My Day Off At The Most "Crowded" Happiest Place On Earth

Yesterday I did what I said I was going to do... I went to Disneyland.. along with the rest of Southern California and a couple of other states and throw in a few countries and there you have it... The most crowded "Happiest" place on earth... Seriously, it wasn't so bad... The decorations were great and festive and orange... and you can find a lot to talk about standing in line for Space Mountain for 1.5 hours.. Yep - it was so crowded the Fast passes sold out before 2:00 in the afternoon.. No kidding...



We did play it smart - right when we walked in the park - we headed for the Haunted Mansion and got Fast Passes - the line was like nothing I had ever seen... Every one was there to see Jack.. So we got our passes and then we went next door to Splash Mountain - we stood in line for about 40 minutes - we visited with some great people from Costa Rica - enjoyed that.. Good thing the late morning/early afternoon was warm because we got soaked... It was very funny... A wave literally came over the log ride and drenched us....



After Splash Mountain - we were able to walk right into the Haunted Mansion - Love it! I had never seen it decorated for Halloween and Christmas - There was a huge Jack (from the Night before Christmas) dressed as Santa - awesome.... I wish I could have taken a picture of that.... Now I know what all the fuss was about..



This was the best picture I could take - while walking into the Haunted Mansion - The park was so crowded that they sold out Friday and Saturday. I was too pooped to stay for the fireworks - so today after tonight's Bible study we went as a family for dinner and fireworks.... Since the husband does not have a pass we watched from the top of the parking garage.. Very nice... but next week - I'm watching from inside the park!

No Work For Me On Saturday

My name is Kelly and I am a workaholic - it's true. I am very bad at delegating - no one can do it as well as I can.... Being a business owner makes it even tougher - if I don't work over time.. all the time... the income starts to trickle off and then I have to start all over again.....

Today - I came to the realization that my kids are missing me.... Even though I work out of my home office - I still have my office door closed - I might as well be out of the house.... I think my kids are okay with me working until 6:00 or later during the week day - they too have their work cut out for them... It's the weekends that drives my youngest especially insane... She is really missing mom and daughters time... I miss it too.....

So Kelly's Idea for Saturday - chuck it all - no work for me... I having girl time at the Happiest Place on Earth - We're going to Disneyland!

Disneyland Premium Passes For Us!

I am having a great time this summer with the kiddos! I told you a while back that I was getting the 3 day hopper pass for Southern California residences.... well I upgraded to the the Porche.. the Mercedes of Disneyland passes.... The one the only Premium Pass with no blackout dates.... yep no blackouts!!

What's great about this is I don't feel pressured to go on everything every time I visit... The first day - we arrived at California Adventure on a Sunday around 3:00 in the afternoon - headed right over to The Tower of Terror and guess how long the wait was??? Fifteen minutes!!!! Not the hour and half I feared.... I thought it was a fluke... total luck but the the next time we went .. fifteen minutes... after the ride we headed over to the main street in California Adventure to get good seats for the Pixar Parade to watch my beautiful niece Lindsey perform as an Incredible Girl... We've seen her twice in the parade this week...

Last Thursday we headed over to Disneyland around 5:30 PM to get seats to watch the new Fantasmic Show near Tom Sawyer's Island.... It was crazy.. people save their spots with towels and blankets around 4:00 PM - I had no idea! We were lucky enough to squeeze between two families and get a good seat on the hot pavement.... The show started at 9:30 PM - crazy but I love to watch people and there are a lot of people to watch.. funny... Oh, I forgot to mention.. my niece, Lindsey is in this show too!! She's an incredible dancer and Disneyland just wants her everywhere!!! This show she was a blue gorilla with a hot pink belly dancing on a raft then later she was a pirate in a sword fight on a Pirate Ship, and last but not least she was Pluto on the big Paddle Wheel boat.... After the show, we watched an explosion in the sky with Disney theme music playing in the background....

Last Sunday we were in California Adventure.. and walked right on the California roller coaster - the big one... no wait.. It is strange that there are many people walking about but not many on the rides... and I think that's just fine!

Disneyland 3-Day Hopper - Summer Fun

Disneyland has a great deal this summer for So. Cal. residents (that's me). For $99 per person you get a 3-Day Summer Fun Pass - for both Disneyland AND California Adventure! It you want to go more than 3 days... for an additional $35 per ticket you can upgrade to a season pass! I am so there... I live about thirty minutes or less to Disneyland and because of the very high ticket prices - we hardly ever go... and my niece is a HUGE performer there and I have never seen her.... Okay, Lindsey - Aunt Kelly and cousins are going to see you shine...
What I like about the pass is that - I won't feel like I have to do everything in one day... there are so many things to see and do. I am looking forward to taking my time and enjoying the ambiance..
So come meet me at the Most Magical Place On Earth. For your own tickets click here. Looking forward to seeing you there! Be sure to stop on by the Pixar Parade at California Adventure and say hi to my beautiful niece Lindsey or later go to the new show Fantasmic at Disneyland (Lindsey is in that one too!)...
If you can't go this year - I'll tell Mickey and Minnie "hi" from you!

I'm Going To Disneyland

One of the things I did this year that was a lot of fun was to take my youngest to Disneyland on her birthday. I took her out of school and spent the day playing with Minnie Mouse and going on rides galore.... It was a great Mommie and Kara day.. It was a beautiful February day where the weather was perfect. This special day landed in between two huge rain fronts. It felt like the sun came out just for us... and the million other people that was there too... We went in the middle of the week and the lines were not bad at all.. We went on everything...gosh what a day!
I love Disney's new marketing plan - Everyone gets into Disneyland free on their birthday in the year 2009... Thankfully, I have a niece who is in the parade so I was able to get a pretty good discount for myself..
You need to make sure you register on line at least a week in advance and then check your e-mail and there it is.. I ordered one for myself.. because on my birthday in November.. I'm going to Disneyland... by MYSELF.. why you may ask? Well,let's see... a day for me and me and yep for me... to shop in all the stores I always wanted to go in but I had the kids with me.. To go on 'It's A Small World' as many times as I want.. To sing Yo ho yo ho a Pirate's Life for me and not have anyone cover my mouth with their sticky fingers...
This is going to be so much fun... of course spending a great day with my beautiful daughter was wonderful and a memory that will last forever..but let's be real..sometimes it's nice to be on your own too.. at least for a little while