Weeeell, technically her second trip if you count the times we went while she was in my tummy.. I kind of do, but then again those first times didn’t come with baby giggles, wide-eyed wonder and picture perfect moments with Mickey Mouse.
Since this trip happened well before Father’s Day, and before we’d even moved into our new house (yes, I am THAT behind in posts) I’m not even going to TRY to recap the details of the day. I’ll just share some of the highlights!
I figured that with my time working for The Mouse, any children I’d have would automatically come with a dose of pixie dust from all the time hanging out in The Kingdom. And it turns out I was not mistaken! Tessa was remarkably observant and involved in the sights, smells and experiences of Disneyland for an 8 1/2 month old. She went from the extreme of bring hyper and climbing all over daddy to bring passed out in a limp baby slumber.
We discovered that our daughter is a bit of a thrill seeker. She actually giggled and bounced with each drop in Pirates of the Caribbean, and danced along to the flashes and audio crescendos of Fantasmic. And always noticing details, details, details!
She pretty much noticed things on the grand scale, and the minuscule scale, and then just missed everything in between. We found ourselves having to stop and spend moments just taking in the slower side of Disney’s magic. Like getting fortunes read by Fortune Red in New Orleans Square:
…and we spent more time than I think we ever have on tiny details, like listening in on the Main Street land lines in the new Starbucks, and just watching the baristas make their drinks…
Tessa had an absolute blast meeting Mickey. I didn’t want to be one of those shoving little kids aside to get a clear shot with Mickey moms, so I knew we had to be all civil-like and call on Mickey in his home, like decent adults. So off to Toon Town we went, meandering through Mickey’s house to meet the Mouse himself. Tessa loved all the sights and sounds and cartoony mayhem, and when it came time to meet Mickey, she was entranced! Lots of staring, and reaching, and not wanting to leave!
While meeting Mickey was fun, at the end of the day, her absolute FAVORITE Disneyland attraction? The Tiki Room!! She bounced, and chattered and waved her arms pretty much the entire show. Three times. In a row. And she STILL starts dancing and bouncing when we play the Tiki Room on our phones. The girl is hooked!
Overall, it was a GREAT first Disneyland trip… from watching shows to riding rides to taking in the atmosphere, our baby girl had a BLAST. We got to spend time with the family (my parents, my siblings, and my sister-in-law) and even though I forgot my camera the first day (I KNOW, RIGHT?!) we got some good shots on day 2.
We cannot wait to take baby girl back! (In about a week or so!)
