Thanks to our early waking habits at home, our first morning found us awake at 5 am. I had those kids dressed, slathered in sunblock and groomed like children belonging to responsible parents (hah!) by 6 am. We ate cereal in our room, and headed for the front of the hotel to catch the first shuttle to the park.

We had that 'early entry' perk for one morning, so we were able to enter the park at 7 am, instead of 8 like the rest of the poor souls who were already queued at the gates.

Getting in early was so wonderful! The park felt fresh, and as we walked down Main Street, I had my initial moments of happy-sad crying and then held hands with my kids, allowing our arms to swing free and felt giddy. We took some photos that featured only my family (!) and made our way into Fantasyland.

I offered to purchase an autograph book for my oldest, so that when she met all the different princesses, she could get a signature. She looked me in the eye and said "Less princesses, more rides." I was a bit taken aback, but none of the kids seemed interested in getting anywhere near the characters. Buzz Lightyear was waved at from the distance, but the rest of the gang was sorely neglected. I feel like I missed a grade-A opportunity to damage their psyches by forcing them into photos with plastic headed costumed actors. I'm sure in later years it will come out in therapy that they are actually angry I didn't take photos of them with Mickey.

A few sprinkles fell as we walked onto the Flying Dumbo ride, and by the time I handed the baby to my husband and dragged my oldest two to the front of the line for the Matterhorn, the skies opened up and a thick curtain of rain was falling. My son (who memorably wailed and demanded an early exit from the kiddy roller coaster at the County Fair) was seated not with me, but with his sister and off we went. It was a blast to feel the rain on our faces as we raced around the track. In that first hour, we managed to ride most of the popular rides in that part of the park at least twice.

I amused myself by over-vocalizing during each ride. "Whee!" I shouted. "Wahoo! We're FLYYYYYing, guys! Look! Whee!" Let it never be said that I am subtle and restrained. "Oh, no! Aaaah! A yeti! Aaaah!"

Heh. I am so obnoxious.

The wet weather didn't ruin our fun in the least. However, the heavy clouds and incessant rain quickly soaked our sweatshirts, and like most of the other families, we purchased tacky blue rain ponchos.

Let me tell you, the oversized plastic poncho is sorely under used in fashion. Sadly, we didn't capture a photo of our family, swaddled in yards of blue plastic, because I can safely say that it was QUITE a good look for us. Especially me, because big round heads + wet hair + chubby cheeks + tight blue plastic hoods + giant, muumuu like sheets of poly-propelyne are really HAWT. I'm SO wearing it every chance I get from now on.

Really, the only issue at that point became keeping the kids close, because with all the little blue-hooded children running around, there was no telling anyone apart. The only stand-out was me, of course, because I worked that poncho, baby.

Mercifully, after a quick (hah!) breakfast, the skies cleared and we were able to lose the ponchos. We took the rafts over to the Island, where the kids ran like feral animals and I bit my tongue trying to keep from reining in their fun. I hate the way I subject my kids to a constant running monologue. Don't touch, stand up, get your finger out of your nose, come here, stay there... Meh. I did pretty well at letting them go crazy.

The photo taking monologue was in full force. Turn around. Smile. No, look at me. Hey, kids! Over here. Smile! Come back!

After a return to the mainland to use the potty, we darted into the line for Pirates. I had the two year old in the sling, and she nodded off in line, so we borded the ride with a sleeping baby. After the first drop, she stirred. On the second drop, she threw her head up and said "Wuzzat?" She glanced around, spotted the skeletal remains of hapless pirates and furrowed her brow while chanting "Yo Ho Ho! Yo Ho Ho!" Hee! She kept it up the whole ride, except when we passed an animal, which she would gleefully identify. "Goat! Yo Ho Ho! Chick-een! Yo Ho Ho!"

My four year old was wearing down after Pirates, and we decided to squeeze the Haunted House in before returning to the hotel. My little pirate returned to sleep in her sling, and as we moved through the stiles, my son began to whine and bemoan his current location.

"Mommy, I miss my Thomases."

"I know, honey, but we're at Disneyland! Let's go have a nap after this."

His eyes welled up, he stuck his lip out, and with a quaver in his voice he said, "I wanna go to Target."

I'm so very proud.

Anyway, we did the Haunted Mansion. As the room stretched, the baby slept on. When the people screamed as the room reached the bottom, she startled, raising her head and shouting in a voice reminiscent of a crotchety old woman "Whodat?" She enjoyed the ride, and spent the shuttle ride back to the hotel uttering "Boo! Muwahahaha! Boo! Yo Ho Ho!"

Despite our best efforts, we never could get the boy-boy to nap. The baby napped with Daddy, but the other two kids ran wild around the room. After two hours, we cut our losses and returned to the park.

The park was teeming with Spring Break vacationers. The kids held up pretty well, despite the lack of solid naps. We rode the Casey Jr. Circus Train, because, well, you know. They put us in a cage labeled Wild Animals, which is so appropriate. We are nothing if not wild.

We hooted and hollered and rattled the cage. I looked around at the other families riding soberly aound the track and thought "Huh." I just don't think I have it in me to not make an ass of myself. I mean, I'm in a freakin' cage with peppy Disney music blasting in my ear. What better time to go nuts?

Actually, that reminds me, the radio on the shuttle van was playing "Double Dutch Bus" at one point. Ha!

Dinner in one of the Fantasyland restaurants gave us the opportunity to watch as the worst in our fellow theme park guests came out. People fortunate enough to be seated at a table were repeatedly harrassed by other families looking to score a table inside. More than one dash for a table resulted in knocked over chairs. I took the kids to an outside table, and let the hubs get the food. On his way back to us, he saw one family stand up, another family (who had apparently been standing over the first family, glaring at them while they ate) try to sit down, and a third family race over and begin to steal the chairs from the table. Ugly.

The kids were wearing down after dinner, with my son on a rotating cycle of wanting his trains, wanting to go to Target and wanting to go back to the Tarzan Treehouse. The hubs took the old'uns onto a ride, and I shopped with the baby, buying three light doo-hickies, which the kids adored.

The live music was starting up on a stage nearby, so we walked over with the kids and were treated to a whole lot of butt shaking and interpretive dancing with whirling light thingies to top 40 hits and disco classics. It was awesome to just kick back and let the kids get their groove on.

Watch out for us Circus folk. We will rock you.

So then, back to the hotel, yadda yadda yadda, bedtime.