Sleeping Beauty’s castle is beautiful at night:
Especially when they turn on the Christmas lights:
Soon it was time for the parade (I’m skipping over all the frustrations about the crowds and restricted access due to the parade route, Christmas has the most crowds). They have parades every day of the year, but we got to see the special holiday parade:
I think more than a few parents could identify with Grumpy:
See more of the parade in the movie!
I can’t quite remember the order of things after the parade. We had reservations for Autopia, the car-driving attraction that smelled bad because of all the engines. Leilani got to drive in my car (I pushed the pedal and steered most of the time) and she loved it. We also went to eat at a restaurant nearby in the park. It was over-priced and the food was mediocre, but we cut the line to make it quick, and we had a nice table indoors to warm up.
Sometime after dark, Leilani saw the spaceship ride and said it must be Stitch’s spaceship and she wanted to ride it.
Then there was the Dumbo ride that she liked as well.
Not surprisingly, Leilani loved to stay up late, run around Disneyland, and go on rides all the time. By 9:30p it was time for the fireworks:
And then while the crowds were thinning out a bit, we went for one last ride: the Small World. It was all decorated for Christmas inside and out, and the best way to finish the day. It’s also Grandma’s favorite ride.
This is the only time we saw Lilo and Stitch (except for on Leilani’s head and on her cup).
By now I was carrying Leilani most of the time, but she still managed to stay awake all the way through the last line and wait for the tram back to the parking garage. But once we were driving, she fell asleep quickly:
