DISNEYLAND!!!

 I don't remember how it happened, but I am pretty sure it had something to do with those darn Disney Halloween commercials. We hadn't been to Disneyland since the twins were 2. It's always something that sits in your mind when you hear about other people going and remember how much fun it is to take kids. We were really lucky last time and it was an enjoyable experience, even during Spring Break. We had never done Halloween at Disneyland, but those commercials made it sound like something you just really have to do. So, we planned a surprise trip. 1. Who want to listen to kids ask every day for two months when we are going? and 2. Surprises are so much more fun.

In order for Ben to take off work for this trip, he couldn't take off to chaperon Emma's school trip. We couldn't tell her why, just that it would be worth it. Ben decided to start giving the kids obscure hints about how he would make it up to Emma, and suggested that they might be able to benefit as well. He looked up random facts about Disneyland and would tell the kids these clues throughout the month. Harrold (the unknown name of the monster in Splash Mountain), 99 (the number of ghosts in Haunted Mansion), The address starts with a 1, Harbor (the street right by Disneyland), 3 p.m. (the time we could enter the park because we only bought tickets to Mickey's Halloween party), 60 (How long Disneyland had been there) and so on. They had no idea. It was like Lost, the t.v. show with all the numbers and clues. 

We told them we were going to visit Mamaw for a few days, so they wouldn't question the long drive. We arrived in Anaheim around midnight, so they were all asleep and didn't see the park or the surrounding clues as we drove in. We got them in the hotel and they slept, ate breakfast (not noticing all the people with Disney shirts on!)

 The morning of. They hung out, swam, watched tv... We still kept it a secret.

Then we went to get lunch at Carl's Jr next door to the hotel. They still failed to notice any surrounding clues, even the Disney worker who was taking his lunch break there. We finally told them after lunch that we were going to see Harrold today. They had to look for clues and make guesses about what the surprise was. Bailey guessed rock climbing :)

 We started walking down the street and told them to figure it out. We must have passed a million Disney signs before they figured it out. They were pretty excited at that point!

 We killed some time in Downtown Disney until w could go in.

 We hung out around the Disneyland hotel and ate some snacks. Emma wanted to show off she could handle Ben's crazy pack.

 The lines for things were pretty long when we first got there because they don't kick everyone out who doesn't have party tickets until 6 p.m. We ended up on the Jungle Cruise first.

 Taking two 6 year old son Space Mountain (when they switch it over for Halloween) is both funny and cruel. I could hear Addison scream over the noise of the ride. It was not a happy scream.

 To make up for it, later I stood in line FOREVER with them to see the Disney princesses. You can only pick two to see and of course they each wanted to see a different set, so we stood in line twice. This is what twin moms do.

The park was a lot more fun at night once the crowds were gone. Everyone else was there to trick or treat. We were there to go on rides. We got on everything really quickly and ran around the park like crazy. The kids made it all the way to the end, and even walked the rest of the way back to the hotel. We all had a great time, and look forward to five more years when we do it again:)