This was our "better late that never honeymoon". It was a blast and everything I'd ever hoped for!
We started off by making our way to Kanab. I think every one of the in-laws has come to love Kanab just as much as we do. Maybe it's the amazing 4-wheeling trips and dutch oven cooking that warms them up to it.
We took Mike to Peek-a-boo Trail, a classic from our family rides growing up.
After a cookout with some cousins and a much needed nights sleep we took of to Vegas!
I was a little worried about going to Vegas since we'd spent a bit already on our Disneyland plans but we did a lot of research and found a way to have a ton of fun without spending a lot. Check out the great ideas here.
On we were to California. The drive may have been my favorite part. I did fall asleep a lot but the rest of the time was filled with great conversation. I fell more in love with Mike every second. :)
We checked into our great condo and had fun relaxing in the hot tub. We headed to downtown Disney for some great eats and to stretch our legs.
Tuesday through Thursday were filled with the parks! It was a blast!
We ran all over the place the first day. It was nuts! The lines we NOT long at all. We walked right into a lot of them and others we only waited for about 10 min. Compared to 1.5 hours during peak season/days we were very pleased!
We had a meal in the park once a day but other than that we either packed food or went back to the condo to make food. This really helped us cut back on expenses.
Having the Disney Photo Pass people take pics is a great idea. It made it so we didn't have to keep pulling out our big camera every time. Plus they have AMAZING cameras and know how to stage the bast shots!
Day 2 we hit all of our favorites again. I think we went on Splash Mountain a million times. It was easily our favorite.
Day 3 was full of tired feet and lots of wondering around. When you don't have kids it's fairly easy to do everything you want in 2 days. So we just went on Splash Mountain a couple of more times :) and sat down to do some good old people watching. Mike loved pointing out every child that was not having a good time and the happiest place on earth.
I think my favorite thing (that wasn't a ride) was walking around a building on Main Street that was dedicated to Walt Disney's dream. We got to learn about his creative process and the history of Disneyland.
These is my favorite quotes: (I realized after writing this how much of a nerd I really am!)
"To all that come to this happy place: Welcome. Disneyland
is your land. Here age relives fond memories of the past, and
here youth may savor the challenge and promise of the future.
Disneyland is dedicated to the ideals, the dreams, and the hard
facts that have created America... with hope that it will be
a source of joy and inspiration to all the world."
"I first saw the site for Disneyland back in 1953, In
those days it was all flat land - no rivers, no mountains, no
castles or rocket ships - just orange groves, and a few acres
of walnut trees."
"Disneyland will never be completed. It will continue
to grow as long as there is imagination left in the world."
I wish I could spend one day with that man. I envy the people who would show up for work early and see him walking around the park, in the dark with imagination in his eye. He had an apartment in the park, just above the fire station where he could stay. There is always a candle lit in that window to remind people that the imagination Walt Disney had it still there and can be had by all!
