I rushed around Fantasyland for a few minutes, keeping my eyes out for a cute little guy in a red Star Wars shirt, and after 5-ish minutes found him between Dumbo and King Arthur's Carousel. He was with another mom (bless moms) and a cast member, and was crying. Even now, though it was like 8 months ago, and he was -fine,- it makes me tear up to think about him feeling lost. My husband and DD2 found us a minute or two later. The cast member was amazing, and he asked if there was a ride in Fantasyland that DS5 wanted to ride - he would take him to the front of the line! This was no small thing at 6:30 PM on a decently busy day. I was a little nervous (haha) that he'd pick the Carousel, but he had been asking to ride Dumbo again all day, and we hadn't wanted to brave the line. So Dumbo it was.
You can see in this picture that he was still a little teary-eyed, but the cast member walked the 4 of us to the front of Dumbo, and we got to ride it again, which really lifted his little spirits.
I had told the other kids (via text) that we found him and that we were going to ride real fast while they ate. We met up with them afterwards, and I finally got to eat my
Disneyland corn dog (one of my favorite treats). Guys. Disneyland corn dogs are amazing when they're hot and fresh. Thirty minutes later and cold? Hmm... that was a little sad, haha. Not nearly as enjoyable! The chicken tenders and fries didn't fare any better after sitting for 30 minutes, but at least no one had empty tummies. I don't remember when/what DH ate (with his gluten and dairy sensitivities).
We took a few pictures of all the castle construction, and a few of DH and I in front of it, then headed over because several kids were excited about Autopia. That is a ride I don't want anything to do with in the heat of the day, but right about sunset it's quite enjoyable and beautiful. We got there about 7:15 and we were in line about 20 minutes. The way our kids' heights worked out, we needed to put the two little ones with me, DD9 with DH, and DD11 and DS12 had to ride individually for the first time. Even at that age, that pedal is not easy to push down! Everyone had a great time though.
We zoomed over to the Star Wars Launch Bay, since I'd been wanting to try to meet a character there, and guess who was meeting? Chewbacca! I'm an old original Star Wars fan from way back, and when I was a teenager I was kind of obsessed with it. I read all the books many times and have owned every version of the original trilogy (old VHS, new enhanced VHS, DVD set, and now blu-rays). I enjoy the new ones too, but I'm not as interested as I was when I had time to obsess over fictional characters/worlds. But you guys,
Chewie. I was a happy camper, and even happier that our group picture with him turned out!
At 8 PM it was time for a quick fastpass on Buzz, and then we finished our night as a family riding IASW at 8:40. Those little ones were wiped out! DS12 actually chose to go back with DH and the two littles because he was worn out, too.
I don't remember what the girls and I did after they left. I have a picture in the Disney gallery just before 9:30 PM, and this funny one by the Get Your Ears on Honda Odyssey as we entered Downtown Disney:
They had been dying to get beignets the whole trip, and we always things the DTD ones are the best. But alas, they were out of the little minis and we had to get the full-size ones. Also yummy. We did asome window shopping for a bit and then limped over to the shuttle buses to head back and end our 3 busy days at the Disneyland Resort.
The bus dropped us off at the Toy Story lot. It was still just a bit of a hike over to our hotel, and DH left as soon as we got back because he had a chiropractic conference in Newport Beach starting early the next morning, and he needed to join his friends that he was rooming with through the weekend. His conference definitely affected the timing of our trip, and it was nice that he was going to be out there anyway, so we could all drive out together. (He flew back Sunday night after I drove home with the kids Thursday).
