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!