

As the day was coming to a close we decided to start heading back towards the main entrance, when we saw the cast of Modern Family. They were filming an episode and we got to see them all.

The next day started off really disappointing. We were at the hotel eating breakfast when one of the desk clerks told us that Disneyland had closed. Apparently there was a mysterious package left unattended by the entrance of Disneyland, so they weren’t letting anyone in or out. We had to find a way to kill some time, so we went to the Disney Character Warehouse and a park.

After a couple of hours, it turns out the package was nothing and Disneyland opened its doors. We went to the park and headed straight to the Blue Bayou for lunch.

The Blue Bayou is one of our favorite places to eat. The restaurant is inside the Pirates of the Caribbean ride and has a great ambience. The Mint Julep is incredible, as well as their Monte Cristo sandwich. The lunch was excellent until the very end, when Santiago got sick. We’re not sure what it was, but he was fine like 10 minutes later.

We decided to go to California Adventure and explore A Bug’s Land (which is geared towards little kids), and we’re glad we did. It was a very warm day, so they had on their little water fountains that kids could get wet with. Santiago had such a great time. We loved seeing him run around and get wet. I think more than anything he loved the excitement of all the kids that were there.