The Magic of Disney

Master Luke turned a Big 5 on December 4th and we decided to celebrate at Disneyland, you only turn 5 once and we had yet to take him there. I think Matt and I were just as excited as Luke to visit the "Happiest Place On Earth", we had not been there in 8 years. Our visit was absolutely magical, truly an amazing time. We dropped off baby Kyle at my moms so Luke had some one-on-one time with mom and dad. Visiting during Christmas time and in the middle of the week was a hit, NO LINES and an abundance of holiday festivities and charm. Sleeping Beauty's Castle was shimmering and all aglow. We could have stayed for a week! Luke's first and favorite ride was Pirates of the Carribean, Jenn's was and always will be It's a Small World and Matt's was Space Mountain.

All the characters were in holiday attire and we were able to get shots with many of them. I think Goofy was Luke's favorite.

We bought annual passes and wandered over to California Adventure after spending the night. Luke enjoyed the Bug's Life area and spinning around with dad in the ladybugs.

During Christmas there are decorated trees everywhere, Christmas songs, a holiday parade and even snow! We even saw Santa and real reindeers. Luke was given a special birthday sticker and pin to wear and was treated extra special by everyone at the park.

I think the highlight of the trip was Luke earning his Jedi Knight certificate at the Jedi Academy. They pick several children from the audience to come up and learn some real Jedi moves. Then they get to each battle and perform their moves on either Darth Vader or Darth Mal. You should have seen Luke's face when he was given his robe and light saber, priceless!

Entering Star Tours mom spotted C3-PO and R2-D2!

We explained to Luke that Santa really gets around!

The steamboat Mark Twain still chugs along. Tom Sawyer Island is just as I remembered, with a little bit of things added here and there. We spent over an hour on the island, romping through caves and exploring.

A Winnie the Pooh sighting. I still miss the Country Bear Jamboree though.

The Haunted Mansion is decked out in The Nightmare Before Christmas theme, a little spooky but Luke did great. Again, I still prefer the old fashioned Haunted House but I guess it changes back after the holidays, whew.

Luke was so proud to show off his very own signature on his annual pass card. We'll be back many more times in 2009 for sure!