Chance of Lightning & 25 Other Friends at Connor's First Birthday, Birthday Party!

[franandaj]

Great update Kimberly! Seems like you and your family were having a blast!

 

[kmedina]

Great update Kimberly! Seems like you and your family were having a blast!

Thanks. We really had a great time, especially in Cars Land.

 

[dara00]

I like that the photopass borders are different from the ones I got in 2009 - unlike the wdw ones that were the same this year and the last time I was there in 2007!

 

[kmedina]

I like that the photopass borders are different from the ones I got in 2009 - unlike the wdw ones that were the same this year and the last time I was there in 2007!

While I wished Disneyland had more border options, I know what you mean. When I was putting together our book and CD from our last WDW in February, there were hardly any 2011 options. There were a lot of 2012 options. Hopefully, that means they finally have a lot this year. I noticed a lot of the same ones from our 2010 trip as well.

 

[mvf-m11c]

More often than not, I do not even notice or remember wait times. I remember TSMM and MJJ because of the circumstances. There were a few others I remember too, because I was actively trying to pay attention. That said, I probably should have written them down, because I do not remember the exact times from quite a few of them (including RSR from either day).

That's right. I watched your video in the past, so I should have remembered you got one. I am going over there now to see if you had the same song I did. There may have been nine songs, but I only remember one. It was the one I kept singing (in my head) for the rest of the day.

It is really hard to keep track of the wait times during a trip since you want to concentrate on the experience of the parks. I didn't want to listen to the music on youtube before my trip so I can experience the ride by getting all excited.

That is a different song than the one I heard. I preferred the one I heard. At least now, I've heard two of the nine. When we were in line, I never noticed any songs that were playing. They probably change the track for each set of riders.

They do change the sound track for each ride which will always be different. I did hear different sound tracks when I was in the area of MJJ.

 

[kmedina]

It is really hard to keep track of the wait times during a trip since you want to concentrate on the experience of the parks. I didn't want to listen to the music on youtube before my trip so I can experience the ride by getting all excited.

They do change the sound track for each ride which will always be different. I did hear different sound tracks when I was in the area of MJJ.

I am excited to hear all nine songs now. Next time we ride, I will try to pay attention in line.

Sent from my iPhone using DISBoards

 

[MAGICFOR2]

Seriously? I was just posting real quickly because I have a few minutes, and bam! It disappeared Anyway, as I was saying:

Cool that the CM told you the FP would be good after the listed time. I am hoping that will hold out for awhile unless that CM didn't get the memo yet.

As the mom of two boys, I got a kick out of Connor's first ride being LM - don't as why, but you understand, right? Of course he didn't know it's supposed to be a "girl ride" and I'm sure he enjoyed it!

Great job on your TSM score one-handed! And, I might add - almost 4 times the accuracy score of Crap.

Okay, so fun to see you got to ride the first
Cars ride with Xander!!!! Looks like fun! I had read another report that made it sound like you take a beating. Maybe with 3 in the car, it's better because you hold each other together. What did Mater sing?

Oops! Too bad Xander got bumped by the door. Wouldn't you know someone would have to come out just at that moment. Oh, well, he was OK and these things have happened to all of us.

Great update!

 

[kmedina]

Seriously? I was just posting real quickly because I have a few minutes, and bam! It disappeared Anyway, as I was saying:

Cool that the CM told you the FP would be good after the listed time. I am hoping that will hold out for awhile unless that CM didn't get the memo yet.

As the mom of two boys, I got a kick out of Connor's first ride being LM - don't as why, but you understand, right? Of course he didn't know it's supposed to be a "girl ride" and I'm sure he enjoyed it!

Great job on your TSM score one-handed! And, I might add - almost 4 times the accuracy score of Crap.

Okay, so fun to see you got to ride the first
Cars ride with Xander!!!! Looks like fun! I had read another report that made it sound like you take a beating. Maybe with 3 in the car, it's better because you hold each other together. What did Mater sing?

Oops! Too bad Xander got bumped by the door. Wouldn't you know someone would have to come out just at that moment. Oh, well, he was OK and these things have happened to all of us.

Great update!

That has happened to me several times (mostly when Connor swipes at the laptop while sitting in my lap. I've found control z works about half the time (unless you hit the back button first then it never works).

We were happy the CM told us that too. With our scheduled lunch time, I was afraid we would not make it back in time. Crap is usally insistent we follow rules, but we would not have picked that return time if we had a choice.

If I had it my way, his first DLR ride would have been TSMM. He slept through it at DHS and was actually awake at that moment. It is possible he would have been awake for it if we had gone there before LM and watching the Phineas and Ferb show. Who knows? Crap is all about defining things as boy or girl. I may be a little less traditional, because the fact that LM should not be his first ride at DLR never crossed my mind.

Thanks. I mentioned my accuracy was better than his. Crap mentioned that they do not list top accuracy on the board of achievements. Thus, he was not impressed. He even said it was not smart to take a lot of time to aim. The score and accuracy made me happy, so that was all I needed.

Mater's Junkyard Jamboree does send you flying a bit when the tractor turns sharply. If you are prepared for it, you should be able to tighten your grip and refrain from sliding. Xander slid into me a few times with all 40 of his pounds. It did not hurt at all. He loved every moment of the sliding, so he may have milked it a little. We saw some tractors with three people in them. Even when all three were small, it seemed a little crammed. That would also make it difficult for the middle person to brace anything. I have been racking my brain trying to remember the lyrics of that song I liked so much. That day, I kept singing it in my head over and over again. At this point, I still cannot remember. Once I finally do, I will add the lyrics to the report.

I was so happy Xander did not get hurt when that door opened. It was not smart to put him there, and I will not pose him in front of a door again.

 

[kmedina]

When we were walking back to Paradise Pier, we noticed a cool spot for meet and greets. A CM was there but no one else. Since I had misplaced the map I got that morning and did not have my handy apps available as my phone was still drying out, I had no idea who was going to be there. I walked up and asked the cast member. He said it was Donald, but he was on a break. The background was pretty patriotic. Just in case we did not make it back later to see Donald (which we never did), I asked him if we could take some pictures of the boys in the spot.

As it turns out, my family got a lot done after they separated from us as well. My little sister posted a huge album on Google+. This little gem proves they got to see Donald and many others that we never saw including Handy Manny.

Lolo informed us that he did not want to ride Screamin’ just before we arrived back to it. We got four fastpasses that morning using the tickets from the four of us who had them (Connor did not). Crap was going to use Xander’s ticket to ride a second time with Lolo, since Xander was too short to ride. Lolo watched the boys while Crap and I used our fastpasses to ride. Since Crap and I used our fastpasses, but Xander and Lolo did not use theirs, I will count this ride as number one on the used side and number two on the unused side (little Mermaid was number one). We did give the fastpasses to Rachel and Sarkara later in the day, but they never used them.

The fastpass line was pretty short, so we were off the ride in no time at all. DLR does not have very many adult coasters. This is the closest thing to a traditional coaster it has, and we love it. It is very tame as far as roller coasters go, but we do not go to Disney for the coasters. We have Magic Mountain for that. Connor was still asleep when we exited Screamin’ so we would have to return for that carousel ride later.

We left Paradise Pier from the other side this time. Despite a 10 minute wait for the Silly Symphony Strings and a 5 minute wait for the Golden Zephyr, Xander was not interested. He had done both of them on our last trip to California Adventure, so we were okay with him opting out. As long as he tries the ride before deciding he does not like it, we are pleased. No one wanted to ride Grizzly River Run. Unless we are unbearably hot, none of us like to walk around wet. The feeling of wet tennis shoes is not fun and neither Crap nor I have feet that allow us to wear flip flops for an entire day of walking. We came across the Jumping Jelly Fish. This ride seemed to peak his interest, so we boarded in less than the 5 minute posted wait time. Crap took this picture from his cell phone while we were on the ride. Xander did like the ride, so he chose well. Lolo stayed with Connor who was still asleep when we exited.

It was after 12:30pm at this point. I decided we should just check into the restaurant, Wine Country Trattoria, early. We were hosting, and I feared we would be late if we tried to do anything else first. When we arrived at the podium, we were told they were already setting up for us. After less than five minutes, we were taken inside the room where one table of eight and two tables of 10 were set up. This was three more chairs than we needed. Crap and I decided to sit at the middle table (which seated 10) assuming each of our families would sit near us. Having the birthday boy in the middle made sense to me even though I figured our table would be the one with the extra chairs. To my surprise, every member of my family entered the restaurant right around 12:40pm. They were 20 minutes early!

Since there were ten people in their group, they opted for the other ten person table closest to the entrance. There was another table for eight on the other side of that table that was not used by anyone while we were there. All of the other tables in the restaurant were small four tops. It looked like the restaurant could have seated 36 (rather than the 35 I was told). Anyone over 36 would have been able to sit at the few sparsely spread throughout the room four top tables. Two of those four tops had other parties sitting at them when we arrived. This was also when Connor woke up from his nap. I would say that my family was too loud for him, but it was a long nap. He probably woke up naturally. For the next 20 minutes or so, we caught up with everyone.

Kati, Billy and Rana seated directly across from Brandon and Julio Jr.

Brandon showed the group his new shirt, which I like.

Aunt Gennette greeted the boys, since she had not seen them in a couple of hours.

Aunt Kati cannot get enough of my baby. I think he feels the same way about her. She always has him in stitches.

The one and only picture of Uncle Cesar is in the background of Kaylie’s picture.

Kaylie and Keira temporarily sat at our table in the middle, so they could catch up with Xander. We used to spend time with them at least once a week, so they are very close cousins. Now, we see them a little less often, but they are still very close.

My Dad sat at the head of his table, which was right behind me. Kati was sitting near him leaving a seat open for Kaylie when she returned to their table.

Connor had his very first taste of cow’s milk at this lunch, and he has not had any since. It is safe to say he does not like it. The funny thing is his allergy panel came back showing he is not allergic to milk, while Xander who is allergic to it, wants to drink it all the time. Why couldn’t that be switched around? As long as Connor keeps nursing, he is getting milk. We are not overly concerned.

I did not pay attention to the time, but most of Crap’s family arrived right around 1:00pm, which also shocked me. It could not have been later than that, because we had not even placed our food orders by the time they arrived. At that point, some of us had not even received our drink orders yet. They took the eight person table as it was the only one left. Noticing that they filled all of the seats, Grandma (Crap’s Mom) worried about where Rachel and Sarkara would sit. There was plenty of room at our table, so I told her they could sit with us once they arrived.

Grandma. Some of you may have noticed the strong resemblance she bares to Crap and Xander.

Crap does like a candid shot. Only Grandma, Grandpa and Aunt Becky even looked up.

Another candid shot where Kaylei, Aunt Sarah and Shannon are unaware.

Noah and Grandma

Aunt Becky got some Connor time.

Shannon got some as well.

Connor loved showing off his birthday necklace. There are a lot of photos where he is holding it.

Lolo was probably checking in with Lola (his “wife”). I think he was saying something like hope you are having a good day at work while I am at Disneyland. Okay, I doubt he was really saying that. We really missed having her there. Some of you may already know how awesome I think she is. Anyway, she was there for her granddaughter’s birthday the month before this and is there again right now with all of her kids and grandkids, so she is okay. Since Lolo was also with her in May and is there again now, that means he has gone every month for the past three months. for Lolo! If I did not love him so much, I would be jealous. Who am I kidding? I am a little jealous anyway.

I am not even sure what time Rachel and Sarkara finally arrived, but I know they were a bit late. The funny thing is they are never late and are often the first or second to arrive before parties start. It does make sense that they would have an off day and be late, since so many others had an off day and were actually on time. Despite their tardiness, the meal did not seem to get slowed down. Although I am not certain, I believe they even received their food at or around the same time as everyone else. Shortly after they arrived, the two tables with other parties left. No one else was ever seated inside the dining room, so we had the whole restaurant to ourselves. There were a few diners sparsely seated at the outside tables, but overall the entire restaurant was mostly empty. Since they arrived after Crap was already out of picture taking mode, there is a single picture with them in it. Sarkara’s face is even blocked. Our BIL, Matt, is in the foreground. He likes to make faces at the camera, which is probably why Crap only took one picture of him as well.

Connor received his third and final gift this year from Grandma and Grandpa. Everyone listened to my request and did not bring presents. It was some more cash that he once again lost interest in. Luckily, it is safe and sound in his mutual fund with the rest of the cash he received from Papa and Lolo.

Crap slipped back into his non picture taking mode for a little while here. I was enjoying myself so much that I failed to notice. Despite the large group, this was an awesome meal experience. Everyone was catching up and having a good time. It just seemed like everyone was getting along. When you’re not used to taking a lot of pictures, you do not even think of pictures at times. While I take a lot of pictures when I do bring the camera out (it takes me about 50 to get one good shot), I do not take any when I do not think about it. Had I been taking the pictures, I would have at least gotten main shots of all the attendees rather than only having them as background people in other shots. There is not even a picture of him, because neither of us thought about getting one obviously. Connor will never get to see a picture of his own Daddy at his first birthday party unless someone else took it and decides to give it to us. Unfortunately, we did not remember to get pictures of any of the food other than dessert. I asked around to see if anyone else did. Only two people got back with me. They did not have any food shots either. My little sister did take some great non-food shots that I will be sharing. It is funny to see blurry background pictures of Crap playing with the camera or his cell phone in a lot of her shots but not actually taking any pictures. At least, that is proof he was there.

Even though this was not a buffet, I did not see pricing for meals on kids under three. The main waiter (the one who seemed to be the most vocal and present) told me he could order a meal for Connor for what I believe was $7 (which I later found out was not true) as kids who are under three do not need World of Color tickets. Since Connor still nurses and could just have a few bites off our plates, I told him he did not need his own meal. Since no one got pictures of the food, I am going from a possibly flawed memory. Xander’s appetizer was celery, grapes and cheese, which he did not eat. Crap and I each had the soup but neither of us remembers the flavor. The other adult option was some type of salad. We both had the lasagna as our main dish, which we both found delicious. Lolo had the chicken sandwich and said it was good. Rachel, who sat next to me, had some sort of pasta dish. She called it a little spicy but she enjoyed it. Those were the only entrée choices, and I think everyone enjoyed whatever they ordered. If they did not, word never made it back to me. Xander chose the pasta with marinara sauce (spaghetti) from the kids menu.

Everything was going really well. We were all enjoying our food and each other. Would this meal be as magical as dinner was last night? Stay tuned.

 

[dara00]

that is so nice that your family and his family all enjoyed lunch together. I highly doubt that would happen with my family and my husband's! his family is much bigger than mine is and my parents get overwhelmed. it seems like you all get along well??

 

[mvf-m11c]

Nice to hear that you were able to ride Jumpin Jellyfish before your lunch at WCT.

It was nice to have Connor's birthday at WCT with most of the families from your side as well as Crap. Most of the pictures of your family members looked very excited to be at Connor's birthday lunch. Good thing that WCT wasn't that crowded during your lunch.

I'm sorry to hear that you didn't get any pics of the food at WCT.

Nice update during Connor's birthday lunch.

 

[kmedina]

that is so nice that your family and his family all enjoyed lunch together. I highly doubt that would happen with my family and my husband's! his family is much bigger than mine is and my parents get overwhelmed. it seems like you all get along well??

Crap's family technically had one extra member. His Mom had 10 while his Dad had 3 (but 2 of them, Rachel and Sarkara, fit in on both sides). That gave him a total of 11 to my side's 10. However, my side would be the overwhelming one if that were to happen. While Crap's family can party it up, my family parties harder (louder). Our families know each other, because we get them together for events for the boys. Other than that, they do not really mingle much. They all seem very cordial to one another, but there is not much interaction at all. Other than possible hellos, I doubt anyone from his family spoke to mine or vice versa. My family is more talkative, so I would assume they would initiate if it did happen.

While I cannot speak for how anyone feels about the other family, I can say I love Crap's family almost as much as I love my own. To me, they are a great group of people. There is honestly not one member of his family I do not like. I joke that I hit the in-law jackpot, because they are pretty awesome. It is highly unlikely that Crap feels the same way about my family, but that is another story.

 

[kmedina]

Nice to hear that you were able to ride Jumpin Jellyfish before your lunch at WCT.

It was nice to have Connor's birthday at WCT with most of the families from your side as well as Crap. Most of the pictures of your family members looked very excited to be at Connor's birthday lunch. Good thing that WCT wasn't that crowded during your lunch.

I'm sorry to hear that you didn't get any pics of the food at WCT.

Nice update during Connor's birthday lunch.

I think Crap and I had ridden Jumpin Jellyfish before, but Xander was too short the last time we tried. He liked it, so I am glad we rode it too.

Believe it or not, that was nowhere near most of our family. I have six siblings. That was only half of them. The other half has more kids thus larger families. My sister Rachael has a husband and eight kids. She and five of her kids are in my WDW trip report. Ray has four kids. Tammy has three kids and a girlfriend. Crap has three step-siblings who have four kids of their own and three significant others between them. His Step-Mother was also MIA. He also has two little brothers from his Dad who did not attend either. One of his little brothers also has a long time girlfriend. The only family who was completely there belonged to Crap's Mom. She had all four of her kids (Crap, Rachel, Sarah and Becky) plus all four of her grandkids (Noah, Xander, Kaylei and Connor). Sarah's husband, Matt, and Rachel's wife, Sarkara, were also there. Her awesome husband was there too.

I think everyone looked happy to be there. It was nice to have the place to ourselves too.

I was disappointed that we did not get food pictures of the birthday lunch. We were all having such a great time that I forgot about pictures and tried to let Crap handle that. We all know that is never a good idea. It is more disappointing that we did not get clear shots of all of the attendees than the food. There are no clear shots of Crap, Rachel, Sarkara or Cesar. Hopefully, someone else got those shots. If they never get back to me, we will never get them though.

Thanks.

 

[mvf-m11c]

I think Crap and I had ridden Jumpin Jellyfish before, but Xander was too short the last time we tried. He liked it, so I am glad we rode it too.

Believe it or not, that was nowhere near most of our family. I have six siblings. That was only half of them. The other half has more kids thus larger families. My sister Rachael has a husband and eight kids. She and five of her kids are in my WDW trip report. Ray has four kids. Tammy has three kids and a girlfriend. Crap has three step-siblings who have four kids of their own and three significant others between them. His Step-Mother was also MIA. He also has two little brothers from his Dad who did not attend either. One of his little brothers also has a long time girlfriend. The only family who was completely there belonged to Crap's Mom. She had all four of her kids (Crap, Rachel, Sarah and Becky) plus all four of her grandkids (Noah, Xander, Kaylei and Connor). Sarah's husband, Matt, and Rachel's wife, Sarkara, were also there. Her awesome husband was there too.

I think everyone looked happy to be there. It was nice to have the place to ourselves too.

I was disappointed that we did not get food pictures of the birthday lunch. We were all having such a great time that I forgot about pictures and tried to let Crap handle that. We all know that is never a good idea. It is more disappointing that we did not get clear shots of all of the attendees than the food. There are no clear shots of Crap, Rachel, Sarkara or Cesar. Hopefully, someone else got those shots. If they never get back to me, we will never get them though.

Thanks.

Jumpin Jellyfish is a small kids ride when DCA had the Malliboomer (now it's gone). Glad that you all had a great time on JJ. Nice pic of GSK plus Boardwalk's Pizza & Pasta restaurant.

After you mention all of the family members, that did seem like a lot that day for Connor's birthday lunch.

I would say the same thing since you have the inside part of WCT to yourselves.

I can understand for you not getting pictures of the birthday lunch since you were having a great time. I have done that during my WDW where I could have take a picture of everyone's plate at the restaurants. It is also not polite to take pictures of other people's food. Glad that my group had no problem getting pictures of the food at the sit down restaurants. Hopefully someone in your group will have some pics that day. I was also surprise to not see Crap picture during the lunch.

 

[kmedina]

Jumpin Jellyfish is a small kids ride when DCA had the Malliboomer (now it's gone). Glad that you all had a great time on JJ. Nice pic of GSK plus Boardwalk's Pizza & Pasta restaurant.

After you mention all of the family members, that did seem like a lot that day for Connor's birthday lunch.

I would say the same thing since you have the inside part of WCT to yourselves.

I can understand for you not getting pictures of the birthday lunch since you were having a great time. I have done that during my WDW where I could have take a picture of everyone's plate at the restaurants. It is also not polite to take pictures of other people's food. Glad that my group had no problem getting pictures of the food at the sit down restaurants. Hopefully someone in your group will have some pics that day. I was also surprise to not see Crap picture during the lunch.

We we disappointed to see the Mailboomer disappear from DCA. It was something we always rode when we went. Our last trip was in June/July 2010, and it was still there. To my knowledge, we did not ride Jumpin Jellyfish on that trip. While it is intended for smaller kids than the Mailboomer, Jumpin Jellyfish still has a 40" height requirment. Xander has only been tall enough on our last two trips.

Yes, most of our family members were not there, but we were grateful that the ones who did come made it. One day, I would love to have a crazy large trip with all of our family. My Dad says he is too old to go back, so we will see what happens there.

Had I remembered to take food pictures, I probably only would have taken them of our immediate family, me, Xander and Crap. I would not think it was rude to ask others for pictures, but I also probably would not bother them. Other than blurry background pcitures, I am very sad that we did not get pictures of Crap at his son's first birthday party. He is okay with this stating Connor will understand that he is the photographer. There were so many people there that had either or us remembered, anyone could have taken a picture of him.

 

[PrincessInOz]

Nice pictures of the family. Despite them not looking at the camera, at least you will all have picture memories to treasure over the years.

Looking forward to the food....

 

[kmedina]

Nice pictures of the family. Despite them not looking at the camera, at least you will all have picture memories to treasure over the years.

Looking forward to the food....

Crap is a huge fan of candid shots, so I should not be surprised that few people are actually facing the camera in his shots.

I am sorry we did not get food pictures here. If you stay tuned, we did get dessert pictures of both the platter and the cake.

 

[mvf-m11c]

We we disappointed to see the Mailboomer disappear from DCA. It was something we always rode when we went. Our last trip was in June/July 2010, and it was still there. To my knowledge, we did not ride Jumpin Jellyfish on that trip. Prior to this trip, that was the only trip where Xander was over the 40" required to ride. While it is intended for smaller kids than the Mailboomer, Xander has only been over 40" on our last two trips.

Yes, most of our family members were not there, but we were grateful that the ones who did come made it. One day, I would love to have a crazy large trip with all of our family. My Dad says he is too old to go back, so we will see what happens there.

Had I remembered to take food pictures, I probably only would have taken them of our immediate family, me, Xander and Crap. I would not think it was rude to ask others for pictures, but I also probably would not bother them. Other than blurry background pcitures, I am very sad that we did not get pictures of Crap at his son's first birthday party. He is okay with this stating Connor will understand that he is the photographer. There were so many people there that had either or us remembered, anyone could have taken a picture of him.

I wasn't a big fan of the Maliboomer when it opened. People always love going on specific rides and to see it go is really sad. I remember that the Maliboomer was being torn down when I went during MHP in October 2010. When Xander got older and grew, it was easier for him, you and Crap to go on these rides at the Disney parks.

That will be nice in the future that you will be able to do another family function.

I don't like to bother my group about taking pictures of their food when we get them. Most of them didn't have a problem with it since it is something that they will want to see if they go back to that restaurant. I will say the same thing that Connor will understand one day why Crap wasn't in the picture..

 

[deliareh]

Kim - you have the patience of a saint. I'd ditch my DH if he was even a couple of steps behind me. My extended family and friends know better than to travel with me if they can't abide by my itinerary. I love the photo of you nursing Connor in line. I don't have any with DS3 at Disneyland bc he was weaned by our first trip, but I have many pictures of him nursing at my DH's softball games, while waiting for the LV 1/2 marathon to start, and on many of our family trips. He doesn't enjoy cow's milk either.

We had a great time on our trip. Lots of Disney magic. We were there the same days as Bret and took advantage of the APEEs for DCA on Tuesday and DL on Wednesday. We wouldn't have gone without those because the crowds were more than I can bear. I'll give you a mini-TR since my DH likes to snap away hoping for one good shot and it would take me too long to sort through those 800+ pictures from 2 days.

We lined up around 6:40 and were in the park shortly after 7. I say shortly because both of the computers for the line we were in were down (one line for each gate, two turnstiles & computers for each gate). Apparently, the CMs didn't know about it until 7. We had to merge into the lines on either side of us and then one of the computers was back up so there was a mad rush to get back into our original line. This was not the stress-free start I had hoped for. I actually had two nightmares that we would be late to get in and we were on both days. (We were only delayed by about 5 minutes on each day, but I did not get up at 5:45 and curl my hair to not be in the park right at opening. My usual wake up time is closer to 10).

We followed the crowd to CL and saw the FP line, which confused a lot of people bc the sign said CL with no indication that it was for FPs. We saw a lot of people get into it only to get out of it, bc they were headed to CL and didn't want to wait for FPs. Luckily, I read your TR and figured what the line was for.

My plan was to ride Luigi's since it was the slowest loading ride, then Mater, then DH could SR onto RSR. The plan worked beautifully. We were the first group to ride Luigi's, which we loved, but we didn't get a chance to take pictures inside Casa Della Tires bc the wait for the rest of the day was 90+ min. Then we walked back down Route 66 to Mater's and waited for one and half turns, about 10 minutes, so we didn't get much of a chance to take photos there either. My DH and I were surprised how much we liked that one too. Of course, DS3 was having the time of his life. He loves Cars and he loves Disney. By the time we got off, it was only 7:25, so we took some time to take PhotoPass pictures wherever we found a photographer and took our own as well up and down Route 66. We had the whole place to ourselves, bc there weren't many people who took advantage of APEE and those who were there were lined up at RSR. We met Lightning, Mater and Red, had some snacks at the Cozy Cone, and DS3 shopped for his birthday present - a Piston Cup for his new big boy room.

We then went to RSR around 7:50, right before DCA opened to the public at 8, to drop off DH who had about a 15 min wait. We asked for a shorty card for DS3, but the CM said they never got one for RSR. (In case you don't know what a shorty card is bc that's not what they're called, it's a card CMs give to kids who are too short to ride. Each ride with a height req't has a unique card, e.g. Simba for IJ (bc it's in Adventureland???), Goofy in cowboy gear for BTM, Huey, Dewey and Louie for CA Screamin'). Instead he gave us a rider swap, which was great bc I had not thought about riding RSR, being 6 months pregnant with twins and all, but we reasoned that we just barrelled down I-15 going 80+ mph, so what's 40 mph for 2 min? I rode later around 6:30pm and had a 10 min. wait in the FP line with the rider swap. SR wait was around 75 min. and standby was at least 2 hours. I'm glad I did it bc the ride was awesome at dusk and looked as good as all of the YouTube videos we've been watching. I got out of the ride in time to watch DJ's Dance and Drive where DS3 got to dance with DJ and the "waitresses" from Flo's.

After we left Cars Land the first time, we rode the rides in Bugs Land, took photos with the trolley, and played with Stitch at the Disney Visa Meet n' Greet.

We then went to Carthay Circle to watch the Red Car News Boys and take photos with the Storytellers statue and Mickey, Goofy, Pluto, and Chip and Dale in their Buena Vista outfits. We also got a Happy Birthday telegram for DS3 from the telegram delivery woman. The traffic cop passed us quickly twice, so we weren't able to get a ticket from him. I did get two newspapers stamped with my son's birthday thanks to your TR.

After lunch at Flo's, we got a photo with Flik, danced at Stage 17 with Timon, Baloo, King Louie, Genie, Big Bad Wolf, Captain Hook and Smee, and then danced with Clarabelle, Clarice, Lilo, Daisy, Anastasia and Drizella, saw the Pixar Pals Parade and got a photo with Frozone from the Incredibles. We watched the Pixar Pals Parade and headed back to Cars Land while DS3 napped. I wish he was awake then bc we went to hunt down those Cars Land buttons and were asked a trivia question for each one. He could have answered most of them. The ones we were asked that I can remember were: What number is on the side of Lightning McQueen? What was Mater's original color? What singing group was Flo a part of before settling in Radiator Springs? Who is Sarge's best friend? Who is Lightning's sponsor? What is the name of the race for international cars?

We missed getting a photo with Donald in his red and white sailor shirt too bc DS3 was napping. After DS3 woke up from his nap, we played the fishing game where DS3 won a Mickey and a lobster and the Dumbo game where DS3 and I won a Dumbo. I attribute the lucky streak to his birthday magic. We rode TSMM where DS3 and I beat DH. Yes, I just had to say that again. I get really upset if our score isn't the one shown on the screen as the best score of four teams. We rode King Triton's Carrousel and had an early dinner at Carthay Circle at 5:20pm, which was delicious. DH and I ordered a starter and an entree so we could get Reserved Seating for WOC and DS3 got a steak and free truffles for his birthday.

After dinner is when I rode RSR and we spent some time taking pictures of CL at dusk and at night with the lights on. We found a great spot across from Mickey's Fun Wheel along the rails to watch WOC. We had seen it before along the water near the Blue Section, but it was much nicer being further back and in the middle so that we could watch the whole show.

The next day DH and DS3 made it into Disneyland at 7. I had to park our car in the parking garage, since we couldn't keep it at our hotel (the Del Sol) past 12, so I arrived at 7:05. We rode Peter Pan, took some pictures in front of SBC without any people in it, and rode Dumbo, Pinocchio, Snow White, Mr. Toad's and Alice in Wonderland by 7:40. Did I say how awesome APEE was? We had vouchers for Toontown Morning Madness from a prior trip, so we waited until 8 for that, were the first ones into Toontown and were the Honorary Family for the ToonTown honorary citizenship ceremony. Another magical moment. It was an amazing morning.

We then met Merida from Brave, rode It's a Small World, Finding Nemo and tried to get DS3 picked for the Jedi Training Academy. He wasn't particularly interested this time since he had already participated twice before, so he was happy when he wasn't picked and we went to Innoventions instead and checked out the Peter Pan room. If you haven't been here before, it's a little boy's room decorated in a Peter Pan theme that has an interactive storytelling mode when the CM reads a short account of Peter Pan. The sail on the bed, the walls and curtains show scenes from Peter Pan and the little ones can fire the cannon. We stayed for two readings and then headed to BLAS, ate at Cafe Orleans where DS3 got a birthday beignet, and headed to the Cowboy Jamboree where we got photos with Country Bears Liverlips and Shaker, and Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Chip and Dale, Goofy, and Pluto in their cowboy outfits. We rode Pirates of the Caribbean, which had a 20 min line that was made shorter with Mickey-shaped ice cream sandwiches, the Haunted Mansion, Winnie-the-Pooh, and the Jungle Cruise. Then we had steak sandwiches at the Jolly Holiday Bakery and caught the Soundsational parade on our way out of Disneyland at 6:50pm.

Our last magical moment happened when we saw one of our favorite CMs. We always make a point to say hi and catch up, since we've seen him so many times on our past trips to Disneyland. (We got an annual pass in Oct and have been trying to go as much as possible before the heat and the crowds set in). The CM had a surprise for us. I mentioned that it was DS3's birthday the day before so he gave us 3 I'm Celebrating buttons and a July 17, 2012, 57 Years of Creating Happiness button. All of the CMs were wearing this button on DS3's birthday. I didn't understand why and why we couldn't purchase one. I heard from most of the CMs I asked that they couldn't give us their buttons or they would get in trouble. I thought this was odd and that they would have another button the next day with a different date on it, until it finally clicked that DS3's birthday was also the anniversary of when Disneyland first opened. It made my day to have that button for DS3. Interactions like these (although I don't need anyone to get in trouble) and DS3's interactions with the characters make coming to Disneyland less about going to an amusement park and more about visiting old friends.

 

[shan23877]

Sounds like the party was off to a terrific start! How nice for you guys to have so much family around for your little guys first birthday party!

I get a little tense when we bring both sides together , but I'm glad to see that you were able to really enjoy yourself!

Love the pictures of Connor. The milk ones and the ones of him showing off his necklace are adorable.

Crap does look a lot like his mom! I think that Xander has a nice mix of you both though.

How nice to have had the place to yourselves! It must be a pretty small restaurant to only seat 36?

Maddie wouldn't dream of touching celery. I'd have eaten it for her though (with some bleu cheese dressing ).

Can't wait to hear more! I wanna see the birthday boy having some cake!!