Halloweentime at Disneyland

Last week we took our first trip to Disneyland at Halloweentime!

Disneyland was all decked out in Halloween decorations. Everything on Main Street was all decorated in oranges and yellows, and there were pumpkins EVERYWHERE. Mickey and friends were all dressed up in their Halloween outfits too. Grandma and Grandpa Zaugg came with us, and we met up with Preston's sister and her family who live in Spokane. It was good to see everyone and we all had a great (if exhausting) time. I wasn't very good at taking pictures, but my brother in law, Clint took a ton of photos, so I am hoping to get a few good shots from him. In the meantime, here are a few pictures that I did manage to take.

Here is Arden on her most favorite ride, the teacups. They usually aren't my cup of tea (HA!), but I don't really mind them too much because I can turn the wheel the wrong way and make it so the cup I am in doesn't spin at all. :) Dax and Cora don't mind riding with me, but Arden and the bigger cousins thought I was the most boring teacupper EVER. I told them it was better than having me get sick all over them.

Arden was tall enough this year that she could go on some of the bigger rides. Before the trip so said she was so excited to go on all of the fast, fast roller coasters. We threw her on Space Mountain, which was tricked out for Halloween with scary flaming ghost-like things that chased you around through space. It is pitch black dark in there so I couldn't see her face during the ride at all, but as soon as it was over I asked her if she was okay, and she shook her head NO. She pretty much hated that ride. They take a picture of you while you are on the ride and then you can see them as you walk out. Arden's eyes were HUGE and the look on her face was pure, unadulterated terror. Poor little thing! She was still brave and went on Thunder Mountain (didn't like it), Splash Mountain (liked it all except for the big hill), and the Matterhorn (which for some reason she liked). Dax was tall enough for the Matterhorn and he liked it too. Brave kid. I didn't let Arden even attempt the Tower of Terror because I knew she would hate it and probably come out permanently afraid of elevators (LOVE that ride!)

Dax's favorite rides were the Jungle Cruise and the rockets. He also really liked the part on the train ride where there are "DINO-FORS!" Big Thunder Ranch was all decorated for Halloween, and even the petting zoo animals had Halloween neckerchiefs on. Here is a picture of Dax and a goat smiling at each other:

Weird, huh? Freaky little goat.

Dax's LEAST favorite ride was the Haunted Mansion, which was taken over by the Nightmare Before Christmas for Halloweentime. He HATED it. Oh well. Hopefully no permanent damage was done. Cora actually liked that ride, and pointed out all the pumpkins as we went along ("PUCKINS!")

We went without a nap for the first day or two, but Daxton still needed his and would fall asleep pretty much wherever. He fell asleep in the middle of watching Captain EO (Sidenote: I don't remember Michael Jackson's backup dancers having such incredibly cheesy hair. If you are ever at Disneyland, be sure to catch Captain EO if for no other reason than to see the amazing mullets). He slept a lot on the stroller, which he doesn't quite fit in anymore:

Dax wasn't the only one who was worn out. I think that we walked poor Grandpa and Grandma Zaugg into the ground. Here is a picture of them waiting for the Muppet 3D show to start:

I am pretty sure the Grandpa took a little nap right there on the floor. They were both great sports, and the kids loved playing with them.

Cora loves to watch Mickey Mouse Clubhouse on TV, so she was excited to see Mickey, and kept yelling "Mouse! Mouse!" whenever she saw him. But when it was our turn to have our picture taken with Mickey himself, she wasn't quite sure what to think. She touched Mickey on the nose and looked at him funny. I suppose she was wondering why Mickey didn't talk to her?

Corbie also really liked the jungle cruise, and especially loved pointing out all of the animals. She of course loved the carousels, both the one at Disneyland and the one over on the California Adventure side:. Here she is riding on at otter (I was riding on a much taller fish with Dax when I took the picture).

She is so cute. We watched the Pixar parade one day, and she danced and waved all through it, it was hilarious! One of my favorite moments from the trip was riding on the Dumbo with Dax and Cora while everyone else rode the Matterhorn. They were both just so excited to be flying on that elephant, and had huge smiles on their little faces. It just made me so happy to see them having so much fun.

Arden, of course, always enjoys a ride on the carousel too:

We flew in on Wednesday morning and flew out on Saturday night, which was the perfect length for the trip. It was long enough that we were able to see everything we wanted to see and ride on all of the rides we had to ride on. But we were all pretty tired by the time we got home, and I know I was ECSTATIC to get home to my own bed (and to get the kids in their own beds all the way down the hall from me!)