The Happiest Place on Earth? I may have to agree. Disneyland has having fun down to a science and my kids had a hay day. Having Brooke and Drew there with them was icing on the cake.
Since part of the NCAA tournament was in Anaheim, we decided to hit two birds with one stone. Brandon and Kram got to see a basketball game while Lori and I herded cats... er... kids around Anaheim. We walked around Downtown Disney and while it was neat, the kids were confused. Where were all the rides? We had to improvise. We hopped on a "train". When they announced it would take us to the parking structure, Lori and I cracked up. We rode it anyway and had a great time. The kids were less than impressed. 
I had heard Rainforest Cafe was a great place to take kids, so we did that for lunch. Unfortunately, the kids did not like it. When a "storm" came every 30 minutes (complete with darkness, thunder, and lightning bursts), the kids would cry. So every 30 minutes thereafter, they covered their ears, hid under the table, and sang ABCs. So funny. We paid for the experience, but they would have been happier at McDonald's where is never got dark and scary.
As for the actual Disneyland - we did that too. The kids were in heaven. Zach's favorite ride was the Gadget Go Coaster and least favorite ride was Space Mountain. I tried to yell happily during the ride, but I was quite frightened myself. I was proud that he would even try it. Below is a picture of Pirate Zach on the Buzz ride.
Zach and Brooke would entertain themselves in the ride lines by playing I Spy. Drew would do "magic" while we toured the park and Halle just wanted to walk like the big kids.
Halle's favorite ride was the Astro Orbitor. She loved the spinning and she loved going high. She hated the Alice in Wonderland ride. At one point during the ride, she grabbed my hand and placed it over her face, then held on with an ironman grip. She also adored seeing Minnie Mouse, who is her favorite Disney character.
A highlight for Zach was going to a Jedi Training show. They chose people out of the audience and taught them how to be Jedis. Zach was super disappointed when he wasn't chosen, but his tears dried as soon as Darth Maul came out. He loved the entire show.
This picture sums it all up. Disneyland is fun. Disneyland is exciting. But Disneyland is also exhausting.
