California part 1 :: Disneyland

warning: a very very very long post. pictures galore! good luck!

Disneyland {as you know} is my family's ALL TIME favorite place on the planet. you all know how we reacted when we found out we were going, so this trip was really meant a lot to us! and i am happy to announce that it was one of the greatest we have ever been on!

we arrived in San Clemente where our condo was at around 4:00 on Sunday. we spent the night watching the sunset on the beach {beach pictures to come!} and decided to go to bed quite early to be ready for a full on Disney day on Monday.

i am sure you all don't realize how much of... fanatics.. {we'll say} my family is in Disneyland. we go opening to close for all the days we have passes. we put on our 'Disney feet' and fast walk all threw the park and only waiting in lines under 15-20 minutes. hour long lines? HECK no. we use the apps, the fast pass runners, and are able to hit as many rides as possible! and THAT is why i call us Disney lovers/fanatics.

 Monday {Disneyland day 1}

 we could hardly sleep. the Horton's were up at 7 am and in the park at 8! we were so excited we couldn't even stand it!

 

this was on the bus ride into the park! and below you see us impatiently waiting in line to get into the park! {how cute are our Disney shirts? + dad always has to support his Cougs.}

yes i am crying. i knew it would happen cause it always does. i can't help my love for Disney okay? i just love it guys! and walking down Mainstreet USA with my fam is one of the best things in the world.

 our first ride is always Jungle Cruise!

we successfully went on a total of 33 rides on day 1! which is pretty great considering the lines that day! we didn't leave until closing and had quite the first day at our favorite place! it was definitly good to be back :)

Tuesday {Disneyland day 2}

we didn't take as many pictures on Tuesday. we were probably in the Disney mode too much and forgot to crack out the camera! 

Tuesday was a little busier and wasn't open as late {only until 9 instead of 11 like Monday} but we were able to hit 22 rides! we also ended day 2 that night with the 'World of Color' which is always absolutely amazing! 

Thunder-Mountain Railroad is a family favorite :) even little miss Quincey loves all the big roller coasters! what a brave 5 year old!

the longest line we waited in was for Toy Story Mania. which if any of you have been to Disneyland know that it is pretty new and still very popular! we knew that this line never goes under about 45 minutes so we stuck it out {which really is hard for us!} and waited for it! that ride is definitely worth the wait though!

we found these white chairs by the face painting and found it to be a perfect seat for the World of Color! until some sassy lady kicked us off her territory... but we had a good laugh when she popped out her little face painting badge and announced that they were "face painting chairs ONLY" what a sass :)

 *world of color picture found HERE*

after spending 2 days at Disneyland running around the parks all day, we decided to take a day off on Wednesday and play at the beach! {which i will share pictures of soon!}and also decided to do a lot of this:

which was very nice! so Thursday we were back up and ready to have our last Disney day be a successful one! 

Thursday {Disneyland day 3} 

the last day we were in Disneyland wasn't nearly as busy as the other 2. pretty much because when we were driving that morning from San Clemente it was POURING rain. we had no idea what we were thinking going on such a rainy day, but the good news was, it stopped! 

it sprinkled for about 10 minutes that afternoon, but other than that, no rain! we think the rain scared the people away and we were able to hit 36 rides!  

 our last night at Disneyland sure was a sad one! we spent every last minute that we could there! 

we rode another family favorite, Splash Mountain, 4 times in a ROW that night!

and we felt it to be appropriate to photograph our parents in front of the castle 20 years later. they came to Disneyland on their honeymoon and 20 years later with 6 kids they still love Disneyland just as much!

8 little Horton feet surrounding the center of Disneyland!

our last walk down Mainstreet was definitely sad. and poor Marcus grasped the pole, he just didn't want to leave; nobody did!

what an AWESOME 3 days in the happiest place on earth!! we love you Disneyland!