Day 4 : We take on Disneyland!

We dedicated a full day to Disneyland. It was such an exciting day that everyone looked forward to. I always enjoy Disney and I know the children were stoked too. We had a simple breakfast at home just to fill our tummies (note to self: Starbucks cup coffee sold at marts does not taste nice) and off we went!


It was a short bus ride (4 stops) away to the main bus station; and the Disney gang - the sister and her busband, the Mother, the children and me - set off. The bus came and in no time, we were on our way. The weather this morning was slightly wet (post rain), the sun was up and it felt nice and the temperature just right.


The husband and the Father opted out from Disney and they planned their small adventures on their own. It turned out to be a good break for them from us and I think it worked out very well for all of us. -thumbs up-


On the stroll off the bus to the entrance of Disney, it felt really festive. There were many people all dressed up in Disney-gear, large throngs of people of all ages and it just felt so happy. I was so excited! It was just past 9am (opening hour) and we were right on track of our day's plan. YAYYYY

Waiting in line to get through the gates

Listening intently to instructions - where do we go!

Again, the sister had a plan. She and her busband researched this beautiful concept called the fast pass and for the first time ever that I have been going to Disney in the past years with my children, I used the fast pass and got to take rides that are outside of toddler-land! WOOT! We grabbed the first pass for this super ride - Space Mountain. It was an hour before our turn, so we turned the corner and went on this ride Star Tours. It kinda looked like something Star-Wars-y and there was practically no line and I'm so thrilled to say that within an hour of us stepping into the theme park, we were on our first ride. Oh yeahhhh

#1 Star Tours

I sent the above pic to our family chat, and got the below response:

"We are also on our first ride"

That made me LOL. The duo were on their way on their foodie adventures, and it felt so good that everyone was having a good time. The first ride was a simulation-type and even though we did not understand Japanese, it was still a fun ride.


Our #2 was Space Mountain! We proudly used our fast pass and whizzed through the line. May I just say that this feeling feels absolutely victorious - happy dance-

oh yeah.

I have heard of this Space Mountain ride but had not much impression of ever taking it before (apparently I have, said Mom) but this time, with the boy with me; it felt a bit of a rush. It was pitch dark and it was kinda pretty with fairy lights, as if we were really in space (if that how it really is like) but I felt a bit disconcerted not knowing where we were going. It was so dark that I could not even see my fingers when I put them up in front of my face. The boy felt a bit shocked I think but we all made it unscathed.


No time to waste, so off we moved for our next ride - Monsters Inc!

Short-enough queue that moved pretty quickly

The ride was adorable - we had to use torches to spy for monsters in the cupboards and home. I kinda watched the movie (bits) before so I found it pretty cute. It wasn't scary nor fast; and we wasted little time moving on. After this ride, the boy spied the ride Buzz lightyear and wanted to take it, so we did. The downside was that the queue was really looooong and time passes really quickly when you're having fun because it was already late morning and we felt a bit peckish.


While I stood in line, Mom entertained the kids by leaving the queue and bringing them to get snacks, I brought them to take pics, the sister and her busband took the chance to get our next fast pass ride... and we all regrouped at Buzz Lightyear (it was a long queueeeee) to take the ride.

Aliens - all of them :P

This ride seated 3-people in one vehicle and we split up - kids with the B and the ladies altogether. One person sits in the middle and steers the vehicle, the other 2 sit on the side and shoot aliens. Mom was the steerer (who didn't steer!) and the sister and I were shooters (who tried our best to shoot properly). While we all tried our best, let's just say our vehicle did not score the highest (yes, the kids beat me with their scores).


After this ride, we made a decision to move away from this land (yes, all morning was spent in this zone) and headed to another land...

We couldn't drive the car so still had to walk on foot haha

We also got distracted by shops

Mickey and Minnie

At this point, the husband sent us a pictorial update:

Duo also waiting in line... for their food

It was truly time to fill our tummies, and so we did a stopover.

Overpriced hotdogs and chips and fizzy drinks

Our lunch view was the beautiful castle and we definitely had to do a memorial shot right there.

Best bunch of people in the world

With my munchkins

Post lunch, the sister had to fulfil her churros craving (it only took her 10 years to come back here).

Churros crew

We kept walking and moved on with more rides... but not before continuing to stuff our faces.

Ice-cream pitstop



Choo Choo

All aboard!

The boy truly velcroed himself to the B cos they tight like that #teamsweaty


In between the snacks, we boarded the pirate's ship (of the Caribbean) then the choo-choo train that provided us with a birds' eye view of the whole park as it looped around the perimeter. It was relaxing and while it doesn't sound like we did much, we had been our feet all morning -groans-


We then joined the short-ish queues for Snow White (short and swift around the evil Witch's haven), and the sister fulfilled her love affair to reunite with Dumbo.

Enroute to Dumbo

Spot the big kid

The B and I opted out from Dumbo and we hung around chit-chatting and waiting for them. There was a haunted house across Dumbo and he was teasing me to go in but I declined politely. Horror is not my thing. At this point, it was about 4 or 5pm and it was time for the parade. I LOVE the parade as it is such a happy affair but no one seemed to share my enthusiasm. Instead, they opted to join the queue for horror house and after some tug-of-war between yes or no, the boy said he still wanted to go to the horror house so I joined in the line too. While in the queue, the music for the parade started up and the boy changed his mind. Happily, I brought him to watch the parade.

Love how he still waves at the characters :)

My baby boy and I

The horror crew managed to catch the tail end of the parade as they stepped out from the ride, which was supposedly not too horrific.


It was late afternoon by now and we were all tired. At this point, we had accomplished 9 rides, had junk food, and walked miles and miles. We still had our fast pass for Splash Mountain to use, and at this point we decided to join the line for Winnie the Pooh.

It took us forever to get to the inside of the house - wails-

Happiness to finally be at the front

This line was probably the most painful. It was long, and slow and it was also many hours since we started our day (8 hours!). While this ride wasn't scary, it was still very pretty and nice as we whizzed about on teacups within the book pages of Winnie and his friends.

Next and final ride of the day: Splash Mountain.

Mersmerised

This, like Space Mountain, was a very popular ride and it was an amazing decision to have secured the fast pass for this. It was also a really good ride - probably my favourite! - as it had the right balance of scenic story views (of the rabbit and his adventures) and thrill (the splash and vehicular turns were yay!). It truly was a nice finale to our day.


By this point, it was darkfall and we were famished. We had not had proper food all day and we were ready to eat something properly. We headed to the main street where there were restaurants and it felt so comfortable to sit down and be served warm food.

Mickey jelly, anyone?

How about Mickey waffles?

We were suitably energized after filling our tummies, and we stayed on in the park for the fireworks (8.30pm) and light show (9+pm). We only left the park right at the end and it was truly an amazinggggggg day! Fireworks were something we have caught before and it's a classic that never gets old; but it's the first time we're catching the lights show and it is so pretty. As tired as I was, my spirits were super high.


We took a bus back and when we got back, the kids were happily and loudly and enthusiastically sharing their day with their father and grandpa. It was so nice. It did not take them long to crash.. it was indeed an eventful day.
The adults stayed up to chat abit, the sister discovered that we had taken about 13,000 steps that day (explains my achey legs) and we also savoured the yummilicious cookie snack that the duo queued and got for us to enjoy. Besides this lovely treat of a special cookie, the manly duo also went to secure the 3-day train passes! It turned out to be one of the best things ever as it brought so much convenience to us all. Woot.

Yum.

We worked hard for our beers tonight

I didn't remember that Disneyland doesn't serve beers, which would have been a nice pick-me-up mid-day. But we did make it through and enjoyed ourselves thoroughly, so this proves that we are not alcoholics #justsaying


That night, I truly felt like I could not walk anymore... it felt so victorious to have conquered #11 rides in all in 1 day at Disneyland - it is truly a record for us! #WIN. I cannot say it enough that it was a truly, nice and happy day at the happiest place in the world!


Read the sister's account of Disney here.