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A few weeks have passed since my last Disneyland trip, but that doesn't mean I haven't been keeping busy.
First there was a trip to see my brother and visit the Jelly Belly jelly bean factory.
Then after visiting the Napa Farmer's Market, we taste tested 7 different apple varieties.
Theresa got her healthy apple taste test, so I had to have one of my own. The Lay's Tastes of America had 12 different potato chip flavors.
So yes, we've kept ourselves busy. But after a few weeks off, everyone was ready to go back to Disneyland. And look what they've done since we've been gone! It's HalloweenTime at Disneyland! We love Halloween!
I was happy to see the pumpkins all over Downtown Disney. It gives it a Fall feel.
And now the main entrance is topped with giant pumpkins.
Everyone was quick to get ready this morning so we were able to make it into the park just after the 8am opening. Our very first stop was in front of the castle to get some great family photos.
This week's hat theme is obviously The Nightmare Before Christmas and boy did we get a lot of attention today. Today, more than any day in recent memory, people were coming up to us asking where all our hats came from.
From left to right. Oogie Boogie is a licensed hat made by Elope. You can currently buy it here. Out of all the hats this was the most popular today.
Jack Skellington in his Santa hat came from Japan, and was made by Sega. Yes, the video game console, Sonic the Hedgehog Sega. The Sally beanie was a recent eBay acquisition. I haven't been able to determine an origin for it yet. Theresa's Zero headband is something I've had for a while.
The tag from Ian's hat. I see that there's a Scary Teddy hat in the collection too (different than the Scary Teddy hat I already have).
Aww. Jack and Sally loving each other.
Lookout! Oogie Boogie is going to get you! Since it was so early and there was hardly any line to speak of, Photopass photographer Alyssa lined us in a lots of different poses.
First I grabbed us all fastpasses to ride the Haunted Mansion Holiday, then it was off to Fantasyland to knock out some rides that will have crazy lines later. Dumbo was first and it's a daddy-only ride. Alli pointed out the pink Dumbo while we waited and said she really wanted to ride that one. I told her that the numbers get assigned and you don't get to pick what color you want anymore.
So she was especially happy when our randomly assigned number happened to be pink!
Benefit of mommy sitting on the sidelines is that she can get photos of us.
Oogie has a spider dangling from his hat.
The kids certainly love finding money. Alli found a nickel in the Dumbo seat. I told her she could throw it into the water by Dumbo but that's not what she wanted. Alli - I want to save it and put it in my bank! (wow, that's some grown-up thinking) Alli - And then I want to spend it on candy! (ah, that makes sense now)
Next was a very short line to get on Casey Jr.
Despite being one of the last to board, the caboose was still open for Ian to ride in. And Alli very happily hopped in the pink animal cage.
I asked if the kids wanted to ride more rides back in Fantasyland or drive the Autopia cars. Both were very excited to drive. It's been a few weeks Alli. How are the grapes doing?
I see a few bunches of them, but they're not getting much bigger.
The lines have been wonderful so far. Autopia was nearly a walk-on.
There's some wild moments while driving, but for the most part he's able to keep it straight.
Alli on the other hand can still barely see above the steering wheel. She was banging back and forth the whole drive, but still having a good time. At the end she told T, "Mommy, this car is crazy!"
It's time! A serious contender for my favorite ride at Disneyland. The holiday overlay of the Haunted Mansion!
The standby line was only 30 minutes, but I was still glad to bypass it all and walk right up with our fastpasses.
All our favorite characters are here. The ghost-dog Zero of course.
I like how every year there is a different massive gingerbread house centerpiece, and how it's always different. This year a gigantic spider appears to have wrapped the Mansion in its web and is trying to abscond with it.
Zero watching the whole thing from high above.
Entering the attic, I see both Ian and I made the Nice list.
Aww, a present for me?
And one for Ian too.
It's Santa Jack, just like Ian's hat.
There's Sally. I'm glad she finally found her way to the mansion a few years ago.
For the last few years, I've been able to find a Hidden Mickey or two scattered throughout the graveyard. Despite my best efforts, none were to be found on this trip. I think a few more visits are in order for more research.
There's Oogie Boogie! The kids love him! And I've got my eye on that Santa hat he's wearing...
Both kids wanted to ride it again, but we've got another surprise up our sleeves coming up next.
What's this? What's this? Alli on Splash Mountain? Like I said, it's been a few weeks since we've been here and she was just barely under. To our happy surprise her head was just brushing the bottom of the height check and she was given the thumbs up to continue! It was all so quick and the fastpass was backed up so I didn't have time to take a picture.
As a special treat for this momentous occasion, Theresa joined us on our trip too!
She didn't know what to expect, but she was liking everything as we floated past (as long as I held onto her). Here comes the big drop Alli!
Later on our drive home, I asked her what her favorite thing was today. She told me that it was the great big drop on Splash Mountain! Such a big girl! She's just a little cold from getting wet.
Who is in that photo Alli?
It's Alli! (Disney seems to still be having problems with photos. Photos taken by the photopass photographers are linked within 30 minutes. Ride photos are now taking multiple days to link up.)
Theresa's drying off technique.
Our last ride in this park is Winnie the Pooh.
The kids both love that they can sit up front all by themselves.
The ride exits directly into Pooh Corner (a candy shop), so you know Alli was making a bee-line inside.
The candy is made right here on the premises just behind a glass window. While we were admiring the different treats in the display case, one of the candy ladies came out of the candy kitchen and said "Dad, we just wanted to give you props for your hat. And it matches your shirt too!" I thanked her and had the kids turn around and wave to all the people in the kitchen too.
I think that just pushed the cuteness factor over the top because a short time later, 4 of the candy ladies came out of the kitchen and over to the front counter. After asking us if it was okay to give them something, they handed Ian and Alli a marshmallow mummy wand! Yum!
So to Pam and all the other candy ladies at Pooh Corner, thank you for the extra bit of Disney Magic!
Delicious!
Sharing with Daddy.
And Mommy.
One of the other things one of the cast members at Pooh Corner reminded me of was the Jack and Sally meet-and-greet. Oh yeah!
I shouldn't have been surprised at how popular it was. The cast member at the end of the line estimated about 45-60 minutes. That's a little too long for us today, but I hope we can get back to see them this season.
We've already done so much, but there's still more to come! Part 2 is coming soon.
First there was a trip to see my brother and visit the Jelly Belly jelly bean factory.
Then after visiting the Napa Farmer's Market, we taste tested 7 different apple varieties.
Theresa got her healthy apple taste test, so I had to have one of my own. The Lay's Tastes of America had 12 different potato chip flavors.
So yes, we've kept ourselves busy. But after a few weeks off, everyone was ready to go back to Disneyland. And look what they've done since we've been gone! It's HalloweenTime at Disneyland! We love Halloween!
I was happy to see the pumpkins all over Downtown Disney. It gives it a Fall feel.
And now the main entrance is topped with giant pumpkins.
Everyone was quick to get ready this morning so we were able to make it into the park just after the 8am opening. Our very first stop was in front of the castle to get some great family photos.
This week's hat theme is obviously The Nightmare Before Christmas and boy did we get a lot of attention today. Today, more than any day in recent memory, people were coming up to us asking where all our hats came from.
From left to right. Oogie Boogie is a licensed hat made by Elope. You can currently buy it here. Out of all the hats this was the most popular today.
Jack Skellington in his Santa hat came from Japan, and was made by Sega. Yes, the video game console, Sonic the Hedgehog Sega. The Sally beanie was a recent eBay acquisition. I haven't been able to determine an origin for it yet. Theresa's Zero headband is something I've had for a while.
The tag from Ian's hat. I see that there's a Scary Teddy hat in the collection too (different than the Scary Teddy hat I already have).
Aww. Jack and Sally loving each other.
Lookout! Oogie Boogie is going to get you! Since it was so early and there was hardly any line to speak of, Photopass photographer Alyssa lined us in a lots of different poses.
First I grabbed us all fastpasses to ride the Haunted Mansion Holiday, then it was off to Fantasyland to knock out some rides that will have crazy lines later. Dumbo was first and it's a daddy-only ride. Alli pointed out the pink Dumbo while we waited and said she really wanted to ride that one. I told her that the numbers get assigned and you don't get to pick what color you want anymore.
So she was especially happy when our randomly assigned number happened to be pink!
Benefit of mommy sitting on the sidelines is that she can get photos of us.
Oogie has a spider dangling from his hat.
The kids certainly love finding money. Alli found a nickel in the Dumbo seat. I told her she could throw it into the water by Dumbo but that's not what she wanted. Alli - I want to save it and put it in my bank! (wow, that's some grown-up thinking) Alli - And then I want to spend it on candy! (ah, that makes sense now)
Next was a very short line to get on Casey Jr.
Despite being one of the last to board, the caboose was still open for Ian to ride in. And Alli very happily hopped in the pink animal cage.
I asked if the kids wanted to ride more rides back in Fantasyland or drive the Autopia cars. Both were very excited to drive. It's been a few weeks Alli. How are the grapes doing?
I see a few bunches of them, but they're not getting much bigger.
The lines have been wonderful so far. Autopia was nearly a walk-on.
There's some wild moments while driving, but for the most part he's able to keep it straight.
Alli on the other hand can still barely see above the steering wheel. She was banging back and forth the whole drive, but still having a good time. At the end she told T, "Mommy, this car is crazy!"
It's time! A serious contender for my favorite ride at Disneyland. The holiday overlay of the Haunted Mansion!
The standby line was only 30 minutes, but I was still glad to bypass it all and walk right up with our fastpasses.
All our favorite characters are here. The ghost-dog Zero of course.
I like how every year there is a different massive gingerbread house centerpiece, and how it's always different. This year a gigantic spider appears to have wrapped the Mansion in its web and is trying to abscond with it.
Zero watching the whole thing from high above.
Entering the attic, I see both Ian and I made the Nice list.
Aww, a present for me?
And one for Ian too.
It's Santa Jack, just like Ian's hat.
There's Sally. I'm glad she finally found her way to the mansion a few years ago.
For the last few years, I've been able to find a Hidden Mickey or two scattered throughout the graveyard. Despite my best efforts, none were to be found on this trip. I think a few more visits are in order for more research.
There's Oogie Boogie! The kids love him! And I've got my eye on that Santa hat he's wearing...
Both kids wanted to ride it again, but we've got another surprise up our sleeves coming up next.
What's this? What's this? Alli on Splash Mountain? Like I said, it's been a few weeks since we've been here and she was just barely under. To our happy surprise her head was just brushing the bottom of the height check and she was given the thumbs up to continue! It was all so quick and the fastpass was backed up so I didn't have time to take a picture.
As a special treat for this momentous occasion, Theresa joined us on our trip too!
She didn't know what to expect, but she was liking everything as we floated past (as long as I held onto her). Here comes the big drop Alli!
Later on our drive home, I asked her what her favorite thing was today. She told me that it was the great big drop on Splash Mountain! Such a big girl! She's just a little cold from getting wet.
Who is in that photo Alli?
It's Alli! (Disney seems to still be having problems with photos. Photos taken by the photopass photographers are linked within 30 minutes. Ride photos are now taking multiple days to link up.)
Theresa's drying off technique.
Our last ride in this park is Winnie the Pooh.
The kids both love that they can sit up front all by themselves.
The ride exits directly into Pooh Corner (a candy shop), so you know Alli was making a bee-line inside.
The candy is made right here on the premises just behind a glass window. While we were admiring the different treats in the display case, one of the candy ladies came out of the candy kitchen and said "Dad, we just wanted to give you props for your hat. And it matches your shirt too!" I thanked her and had the kids turn around and wave to all the people in the kitchen too.
I think that just pushed the cuteness factor over the top because a short time later, 4 of the candy ladies came out of the kitchen and over to the front counter. After asking us if it was okay to give them something, they handed Ian and Alli a marshmallow mummy wand! Yum!
So to Pam and all the other candy ladies at Pooh Corner, thank you for the extra bit of Disney Magic!
Delicious!
Sharing with Daddy.
And Mommy.
One of the other things one of the cast members at Pooh Corner reminded me of was the Jack and Sally meet-and-greet. Oh yeah!
I shouldn't have been surprised at how popular it was. The cast member at the end of the line estimated about 45-60 minutes. That's a little too long for us today, but I hope we can get back to see them this season.
We've already done so much, but there's still more to come! Part 2 is coming soon.
I open a toy, review it and take mediocore pictures. Read all about it 
Although when the time is right, I'm sure I'll see you all at Guardians. 
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