To All That Come to This Happy Place:

Welcome!

There's a reason that "Disney Magic" has come to mean a special kind of magic all its own. I don't know if it's the people or the ideals, or the Pixie Dust, but Disneyland has always been special for our family. One might think that with as many times as our family has been to Disneyland (can you say Magic Music Days?), that it would get old after a while. Not so for the Partridge's. With much thanks to Grandma and Grandpa, the magic and excitement we enjoyed as kids we are passing on to the next generation. With each trip comes the promise of a new adventure, and this trip definitely delivered.

** Long post ahead -- "Properly warned ye be, says I" **

Usually when we do Disneyland, we painstakingly lay out a strategy for getting the absolute most out of our time in the park. However, with so many people and plenty of time, we took a more relaxed approach this trip. The best part about having a large and diverse group is that it's easy to divide and conquer. Small people can do small people rides, big people do big people rides, with plenty of mixing and matching of aunts, uncles, grandparents, and cousins. In a nutshell, everyone got to do everything they wanted, with the people they most wanted to do it!

On Wednesday morning, we did Toontown first, and Joshua got his first taste of rollercoasters. They weren't terribly fast, nor were they terribly big, but it was a lot for him to process for his first time. I was afraid he would be hesitant to go on more rides after that, but the excitement soon eclipsed the fear, and he was on to smaller and better things. "It's a Small World" was next on the list -- a nice quiet contrast to the manic attack that is Toontown. I like this one because there is a lot for the kids to see, and the entire group can go on it.

Not everyone enjoys the teacups, but they are one of my specialties. This time I took Bradley, Bryson, and Nathan with me. My job was to spin the wheel, and their job was to keep the ever-increasing G-forces from launching them from the cup! I defy anyone to spin one of those cups faster than I can; the only exception being when Chris, Brett, and I are in the cup together. If those things weren't bolted down. . .

I need to pause here to give a shout-out to Kaley and Chase for being the rotating adoptive parents during the trip. They were so good to take small and not-so-small groups on rides, carry kids on backs, and in general be extra hands, feet, eyes, and mouse-ears. I hope they had as much fun with the kids as the kids did with them.

The rest of the day we casually did rides as we walked past them, based on what everyone was in the mood for. After Dad, Nathan, Benjamin and I went on Space Mountain, we asked Benjamin what he thought. He put on his serious little Benjamin face, and I quote: "A little cool, a little too fast; I'm going to try again tomorrow."

The last time we went to Disneyland Joshua was only a few months old. Even though this time there was still a lot he couldn't do, it was so much fun to see the pure excitement in his eyes as he discovered the magic of the Magic Kingdom. It was also nice that Jennifer had a little buddy for the smaller rides, because she is too pregnant to do much of what she normally likes.

As the daylight began to fade, we headed back to the room to get cleaned up and put the little ones to bed. However, the day couldn't end without a little nighttime Disney. Earlier we had gotten a bunch of Fast Passes to Indiana Jones, so Nathan and I headed back into the park to meet up with a few others. Here Nathan learned his first lesson in ride planning and line management at Disneyland.

We had plenty of time before we wanted to meet everyone at Indiana Jones, and Nathan wanted to go on Space Mountain again. I was happy to oblige, so we headed up the ramp and to the end of the line. Now, as far as Disneyland lines go, this one was not bad at all, especially for Space Mountain. We couldn't get all the way into the actual building, but it was still single-file up at the top. Before we arrived at Space Mountain, we noticed that there was absolutely no line for Star Tours, and I had suggested maybe we do that first. Once we were in line for Space Mountain, however, it was clear that this was the right line to be in, and we could do Star Tours after. It was at this point that Nathan decided he would rather leave the line and go do Star Tours instead (that desire for instant gratification will get you every time). I explained the two options, and he picked Star Tours, so that's what we did.

Star Tours was great, and we got through it really fast. Meanwhile, Kaley and Chase caught up and were getting in line at Space Mountain. In the short time that Nathan and I were gone, the line had significantly increased, and by the time we got back, Kaley and Chase were way ahead of us in line -- along with several hundred other people. Kaley and Chase graciously offered to let us get in line with them, but we would be leapfrogging so many people it just didn't seem right. And it gave me more time to talk with Nathan, both about choices and consequences, and life in general. I honestly don't regret that he and I had to spend so much more time in line together.

By the time we finished at Space Mountain, we were really pushing the deadline on our Fast Passes, so we booked it over to Indiana Jones and met up with Brett, Chris, Kaley, and Chase. We had enough passes to go on it twice in a row (another advantage of coming with a large group -- you can use the little kids' tickets to get a ton of Fast Passes they can't use), and Nathan had a great time. We ended the night on Big Thunder before finally calling it a day.

Thursday we started the day off early in Fantasyland, and I was surprised by how many of the kids wanted to go on the Matterhorn. After a couple of hours we wandered over to California Adventure for lunch and more rides/shows. We must have picked just the right spot, because we saw a whole bunch of characters and got some great photos. We also found the Monsters, Inc. ride, and the kids absolutely loved it -- so much so, we went on it several times in a row! I still can't believe how much we lucked out with the crowds and the weather. It's been fairly overcast so far, with just a threat of rain, and a lot of CA schools aren't out yet, so we almost feel like we've got the parks to ourselves.

Over on Paradise Pier there is a new ride called Midway Mania, and it is a total blast. Anytime you combine a ride with a game, you're probably going to have a winner. This one is a 3D computer generated state-fair type shooter game with a whole bunch of stations populated by all the Toy Story characters. For anyone going planning on visiting California Adventure, Midway Mania is definitely a must.

Another attraction I haven't been to before is the Redwood Creek Challenge Trail. It's basically a giant nature-based playground. Among other things, there's a huge multi-level network of forts and tree houses that rise several stories above the ground. Probably the kids' favorite part was the tire zipline. Unfortunately, we got all the way through to the front before discovering that Benjamin didn't quite meet the height requirement, even standing on his tip-toes. On the other hand, I'm sure this is far from our last trip to Disneyland!

While we were waiting for the rest of the group, Benjamin decided to climb around the California letters. I started taking pictures, and he got into some very creative poses in the middle of the giant "O".

Friday morning Mom and Dad surprised us with a character breakfast at the Paradise Pier Hotel. The food was great, and the kids got a hula lesson from none other than Lilo and Stitch.

After breakfast we all piled in the cars and drove south to Legoland in Carlsbad. Some of the cousins had been there before, but our kids hadn't. I was impressed with the size of the park, and the variety of activities. As expected, there are a lot of places where kids can just play and build. There is one ride that you pedal above a good part of the park that looked fun, so Nathan, Benjamin and I got in line to wait. Turns out, there were probably much better ways we could have used our time. The line moved very slowly, we were waiting in the sun, and the ride just didn't live up to the hype in the end. I was afraid after that the boys would start complaining and want to go back to Disneyland. However, we met up with everyone else for lunch, and the fun picked up significantly after that.

In the middle of the park is a large water area. The weather again worked in our favor, as it was the sunniest day of the trip. The kids changed into their swimsuits and we cut them loose. The smallest of the small stayed close to the adults, and the older ones ventured off to the huge pirate ship area.

While at the pirate ship, we discovered that it has several large collectors that fill with water and the dump out on unsuspecting guests below. Nathan and Benjamin were a little hesitant when they saw the biggest bucket empty out, but Uncle Brett showed them it was all good fun!

On our way out of the park, we passed the most impressive Lego creation I have ever seen. That's right, it was the Dark Lord of the Sith himself, along with R2-D2. There were actually a few people who wanted pictures of just the creations without any family members!

After getting back to the hotel, we had a nice stroll around Downtown Disney and grabbed pizza and Jamba Juice for dinner. We got the kids settled in bed around 8:30, and I was planning on tucking in as well. Just then, Brett texted and said there was no line for Astro Blasters, and he had already been on it twice. I mentioned before how much we enjoyed Midway Mania, but personally, I like Astro Blasters better. We've struggled for some time to break the 200,000 point mark, but Brett came through for us. He happened to ride behind a couple of guys that both scored above 450,000, and they gave him the secret -- a hidden target in the middle of Zurg's chest worth 50,000 points a hit! Chris and I caught up with Brett and rode 3 1/2 times in a row (thank you no lines!), and our scores were fantastic.

I say 3 1/2 times, because on our 4th time through the ride broke down. At first the cars just stopped, but the game was still on, so we plugged away racking up points. After a couple of minutes the whole thing shut down and the lights came on -- and we were well on our way to 1,000,000 points! The cast members unlocked the cars and let us walk around while they wrote out "Super Fast Passes" for all of us. One of them started talking about the secret Zurg target, so we pressed him for more secrets. He told us about some of the ins and outs of the ride, but wouldn't give up any more secret locations. However, I'm sure (with the help of Google) we can dig up any others that may be evading us. The three of us did Big Thunder and then Space Mountain, and noticed that Astro Blasters was open again. Our last two times throught were 11:51 pm and 11:57 pm. I think we're addicted.

On Saturday morning I was fortunate that we started in Tomorrowland, and the boys wanted to go on Astro Blasters a couple of times. Our second time through I scored my personal best of 689,000, and made #5 on the Top 10 board! Sure, it was only 10 am and I knew that score wouldn't stay there all day, but it was still fun to have my name in lights.

When I was little we would always try to stand at the head of the line to ride in the very front car of the Monorail. The boys thought that was a fantastic idea, and the driver just couldn't resist their cuteness. It was great sitting up front seeing the whole park stretched out ahead and below us. We also got to chat with the driver about cool Monorail trivia.

Having been on pretty much everything at least once, we slowed it down Saturday afternoon for one of the parades. We got there in plenty of time and got great seats on the curb. All the kids joked and played really nicely, and I actually dozed a little while we waited for the parade to start!

True to form, several of us stayed out late and closed down California Adventure and almost Disneyland itself. Nathan and Benjamin stayed with me, and Jennifer took Joshua shopping for souveneirs. We did as many of the big rides as we could squeeze in before finally waving a big mouse wave goodbye. A huge thank-you to Mom and Dad for making this trip happen. We are certainly not a perfect family, but I can't think of another set of siblings that feel closer to each other than we do. It wasn't always like that growing up, but Mom and Dad always taught us that brothers and sisters should be the best friends in the world, and I definitely feel that we are. Trips like Hawaii and Disneyland are so much better because of the closeness that we feel as a family. Next up -- 4th of July Utah style!

Are We There Yet?

During Christmas vacation, as we were all sitting around at Chris' house, Mom and Dad announced that they were planning a trip to the Happiest Place on Earth, and we were all invited! Since the drive from Mesa to Anaheim is only about 6 hours, the AZ crew drove, while Brett's and my family flew in. Brett and I worked out travel times, and planned to arrive in the late afternoon -- plenty of time in the morning to finish last-minute packing and errands, and also plenty of time in the evening if we wanted to go to the park for a few hours. Ah, the best laid plans.

I'm usually very careful about details, but the trip out was going to be so relaxed, I didn't pay quite as close attention as I should have. After a nice slow morning, I worked with the boys to finish packing while Jennifer took care of some errands. We had a nice leisurely lunch and finally piled in the car around 1:40 pm, for our 3:55 flight. Or so I thought it was 3:55. Brett called just as we were heading out to say he was running a little late, and wondered where we were. I casually commented that we also had a late start, but not to worry, we had until almost 4 o'clock. That's when Brett brought me to reality -- 3:55 was the arrival time; the plane was departing at 3:00! The last time I checked the ticket I had looked at the wrong time, and because of the time difference, nothing seemed out of the ordinary.

All of a sudden our casual drive to the airport was a mad dash up I-15 as fast as I thought I could go without getting pulled over. Since we were checking bags, we had to be at the counter no later than 2:30, when the close the flight. Brett called as they arrived at the airport to say they were going to park in short-term parking because they didn't think they would make it otherwise. I still felt like we would be OK, so we went to long term and tried (in vain, it felt like) to find a parking place. Finally we found one and ran towards the bus stop, just in time to see a bus pulling away. The five minutes between buses was almost physically painful. I kept checking the time trying to convince myself we would still make it.

We got to the terminal and ran to a kiosk to check in. Denied. Since we were checking bags and it was now 2:31 the computer had cut us off. We stood in line until the man behind the counter said, "Oh, I'm not open, you'll have to go down there." and pointed to the First Class counter. Now, you would think that since Salt Lake is a Delta hub, they would have more than 1 1/2 people working the vast number of check-in counters. Not at 2:30 on a Tuesday, apparently. By the time it was our turn, it was 2:37, and we were just too late. Worse still, there was not enough room on the 4:45 flight, so we would have to wait until the 8:40 flight.


I should pause here and admit that this was totally and completely my fault. We had plenty of chances for this to work out well for us -- I could have actually read the ticket correctly, we could have left earlier, I could have checked us all in online before we left, I could have driven faster (maybe), we could have parked in the short-term lot, we could have made the first bus, and on and on. So, it just wasn't meant to be. On the bright side, since we didn't make our flight, there were two extra rows that Brett and Stephanie were able to use, giving them plenty of room for their two lap children. I hope they enjoyed the flight. :)


We passed the next several hours at the play area, eating dinner, and waiting by the 4:45 gate to see if perhaps there would be enough room for us. To the boys' credit, they were very well behaved during our unexpected "layover". I got standby tickets for all of us on the 4:45 flight, even though the gate agent said there was no way we could get on. As they began boarding, I kept listening to all the names they called over the PA system. It seemed like quite a few people had still not boarded and I started to get hopeful. At one point I even called Jennifer and had her bring the boys down to the gate just in case. In the end, there were four seats open on the flight. Yes, we really were just one seat short. I even asked if we could put Joshua on our lap or ride in the cockpit! I suppose I could have gone on with the boys and left Jennifer to catch the next flight, but we decided to stick together.


So, a little downtrodden, we made our way to the 8:40 gate and waited patiently for several more hours. The boys talked, colored, watched for planes, and Nathan and I got in several games of Banqi. To add insult to injury, just about the time we expected them to start boarding, we looked up and saw the flight time was changed from 8:40 to 9:10. By the end of the day we realized that we had spent more time in the airport than the AZ crew spent in the car driving! Not the greatest start to our trip to the Magic Kingdom, but we eventually arrived at the hotel, welcomed by Mom and Dad and a goodie basket for the week -- just the "spoonful of sugar" we needed!