Elsa's Birthday at Disneyland

Elsa and Ava with Sleeping Beauty. We dined at Ariel's Grotto for a special birthday treat.

The Celebrate Parade ended another perfect day.

Elsa turned 7 years old yesterday. Wow the time has passed quickly. My little baby is now 7! We had a wonderful day celebrating her birthday. Brian took off work, and we pulled the girls out of school. The park wasn't crowded at all, but a lot of the rides were closed down for "holiday preparations." We rode Splash Mountain three times in a row, which was a highlight. (Last visit we waited in line for almost two hours to ride once.) Afterwards, Brian, Elsa and Ava got stuck on the tip of the incline on Thunder Mountain. It was about a 30 minute wait until the engineers came to walk them down. Overall it took about an hour, which took away time we could have spent on rides. Oh, well. It happens. We spent a lot of time in Toon Town with Minnie Mouse. She is Greta's favorite.

We then raced over the California Adventure Park for dinner at Ariel's Grotto. This place came highly recommended as a special event place. I was actually disappointed with the food and service. Yes, we did get to see the princesses but it was for quick picture op, and then they were on to the next table. I felt that they could have been more personable and spent a little more time talking to the girls. (Considering we paid over $100 for dinner. We were charged $19.00 for mac 'n cheese and another $19.00 for 1 cup of dry spagetti with watery tomato sauce.) It was fine to do it once, but we won't again. Plus, Elsa and Ava aren't totally into the princesses. Ava even told me that it wasn't the real Ariel because she looked different than the Ariel from our Disney Cruise over three years ago. Man she has a good memory. Elsa was disappointed that she couldn't ride "California Screamin" since the park closed while we were eating dinner. I think she would have preferred to go on the rides, but she was so appreciative and said "thank you" multiple times.

After dinner, Elsa and Ava went on a couple of rides with Brian while I saved seats for the Celebrate Parade. It was so fun. Mickie and Minnie were right in front of us. Elsa and Ava got to dance with Daisy and Donald. It was a great performance. It ended right before the park closed. We quickly rode the tea cups and then were the last group on the Dumbo ride. Since we have our annual pass, Elsa received a gift card with full value of a park ticket. She was kind and split the amount evenly between herself, Ava, and Greta. Elsa and Ava picked out baby Minnie Mouses. Greta, with help from her Dad and sisters, picked out a Princess Minnie doll. We now have lots of mini Minnies around our house. Like we need any more girls! The whole day was a treat. Most importantly, Elsa felt important.