Magic at Disneyland

As we continue our efforts to fight getting shut in as a family, we spent a wonderful week playing at Disneyland. Whitney's grandparents joined us to help make things a little easier managing our three young kids and we had an excellent experience.

Whitney is so good on her feet that we almost decided to have her walk everywhere over the three days we were actually in the park. But in the end we decided her stamina probably wouldn't allow for that. Instead we rented a wheelchair each day. Whit was content to ride along between rides and little brother Liam, even joined her in the seat when he was tired. This gave Whit an easy way to get around and with a special pass, it also allowed our group special access to many of the rides in the park.

It'd been three years since our last trip to Disneyland and we were pleased to see that Whitney was big enough to ride a lot of the same rides that Melanie and I enjoy.  In fact, Whit got a huge thrill out of riding everything from Splash Mountain to Thunder Mountain Railroad and even the Tower of Terror.  After each ride ended she would sign "more" and "again."  In fact, I think we ended up on the Tower of Terror together three times in one morning.  Each time Whitney would raise her arms and laugh so hard.  She's such a little thrill seeker.

Meeting the cast of Disney characters is also something Whitney has always loved.  She gave hugs to all of the Disney princesses, Mickey, Minnie and many others.  Our last evening in the park we had dinner at Goofy's Kitchen.  It's a buffet dinner where various characters stop by your table to take pictures and visit while you eat.  As we ate, Pluto stopped by and was having such a good time with Whit.  Then he dashed off and came back with one of his "handlers."  Disney characters aren't usually allowed to speak so Pluto brought a helper with him to the table because he wanted to ask about an ASL sign so he could tell Whitney that she is beautiful.  As Pluto signed, Whitney beamed and signed thank you back and gave him a big hug.

It was so nice to get away, and the Disney folks took such good care of us.  They really made the whole vacation a relaxing one in spite of our family's special needs.  I'm sure we'll be headed back there soon.  Whitney is already asking.