Disney 2013 Surf's Up! Breakfast

We started off our second morning with a Character Breakfast.  We got a cute group shot with Mickey on our way in.

The kids were in heaven.

The breakfast was great, but one of the things I liked best was that if Mickey wasn't taking a picture with a family on their way in, you could go  back and play and take more pictures.  Jackson loved it.

 

The rest of the characters rotated among the tables.

 

It was a fun time, but we kept waiting for the little Surf's Up! show that the characters were supposed to do.  I finally asked about it, and then said that they were done for the morning.  They had finished the last one right before we were seated.  I explained that I had asked specifically about the times for the show when making our reservation with Disney Dining, and they had told me that we would have no problem seeing the show with the time that we reserved.

I was frustrated, but Jackson was still smiling.

I asked to speak to a manager, and explained the situation.  He told me that unfortunately, he could only offer for us to come back at a 20% discount.  I asked to speak to his manager.  When she came out, I explained the situation again.  She had called Disney Dining, and verified that we were told the wrong time for the show, and offered for us to come back to the breakfast free of charge the next day.  I was very appreciative, especially because I didn't want to leave feeling short-changed and with a bad taste in my mouth (pun intended) right after breakfast.

Hayley said "goodbye" to these girls, and told them we would see them the next morning.

And then we were off to California Adventure for a day of fun!

Disney 2013 Day #1 Disneyland

Our first Disney day had a late start.  We had to drop off Jeremy and Robert at the Long Beach pier for the ferry ride to Catalina for their scuba diving expedition.  (It's a little like Disney bait-and-switch with those guys.  Let's go to California... You guys can go scuba diving... And maybe we can all go to Disneyland...)

Anyway, I was ready to hit the ground running, because that's how I roll at Disneyland.  Hayley, my mom, Heidi, and sister, Whitney were ready to go too.  Jackson however was not all that excited.

It was hot, and he was jet-lagged from the day before, he hadn't had the best sleep since he wasn't in his own bed, and he got a little sunscreen in his eye that morning.  Then we took him on Gadget's Go Coaster, which scared him, and he decided that all rides from there on out were "too scary" and he was "too little." 

He's fine, he's fine, he's fine...

And her realizes he is on another ride.  Sad boy.

So we switched tactics a little.  We all had some ice cream, Hayley found some characters, and then we just sat and people watched for a while.

Interestingly, last year Jackson was fine on all the rides we took him on, and scared of a lot of the characters.  This year, he couldn't get enough.  Any character we saw he cuddled right up to.

He was especially excited to see Winnie the Pooh.

Hayley was excited to get some more autographs in her book.  I love that she still loves the characters, and I love it even more that she hasn't asked about the obvious zippers on some of the costumes.  I think she knows that she doesn't really want to know and spoil the magic.

I really, really love this magical place too.

It was a long first day, but Jackson had lots to say about it when we got back to the hotel.  The first video was too long to post, but this one gives the general idea.  We never did find the can he speaks of, even after riding Jungle Cruise two more times over the next few days.