On Christmas Eve, we took Janie to Disneyland for the first time.  I’ve been going since I was really young and it’s been such a huge part of my childhood that our whole family was so excited to take her. Fortunately for us, the park was not very busy for most of the day and we got on the most popular rides in no time at all.  It started out a little rainy but cleared up by the end of the day.

We started off at Disney’s California Adventure where I got to visit Cars Land, which was quite impressive.  It’s the best job that Disney has done in a while.  I loved seeing Mater and the rest of the gang roaming the street and all the added Christmas decorations.

We rode the Radiator Springs Racers and had no wait in the single rider line.

In A Bug’s Land, Kumquat got to ride her first ride, Flik’s Flyers, which I think she enjoyed more than my mom who got a little dizzy.

By noon, we headed over to the Magic Kingdom.  Kumquat took her 2-hour nap while we rode all the big rides. 

Splash Mountain was overflowing with water from the heavy rain earlier in the day and Joy and I hopped on with a quick 10-minute wait and then a good soaking by the end of the ride.

By the time Kumquat woke up, it was time to ride the Finding Nemo Submarine ride.  She initially enjoyed all the sights and sounds but then we went into a dark cave and it was all over for her.  She cried and cried and didn’t stop until the ride stopped.  Poor baby.

Lunch was in Downtown Disney where we met up with Jason and Jia.  They had lunch with us and then took Jes to Costco to buy the prime rib that would be cooked the next day for Christmas.  In the meantime, we went shopping for Kumquat’s first Disneyland t-shirt and then we headed back inside Disneyland to wait for the Christmas Parade.  

I was amazed when Jes actually made it back in time!

He got to watch the parade with his daughter and they both thoroughly enjoyed it. 🙂

It’s a Small World was the highlight of the evening.  It was all decorated for Christmas inside and out and it was a nice little celebration for the holiday season.

They even added Lilo and Stitch to the Hawaiian section of the ride.  So cute!  I can’t help leave that ride without a smile on my face.

After that, we headed back to CA Adventure to have some wine.  We basically kept them open that evening and had some dead soldiers piled up by the end.

That was about the time when the parents went home and we were off to the Magic Kingdom again to finish off the day.

We actually stayed until almost closing and rode a few more rides before heading home.  Kumquat slept in her stroller for the rest of the night without a peep – even through all the commotion from Fantastmic.  I also got my fireworks and snow. And yes, I did cry.  Again.  Can’t help it when that sappy music comes on.  Aah…it was another good day at Disneyland.  Until next Christmas Eve!!!