SoCal Spring Break

One of the nicest things about hosting an exchange student is that it gives you a good excuse to go fun places and have adventures that you might otherwise skip or put off.  This spring break we had the pleasure of taking Pim to Disneyland! 

I was a little worried when she told me beforehand that she didn’t like roller coasters, but she proved herself very brave, riding everything except California Screamin’ (the huge loop-the-loop coaster in CA Adventure Park) and the Hollywood Tower of Terror. She especially loved the Indiana Jones ride, and thanks to a clever combination of fast passes and switch passes (given to those with small children who can’t ride) she was able to ride it to her heart’s content. 

Even with Lawson along in the stroller, which could have slowed us down a lot, we had our best Disneyland trip so far. Everyone had plenty of chances to ride everything he or she liked, Pim and I waited out the line at the Princess Fantasy Faire (there’s something I would never have to do—I mean GET to do without my exchange student “daughters”), we had our own yummy picnics each day, and we enjoyed plenty of parades and shows. (My one disappointment was that the boys didn’t want to do Phineas & Ferb’s Dance Party or the Jedi Training Academy. Oh well, next time…) 

Lawson and I took plenty of breaks at the Disneyland Child Care Center, which is one of the best-kept secrets in the park. 

Before we left, Kirk was teasing me for wasting time reading Disneyland tips & tricks online, but it paid off when Dillon, Koen, and Pim got a chance to ride in the top of the Mark Twain Riverboat. The boys even got to ring the bell! 

Kirk, Koen, and Lawson were usually pretty tuckered out by the end of the day, so a couple of nights we sent them back to the hotel early and Dillon, Pim & I stayed at the park until closing time. One night we even made it to the 12:15 A.M. showing at the Enchanted Tiki Room!

We learned a couple of trips ago that we have much more fun if we take a day off from the Disney Parks (We usually get 3 day Park Hopper tickets). This year, we spent our break day at Newport Beach, and we were blessed with beautiful weather.