Celebrating my birthday at Disneyland

Happy Birthday to me!

It's been a fun weekend of volleyball, food, and movies. What better way to wrap it up than to go to Disneyland. 

Ian thought we should do the 85C bakery for breakfast to celebrate. We left the house late enough that it was open so yeah, that sounds like a great plan. 

Again today we found ourselves in the new Pixar parking structure. We broke from the rest of the crowd and appreciated the new views into the park. And while I can appreciate that there's 3 elevators here, having 3 means people don't know how to line up. Last week some lined up in front of each elevator, and then crowded over to whatever door opened first. It was not as orderly as it normally is. We tried something new and took the stairs down. A little more difficult with the stroller, but it might become the norm for us.

Our first stop after entering the park has to be here to get a birthday button!

Last week we missed out on Mater and instead went on Luigi's. The kids raced to get their favorite vehicle. And once again we're racing to pick baby tractors.

Of course I'm wearing a hat on my birthday. It's a giant birthday cake hat with candles that light up. I got many compliments on it during the day, and a few people wanted to know where they could buy one. Unfortunately it's no longer sold and eBay is your best bet.

The kids discovered the beads at Fillmore's for the first time.

Just like normal, our next stop is the bakery tour.

Where we collect the sample bread slices.

Eat the insides and give the crusts to the ducks. And there's 7 baby ducklings here for breakfast. Come back again for lunch!

I'm thankful for rides with short lines.

The kids love the new carousel.

Can't go wrong with pink and purple.

Snack-time. Just a gallon ziplock bag filled with carrots, grapes, apples, and nectarines.

Who is that photobombing us on the Golden Zephyr?

It's our neighbors! Hi guys! It's fun meeting up with friends at the park.

Enjoying the ride from the air.

While T enjoys the ride from the ground.

Let's get in one more ride before lunch. Something quick like the Little Mermaid. For now we can still squeeze 4 into our clamshell.

Ian - Daddy look at your hat! It's glowing bright under this UV light.

Let's eat.

A group of ducks coming to inspect our meal. Making sure we got bread for them I'm sure.

And of course we got them bread. The crusts and the ends are all for the ducks.

The ducks were around, but not coming over. Too early for them to eat I suppose.

Ian and I took a couple spins on Goofy's Sky School while Theresa took Alli on the Jumping Jellyfish. I mess with Ian while we're on the ride that I don't like like sharp turns (right before the sharp turns come up). And then that I'm okay as long as there aren't any big drops (right before the big drops). He gets such a kick out of telling me there aren't any of whatever I'm concerned about, then giggles his head off when they actually happen.
On our second ride he tried to convince me that this wasn't Goofy's Sky School, but another different ride that didn't have any of the things I didn't like in the ride we just did.

Over at the Redwood Creek, the ziplines only had 2 of 3 running and the lines were backed up. The slides were also closed. How about the rockwall? There was a little line, but Ian wanted to tackle it again. He conquered the first wall without falling off.

And then getting past the part that gives him trouble on the second wall.

Made it the whole way without falling! Congrats Ian!

Bouncing through the rope bridges.

The kids loved the Inside Out Emotional Whirlwind last week and wanted to ride again. We didn't get here early enough today so we were stuck waiting in a 30 minute line.
Ian wanted to know why there aren't any Fear memory balls out here in line. We decided that either they didn't have enough purple paint, or that it wasn't a scary ride so there's no reason to be afraid while you waited. Anger, Disgust, Sadness, and Joy, sure. All emotions you might experience while you're in line. But not Fear.

After waiting in the hot sun and not moving for 10 minutes, Sadness and Disgust started controlling our mind consoles. The ride hadn't spun in a while and managers and maintenance started showing up. When the people at the front of the line started leaving, we took the hint and decided to leave too. Glad the kids are good to go with the flow.

Instead we explored the nearby Candy shop while we waited for our Toy Story fastpasses to mature.

Waving at the backsides of Woody and Buzz. Fun that they're both here together greeting people.

Ian and I did well, though he is starting to steal my high points...
We do work together pretty well, opening up the hidden robot on the Little Green Men ring toss, and the bonus section during the Shooting Gallery section.

Before we leave the pier completely, there's the matter of all this bread to get rid of. Some thankful ducks found us and enjoyed their tasty lunch.

Last week we really wanted to get a ride on Radiator Springs Racers but the ride went down and it didn't happen.

So far so good.

Oh yeah! Made it on!

And we won!

Today we're walking out through the Grand Californian. I wasn't sure if there'd be a cake or anything special here or what. No cake, but it's always a joy to hear the live piano player in the lobby. They're super talented too, playing Disney song after Disney song. And I know it was just a quick glance up, but he did a quick switch over to "Happy Birthday" right in the middle of it all when he saw us walking in. Thanks!

And because we have time, we stopped by the gazebo and did some races.

The kids love it.

So it was no surprise that this happened on the way home.

What a fun weekend!