our magical disney christmas part four

this will wrap up my re-cap of our phenomenal christmas disney vacay!!  we started off our 3rd day with max's fave: the haunted mansion.  he loved it so much that i filmed bits of the ride for him to be able to re-watch when we got home.  several weeks ago, he told me that all he wanted for his birthday was to see jack skellington at the haunted mansion - he was so disappointed when i told him that jack would only be there through early january.  i'm so so over the moon that we were able to give him this!

can't see this decor and not have the song 'this is halloween' playing in my head

after our first tour through the haunted mansion, els wanted to move on to pirates; max wanted one final run through the mansion - so we split up and then rog and els saved max a spot in line to see jack (and sally!) again!

and then we rode big thunder mountain railroad.  like seriously 8 times during the course of the day.  it was amazing!!!  both kids loved the ride which made my heart super happy since it was my absolute favorite ride when i was a kid.  

and since max didn't like space mountain, we split our fast passes (and they let her go twice with roger) so she rode it THREE times in a row!

a stop for a true disney lunch: mickey-shaped pretzels and peppermint beignets!

onto it's a small world - the kids were super excited to ride together!

this is seriously how max sits for everything.  ha!  such an old man.

then we hopped aboard the disneyland railroad for a loop and a half around the park, before getting off in tomorrowland and in line for autopia.  this has never been my favorite ride, but it was quite enjoyable.

max couldn't reach the pedals

and with one final ride on big thunder mountain, we were ready to say good-bye (for now!) to disneyland.  

i loved our vacay - just the four of us.  i had the best time with you guys and can't wait for our next adventure together.  love you so so so much.  

a low-key dinner out of the parks, then home for mickey desserts and a mini-family game night.

we arrived home safe and sound on thursday to see that santa did indeed stop by the house!

on friday, my parents came over for our family christmas celebration.

a desk (and glasses!) for her american girl!

thank you, mom and dad, for taking care of george while we were in disney!  he's also loving his new toys and collar.

revealing her new LOL pearl doll.  

max got everything and anything minecraft, legos and dinosaurs

we had a fabulous christmas dinner of steak and lobster.  loved our family time together.  merry christmas again!!!!

our magical disney christmas part three

merry christmas from the happiest place on earth!!  we started the day bright and early with a character breakfast at the plaza inn.  probably my fave character breakfast we have done due to the abundance of characters!

max's fave character of the trip was "ee-hor" - and guess who was the first to greet us????

captian hook was so much fun - he stood behind els while she was on a 5 minute monologue, completely unaware of his presence.

more hugs for 'ee-hor'

max and max!!

and the fairy godmother

ready to start our day at disneyland!  our first stop was supposed to be the haunted mansion.  but i couldn't pass up the 5 minute wait (it was actually less than 5 minutes!) for the jungle cruise.

nor could i pass up the 5 minute wait for pirates of the caribbean.  during which max told me, he was going to haunted mansion next - and if i got distracted again, he would go without me.

haunted mansion (with the nightmare before christmas overlay) did NOT disappoint!!!  it was amazing - all of the awesome touches from the movie.  max was super excited.

then, it was off to meet the pumpkin king, himself (max's personal hero)!

he asked max if he had a name for the bat on his hat.  then, he named it "steve."  max was excited to text uncle steve and tell him about it!

onto fantasyland and alice's tea party...

...which i may or may not have "accidentally" forgotten to get in line for...

i think we took a detour to it's a small world, before max's first time on big thunder mountain railroad.

at some point, we rode space mountain (see, my fast pass amazingness??) before meeting chewie!  max was NOT a fan of space mountain.

in line for the matterhorn (another ride max vowed to never ride again).

armed with churros, we were ready to take in the christmas parade!!

then onto buzz lightyear astro blasters!

a stop for pineapple dole whips and a tiki room showing

another first.  i have never ventured to tom sawyer island.  but with a gap in my fast passes and long afternoon lines, we boarded a raft and made our way over.

ah, back to civilization and another big thunder mountain railroad ride.

we had the most fantabulous christmas dinner at carnation cafe - several of walt's fave comfort food items were on the menu and a warm, delicious meal, taking in the sights (and lights!) of main street, USA.  

loved the fun, sweet convos between these two

merry christmas, my loves!!!  it, at times, did not feel like "christmas."  but we were together and happy and all i can be is thankful.  during the parade, santa wished everyone peace and joy - we are so lucky to know these things.  i cannot express how much i love these 3 humans.  i am overcome with gratitude for all of my blessings.  merry christmas to all, and to all,  a good (and magical) night!!