Eaton Spring Break 09 Day #3

There was a grey sky over Anaheim as the Eaton family walked to the gates of the happiest land around. Since the park didn't open until 8:00am, we slept in a bit- but seeing as it was Millie's 4th birthday, I had to stand in line at the ticket booth while Jackie and the girls stood at the gate. I had to show Millie's birth certificate and her pass to get a voucher to get our birthday family FastPasses for the day.

After that, I met up with the girls in line (by 7:45am) with Millie already saying she wanted to go back to the hotel. So far a Happy Birthday!

The gates opened and in we ran. Jackie clutched the girls to her bosom and ran to the Information Desk to get the physical fast passes. I ran to the strollers. While Jackie handed out the birthday button to Millie, I ran to Space Mountain to get regular FastPasses for Jackie and myself. We met up at The Matterhorn and tried to convince Millie to ride but all she wanted was to go sleep some more. More Happy Birthday!

The Matterhorn attendant allowed us to do a child swap so I rode, then Jackie rode while I took the girls (twice!) on the Teacups. Thank heavens for this ride because it put the girls in a happy state of mind. After Teacups, we met up with Jackie and rode Mr. Toad's Wild Ride. we barely made it through before the ride broke down. After that, we rode Snow White (which is less Snow White and more lots of creepy forest). Then, because it was Millie's birthday, we rode Dumbo again (before the lines were awful) and, in tribute to Jackie's childhood memories, The Storybook Canals.

We popped into the Bibbidi Bobbity Boutique and Millie got to choose a Princess necklace for her birthday. She chose Sleeping Beauty- and declared that the boutique was her favorite ride.

After that, we needed a snack break so the girls sat by Indiana Jones while I rode using the first of Millie's birthday Fastpasses (thanks Millie!)- I was about to step into the Jeep, when the ride broke for 15 minutes. After I rode, Jackie rode while I took the girls into The Enchanted Tikki Room- where we watched birds, water and tikki idols sing nonsensical songs- but the indoor rain effect was cool.

After that, it was off to meet Winnie the Pooh and ride that ride again. Pooh was very friendly and gave Millie a big birthday hug. I then ran over to ride Big Thunder Mountain- which was great.

After that it was lunch. At 11:00am I had made reservations for the family to eat at Cafe Orleans at noon. I asked if they could add the special birthday princess cake and treasure chest for Millie's birthday and the hostess said they could- the princess cake was available at all sit down restaurants. At noon, tired and overwhelmed by tropical birds and water singing the songs of Polynesia to them, the girls were in near-meltdown mode- we needed food and birthday treats NOW.

We sat down and ordered drinks and fries- and I confirmed with out server that they could bring out the cake at the end of the meal. He informed me that they didn't have any. At that point, Ellis was standing up in her high chair waving her arms and Millie had finished her chocolate milk in one gulp and was saying "I want to go home." I politely but firmly told our server to get that cake NOW and that the hostess had confirmed they had it. We ordered our food and our server proceeded to wander the entire park to find the princess cake and treasure chest. After eating (I had the seafood crepes and Jackie had the Monte Cristo sandwich), Millie opened her special, magical Princess treasure chest to find... nothing (we told her it was filled with Disney magic). It was empty.

At this point, Ellis was seconds away from stripping off all of her clothes and pooping on the floor. Off we went to use our morning Fastpasses on Space Mountain (but right before, Jackie used a FastPass for Big Thunder Mountain). On the way, we stopped by the Carnation Cafe where a big birthday bash was going on- and I ran up to ask where we could get the treasure for the treasure chest. Not only did the host get Millie her treasure (a princess mirror), but he gave her 3 buttons and made her an honorary citizen of Disneyland.

We then went over to Space Mountain where Jackie rode (and Millie, Ellis and I played in the game center- Millie won a orange bear from the "claw machine") and then I rode. It was then home for naps.

After naps, we went back to the park to see the parade. We went back by Small World and watched Chip (or Dale) in drag (along with other Disney characters) gyrate to You Can't Stop the Beat from Hairspray (?). Everyone was happy because they had cotton candy and Diet Coke (I purchased the Coke from the angriest Disney employee- someone bought a souvenir straw and it didn't fit the drink. His answer? Tough).

After the parade, it was It's A Small World (Millie's birthday ride), Roger Rabbit (again, with Millie's FastPasses), and Autopia (with Millie's FastPasses). At 8:45pm, we ran over to California Adventure to use the final FastPass on Soarin Over California. I thought the park closed at 10:00pm, but it actually closed at 9:00pm so Millie and I were the last people admitted onto the ride (FastPass rocks). A Disney employee felt bad that Jackie couldn't child swap so he gave her a family FastPass for the ride valid the next day. Millie and I soared over California (she loved it- except the fireworks at the end- but at least Tinkerbell was in them).

As we dragged our carcasses home (at 9:30pm), the Disneyland fireworks went off. We told Millie they were her special birthday fireworks. She replied, "I don't like fireworks." Happy 4th Birthday Millie. (And though it looked like it would rain the entire day, it never happened).