After a long first day at the parks, we all slept so soundly that we didn't even hear when the Disney fairies crept in to leave lanyards for Luke and Ruby - Jake Skellington for Luke and Disney Princesses for Ruby. It was the perfect beginning to our morning and the kids were definitely ready for another magical day at Disneyland. We made it through the security line a little more quickly and everyone humored me by stopping for pictures at the iconic entrance.
Jack and Sally were especially excited for a day in Disneyland.
As we were finishing our pictures, Cinderella and Ariel walked past us then stopped to meet and take pictures with friends. It was the best timing and Ruby was so excited to talk to the princesses. It ended up being a great day for princess spotting and one of Ruby's best days ever.
There were a lot of photo ops early on in the day - we had to take advantage of our Mickey shirts at the best spots in the park. We had made arrangements to meet Brian, Katie, and Baby Paige at the park and were thrilled when it worked out to have some pictures together. Luke and Ruby adore Paige and it was fun to have a chance to interact with her in such a magical place.
One of Paige's favorite places at Disneyland is the Tikki room. We all loved watching her dance to the music. When it started Luke told me that he thought it was boring, but by the time the warrior song started, he had decided it was pretty cool.
Cousins are the best
Luke and Tim loved exploring Tarzan's tree house.
And of course, the Jungle Ride.
Moana was definitely worth the wait!
Ruby didn't want to pass the chance for a picture with any princesses,
Pocahontas was especially lovely
Last year when we were at Disneyland, we failed to ever make it to Toon Town so it was high on my list for this trip. We spent a few hours there, meeting Mickey and friends, and letting the kids just play - there is a lot more exploring than actual rides or experiences. Luke and Ruby had the best time visiting and playing at the houses of all of their Disney friends like Goofy and Donald Duck.
Goofy's house and yard were fantastic!
And of course Donald Duck lives on a boat.
The line to meet Minnie was long and I tried a few times to talk Ruby out of it, but she was firm in her desire to talk to Minnie. She had a great time exploring Minnie's house, especially her kitchen, but the main attraction was definitely the chance to see Miss Minnie herself.
Ruby may have had her princesses, but for Luke, the day was all about Star Wars. He and I spent some time together in Tomorrow Land exploring all of the Star Wars props, costumes and displays. When we found out that we could meet Darth Vader, Luke was especially excited. He made sure to tell the cast members his name, and then when we met, immediately told Darth Vader that he was "Luke". It was cool because we got to go in a compartment of his ship to visit with Darth. Luke was pretty overwhelmed by Darth's "force" and before we knew it, had agreed to join the Dark Side.
I was smiling, but I have to admit I was a little intimidated.
Meeting Darth Vader was really just the prequel for Jedi Training. Really, what could be better than to be at Disneyland, dressed up, and on stage fighting as a Jedi. When we told Luke he could be a Jedi for the afternoon he was all in. While Tim and Ruby waited, I watched as Luke and the other Jedi got fitted for robes, and then learned how to fight with their light sabers. By the time the generals led them to the main stage, the Jedi were definitely prepared.
The show was fun and Ruby still talks about "that strong girl with the force"
Some kids got completely overwhelmed when Darth Vader and Kylo Ren showed up to battle but Luke just stepped right up, ready to fight. He told us later that he had to fight Kylo Ren because Darth couldn't fight him because Luke is his son. So funny that he thinks so much about that. We had never even watched Jedi Training before, but I think it has definitely become one of our favorite experiences at Disneyland.
He earned a special Jedi Training pin for the lanyard.
Once the sun started to set on the first two nights, the crowds disappeared and we were able to go on so many rides in a short period of time. We spent the rest of our evening on the second day riding some of the kids' favorites before finally pushing two sleeping kids home to be deposited into bed
Splash Mountain at night is definitely one of my very favorites!
Poor Ruby did not feel the same way.
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