Day 1459. Both Emmy and Tammy ended up in bed with us at different times. At 7 am my alarm went off, and only Sammy woke up from it. I got him out of bed and gave him his birthday shirt. All three shirts have their names, their age, and birthday boy/girl written on it. After a while Emmy woke up, and he wanted to have his shirt as well, and he was really excited about it. Tammy woke up really slowly and got her shirt as well. We had something to eat in the room, as there's no breakfast at the hotel, and got ready to leave for Disneyland. Tammy was having a really bad day and was crying all the time. For the longest time she was crying that we needed to leave or we'd be late for Disneyland. It was getting a little annoying after some time.
At 8:10 am we left the hotel and started walking towards the Disneyland entrance. All we had to do was to cross the street. And there was already a crowd that we were joining, all moving towards the entrance. First we had to go through security, through scanners like at the airport. Then we walked on to get to the actual entrances. There were long lines everywhere, and of course we picked a slower one. It took us a while, then it was our turn to have our tickets scanned so we could go inside. Once inside, we started walking. I wanted to go to Toontown on the other end of the park first, as it was far off, but we found out that the train around the park was not running today. What a shame. And so we walked down Mains Street and got to Cinderella's castle. We took some pictures, then went inside the castle, which was our first "ride". Emmy was a little scared at time. Next came the Peter Pan ride I had been telling them about. We found out that they had a service for the handicapped, where you could go register with them and be told when to return, so that you don't have to stand in line. We had to wait just as long as the other people, only that we could do something else until the time had come.
There was a caroussel right there, so we all got on it. All the kids were sitting on horses and enjoying it. Then we went on the Peter Pan ride that is just magical. They wanted to go on Dumbo next, which is just a ride flying up into the sky and going round and round. When we got there, they told us they did not have that same service of being able to come back later. They said we needed to go through the line, which would take about half an hour. As much as they wanted to do it, we got in line. But that did not work out so well. Sammy started screaming, and scratching and biting. Randy took him out of the wheelchair, but it didn't help. I then took him and was able to get him to laugh and have fun with me. We were glad, when we finally got on the ride. I ended up going in with Sammy, while Randy went into another one with the other two. Sammy was having lots of fun, especially as there was a lever to make Dumbo go high up. When it was over, he was so upset he started screaming and scratching and biting again - and that's what he did after every ride, as he never wanted them to end.
With that great service of registering and not having to stand in line, we got into several rides pretty fast - Snowwhite, another one, and Alice in Wonderland. It was great! We simply walked to the exit which was also the wheelchair access point. After the few rides there, we headed to the Nemo submarine. That's where they told us for the first time they couldn't do it. We were told to go to Guest Relations and get an official handicapped pass for Sammy. And so we walked away and in the direction we were pointed.
We finally got there and had a very nice lady help us. She asked a few questions and then gave Sammy a disabled access pass. She showed me how to choose a ride on the app, which would then give us a time when to be there. It was really easy and practical, and I used it for the rest of the day. Usually it was only a few minutes later that we needed to be there, and you could choose the ride while you were still a while away.
We returned to the Nemo ride and got on the submarine. All the kids loved the ride.
We were getting hungry and were close to the food court, so we decided to go there for lunch. We got a cheeseburger and chicken tenders and found a table to sit at. It wasn't that much food, but just the right amount for the five of us. We were enjoying our meal, then left to go on one more ride before lunch break. It was a boat ride with lots of miniature replicas of different story environments. It was nice.
Then we started walking in the direction of the entrance, which was quite a long walk. We walked all the way back to our hotel, where we arrived at 1:10 pm, just at the right time for their nap. Emmy was still too scared to sleep on top of the bunkbed. And so Tammy slept there by herself, while Emmy slept in our bed. I had to help Sammy fall asleep, as he was a little hyped up, then lay down next to sleeping Emmy.
It was once again Sammy who was the first one to wake up. I gave him his tablet to occupy him. The other two were clearly still very tired; Emmy continued sleeping after he had already woken up. But it was time to get up and go back into the Disney park. At 4:20 pm we left the hotel again.
Once again we crossed the big road and walked up to security. This time there was no line, and not at the entrance either. We continued walking and walking, heading to Winnie the Poohs' world, which was quite a distance. Once there, we were able to get on right away, and the kids really enjoyed it. Then we made our way back again. We were weighing our options, when Randy suggested doing the Pirates ride. It said it was for all ages, so we booked it. By the time we were done going to the restrooms, our time had come to go inside. It was a ride in a boat - one of many - and we all sat in the same row for a changes. Right in the beginning of the ride there are two drops, and Tammy started crying, while the boys were laughing. I had Sammy with me, while the other two were on Randy's lap. She soon calmed down and then enjoyed the rest of the ride.
The time for the parade was approaching, and there was enough time for one more ride right near where we wanted to watch it. Like Dumbo it was one where we'd go round and round and go up and down as wanted. This time I had Tammy and Emmy, while Randy had Sammy, and it was tight with the way they were supposed to sit, as well as the seatbelt. I didn't like it that much, but they did. Coming off of it, we walked to the roundabout on Main Street and found ourselves a good spot right up front with no tall people in front of us. We still had to wait a little bit, but the kids were fine with it.
It was a good few minutes after 6:30 pm before we saw the first float of the parade. Tammy was standing right up front, where she could see well, while I had Emmy on my shoulders. Randy then put Sammy on his shoulders as well. One after another the different floats came by, and Emmy always told me what it was about, as he could see it from the distance. He was clearly enjoying it, and I was enjoying his commentary. I was wondering what Tammy was thinking, as I could only see the back of her head.
After the parade we had to go back to Guest Services, as there was an issue with the last ride we had done that had not disappeared from the list and was blocking all other rides. We got it resolved and continued walking to go to "It's a Small World", one of the most famous rides, and once again a boat ride. Sammy was really excited about it, as he was excited about every other ride. I ended up sitting in the first row of the boat with all three kids. And they were really enjoying it.
After getting off we continued walking to Toontown, which started right there. It was 7:30 pm and already starting to get dark. At the entrance it said that it closed at 8 pm already. What a disappointment. I had also seen on the app that it was too late to meet Micky who had also already gone to bed. That's why I had wanted to do Toontown first thing in the morning. We still went in, and they got to play at a playground for a little bit. They especially enjoyed the slides, and Sammy also got to go down a few times with Daddy. Then they told everyone that they were about to close. We left and wanted to continue walking to the end of the road, but they were not letting anyone go there. Then we got to see Donald Duck who was leaving, but could not go near him.
We made our way out of Toontown, with a photo stop by the firetruck the kids wanted to sit in. I still had a booking for the jungle cruise, while Randy wanted to go to the Tiki room. We ended up heading there and were told that it was another 20 minutes before it started. I was really hungry by then, 8:20 pm, and so we walked to the nearby concessions stands. However, the lines were long, so we returned to the Tiki room. It started at 8:45 and lasted 15 minutes. I had Sammy who was not really interested in the singing birds, but I kept him entertained.
When we left there, it was time to head to where we were gonna watch the fireworks, but we passed the Jungle Cruise that I still had the reservation for, and as it was quick, we decided to still do it, even though it was dark. Another boat ride, much to Sammy's delight. We sat in the front of the big boat with many people in it, and had a funny tour guide commenting on what we were seeing.
Leaving there we finally did head to where the big ships were and where they were gonna do the show with fireworks, projecting onto water walls. A staff member had recommended it, and said they had an area for the disabled. Once we got there that turned out not to be true, but there weren't that many people there anyway, and we found a nice spot right by the water. And we only had 8 minutes left to wait which was perfect. We sat down on the ground and waited. Once it started, I ended up standing up and putting Emmy on my shoulders, while Randy put Tammy on his shoulders. The kids were loving the show and fireworks that lasted for 15 minutes. It seemed not as grandiose as it was in the past, but was pretty nice.
We slowly started making our way to the exit like everyone else in the park. Emmy had been either holding may hand or holding my dress all day long, which worked really well to stay together. Randy had been so worried that they would run off, which they never did. I asked Emmy what his favorite thing had been today, and he answered the firework show, with the parade being second. Guest relations had given them a button that said "Birthday Kid" to put on their shirts, and many staff members had told them HAPPY BIRTHDAY as a result.
It took us a while to walk out of the park and to our hotel. My feet and my back were hurting by the time we got there. It was 10:10 pm by the time we got back to our room. We immediately put the kids to bed. Emmy was in bed first, voluntarily, and fell asleep before the other two were in bed. The others also fell asleep quickly. I was finally able to get some food into my belly, and believe it or not, I still had to teach a lesson from 11 pm to midnight. Randy went to bed before I was done with my lesson. After I was done, I started writing my report. Now it's 2 am, and I have not done the pictures. I have over 300 to choose the best from.
