Was the Disneyland Hotel on Fire?

This week I spent a few days visiting my daughter in southern California, along with enjoying the Halloween Decor at the Happiest Place on Earth with my youngest 3 children. Was it the Happiest Place on Earth? I'll let you decide.

We took an early morning flight, which meant getting my kiddos up at 6am. They were excited and happy, so not a problem. When we landed, Kortni was in class, so I headed to Disneyland. Why not?




Turns out the early morning flight/Disneyland combo wasn't the best choice for my crazy in the head 4 year old. He was tired, which equals naughty in his book.




This is where he lost his Vinylmation. He had a huge fit about it and even though we retraced our steps, it wasn't to be found. I'm sure I could check lost and found, but I'm exhausted. Not worth it. I bought him another one, on a different day. He spent the day kicking, hitting, bumping everyone around him. Pushing, crying, laughing, smiling, singing, and more crying. He LOVED small world the most. He does love music. Always.




I wanted the kids to see the decor at night. I saw it a few years ago and it was way cool. The park closed at 6, when it was still light outside, for a pay extra Halloween party. I wasn't in the pay extra (like $30 each kind of extra) kind of mood, so we left and went shopping with Kortni and had BJ's pizza and pazookies. Fun stuff. I directed some furniture rearranging in Kortni's room and headed over to Target where I bought lots of containers. So many, everyone had a pile on their laps on the way home from the store. I wish I'd taken a picture! Karson wanted to swim in her apartment pool. But then he didn't. *where's all the kids?* he wanted to know. We went to bed too late and had a hard time getting up in the morning. Which was a bummer, cause it was early morning magic or whatever they call it at DL. Meaning hotel guests can get in an hour before the park opens to the public. We headed to the monorail at 8am. What? It doesn't open until 10am? What's that all about? The monorail was the main reason I chose to stay at the hotel, the thing they claim in their advertising. Luckily we still had a little *I'm so excited to be at Disney* adrenaline going on, so we headed to the main gate through downtown Disney. It's not so bad on the way there. On the way back, it feels looooonnnggg. Especially when you have tired little kids.




It started sprinkling, then poured rain. I'm ok with rain, it empties the park out and the rest of us drippers can walk on all the rides. Except the first store ran out of adult rain ponchos, I discovered after waiting in line for 10 minutes. It's ok, right? Keep the kiddies dry until I can get one for myself. After a few minutes of me not having a rain poncho in pouring rain, we headed to another store. Another 10 minutes in line and I got one and out we went.




3 little monkeys in a cage. Cuteness! Now the park was empty and we did enjoy walking onto Splash Mountain. Normally I'm not one for jumping right on that ride, but already being wet and wearing a poncho we decided why not? This was definitely on Karson's top favorite ride list. The thrill of the wild ride, plus music, put him over the top - let's do it again!



We also walked right on to Haunted Mansion, which was awesome. This time of year usually requires a long wait or a fast pass. One bummer was a couple with 2 small girls decided it would be a fun ride for them. The girls were screaming before even walking into the mansion. The parents kept telling them - it's not a scary ride. Um, really? I think people shouldn't lie to their kids.



Since it was raining, there weren't too many characters, which is fine with Karson, since he has costume-phobia. Karly's favorite character currently is Winnie the Pooh. Lucky to have found him, close to his regular spot. Conveniently located next to the Tigger Tails bakery. The whole pooh corner thing is under rehab, so it's a little crazy back in that corner.




Kortni joined us Tuesday afternoon. It had stopped raining by then and the crowds were pouring in. We rode a few rides, visited Innovations, and headed out of the park. The kids wanted to ride Screamin' so we headed to California Adventure. It's such a mess over there. The construction is on the main entryway and we had to walk down a boarded up corridor almost all the way to the back of the park. It took a long time and only find Screamin' was closed. Bummer. So we rode Toy Story, which is my favorite, but also had a ridiculously long line. We were all done with the madness after that and escaped through the Grand hotel to avoid the construction craziness. Again I was hoping to enjoy the decor at night, but again, Disney closed at 6 for a private party.

Kortni tended the kids while I went to a parent orientation meeting at her college. There I was told, after a month, if my daughter drops out, I won't get any of my money back. I was also told it was time for me to step back from raising my daughter and let the school take over. Time for her to go through hard times and do some growing up. If she shows me some of her work I shouldn't show great enthusiasm. I'm sure you all can guess how well that went over with me. I just kept my mouth shut though. Took my free bottle of water, took myself on a tour of the school (wow, the sewing machines!) and took my kiddos to The Cheesecake Factory. Banana cream with hot fudge sauce!




Our room was cool! The carved castle, with fireworks going off was a great touch. Until it's time to sleep. Took me a few minutes, but I did locate an off switch. Had to do it a few times for fun, and when it's first turned on, a music box plays *when you wish upon a star* in a tinny, music box sort of way.




The 3rd day meant pouring rain all stinkin' day. I had already decided we wouldn't do the park again. Taking Karson there exhausts me. I have to constantly apologize to everyone he bumps/kicks/runs into. I just want to hang a sign around his neck that says - excuse me, my brain doesn't work right. I took the kids to see Dolphin Tale in 3D. Such a cute movie, and the girl in it is homeschooled! My kids were thrilled with that little mention. I was thrilled with the mom, who fights the teacher to let her son follow his interests to get school credit. When the teacher says no, she let's him do it anyway. THAT right there is what homeschooling is about for me - learning to love learning. I had some teary eyed moments with that movie. We had a great day - movie, snacks, cartoons, jumping on the bed, dinner with Kortni at El Torito Grill and a few games of UNO at her apartment. After returning to the hotel, I tucked the kiddos into bed and spent some quiet time with myself. The view from my hotel room is spectacular. I sat and enjoyed the clear night and Pinterest.

Now time to explain the tagline:
My hotel (Disneyland Hotel) was evacuated for fire in the middle of the night last night. An alarm went of just before 1am. I looked out in the hallway to see if it was real. Everyone was coming out of rooms. I could smell a strange smell and there was water pouring out of the room two down from mine. I got my sweatshirt, flip-flops, eye glasses and cell phone. 1 out of 3 kids got shoes and I grabbed their sweatshirts. On the way out I grabbed a room key from my purse, but I didn't take the purse. Kinda funny. I carried sleeping Karson down 9 flights of stairs with hundreds of other people. Everyone was calm, a few parents were assuring worried children. We sat in the lobby of a different tower for an hour, then most of us were cleared to go back to our rooms. Many people hardly dressed, babies, kids, grandparents. My hallway was buzzing with people. I wasn't about to sleep without knowing what had happened and if we were really safe to sleep here. Luckily the kids went right back to sleep. I'm not so lucky. The hallway was noisy. Security, firemen, clean up crew were talking and working. They were trying to get the water sucked up with big, loud machines, and I over heard someone say the sprinkler is bent which made the water go off. Why the strange smell? I don't know. Can't believe I didn't snap a pic of any of it, but this:



Carpet machine and a bin full of soggy bedding.

You be the judge- Happiest Place on Earth?

What would you grab from your hotel room if you were evacuated in the middle of the night because of fire?

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