No way Jose! We are going to Disneyland! 3/13 - Movin' on Up!

[brookelizabeth]

I left off with Henry wanting to ride this

for those who aren't familiar with Disneyland, that is Gadget's Go Coaster. A kiddy coaster, but still a COASTER.

I did a double-take at Henry when he asked, but I didn't question it, I grabbed his hand and marched right into line. However, I was FULLY expecting him to freak out and change his mind before we reached the load platform.

The line was very short, we watched maybe one or two cycles

Taken from the queue

The queue, by the way, was adorable. Gadget is from Chip & Dale's Rescue Rangers (Ch-ch-chip and Dale Rescue Rangers! Ch-ch-chip and Dale, when there's danger...), so the queue was full of things that little chipmunks would use to build things - like this bridge has a comb as a railing. Cute.

We are almost in the load house...will he bail? Where is the chicken exit?

Joe and I were exchanging "looks" the entire time. In complete surprise. But we kept moving forward, never questioning.

We are next in line!

And...

He...

GOT ON!

Such a brave little boy!

He looks scared!

View from the hill

Woo-hoo!!!

He looks REALLY scared!

The ride is about 30 seconds long and packs less of a punch than WDW's Barnstormer.

So...what did he think?

"I WANT TO GO AGAIN!"

And we did!

This time he's excited (and riding with Daddy)

Let's go!

He came off jumping and skipping! Success!!!

He wanted to go again, but the line had grown quite a bit between the two rides, so we opted to go explore the other half of Toontown instead.

Donald's boat

While walking around we ran into

No handler, just hanging out in Toontown.

He grabbed Henry's hand and they started walking around together for a bit. It was awesome, Henry told him about how he drove his car.

Continued in next post

 

[brookelizabeth]

Continued from previous post

After that fun encounter we made our way to the other side

I just love the look and detail!

Henry spies the firetruck

This part of Toontown had a few interactive elements, like the door bell here you could push. I cannot recall what it did though...it wasn't just your typical bell.

Inside the post office

Hmmm...what's this?

Push down the lever and the sound of fireworks go off in the factory and the window smokes!

Ring this bell and it sounds like glass is shattering

Pull on the Power House doors and it all lights up (a little freaky for the kid!)

We turned around and who did we see? Again, no handler, just hanging out?

The morning was ticking by and while we were having a lot of fun in Toontown there was a very important thing I wanted to get done yet, and I wanted to do it in the morning.

Where were we off to next???

 

[glennbo123]

I'm finally caught up! I had to go back a few updates. Legoland looks so cool. (They could've left out the guy in the Grand Central Station bathroom though. ) I really liked the Washington D.C. layout. I wouldn't have minded more Star Wars pictures though. James was in a robotics club last year and they used those Lego Mindstorm's for the robots. We thought about getting him one for Christmas last year, but they're so expensive that it would've been his only gift so decided not to.

I enjoyed the Disneyland updates too, and the miniature buildings at the model train thing you went to looked amazing.

Congrats to Henry on conquering his first coaster!

 

[annmarieda]

Toon town is such a neat area in DL. I think it really appeals to he young ones (that and bugs world in DCA). Gadgets go coaster is a good starter coaster. Yay! For Henry for conquering it! And the interactive parts.... OMG, they are so fun! The only thing I dislike is the characters wandering without handlers. I think it lends itself to a bit of chaos when people want to meet them. In your case though, it is in fact very neat that Henry got such one on one time! You don't see much of that with handlers around.

 

[lsulindy]

These little circus cages are small. You will be cramped! And this picture makes me laugh. Who made that teen boy ride this?!

I'm making my way though your trip report. We're headed to DL for the first time with our 3 kiddos in February. But, I had to jump in and say your "teen on a train" pic has me cracking up! As to who made him do it, my money's on the blonde with the smirk!

 

[ladylyons]

Love your pictures!!! We've done WDW at New Year's and it's a madhouse too - but so fun and a unique experience. I hope to go back during that time again. I cannot imagine that queue though...ugh. Though, Soarin' at Epcot's wait on NYE was 5 hours long.

Yeah the waits can get a little insane. We've only done New Years Eve once and we ended up leaving around 10 pm cuz it was just way too cold for a 3 month old and a 22 month old!!!

Love the Train Show!! I could see my family doing something like that and enjoying it too!!!

YEAH!!!! Glad Henry loved Gadget's Go Coaster!!!! It's always great when something turns out to be a success!!! The only time's I've seen no handlers witht he characters is when the crowds are huge!! But once the crowds hit expect someone to be with them at all times!!

Oh and DH just agreed to go to Legoland on our next trip!!!! We're getting a deal where we bascially pay for one day this year and get one day free next year!!!! So excitied and Jeremy is going to be in heaven!!!! What little boy wouldn't be when he's immersed in everything Lego!!!

 

[MEK]

I read your update before I left for work this morning and I was all smiles seeing Henry do his first coaster.

Way to go Henry! You the Man!

 

[KristiMc]

Yay for Henry! I'm glad he loved the coaster.

 

[jenseib]

Yay for Henry. I am so glad he loved the rollar coaster. it would be right up Claire's alley too. She loves barnstormer, but still isn't too sure on the bigger ones.

 

[Poolrat]

Wishing you and your family a Merry Christmas

 

[jenseib]

Merry Christmas Brook!

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[ladylyons]

I hope you and your family had a very Mery Christmas!!! We leave in just 2 short days for our New Year's trip to Disneyland!!! Happy New Year!!

 

[Lovemy3babes]

Henry is so brave and big! What a great kiddo. I love that he tried it and had so much fun. His scared face is too precious.

 

[Caretames1]

What an awesome train show! I want to go to New York too!

Henry did look scared on the coaster! He must have loved it to go again. I'm so impressed with Toon Town in DL!

 

[DisMomAmy]

It took me all afternoon, but I'm caught up! I'm really enjoying your Disneyland pictures. I can't wait to get out there one day. LegoLand looks fun too... we are really on the fence about going there (FL). Zach is 9 & Alex is 12. Zach LOVES Legos but I think Alex would be very bored.

I love the different NY holiday pictures too!!

 

[podsnel]

Hi Brook! I am not on here much lately, but today, in my frenzy of summer vacation planning (yes- for August- I'm sure you understand ) I thought, I need to read a DL TR! So AWESOME and so HAPPY it's yours!!! Loving it all- only on your first full day- and have to run, but in case ten million of your fans have not told you yet- you are AMAZING with Henry, and don't worry- sooner than you can imagine, he'll be draggin YOU on rides YOU are afraid of!!!

 

[podsnel]

Yay for the brave boy! He really is soooo stinkin cute! It was great seeing how excited he was about Legoland, too- and you're right, my older boys would not enjoy it! I think we're planning to do Knotts and the beach instead- they're also going to see an Angels game one night (while i run around DL by myself, geeking out on all the stuff they wouldn't do.

Thanks for keeping me company on this snowy day!

 

[mickeystoontown]

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

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[Tiggerrn2]

Have a Happy New Year!!! Hope you did something exciting to ring in the New Year! I bet it is great fun there in New York this time of year!

 

[BelleTinkMom]

Well, I don't think I've done a life update since summer...and so much happened since then, but the biggest one as of late is Hurricane Sandy. Many of you I am friends with on Facebook so you know how we fared, but in case you haven't heard, we were/are 100% FINE! I live in Queens, and fairly close to the water, but far enough away that we weren't affected. We didn't even lose power. Joe's office was very badly damaged and he won't be able to go back into the office until next month, but he's able to work from home-so nothing lost there.

Unfortunately that is not the case for over a million people on the east coast.

Hurricane Sandy hit us HARD. There are still people without power. Thousands lost their homes and everything they owned. Many people thought they were going to die...and many did.

It has been a hit on New York City (and surrounding areas), but New Yorkers know how to work together. Within a day there were sites set up with donations pouring in. People were taken care of, homes were already being cleaned and repaired. There is a long way to go, but we are making awesome strides.

I've been fortunate enough to be a part of this in a small way. I was reading on Facebook about the damage, sobbing and thanking God over and over for how very BLESSED I am, and saw a note that there was a donation site just down the street from me. I had NO excuse not to get out there and help. I posted that I would be spending $100 of my own money to buy supplies and if anyone wanted to donate, they could.

Long story short, with that one message over $3,000 was raised! I cannot tell you how much that means to me. To be the "feet" of this little project, blessing others in their time of need. It's been a life lesson for me, humbling and amazing.

I still have a chunk of change and am using it to help families I have met, and using it to help some various projects - like a Kids Center for the Rockaways (Queens - where the 111 homes burned to the ground), a project called "Astoria Cooks for the Rockaways" where people from my neighborhood (and Henry's school has gotten involved in this!) are cooking for those in need - the volunteers working, the people living there who still don't really have a home or heat. Anyone. Last week over 1200 people were given a HOT, healthy, home cooked meal because of this little effort. Amazing.

On Tuesday I will be going to the Rockaways to serve with Astoria Cooks. I am very excited about this opportunity!

Thank you to everyone here who has prayed for New York, donated time, items or finances, either through me or another source. You are MOST APPRECIATED! Every time I talk about it, or even think about it all, I end up crying. It's devastating, and yet something amazing and beautiful has come from it. My words don't even come close to my gratitude. Thank you.

I am soo trying to get caught up on the DIS. I'm so glad that y'all fared well for Sandy. I know first hand how hard those times are/were. I am here on the Gulf Coast around New Orleans, we had Hurricane Katrina a few years back. I will continue to keep all those affected by Sandy in my prayers.