DisneyLand, the Small World

For a wonderful Christmas and Hanukkah gift, my mom treated us to three days at Disneyland. We spent four nights at the California Grand Hotel. The hotel is so beautiful, maybe the prettiest hotel I've ever stayed in. It is all Craftsman style: stained glass, lots of wood, Mission-style furniture. So beautiful.
In the lobby they play Mickey Mouse cartoons and have little Mission rockers for the children to sit in. Very smart on their part!

Here is probably the best picture I got of our three. They are at Goofy's Gas Station. If you are (rightly) thinking that the pictures from this trip aren't quite up to snuff, you are right. More on my camera situation in a later post.
Karen, my sister, said we needed strollers for Disneyland. I scoffed. I chastised. I made fun. However, I did acquiesced. And boy am I glad. Every one, and I mean everyone, takes strollers to Disney. Apparently everyone knows more than me. To make it through the day, to traverse the paths of Disney, you need a stroller. I will never scoff, chastise, or make fun of my dear sister again. Karen, from here on out, I will always acquiesce. Without strollers, I think the days at Disney might have been unbearable.


Pluto was the first character we got to visit with. It was such a great experience for the children--one I will never forget. Pluto was very sweet and looked so cute in his antlers and holly.

In FrontierLand they had a coloring area for the children. A great idea because it was something different for them to do and allowed them to rest a little bit.

Mazie and Charlotte showing one another their work.
Mazie on Small World.
H and Lu going into Small World.
The rest of us on the boat going in to Small World. (J.D. and I--on the middle seat--are the only adults on this boat who are not in the last trimester of pregnancy. Go Karen and Deirdre! They were fantastic troopers.)


Karen and Avery.

Just in case you needed proof that even Disney (or expecially Disney?) is subject to advertising pressures: It's A Small World was proudly brought to us by Sylvania.
This last picture is of Small World all lit up. They light it up after the parade each night while blowing freshly made snow down onto the crowds of people. So beautiful.