Keeping up with the Joneses: Disneyland, California Adventure Park, Legoland

Early this month we had a great time in southern California spending time with some of Christina's family visiting Disneyland, California Adventure Park and Legoland. We really had a blast exploring the three parks and trying to fit as much fun and adventure as possible into three days.

We started out in California Adventure Park with a somewhat sketchy beginning on the giant ferris wheel. The carriages would swing back and forth (much more drastically than it looked like from ground level) and Elijah totally freaked out and Carson turned pale. The 10 minutes on the wheel seemed like a couple of hours, but was actually kind of humorous once we were on solid ground. We had a great day meeting Disney and Pixar characters; riding lots of rides; getting face to face with life-sized Lightning McQueen and Tow Mater; seeing some cool shows; and eating good food. That night we ate dinner at Goofy's kitchen. It was another chance to meet more characters. Carson had not had a nap however, so he ate little and fell asleep at the table. (he did the same thing two nights later. These days were tiring for the little ones)

The next day we traveled south to Legoland. One section of this park is full of miniature versions of actual buildings and structures, made entirely of legos, such as New York City, Washington DC, Taj Mahal, the Eiffel Tower and Mount Rushmore. Someone put alot of time into these solid-lego displays. We also had fun on all of the rides in Legoland. Many of them that catered to young children. Carson had fun on them, but Elijah was a little too small for many of them, so sometimes it was frustrating for him to see Carson go on rides without him. We really enjoyed our day at Legoland and were fascinated by all the cool things made of legos.

The last day before heading home was spent in Disneyland. For as much as we loved the other parks, I think Disneyland was our favorite (it was mine, anyway). There really is something magical about Disneyland. Being there with our two boys and some of their young cousins made it even more special. Though it was a Friday and fairly crowded, we were able to see most of the park and go on many of the rides. Most of the rides don't have height restrictions, so all of us were able to spend alot of the day together going on the rides. (we made Pirates of the Caribbean our first, in order to avoid long waits later) Carson, throughout the entire trip, would be best described as having "cautious excitement" about the rides. After every ride I would ask him, "Did you have fun?" His response was always a fairly energetic "yeah." My next question was "Do you want to do it again?" His response was always a quiet "No." The one exception to this was the Buzz Lightyear ride, where riders were able to shoot a little Buzz Blaster gun while going through the ride. He went on that ride three times. Elijah also enjoyed the rides and never seemed too frightened by anything. That day we were also able to see a parade and fireworks show after dark. Disneyland clearly puts 100% into everything they do. We look forward to going back.

The trip went way too fast, but it was nice to spend time with grandma and grandpa Candland, the Huthchings, Leah, Shani and Bryce.

Here are some of the 300 photos we took:

The family outside the entrance to California Adventure Park...