Tom and I took our grandson William to Disneyland this last weekend.  We left Thursday afternoon and came back Sunday night so it was a quick trip. Plus we picked some of the worst weather in southern California history to do this.  But nonetheless we had a great time. Warning, there are lots of photos.

We checked into the Howard Johnson Hotel across the street from Disneyland.  It was a retro hotel with a small waterpark.

Here are photos that Tom took of William the first morning there.

 

Here are some photos I took while on the railroad train.

It was raining hard the entire time so Tom bought William this rain poncho which kept him dry.  There were a lot of these ponchos sold this weekend.

Here’s the Pirates of the Caribbean, my favorite ride still.

We headed to Oga’s Cantina at my aunt and uncle’s suggestion.  It was quite something.

Left to right, I had a Jedi Mind Trick, Tom had a Takodana Quencher, and William had a Hyperdrive.  We listened to the DJ spinning the tunes.

Then we headed to Space Mountain.  BTW I am wearing the Mickey Mouse shirt I got at Disneyland as a kid.

Then we headed out, checking out the castle and Main Street in the lights.

William had assembled a light saber which was handy in separating the crowds as we walked.

In the evening we retreated to the hot tub and William enjoyed the waterpark, despite the rain.

We got out of the water to go to our room in time for the fireworks show we were supposed to be able to see from the hotel room.  But all we saw was torrential rain (best seen in the streetlights).

 

Saturday at California Adventure:

We went to Pym Tasting Lab for drinks.

William’s had pop rocks in it.

 

I got the high score in the Web Slingers Spider-Man Adventure.

It was decided that Soarin’ Around the World was the favorite ride at the Adventure with Spiderman #2, and the Redwood Adventure Trail was #3.  Unfortunately the Cars ride was closed.

It continued to rain hard and the fireworks were cancelled again. But we enjoyed the hot tub and waterpark again.

Here is William’s bed with the new snake he won at the Stallion Stampede beating Tom.

The snake watched him through the night, and the light saber was handy as well.

Then Sunday the weather finally cleared, and the park filled up.

We had churros for breakfast.

We rode the railroad more on Sunday which was a favorite.  We also rode the Matterhorn for the third time and repeated the Pirates of the Caribbean for the third time.  In the end it was decided that the Matterhorn was William’s favorite Disneyland ride with Pirates second and Thunder Mountain was third.

William picked out this sweatshirt and backpack as souvenirs of his trip.  He loves them both.

We all did have a wonderful time despite the rain.  It was a memorable trip for sure!

P.S. I had gone to Disneyland twice when I was a kid, first with my mom and step dad and a second time with my father and stepmother.  Here are photos I took with my first camera:

disneyland photos

P.P.S.  Tom and I took his son Thomas to Disneyland in 2004. Here are photos from that trip.