Here I am: CA Reunion - Part III: Disneyland

Tuesday, June 6th:

"To all who come to this happy place: Welcome!"

It's no secret that we are a "Disney Family!" I don't even know how many times I've been to Disneyland, but I still love it!

We arrived right after rope drop and made our way to Tomorrowland.

[Close up of our matching shirts]

[Main Street USA]

[Kenna and Porter]

[Kenna, Andie, and Porter]

My brothers are both too tall to ride Space Mountain, so they watched the little kids (including Theo) while the rest of us waited in line.

The line went pretty quick and Porter wanted to ride with me! He held my hand the entire ride! It was soooo sweet!

[Hayden]

[Ty was entertained by this giant wet ball]

Next we headed over to Astro Blasters. Everyone, including Theo, was able to ride this one!

Josh wheeled Theo right onto the ride and I was able to sit right next to him.

I was in charge of driving our little buggy and Theo had a fun time spinning around while I shot at aliens.

Next, we headed over to Star Tours!

[Cole!]

After Star Tours the group split up for a bit with some going to find some breakfast and some heading over to the Jungle Cruise. We spoke to the Cast Member at the front gate and he told us to stand in a line off to the side for the accessible boat. There was only one boat that could accommodate Theo and there were two people in front of us. It's only a 12 minute ride, so we didn't have to wait long.

[Me, Josh, Brodee, and Theo]

[Tyson and Ty]

[Dane]

When it was our turn Josh wheeled Theo onto the boat. The Cast Members locked him in, spun him around, and lowered the seat.

It's perfect! The rest of our group joined us and we were off on an adventure!

[Ty, Tyson, and Missy]

After our cruise everyone headed to Pirates while I took Theo to First Aid. Disney doesn't have any changing tables in their regular or family restrooms that are large enough for Theo. I went to First Aid and asked them if they had a place for me to change Theo's diaper. They took me to a large, private bathroom that had a toilet, sink, and an exam table. It was perfect!

After our bathroom break we went over to the Jolly Holiday Cafe to get a macaroon! It was delicious!

[Missy and Cole]

[Ty's face 🤣🤣]

[Tyson, Ty, Mom, and Josh]

After Pirates and the Jolly Holiday Cafe, we all met up and went on Haunted Mansion. Another classic!

We then all headed over to the Plaza Inn on Main Street USA for lunch. They have delicious fried chicken, pasta, and desserts AND they have gluten free options. Can't beat that!

After lunch we went and took pictures by the Castle and then headed into Fantasyland.

[Theo and Hayden]

Theo was able to ride on King Arthur's Carrousel, so we went there first.

Most of the family rode a few more rides in Fantasyland before heading back to the carrousel to try and pull the sword out of the stone!

We then made our way to Toontown! Some of the bigger kids went on the Gadget Coaster while the littles played in the play areas.

We then did rider swap for Runaway Railroad.

It's hard to keep kids entertained while in line!

After Toontown we split up again with a few of us heading to Small World, some heading to Matterhorn, and others wandering somewhere in between!

A small group of us headed to Small World. I asked the Cast Member at the front of the line if we were supposed to go in the regular line. He said "Yes!" But after we got in line we started to question that. Another Cast Member walked by and we asked her if we were in the right line. At first she said yes, but then she asked if Theo could transfer to sit on the ride. I told her that he could not transfer and had to stay in his wheelchair. She then said we were in the wrong line and we should follow her. She took us to the handicap line and we boarded the wheelchair boat very quickly. I'm glad we asked another Cast Member! We all boarded the boat after they got Theo situated and the ride started.

You can see a cute kid in a wheelchair twice on the ride. I love how they are so inclusive!

As we approached the dock the Cast Member asked us if we wanted to go again. There wasn't anyone in the wheelchair line, so no one needed the boat. We all decided to go again! Right as we exited the ride everything stopped. Apparently the pumps that push the water had shut down and we were all stuck. The Cast Members came around and evacuated the boats all around us. Once they were safely evacuated they attached hooks to the boats and pulled them all forward towards the dock. We were only stuck for about 15 minutes.

[Luke and Kenna on the Matterhorn]

After Small World we headed back to Main Street USA where some of our group was waiting for the parade to start. We had to wait over an hour, but we had some pretty great front row seats!