Tigger Dance at The Happiest Place on Earth

Today we took Abby to Disneyland for her birthday. We have not been since February which is actually a long time for us! What a difference a few months can make when it comes to a child of this age. She is so much more aware of her surroundings, characters and the excitement that comes from being a child at Disneyland.

Over the last week or so I have been talking with Abby about how she is going to Disneyland. Each time we talk she gets really excited. When you ask her “Who are we going to see?” she immediately says, “Mickey Mouse!” Its a good thing I caught it on video because the way she says Mickey Mouse just melts my heart.

After dropping Ellie off with Grandpa and Nana we made our way to Disneyland. I had hoped Abby would fall asleep for a bit on the way, especially after such a busy day yesterday, but that did not happen. She chattered and sang to her Ariel doll the entire way. When we finally reached the parking garage, you could tell that Abby seemed to know we were there. There was a bit of prompting from Shaun and myself, but she was genuinely excited. She even said hello to the parking attendants as we drove by.

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After getting settled in with a stop at the lockers and more we headed for our first ride. It was a warm and humid day so it didn’t take long for Abby’s energy to be zapped. Shaun and I decided to get onto Nemo’s Submarine Voyage first before the lines grew. It was probably the longest wait of the day at about 30 minutes. That may not seem too long, but with a cranky 2 year old it seems like forever. There were a few bouts of tears because Abby didn’t quite get the concept of waiting in line, but there were also moments of happiness. Once we were on the ride, Abby was completely in awe! Even just the bubbles in the water made her happy. Those 30 difficult minutes in line, in the heat, were well worth it when we saw how excited she was to see Nemo.

Enjoying the Matterhorn and watching the waterfalls.

Loving Nemo and all of the bubbles as our submarine “dove” into the deep!

After Nemo we headed over to Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters. Abby had fun watching Buzz and the little aliens, but didn’t quite understand the whole lazer gun thing. Oh well… baby steps! When we finished we started walking towards the entrance to Sleeping Beauty’s Castle and Fantasyland. On our way we noticed the Pearl Band walking towards the castle. I knew what was going to happen so we quickly followed them and sure enough the show started. It was the Mary Poppins show and before we knew it, Mary and Bert were out in the crowd performing some of Abby’s favorite songs. What a treat! Bert even waved and winked at her!

After that excitement we decided to find a cool place to sit down and have some lunch. We headed over to the Hungry Bear and sat near the edge of the restaurant. From our seats we could watch the Sailing Ship Columbia and Mark Twain Steamboat pass by as well as the Disneyland Train. Abby got a big kick out of that. After lunch and a bit of walking around Abby finally fell asleep in her stroller. Shaun and I took the opportunity to sit down and relax in a nice shady spot over near Big Thunder Ranch.

When Abby woke up we decided to pop on in to Big Thunder Ranch so that Abby could see the farm animals. She saw the turkey that was saved from Thanksgiving dinner by the president, goats, sheep and the Disneyland cow Maggie. As we were petting the goats, Shaun and I looked up and saw the best thing on earth walk into the ranch… Jessie! I never thought I would be one of those parents that flips out but I did. Shaun and I snatched Abby up and booked it over to Jessie. I have to say it was worth looking like an idiot for. Abby was wearing her Jessie T-Shirt and Jessie kept pointing at it and kissing Abby. It was the sweetest thing ever and Abby was so excited. Made the whole trip worth it. I think if we had gone home right then and there, Abby would not have cared. She was on cloud nine. Mommy and Daddy were too!

Jessie gives Abby hugs and kisses. That is one happy little girl!

From there with big smiles we went on Winnie the Pooh, which of course Abby loved. When we exited the ride Shaun took us over to the line to see some of the Pooh Bear characters. When we walked up Tigger and Rabbit were out but had to leave. Lucky for us Tigger came back and along with him came Pooh Bear! Another excitement for Abby. This time around I didnt even have to hold her. She went running right up to Pooh Bear. He knelt down for her and she talked to him in her gibberish. Abby played with his nose and then we posed for a picture. This little girl was in heaven!

Pooh Bear’s nose is very interesting and Abby had a lot of interesting things to tell Pooh Bear too.

After visiting with Pooh Bear we made our way over to Tigger. Abby walked over on her own and was even more excited to see him. She started doing her Abby dance, which is basically bending and straightening her legs. Bobbing up and down so to speak. Before we knew it Tigger was following her movements and then Abby was following Tigger. It was adorable! She even had most of the people in line laughing. We didn’t catch all of it, but here is a little video of what we now call the Tigger dance…

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After her dance with Tigger, Abby snuggled up with him and we got what is probably the cutest picture to date of Abby. Pure excitement and joy to see some of her favorite characters. What a day to remember as parents. From there we headed over to California Adventure to see Beasts Library and the Monsters Inc. ride. Abby loved both. We had wanted to go on Toy Story Mania but unfortunately that had been closed for refurbishment. After Monsters we packed up and headed home. Even though the day started off rocky, it ended with some wonderful moments! What a great birthday for Abby. Happy Birthday little girl!

Snuggling up with Tigger for an adorable picture. What a lucky little girl.

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