Disneyland at Christmas

On December 7th, we took the boys to Disneyland. Our plan was to arrive before the parade then stay for the evening, but it of course took us forever to get out of the house. We checked the traffic and thought we just might make it until we realized Hudson didn't have his shoes on and neither one of us had grabbed them (we each thought the other was getting them). Thankfully, we noticed before we got on the freeway so it was only about a 20 minute delay, but it still totally destroyed our plans. We made it to the park in record time, I threw Luc into the carrier, and we hustled to get to the park. We missed the start of the parade, but by some miracle managed to see most of it. Hudson was so excited. He kept gasping, pointing and telling us about each character as it was coming down the street. It was really fun to watch his excitement. 

After the parade, we went on Pirates of the Caribbean then raced over to the Jingle Jangle Jamboree before it closed. Hudson got to color a Christmas card, meet all his favorite characters and play reindeer games. I think the reindeer games were his favorite part! 

Then we grabbed dinner at Cafe Orleans. I had read a recommendation from one of the bloggers I follow about trying the fries with dipping sauce and the monte cristo sandwich, but we weren't overly impressed. After dinner we went on Haunted Mansion (we asked a cast member to take our picture with Jack and he only got his legs in the photo) . Then we took the boys on small world. The show they do outside is so awesome and both boys loved the ride too! Then Nic and Hudson had to go on Hud's favorite ride: teacups before we found a spot for the fireworks. 

It was  a bit windy while we were waiting and we heard an announcement that the fireworks may get cancelled. We were so bummed. When the fireworks started everyone was extra excited. We got to see about 5 minutes worth of the show before they officially cancelled it. Hudson was super bummed and let us know by doing his "angry face" They still did the snowfall though and we were thankful that we at least got to see some of the fireworks show. Plus, the snow is so magical all on its own. It makes me cry every single time. Even watching the video months later, I get all teary eyed. I just love the spirit of children especially around the holidays. 

After the fireworks and snow we raced over to the Jingle Cruise to complete our holiday visit. It was pretty cute (and super cheesy) and Hudson really liked it. The boys seemed to be all smiles even in the trunk of the car while we changed them into their pjs, but a few minutes into the drive they were both dreaming of sugar plums and mickey mouse. ;) I love that this has become one of our family traditions. It is something I look forward to all year and a memory I will never forget.