Fantasy & Fright -- HalloweenTime at Disneyland

Remember my offer to play at Disneyland with us? We weren't kidding, folks. Luckily, a few people believed us and our HalloweenTime visits were a party. But before telling you about it, can we talk about how adorable Disneyland is for a second? Seriously. I didn't even know that they decorated the park all festive for Halloween, so I was pleasantly surprised when I arrived at the front gates and saw this:

Too cute, right? The theming inside the park was equally fabulous.

Yes, those are caramel apples shaped like pumpkin Mickey and yes, they looked delicious. But we didn't eat them because we were too busy consuming Disney churros, which are far and away the best churros on the planet. Maybe we're addicted.

Anyway, so Matt and I were fully enjoying riding all the big rides (including the Grizzly River Run before it gets too cold to spend a day drenched at a theme park) ...

... and admiring all the cute decorations ...

... when we turned to each other and commented that even though our kids-at-heart-ness is usually more than enough for Disneyland, it would just be fun to enjoy the Halloween spirit with a few cute kids that day. Then, right on cue, Becky texted and we met up with one of our favorite families--the Kerrs.

Susie Kerr is the mother of Jodie Kerr, who is actually Jodie Hendricks, wife of Steve. Remember Jodie and Steve? We love them and their kids a whole lot. And, consequently, love their entire extended family as well. Jodie's sister Becky was in town visiting Susie and we got to reap the benefits of playing with her kids at Disneyland. Hopefully you followed those connections. If not, just take my word that it was great fun.

I even -- shocker! -- enjoyed Small World with those adorable kids in tow.

The ride is actually mildly tolerable now that they added Disney characters to the scenes.

We played and played and went on ride after ride, including the freshly-spruced-up-for-the-holidays Haunted Mansion.

And then we watched Fantasmic, because it had been too long since we'd seen it. I love that old-school Disney magic.
I just do.

Cute Tylie was a little worried about the Evil Queen business, though.

But luckily it turned out alright and Mickey beat her in the end. Phew.

Happy HalloweenTime at Disneyland!

Oh, and you thought this post was over? It's sure not. We went back less than two weeks later when Matt's parents came to town. (See? I told you! Come visit and we'll take you to Disneyland! We're cool like that.) The highlight of that Disney day was the fact that the Toy Story Midway Mania ride was reopened and Matt and I could therefore complement our Buzz competitions with its 3D twin in California Adventure. I still rule Buzz but, sadly, Matt is a better maniac than I am.

We also watched World of Color a couple more times and it was as amazing as always. Matt and I had fun sharing one of our greatest loves (yes, Disneyland makes that list) with Clark and Shelley.

Okay, now this is the end of the post. After I remind all of you that Disneyland is busiest cutest over the holidays and Matt and I will definitely be going in December, that is. Just in case you need hosts. Over and out.