Oh Yes, We Did!

Mr. M's only day off work last week was Wednesday. Paprika has school and swim lessons on Wednesday, which doesn't really leave time for anything else. Or does it?

Now that we have our Season Passes again at Disneyland, we decided to see if we could squeeze in an evening visit.

So, after Paprika went to school, had swim lessons, came home and showered...we surprised the girls with a nighttime trip to the Magic Kingdom! We got there at dinnertime and stayed until the park closed.

It was pretty amazing because the park was practically empty, and the weather was perfect. Mr. M and I both commented that it felt like we were inside one of the malls in Las Vegas (with the ceilings that look like a sunny blue sky).

We rode lots of rides, of course. Baby Violet loved her turns on the Carousel. I think she felt like a big girl:



I know I've shared before about how I was completely traumatized by the parade incident of 2009.

Basically, we were at Disneyland and a park worker invited Paprika (then age 3) to be in the parade with some other kids. But then at the last minute, the worker decided that there were too many kids, so they wouldn't let Paprika in the parade. So, Paprika had an enormous meltdown in the middle of Main Street and threw herself in front of oncoming stilt walkers and was almost trampled by them (no really). I was by myself with newborn Ginger in the Ergo, and I had to single-handedly rescue my 40 pound screaming child from an oncoming float while Disney workers hassled me. I ended up yelling explicatives at them (really bad ones, too).

It was not magical at all.

Anyhoo, ever since then, I have not been a fan of parades. M'kay???? ;-)

Well, this last trip I was getting on the teacup ride with Ginger and Paprika and RIGHT THEN, the parade started next to the teacup ride. So, we were on the ride and Paprika and Ginger both wanted to see the parade instead. They kept trying to stop our teacups to get a good view of the parade.

Then, when the ride was over, Paprika hopped up on on the railing inside the ride area and was so entranced by the parade, she could not move. And when the parade is going, it is loud and you can barely hear yourself think...let alone communicate with an overstimulated five year old!

The teacup ride was starting up again, and I saw those blasted Disney workers coming towards us (telling us to leave the area), and I knew that if I didn't do something, we'd be headed for meltdown central again. By now, the area outside the teacups was so crowded with spectators, there was no way we'd be able to see the parade if we left the ride.

Paprika mesmerized by the parade, in a world of her own:



So, I picked both Ginger and Paprika up (all 80+ pounds of them combined) and stuck them back in a teacup and we watched the parade from the ride again. There were no lines for the teacup ride, since everyone was watching the parade! So, we just kept twirling and twirling in those teacups, watching the parade float by.

Well, it is a long parade, folks. The teacup ride ended again, and the parade was still going strong.

So, can you guess what I did? I rode the teacups again! And then again! And then again!

The whole world was spinning at that point!

Mr. M was waiting with Baby Violet on the sidelines and was getting quite a kick out of seeing me about to lose my lunch after we'd taken our fourth (or was it fifth?) turn on the nauseating teacups.

But, the girls thought it was brilliant. So, all's well that ends well. And no near-trampling experience this time, too, so I was happy.




We stayed until the park closed - it was late - 10 pm, I think?! We were the last ones in the park, and the last ones to ride the Buzz Lightyear ride. The girls were a little tired the next day, but it was so worth it! Good memories...

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