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!

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!

Our visit to Disneyland two years ago

In the band at the House of the Future in Tomorrowland.

Two years ago today we went to Disneyland together! That summer, I was living in San Diego, so we often stopped in Disney along the way from Palmdale to Encinitas.

You participated in the Jedi Academy, and around this time that summer, we had memorized the three light saber moves: "To the left shoulder...to the right leg...to the head"!

We then went over to the House of the Future, where you played the drums in a band! That aftenroon, we spent a good amount of time playing at the Redwood Challenge Trail in California Adventure.

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

At Disneyland two years ago today

Our perspective for the June 11, 2011, Jedi Academy.

Two years ago today we were at Disneyland together, Kieran!

Perhaps the highlight of the day was that we watched the Jedi Academy just a little offstage. You hadn't participated yet in the show, and we were checking it out so that you could see how it all worked.

About midway during the show, Darth Vader came back by us and slapped his light saber on the railing right next to where you were, and you jumped back!

When Darth Vader walked away, you turned to me and said, "I don't like that Darth Vader!"

Here are a whole bunch of photos from our adventure!

Your favorite Disneyland shows

Kieran vs. Darth Vader on Aug. 27, 2011

Yesterday I wrote about your favorite Disneyland rides. Interestingly, we didn't go on all that many rides whenever we visited Disneyland - maybe four or five at most. That's because we spent a lot of time doing other stuff there, like going to shows, shopping in stores, and playing together whenever we found fun interactive activities.

By far, your favorite two shows to attend were the Muppet Show 3D in California Adventure and the Jedi Academy in Disneyland's Tomorrowland. We went to the Muppet Show so many times that you actually started memorizing some of the lines/jokes (especially Fozzie the Bear's "waka waka!")!

You almost always were selected for the Jedi Academy. A couple of times, you even wore your Luke Skywalker costume when participating. After a while, you started memorizing all of the light saber moves they taught at the academy. The picture above is of you battling Darth Vader at one of the shows.

What memories do you have of these two shows?

Recall the Peter Pan book reading?

A year ago today, we went to Disneyland together. Since we'd gone so many times before, we both were in the mood to find something different to do. And we did!

For the first time ever, we went to the robot show which was near the House of Tomorrow. Then we went to the house of Tomorrow itself and played some video games we'd never done before.

But then we fell back on some old standbys., most notably participating in the Peter Pan show. Do you remember playing with the cannon on the ship-shaped bed they had in the Peter Pan room (see the picture at right)? We'd gone so many times to the show that you virtually had it memorized!

And, of course, you participated in the Jedi Academy training and got to battle Darth Vader! That was such a constant of our Disneyland visits that often the rides and shows we went to revolved our the Jedi Academy show schedule.

Here's a whole bunch of pictures from our visit that day!

Fathers Day 2012, RIP

Unfortunatley, we weren't allowed to spend Father's Day with one another today. This is the second of five Father's Days in your life in which we were denied that; the other time was in June 2008 when your mother took you away the first time from me and the two of you lived with Grandma and Grandpa Bignell (my parents). At least you got to see your real grandfather that day.

We spent Father's Day 2011 at Disneyland. You participated in the Jedi Academy, we rode some of the rides in Fantasyland, went into Tarzan's Treehouse, and skipped on over to California Adventure top watch the Green Army Men band. We also got to watch a Beatles tribute band, Paperback Writer, perform at Downtown Disney. It truly was a great day; the only thing sad about it was that I had to bring you back to your mother's that evening, and for me the drive back to San Diego was unbearably long and lonely, as they always were.

I have since learned that Paperback Writer played at Downtown Disney on Father's Day 2012. Oh how I wish I could have taken you and Jane there so we could have watched it together as a family!

Rest assurred, Kieran, I am working night and day to be able to see you  again soon. Hopefully, we will get to spend Father's Day 2013 with one another. We'll be a long way from Disneyland, but I will find something fun for us, guaranteed!