The Princess and the Tobe

Today was our first "normal" day in the park (as if there's actually such thing!) We had early entry to California Adventure, which was phenomenal, and so we started our day there. Hubbyman stood in line for Radiator Springs Racers fastpasses for the 3 of us (Tobes was too small) and in the meanwhile, I took the kids on a bazillion rides!! Seriously! Most of the people in the park were in Carsland, so the rest of the park was pretty empty!! We started our day at the furthest point of the park and rode the new Toy Story ride 3 or 4 times, then the carousel. We had a second breakfast at Pacific Warf, and then made our way down to Carsland.

After naptime, we went to Disneyland to go on some rides there. We finished up the day in Downtown Disney at the Rainforest Cafe, which the kids LOVED. There were about 3 "thunderstorms" while we were there (the lights flickered, thunder roared, and the animals on the wall actually move!

Under the bunk bed was a trundle bed, and this might have been one of my most favorite thing during the trip. The kids were getting ready to watch "Princess Bedtime Stories", and Tobes was in the trundle. He pulled up the blankets and asked Princess to "come in!!" so they could watch them together!! <3 br="br">

This was nicknamed "The Day of the Princesses"!! This was the day that we surprised Princess with her very own makeover at Bippidi Boppidi Boutique! First stop of the morning was Fantasyland, where we explored and rode until it was time to take Princess to her appointment!

Princess didn't know about her very special appointment. It wasn't until we walked into the actual, physical salon that I told her what was in store for her!! I'm just including a few shots from her makeover, but it was AMAZING!! The Fairy-Godmother-in-Training took Princess "shopping" for her dress and then Cinderella's mice made it in the back. She was then whisked away to the changeroom in the back, then brought over to the salon to complete the makeover!!

They painted FLOWERS peeking through the floorboards!!

Princess chose her absolute favorite, Merida, from Disney's Brave. It's hands-down her favorite movie, and favorite Princess, and it's probably one of my favorites now as well!! (Toss-up between Brave and Beauty and the Beast)

After her make-over, we were taken to a little studio for a Princess Photoshoot!!

Then it was time to return to the park. First on the list was to see some other Princesses!!

Princess had already met Merida that morning (and brought her a picture she had drawn) and it had previously been the highlight of her trip. But we opted to take her back to Merida, dressed as Merida, and Merida REMEMBERED HER AS THE GIRL WHO DREW HER A PICTURE!!!! I knew the casting process for Princesses were intense, and I knew that they only had the best of the best, and this sealed it!

Seriously? How awesome is that picture??

The experience was worth it's weight in gold. Princess wandered both parks, and got the royal treatment wherever we went. Cast members curtsied and bowed, called her "Princess" and "Merida", and the characters got in on it too!!

Don't worry, Tobes was NOT ignored. While I spent the morning with Princess, Tobes was with Hubs. They rode the monorail several times, as well as Pirates of the Caribbean and The Haunted Mansion (which was much less scary and WAY more awesome decked out as The Nightmare Before Christmas. Funny side-note about the Pirates ride though - Tobes LOVED it, but that night back at the hotel, we heard fireworks, and Tobes was startled more than usual. He started asking us a bunch of rapid-fire questions, and finally we figured out what he was asking. "Canon? They be canons? Pirates??" *lol* Once we assured him they were fireworks, he happily went back to playing.

That afternoon we had our usual naptime, and I went on an "adventure" by myself - it was such an awesome opportunity to take the time to see what I wanted to see, and go where I wanted to go. Also, single-rider lines? Fantastic!! Again, don't worry - Hubbyman got the same opportunity, we alternated every day! ;)

After naps we headed over to California Adventure and Carsland, which is MAGICAL at night!!