Disneyland Part I

Sydney Fuller…a world traveler in her own right at the ripe age of two…made her first trip to Disneyland look like…well, child’s play! So how did the trip go??? Well, we had “faith, trust, and a little bit of pixie dust.” Okay, as a guy in his early 30’s I should not know the common saying of Tinkerbell and her posse. But, the fact of the matter is that we have a two-year old that loves the little green one, so there are many things that can’t be helped but learned, simply due to the nature of the environment.

Prior to departing on our trip to the Sunshine state, we were able to get Sydney to say “Disneyland or bust.” It’s always amazing how clear she can say things. But we had truly reached the point of no return. As parents, we did the prep work we thought vital for the trip. She could name most of the main characters, and she had the right amount of excitement buildup.

On the first day of her official Disney outing, she got to meet Tinkerbell as part of her first act. She played it cool, slowly strolling over to her and giving her a hug. We weren’t sure how she’d react to the size of the characters, especially since they are much bigger in person than they are on the TV, but she approached the situation as to say, “we pixies gotta stick together.”

Sydney also had a great time meeting Mickey Mouse. She was happy to point in him out, and then get a couple of memorable pictures with the iconic figure. We could see that she was having a good time, but we knew she was already becoming a Disneyland veteran. On the morning of day two we asked if she was looking forward to Disneyland, and she balled her fists tight and shook them while cheering and saying “yeah!!!”

During her time at Disney she learned about many of the parks essential features…the Fastpass, that magical taste of churros, and early morning admission. We noticed pretty quickly that she had a taste for the more thrilling rides. After her participation in Pirates of the Caribbean and a few faster rides, she appeared a little bored on the ‘toddler’ rides.

While her days were filled with fun activities, one of the best things she liked about the trip was spending time with the grandmas….including her Grandma (Gloria) and her Nana from Montana (Donna). They both made the trip extremely fun, and Sydney loved sharing such great memories of her first Disney trip with them. And there were even some occasions when it looked like they were little kids again, too :)

Beyond her time in CA, she also handled the travel portions of the trip like a pro. Security at the airport was not a problem for her. Fortunately, TSA is not into ‘toddler profiling.’ If the were, I know we’d be in trouble since Sydney really appears to be a shady character.

All in all…a great trip that provided some fun, a break from work (and daycare for others), and some needed vitamin D. And of course we have so many pictures that we’ll have to make this blog a two-part entry. So what’s next??? Well, let’s just say that Sydney is now counting down the days until her first trip to Disneyworld!!!