Disneyland 2017

The big event of the winter for the family was a trip to Disneyland.  We did several days at Disneyland as a family.  Jenny and the younger two took a day at the San Diego Zoo.  The older two kids and myself took a day at Knott's Berry Farm.  We also had a day at the beach and a day at Universal Studios, including the Wizarding World of Harry Potter.  We went on what was supposed to be one of the slowest weeks of the year for Disneyland, but somebody forgot to tell the crowds to stay home.  The crowds were almost non-existent everywhere else we went.  It was cool and rainy a couple of the days, but the kids still had a blast.

The kids made count down chains that resembled Mickey Mouse to count down how many days until we went to Disneyland.  Every day they got to rip off one link in the chain.

As usual, we went to Grandma Pepper's house the night before and spent the night.  I got up super early and drove for a few hours while everyone else slept.  We stopped at Pioneer park in St. George to stretch, explore, and get breakfast.

Our first day at Disney took us a little time to get our tickets together and get in.  We also got a lot of rain, but the kids were excited despite it all.  The pictures are a combination of all our days at Disneyland.

Annie was happy when we were doing the rides she wanted.

Annie was not so happy when we did rides she didn't want to do, like Space Mountain

Zadik loved this ride.

We were going to buy these pictures, but I took too long.  Thus, we are stuck with a picture of a picture.  By hey, it;s a great picture.

Annie loved the fact that there were two Toy Story rides.

Zadik and Alise were buddies on this trip.  Zadik liked that designation a whole lot more than his sister.

Since she didn't get wet enough when it was raining, Annie had to run in the fountain!

Which way, navigator?

Come to the Dark Side, young padawan.

These are pictures of the oldest two and myself at Knott's Berry Farm.  We had a blast.  We only had to wait in line for one ride, once.

This is one of the little kiddie rides.  The kids got out of this area pretty quick and didn't have any desire to come back.

This is Ghost Rider.  It was the unanimous favorite for best roller coaster of this trip.

This is the Pony Express, a short, but fun ride.

This is Boomerang.  You take the track forward, then do the whole thing backwards.  My stomach could handle it once, but the kids wanted to go again.

Jenny and the younger girls had a grand time at the San Diego Zoo

We picked a cold, wet, windy day to go to the beach.  It was sprinkling until just before we got there.  For those of us that went into the water (the kids and me), it was a blast since the water was warmer than the sand.  For those that stayed dry (mommy and the old farts) it was cold and less than pleasant.  

We were able to find a ton of sea shells.  I was thrilled to find a sand dollar.  That is the first one I have ever found.

One of the absolute highlights of the trip was a visit to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter.  They did an awesome job recreating different venues from the books.  The rides weren't that great, but the atmosphere more than made up for the rides.

The grand entrance

Sharing some butter beers.  They were actually quite good.

  

Me geeking out about Hogwarts Castle

For a couple years, every time I asked Zadik what had happened last time we read a book, he would say: "Harry and Ron went in a flying car to Ron's house!"  This is Zadik in front of that flying car!

The highlight of the day for Zadik was being called up to participate in the animal talent show.  He absolutely loved it.