Disney Day

On Saturday we spent the afternoon at the Happiest Place on Earth, Disneyland. Charlotte was predictably overwhelmed by the whole thing, but she seemed to have a good time. Heidi and I spent most of our time wondering how so many people can fit into a space that seems so small. We only visited about 20 percent of the park (Main Street, Fantasyland, and Toon Town). Charlotte went on two rides with mixed reactions, and we got front row seats on Main Street for the Christmas parade. Another long day for the girl, but we all had a great time.
The weather Saturday was starting to turn, and the wind was really blowing!
The first ride Charlotte went on was King Arthur's Carrousel. This ride was mostly selected for it's relatively short line, and the fact that Charlotte has previous experience on Carrousels. She was kind of freaked out about the whole thing, but liked riding on a horse.
Our second ride for the day was on "its a small world" which was totally decked out for Christmas. Charlotte's reaction to this one was definitely not fear, but she seemed totally overwhelmed by the sights and sounds. This ride is the subject of one of the most vivid Disneyland memories of my childhood, because the ride broke and our family got stuck inside for about 45 minutes. Fortunately that didn't happen this time!
The biggest event of the day by far for Charlotte was getting to meet Minnie Mouse. Charlotte has never shown any interest in costumed characters (see Butch the Cougar, or Zoe from Sesame Street, or even Santa). Anyway, after checking out Toon Town for a while Minnie Mouse came walking by and setup shop for people to get in line to have their picture taken with her.
We got in line thinking that if Charlotte freaked out we'd just walk away. Instead, she was mesmerized by Minnie, and we got a couple of great pictures!
We ended the day with the "Christmas Fantasy" Parade. We got to Main Street about an hour and a half before the parade and managed to snag front row seats along the parade route. At one point during the build up they even had snow machines blow snow on the street!
Charlotte LOVED the parade. All the characters came by and she got to see them all from a safe distance. Santa ended the parade and we made a quick retreat to the car. Charlotte was asleep within 5 minutes of leaving the park, and she slept well as we got ready to fly home on Sunday. (Note the new plush Minnie with Charlotte!)