Disneyland...

Getting to experience Disneyland with a first-time six year old is a treat. It's a whole new world they've never experienced and everything is new and exciting.


The first ride out of the gate was Star Tours and Hunter was in heaven. After we got off he said, "That was my favorite ride". At that point it was the only ride - but at the end of the day, it still ranked as the favorite. We took him to Space Mountain next...not a good idea. This was Hallie's all time favorite ride and Hunter was so excited to go on it. But by the end he was scared and not loving it. We felt awful. But that helped us determine what rides to avoid the rest of the day. He didn't need to ride the fast/intense rides. He was happy at a slower pace. This gave us time to meet Mickey and Goofy.



He was so excited to drive the cars at Autopia. As close to a real car as he's going to get anytime soon. He did claim that I was a poor gas pedal operator and that I messed him up a lot...it couldn't have been that he was new to driving!


He did enjoy Splash Mountain and went on a it a couple times. Luckily the Haunted Mansion wasn't too scary and he liked Pirates of Caribbean. He definitely had a different interest than Hallie but it was fun all the same.

Being able to spend one-on-one time with him was valuable. There was no one to tease or fight with, or steal the attention from. It was 100% him and he soaked it up, as did we. He's not our chatty kid, but when he wanted to talk he did and we listened. He chose lunch. He chose rides. He made the big decisions and we could see that he enjoyed that.







It was tiring. Having fun is hard work, especially when you're six with shorter legs. Towards the end of the day, we were all dragging - and we still had the 5 1/2 hour drive home. But it was worth it. I'd do it again tomorrow if we could. I look forward to taking each kid on this trip.

I felt a little bad leaving Hallie behind because I knew she would love it all over again. Before we left, I had asked if she was sad that she wasn't coming with us. She offered the most selfless love for her brother when she said, "No, I'm not sad. I'm really happy for Hunter because I just know he's going to love it." And he totally did.