Disneyland at Halloween Time

I know, we all have been doing a lot of traveling over the summer; but we have not been together as a family. Jason worked for many weeks out of town, so we thought it would be nice to go away for a weekend together. It ended up being a little more than a weekend and we had a great time. It had been 3.5 years since we had been to Disneyland last and so it was time to visit again. We wanted to go back while Amelia is still in the princess phase, but I think she was not fooled by the ladies.

The weekend before Halloween we went down to Orange County with an early morning flight on Friday morning. It went without problems (unlike last time) and we were in the rental car heading towards the hotel by 9.30 am. It was too early to check in, so we picked up our tickets and headed to the park. I loved the fall decorations. And they are really just decorations since fall has not started There yet. But all the orange banners and pumpkins put you in the mood. First thing after entering the park was heading in the direction of the Pirates of the Caribbean ride. Last time it had just opened and wait time was over 2 hours, besides Marlene was to scared to go in. This time we headed straight for it and we only had to wait about 15 minutes. It was so nice to stand in the sun of southern California after all the rain here. Our next stop was the Haunted Mansion which was decorated in a "Nightmare before Christmas"-Theme. Then we toned it down for Amelia and stopped by the little critters to see Winnie the Pooh and friends. Since we had been up for a long time it was time to head to the hotel and rest. I took the girls to the pool. They just loved swimming and splashing in the water. Amelia was fearless and rode the big slide at least 20 times every day!

The rest of the evening and our trip we kept going back and forth between the hotel and both parks and rode every imaginable ride. Marlene and Jason went on all the roller coasters; her favorite is the screamer. I liked the Grizzly Bear ride beast even though I nearly threw up on it. Amelia's favorite was lunch with the princesses at Ariel's Grotto. Being the week before Halloween the parks were really busy, but we managed to do everything at our pace and were able to redo all our favorites on Monday. We all had a great time. What I love about Disneyland is, that they take care of everything. It is nice and clean, they tell you how long you wait in every line and make sure everything is secure. Amelia was devastated when she was not allowed on the Indiana Jones ride. So they gave us a switch off ticket so I was able to get through he fast line as soon as Jay and Marlene were out. I liked that instead of wandering single characters, that they cluster them together and you wait your turn in line. They even tell you, if a line is closing, as not to disappoint you. We saw more characters than ever and both girls filled their autograph books pretty fast. I think Disney manages crowds really well and cut down on frustration that a huge place with thousands of visitors daily inevitably brings.