Four years ago today: In Disneyland!

Feb. 7, 2010

Four years today, we went to Disneyland! The rain had been horrible on Friday (Feb. 5, 2010) when we went there, so we spent Saturday (Feb. 6, 2010) in Palm Springs. The rain was only slightly better on Saturday, though, and had let up a little (but not much) on Sunday (Feb. 7, 2010), so after packing up the truck, we went back to Disneyland!

To keep out of the rain and cold, I shuffled up our usual activities. We started the morning with a character breakfast at the Plaza Inn just off of Main Street USA. You got to me Tigger, Goofy's son, and Chip and Dale.

Later we did a variety of rides in Fantasyland. we drove back to Lancaster that evening.

Here's a whole bunch of photos from our adventure!

Four years ago today: Palm Springs, Baby!

Feb. 6, 2010, Palm Springs Air Museum

Four years ago today, we went to the air museum in Palm Springs, Calif.! The weather was extremely wet and cold, and I didn't want us to suffer through it again at Disneyland, like we did the day before. So I came up with the bright idea of driving from Pomona (where we were staying) to Palm Springs, where I thought its separation from the L.A. basin would make the weather there fairly nice (at least that was my experience inthe past when I lived in Palm Springs!).

The weather was warmer in Palm Springs - but ran still fell, though it was a little lighter.

We started the day having lunch at Ruby's Diner in downtown Palm Springs. Then we spent a couple of hours at the air museum. We both were getting a little tired and had a long drive back, so we drove on the I-10 into the L.A. metro area, stopping at Toys R Us in Ontario, where we bought a toy (Though I can't seem to remember what it was - I think it was a tree house explorer kit with animals) and then went back to the hotel.

Here are a bunch of pictures from our time at the air museum!

Four years ago today: At Disneyland!

Feb. 5, 2010

Four years ago today, we were at Disneyland! I remember the weather being very rainy, which was a mixed blessing: We were able to get on lots of rides as very few people visited the park, but it also meant we had to fight the dampness!

Because of the rain and cold, I altered our usual itinerary and the kinds of rides we we went on. We began the day with a character breakfast at the Storybook Cafe in the Californian hotel off of Downtown Disney. You had a lot of fun meeting the Disney gorillas, chipmunks and bears!

You were a little scared, though, when we went over to the Jedi Academy. You had to participate in your first academy, and with the rain they had a character meet-and-greet. You got to meet Darth Vader (who you found frightening) but then lightened up when we got to the jedi, who treated you a like a little padawan. When they asked you who your favorite jedi was, you told them "Luke Skywalker," and they were very impressed!

Here are a bunch of photos from our adventure!

Remember going on Astro Blasters?

Do you remember our many rides on the Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters at Disneyland? It usually was our first ride when we arrived at the park as it was near the entrance and lines would get long quickly, so I was keen on getting on it as soon as possible!

After going through a queue in which Buzz gives us our orders, we board little carts/spaceships and go off to fight Emperor Zurg's evil robot minions and alien friends.

While in the moving carts/spaceships, we'd fire blasters (We had a toy one to play with!) at red lights on the robots and aliens. Sometimes the ride would stop moving due to a mechanical or a loading problem, and that was an opportunity to rack up megapoints as we could keep shooting at the same targets over and over!

The last scene is a gigantic battle with the Emperor Zurg himself!

After the ride, we were deposited in the store full of Toy Story toys, which we usually looked at, but after quickly growing bored with that, we'd scrambled across the way to Star Traders, which was the big Star Wars store!

Our day at Disneyland!

In front of Sleeping Beauty's castle, Jan. 5, 2011.

Three years ago today, we went to Disneyland together! We began the morning with a look at the bronze sculptures on the campus in Pomona and then drove on over to Anaheim.

We began our day at Disney with a ride on Buzz Ligthyear and then a quick stop at Star Traders (the Star Wars store), where you got a stuffed Yoda. We then went over to Fantasyland, which include a run on Mr. Toad's Wild Ride.

After that, we headed over to Adventure to do Tarzan's Treehouse, one of your favorite stops, and then to Critter Country for the Winnie the Pooh ride!

Here's a whole bunch of pictures from our adventure!

Four years ago today in Disneyland

Dec. 17, 2009, at Disneyland.

Four years ago today, we spent the day in Disneyland! It was my birthday!

I remember you being very impressed with all of the Christmas decorations at Disneyland, especially those on Main Street USA and the big Christmas tree at the center. At the time, you favorite ride was the carousel, so we went on that right away, as well as the teacups, which you also liked a lot!

We also spent a fair amount of time in Toontown, where you got to meet Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck. You were just 2 years 10 months old, and cute as all heck!

Here's a whole bunch of pictures of our trip together!

Two years today: In Disneyland

Two years ago today, we spent the day in Disneyland!

Unfortunately, I don't have too many photos from that weekend - sometimes my batteries ran out of power, and my camera has seen better days. But I did get one nice shot of you, wearing a Nightmare Before Christmas hat!

I do recall that we went into the haunted mansion for the Nightmare Before Christmas ride during the weekend!

Here's a whole bunch of photos from our trips during that Christmas season!

Recall your mini Disney lightsabers?

On Saturday when you took some of your Star Wars action figures with you, I got to thinking about all of the great toys from that series you've owned over the years. Certainly one of your favorites were the mini lightsabers we picked up at Disneyland.

There were four of them, each a different color, if I recall correctly - green for Yoda, purple for Mace Windu, red for Darth Vader, and blue for Obi-Wan Kenobi. Sometimes they'd break when playing with them, but they were pretty sturdy!

I'll also remember you having imaginary battles with them in the truck/car as we drove between places! Sometimes you'd say lines from the movie as going through the motions!

Remember the Star Wars exhibit in Santa Ana?

Two years ago today, we visited the Star Wars exhibit at the California Science Museum in Santa Ana, Calif. It was the Saturday after Thanksgiving, so we drove up from Encinitas (You'd been with me since Thursday morning).

The exhibit included a cool mock-up of The Millennium Falcon in which we got to be in the cockpot where Han Solo and Chewbacca sit and watch a movie about space, and then a whole room full of cool stuff from the various Star Wars movies.

Afterward, we went through the rest of the museum, which included a hockey section and a recycling game near the grocery store area. When we finished early, since we were only about eight minutes drive away, I said, "Hey, we're really close - do you want to go to Disney?" You said, "Yeah!" so we spent the afternoon and early evening there.

Here's a whole bunch of pictures from our trip!

Two years ago today in Disneyland

Nov. 25, 2011, Disneyland

Two years today, we spent the day in Disneyland! It was the Friday after Thanksgiving.

The day before (on Thanksgiving), I'd driven all the way up from Encinitas to Palmdale to pick you up, and we enjoyed a meal at Marie Callenders in Moreno Valley before arriving at my place outside of San Diego for the evening. I had the turkey special, but you enjoyed a hamburger and fries!

The next morning, we drove up to Disneyland to enjoy it for the Christmas holidays. I think we stopped at Ruby's Diner in Carlsbad on the way up there, but I might have that mixed up with something else.

Anyways, I remember one of the highlights is that you were fascinated by the Disneyland Christmas tree. And the It's a Small World ride was decked out as well with Christmas decorations!

Here's a whole bunch of photos from our day!

Remember the Disneyland candy store?

Do you remember the candy store Marceline's Confectionery in Downtown Disney? It usually was our last stop before leaving Disneyland!

The candy store was conveniently located directly across from the bathrooms and an exit we could take to a sidewalk that led to the parking ramp. When you were in a stroller, I'd usually push you along in it, rather than take a tram, from the tram to Disney.

The store carried water and milk, a necessity for our drive back home. Sometimes we'd also pick up some treat for the ride back. You liked the Minnie Mouse cookies, and I usually got a pretzel stick with some caramel/chocolate/nut candy wrapped around it!

Where we were four years ago today

Four years ago today, we spent the afternoon at California Adventure!

You enjoyed the water play area near what used to be the Farmers Exposition area (Now it's the Cars section) and got absolutely soaked! Fortunately, it was a warm day, so after a change into dry clothes, you were all okay!

You'd actually discovered the water play area the day before (on a Saturday) in our two-day excursion to Disneyland. So you were very keen on going back there Sunday and kept asking me when we would get to the fountains! The morning was a bit too cool to let you get soaked (I didn't want you to get hypothermia!), but by afternoon, the sun had fully warmed the theme parks.

Here's a whole bunch of pictures from that weekend!

In Disneyland four years ago today

Four years ago today we spent our day at Disneyland!

The whole place was decked out for Halloween, which was cool. It was our first exposure to Disneyland decorated for Halloween.

You were a the right age to be really interested in meeting characters. You got to meet Pinocchio on Main Street USA!

One young Disney girl taking pictures in Fantasyland thought you were the cutest thing and you two talked and talked! At above right is a picture she took of us together in a teacup!

Here's a whole bunch of photos from our adventure!

Recall your Buzz Lightyear blaster toy?

Do you remember your Buzz Lightyear blaster toy? It was modeled on the blasters used on the Buzz Lightyear ride at Disneyland (The ride usually was our first stop during any Disneyland visit we made!).

You had a couple of different blasters. One was a large one the size of a phaser. Sometimes we'd pretend to be Starfleet officers on a derelict ship and would carry the blaster and a phaser to fend off monsters and evil aliens. I still have the blaster in a tote!

The other blaster was a small one that was part of a keychain. We had a couple of those - one broke and so we replaced it. You always liked to carry it around when at Disney; one time you dropped it in the water at the Storybook Land ride, and a Disney worker fished it out for you!

We bought both (er, all three?) blasters at the Star Command store at the end of the Buzz Lightyear ride!

Character breakfasts at Disneyland

Character breakfast at Storyteller's Cafe

During our visits to Disneyland, one of the events I always enjoyed splurging on were character breakfasts. Usually we ate breakfast at our off-Disney hotel, but sometimes when the rain was falling or we had a rare cold day, I'd take us to a character breakfast.

One that we went to a couple of times was in Downtown Disney at the Grand Californian Hotel's Storyteller's Cafe. You could buy ala carte or off the buffet.

Lots of the furry Disney animals would be there - Chip and Dale, the bears from the recent Bear movie, and sometimes the gorillas from "Tarzan." You always like the big bears when they came in!

Another character breakfast we did was at the Plaza Inn in Disneyland. They usually had Winnie the Pooh chracters, though sometimes other ones would appear. Captain Hook sometimes did, and he always creeped you out (So much that you wouldn't go to eat there anymore!).

Geordi's rocket and the Borg cube

"Borg cube"

Do you remember "Geordi's rocket" and "the Borg cube"? When you were four years old, and I lived in Encinitas, we'd sometimes (okay, alot of times) drive from Disneyland back to San Diego via I-5, which took us past the Discovery Science Center in Santa Ana.

"Geordi's rocket"

One of the science center's icons was a large black cube - which looked like a Borg cube from "Star Trek." Another was a giant white rocket. Both easily could be seen from the freeway on our drive back.

After you'd seen the movie "Star Trek: First Contact," you started calling the science center's rocket "Geordi's rocket" because it looked like the Phoenix spaceship that Engineer Geordi LaForge helped build in the movie. The movie also had a Borg cube, so we started calling the center's cube "the Borg cube"!

Everytime we'd go past the science center on our drive, I'd say, "Look, there's the Borg cube" and you'd say, "And there's Geordi's rocket!"

Your Mickey Mouse Clubhouse figures

Do you remember your Mickey Mouse Clubhouse figurines? We purchased them during one of our many visits to Disneyland.

The set included Mickey, Minnie Mouse, Goofy, Donald Duck, Daisy Duck and Pluto. Like all of the other plastic figure Disney sets we had, none of the arms or legs moved, but they were solid and didn't break, and they sure stood well on their feet, which was really difficult with some of our action figures!

We had a Mickey Mouse Clubhouse playset that was purchased separately, so we would use the figures to play Mickey Mouse and friends visiting one another.

Recall our Peter Pan playset?

Do you remember our Peter Pan playset? It consisted of figurines of the major characters from the movie and some other cool accessories.

We purchased the playset during one of our many visits to Disneyland. It formed the core of our box of "pirate toys."

Often we used the figures and accessories when playing with our "ocean" toys - especially the rowboat and gazebo. We usually played with them on the glass coffee table, which served as the "water surface" of many ocean and island adventures, at the green house in Lancaster.

Theonly real downside to the figures is that they didn't move like our many other action figures!

Remember our Disney figure sets?

During our many visits to Disneyland, we got into the habit of purchasing play figures of characters from Disney movies or rides. Usually six or seven came in a set, and there were at least a dozen sets!

One of them was the villains set (see pictures). It contained bad guys from various Disney movies.

Often these figures/characters became parts of other play sets! The Peter Pan pieces, for example, were part of our pirate toys while the Buzz Lightyear toys became part of our space toy collection.

Unfortunately, none of the figures had movable parts. Still, they stood upright quite well (better than our various action figures!) and were a lot of fun to play with anyway!

Our day in Disneyland two years ago!

Pirate helper, Aug. 6, 2011.

Two years today we spent the day in Disneyland! It was a Saturday, and I picked you up in Palmdale; then we drove to Anaheim.

You got to be the pirate helper at the telling of "Peter Pan" in the House of the Future. Then we went on the SS Columbia ship in Frontierland.

Next we went back over to the do the Jedi Academy, where you fought Darth Vader. Later, it was off to Tom Sawyer Island in Frontierland.

Finally, we went over California Adventure and played on the Redwood Challenge Trail. Then we left for my home in Encinitas!

Here's a whole bunch of pictures from our adventure!