Happy, rainy Birth-4-day

In many ways we're Disneyland snobs. We only like to go on warm, sunny days when no one else is likely to be around. No school holidays, no weekends, and never in the summer. But in celebration of my birthday (days 3 and 4 of what Danny dubbed the "Birth-4-day"), we had booked a Priceline hotel for Monday night. The rate was ridiculously low, but they're not big on refunds for inclimate weather. So despite Monday's Southland storm, we headed down for a couple of days at the happiest place on earth. We figured that if we were miserable we'd just go back to the hotel and enjoy a nice dinner. We bundled up in our warmest jackets, trash bag parkas, and "raining boots" and prepared for an adventure. To our great surprise, it turned out to be one of our best Disney days ever! When I say no one was there, I mean no one. If even one person is in line, the staff will not allow you to remain on a ride. On Monday, we stayed for second and third rounds of most every attraction. I can't say that it resulted in great improvements in my Toy Story Midtown Mania score, but it did compel me to finally try Grizzly River Run. We were already a little wet, and figured our sophisticated gear could protect us from the river as well as it had sheltered us from the rain. Actually, it turned out to be trip of firsts: Alyssa, our least excitable child, was elated about being able to ride California Screamin' - a real upside-down roller coaster. Parker braved the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror - twice! And Reagan was finally tall enough to ride the Matterhorn. She kept her hands up in the air the entire time, and spend the better part of today sliding down the back of an armchair saying "Matterhorn Mama!" We might have some thrill-ride junkies on our hands in the years to come.

Tuesday's sun and accompanying "crowds" were almost a let-down in comparison to our nearly-private park experience. Next time the forecast calls for rain, you'll know where to find us!