Disneyland Trip - Dec. 10-13, 2008

There comes a time in every child's life when they get to make their first visit to The Happiest Place on Earth. For Kaitlyn, that time came this week. We packed up the SUV and made the long drive to Disneyland on Wednesday with Grandma and Grandpa Pride following behind. We stopped at Harris Ranch for lunch and arrived at the hotel (Tropicana Inn & Suites) at 5:30pm. After unpacking, we walked through Downtown Disney and ate at ESPN Zone for dinner. We filled our bellies, then it was time to get some sleep before the big day.

On Thursday, we ate breakfast at IHOP and entered the park shortly after it opened at 9am. We took the obligatory photo by the Mickey head made of flowers right inside the entrance, took some more photos in front of the castle, then made our way to Fantasyland. For Kaitlyn's first ride, we chose a Disneyland classic, Dumbo the Flying Elephant. She just looked all around and really seemed to enjoy it. Next, we headed to Mickey's Toontown, rode Roger Rabbit's Car Toon Spin (she was indifferent), tried to take a picture with Minnie Mouse (she was terrified) and played in Goofy's Playhouse (she loved it). The rest of the day went like this: we rode many rides (even some adult rides, while Grandma Pride watched Kaitlyn), Kaitlyn ran around as often as we would let her, she took an afternoon nap in her stroller in California Adventure, we ate lunch at Rancho del Zocalo Restaurante in Frontierland with our friends Phil, Char & family, ate dinner at Redd Rockett's Pizza Port in Tomorrowland, watched the awesome fireworks show and left the park as it closed at 10pm.

Friday was another big day that started when we entered the park at about 8:45am. We did some rides in Disneyland before eating a late breakfast at Storyteller's Cafe in the Grand Californian. It was a yummy buffet, but we had to watch out for the characters walking around so they wouldn't get to close to Kaitlyn as she seems to have something against adults in costumes. After that, Shawnna and Kaitlyn went back to the room for a nap while the rest of us rode rides and shopped in California Adventure. We met back up for a late lunch at Blue Bayou in New Orleans Square, then continued the fun around Disneyland, watched the Christmas parade, then went back to the room to put Kaitlyn to sleep at about 8pm. Grandma and Grandpa Pride were nice enough to watch Kaitlyn while Shawnna and I went out to a very special dinner at Club 33.

Club 33 is a five star restaurant inside Disneyland above New Orleans Square. There are only 487 members and there is a 14 year waiting list to become a member (and it's EXPENSIVE). Anyway, our friend Phil works for a company with a Corporate Membership and he asked if we'd like to go with him and his family - you know our answer. The experience was amazing and the food was even better. I started with the Baltimore lump crab profiteroles with stone fruit compote, my main course was the filet of chateaubriand with truffle port demi and potato leek puree and creme brulee for dessert. Shawnna started with the day boat sea scallop, her main course was the same as mine and she had the chocolate orange cake for dessert. We dined in the trophy room where the decor was a hunting theme with stuffed animals (not the kind you'd find at the gift shop). I took a video walkthrough of Club 33, but the lighting is very low and might be hard to see everything - I felt like a complete dork taking it, so I'm posting it anyway. Other videos of the club can be found here. We left the club at midnight and walked back to the hotel to get as much sleep as we could before Kaitlyn woke up.

After about 5 hours of sleep, Katilyn woke us up and it was time to get ready for our final day at Disneyland. The adults were tired, but Kaitlyn was well rested and full of energy. We were back at the park when it opened at 8am and continued down the list of rides we wanted to go on with Kaitlyn. We ate lunch at Wine Country Trattoria in California Adventure and finished our trip with a visit to A Bug's Land, did some shopping at World of Disney in Downtown Disney, then headed for home at about 4pm. We hit some traffic driving through L.A., but the rest of the way was smooth sailing. After a brief stop at Carl's Jr. for dinner, we made it home by 10:30pm (Kaitlyn slept a good portion of the way).

For the record, here's the list of rides Kaitlyn went on: Alice in Wonderland, Casey Jr. Circus Train, Dumbo the Flying Elephant, Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage, Haunted Mansion, Heimlich's Chew Chew Train, It's a Small World, King Arthur Carrousel, Mr. Toad's Wild Ride, Peter Pan's Flight, Pinocchio's Daring Journey, Pirates of the Caribbean, Roger Rabbit's Car Toon Spin, Snow White's Scary Adventures, Storybook Land Canal Boats. Her favorites were It's a Small World and Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage. The ones she liked the least (she needed to be held half way through) were Haunted Mansion and Pirates of the Caribbean.

Overall, we had a great time, the weather was perfect (mid 70s) and I will certainly remember Kaitlyn's first Disneyland experience even if she won't. Thanks to Grandma and Grandpa Pride for helping to take care of Kaitlyn during the trip when we needed a break. Thanks to Phil, Char and family for allowing us to share the Club 33 experience with them - definitely a lifetime memory.