So I'm pretty sure we pulled off the best surprise EVER!!! We have been to Disneyland several times but it had been a few years and the kids had been asking to go for months... It wasn't really in the plans anytime soon as we have been saving for our sabbatical this summer. Well... Andy got an email for a great deal to stay at The Grand Californian Hotel {which is right in California Adventure} and he sprung the idea of maybe taking a quick trip to Disneyland. We decided to do it but we were going to do it right this time... we decided not to tell the kids!
The morning we were leaving, we had to leave around 5am. I packed the kids that night after they went to bed and we woke them up literally after the car was packed and we were heading out the door. We told them we were going to Idaho??? Not sure why but it seemed like a good destination... They had no idea... It wasn't until we got near Palm Spring that I thought our plan might be ruined! We had to stop at a car dealership to get something fixed on the under carriage of the car. As we waited in the lobby I saw Hayden looking at newspapers and watching the news, to my surprise, he didn't notice that California was splashed everywhere! As we drove through Palm Springs he made comments about the big white turbines and said how weird it was that they had the,m in Idaho, just like California...
Every time I saw a sign that said LA or California, I would hold up my pillow in front of me so Hayden wouldn't notice... Oh my goodness, the one time I didn't do it he saw a sign for Anaheim!!!! Ah... We convinced him that there is an Anaheim in Idaho - he totally bought it. Then he saw a little amusement park and mentioned that he had seen the same one near Disneyland... uh oh... The kicker was when we were REALLY close he saw a McDonald's wit ha California flag ans asked why there would be a CA flag in Idaho. We explained that the owner must be originally from CA. He said that was really rude. We were really close by now and decided to let Hayden look out the windows when he noticed the Tower of Terror! He was sooo excited and started telling Bryn and Zac that we were at Disneyland!!!!! He was worried that Andy';s Aunt and Uncle might be disappointed that we weren't in Idaho to see them, but he didn't really care too much!
The kids in the Hotel with their Welcome Balloons!
The Gorgeous sliding doors of the hotel
The kids asleep on our first night -they were out cold in a matter of minutes! All I can say is that it will be hard to ever go back to staying in the cheap hotels! This hotel is amazing!!! And so convenient....
The whole Family on Dumbo!
The boys in line for Peter Pan
The girls in line for Peter Pan... I might add that we never go on Peter Pan - it always has the longest line! But - When you stay at the hotel, you get some early entries into the park - so worth it for the rides that always have such long lines and no fast passes!
We never wait to see Mickey in his house but the line only had two people in front of us so we jumped at the chance!
Riding on It's a Small World
Outside It's a Small World - this was for sure Zac's favorite ride!
We got to see some princesses! I never stand in line for the Princess thing but we happened to be over there when the line was only 30 minutes long, yay~ Brynley was thrilled but a bit disappointed that she didn't get to meet Cinderella -oh well.
Hayden's first time on "the upside down rollercoaster". He was so excited and loved it!
Brynley and I on the Jumping Jellyfish!
The morning we were leaving, we had to leave around 5am. I packed the kids that night after they went to bed and we woke them up literally after the car was packed and we were heading out the door. We told them we were going to Idaho??? Not sure why but it seemed like a good destination... They had no idea... It wasn't until we got near Palm Spring that I thought our plan might be ruined! We had to stop at a car dealership to get something fixed on the under carriage of the car. As we waited in the lobby I saw Hayden looking at newspapers and watching the news, to my surprise, he didn't notice that California was splashed everywhere! As we drove through Palm Springs he made comments about the big white turbines and said how weird it was that they had the,m in Idaho, just like California...
Every time I saw a sign that said LA or California, I would hold up my pillow in front of me so Hayden wouldn't notice... Oh my goodness, the one time I didn't do it he saw a sign for Anaheim!!!! Ah... We convinced him that there is an Anaheim in Idaho - he totally bought it. Then he saw a little amusement park and mentioned that he had seen the same one near Disneyland... uh oh... The kicker was when we were REALLY close he saw a McDonald's wit ha California flag ans asked why there would be a CA flag in Idaho. We explained that the owner must be originally from CA. He said that was really rude. We were really close by now and decided to let Hayden look out the windows when he noticed the Tower of Terror! He was sooo excited and started telling Bryn and Zac that we were at Disneyland!!!!! He was worried that Andy';s Aunt and Uncle might be disappointed that we weren't in Idaho to see them, but he didn't really care too much!
The kids in the Hotel with their Welcome Balloons!
The Gorgeous sliding doors of the hotel
The kids asleep on our first night -they were out cold in a matter of minutes! All I can say is that it will be hard to ever go back to staying in the cheap hotels! This hotel is amazing!!! And so convenient....
The whole Family on Dumbo!
The boys in line for Peter Pan
The girls in line for Peter Pan... I might add that we never go on Peter Pan - it always has the longest line! But - When you stay at the hotel, you get some early entries into the park - so worth it for the rides that always have such long lines and no fast passes!
We never wait to see Mickey in his house but the line only had two people in front of us so we jumped at the chance!
Riding on It's a Small World
Outside It's a Small World - this was for sure Zac's favorite ride!
We got to see some princesses! I never stand in line for the Princess thing but we happened to be over there when the line was only 30 minutes long, yay~ Brynley was thrilled but a bit disappointed that she didn't get to meet Cinderella -oh well.
Hayden's first time on "the upside down rollercoaster". He was so excited and loved it!
Brynley and I on the Jumping Jellyfish! 
4 comments:
Ha ha, Hayden is so smart! Just looking at your pictures will make it hard for me to stay at another cheap disneyland hotel! That bunk bed was amazing! and welcome balloons for the kids?!
How AWESOME!!! That is my favorite Disney hotel - nothing like it, so glad you guys got to do that - hopefully our fam is not too far behind!!
So Awesome!! I don't have enough restraint to keep that kinda news a secret!! ox
Hi Molly! Just stopped by your blog and thought I would say Hi :) What a fun surprise!!! How did you get in on a deal for that hotel? We are thinking about taking the kids for memorial weekend and I checked into it -$564 a night!!! Seriously -- OUCH! Let me know if you have any info :) --Wendy
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