Lucy - ready for school, with her hair in little pig tails.Los Angeles, California: Leo has vacation from school all week, but Lucy had school today. Dave and I thought this would be the perfect opportunity to spend a day alone with Leo, with the added benefit of giving Lisa a kid-free day. Lisa wanted to have some time to grocery shop and prep foods for Thanksgiving. It was a win-win for everyone except Lenny (work) and Lucy (school). Of course, it wasn't a complete "win" for Dave, Leo and myself because nearly every kid in the greater Los Angeles is free from class all week and we can't imagine how many people have traveled to Southern California for the holiday.
Disneyland was crowded. Really crowded. It was 90 degrees.
Driving 30 minutes, parking, going through security, riding the tram to the park, standing in line to purchase tickets, and walking into the Magic Kingdom took two hours! The first thing on Leo's list was the Jedi show, so we watched the good kids win over the dark force bad guys (Darth Vader and Kylo Ren). (I learned bad guys use red light sabers and good guys use green.) Next up, Dave and Leo rode the rocket ships in Tomorrow Land.
Our route then took us over to Adventure Land. We boarded the boats on the Jungle Cruise that traverse the Nile and Amazon rivers (on the same magical cruise) and managed to survive the ride without being eaten by tigers, piranhas or hippos.
In this same area, Leo played for nearly an hour in the tree house and we rode the famous Pirates of the Caribbean boat float.
Snack time! Sadly, it is already Christmas in Disneyland. Christmas decorations, Christmas music, Christmas everything. So many "guests" were wearing Christmas clothing.It's not even Thanksgiving.
We spent much of the afternoon in Fantasyland, where the rides are kinder and gentler (choo-choo trains, carousels, Pinocchio and Dumbo rides) and lines were only 15 minutes long.
Leo was a trooper. We often had to wait in line between 30-75 minutes for a popular attraction. He never complained, but busied himself climbing on (fake) rock walls or fences.
After dark, we were back in Tomorrow Land, riding the submarine and waiting for-freaking-ever to drive the cars of Autopia.
Why are the "cars of the future" running on stinky gas engines?Our last ride of the evening was all the way back to Thunder Mountain Railroad. We had to wait one hour. Leo was getting tired. We were all hungry. This was the first time Leo had been tall enough to ride the roller coaster on Thunder Mountain. He loved it. He loved it. He loved it. Leo thought this was the best ride ever and was so happy he waited in line.
Whew.
Leo was just a delight all day - 9 hours in Disneyland - and so well behaved. The reason our day worked and the reason we had so much fun (besides the fact we were together) is we set rules for the day for Leo.
1. We will not carry you.
2. Any time Bubbe wants to wash your face or hands with a wet wipe, you must succumb.
3. No toys or souvenirs.
4. You can break one rule.
Y'all know which rule he chose to break... and he also chose a little stuffed kitty for his sister. After our big day, we had a decent dinner in Downtown Disney... before beginning the reverse trek via the tram to the parking structure. Leo changed into his jammies in the car, climbed into his booster seat and was asleep before we left the parking area.Until my next update, I remain, your "another trip to Disneyland without a photo of me" correspondent.