1st Visit

Tuesday night when Melissa came in since she was staying to Victor's hotel, Alana and I went over to have dinner with her and visit. The cups in the restaurant were jungle themed and all Alana could talk about was how much they looked like the Jungle Cruise. So I explained what the Jungle Cruise was to Melissa. Her first question back to me... "What exactly is Disneyland?"

I'm sure my eyes popped out of my head! How do you not know what Disneyland is? Surely everyone in the world, even people in Michigan know what Disneyland is. Apparently Melissa thought Disneyland was more of a Six Flags. So Alana and I explained what it was and some of the rides. Victor brought out a Disneyland Map. I gave her some background about the park, I used to work there so I know tons of lame details... I told her about the yummy treats around the park, the popcorn, churros, ice cream. Her next question... "What a churro?". HOLY Michigan Batman!

Needless to say I couldn't be more excited to experience Disneyland through the eyes of someone who had never been there before! I was hoping I wasn't building it up too much because it is a place that I LOVE so much.

I am very lucky to have some the greatest friends EVER! When my friends heard about Melissa's story and that Disneyland was on her "Bucket List", everyone was so great to offer us assistance in every way possible. My friend Rosemarie got us signed in so we didn't have to pay to get in. That started our day off just awesome! I couldn't be more grateful RM. Thank you for being part of this great day!

Our first stop inside was to take the "classic" picture in front of the train station where the Mickey Mouse head is.

Melissa will be celebrating her 30th birthday very soon so I decided to get her a Birthday button. What is better then all day having EVERYONE say Happy Birthday to you? (or more annoying?) She wore that button like a champ for most of the day!

Main Street USA.

I told Melissa to pick, Left or Right. She didn't know either way so she picked left and we were off to Adventure Land!

1st stop was the Enchanted Tiki Room! Not so much for the show, which is always cool, but more for the Dole Pineapple soft serve!! AMAZING as always!

Alana's favorite, the Jungle Cruise brought lots of laughs and haha, that wasn't so funny. Great ride. While riding in the boat I realized that my mom's name was in the boat with a heart around it. Hmmm... It's awesome when I find little signs throughout my days that reminds me she is still with me.


We made our way around the park, stopping in all the lands, hoping on and off rides! Half way through the day we realize we haven't even had a churro yet! So we stopped in New Orleans Square for Melissa's first churro EVER! She was impressed. Crystal now wants to start a Churro business on the East Coast.

The Haunted Mansion never fails me, still such a great ride!


A visit to Frontierland

And Tomorrowland.


Another "classic" Disney picture!


We got all the way over to Small World and it was CLOSED!! I was so sad Melissa never got to see it.

My good friend Jeremy who still works at the park and has since I worked there 14 years ago came to meet us in the park to say hi. He brought Melissa a bag of goodies for her Birthday. It was great of him to bring her a birthday gift. The bag include her very own set of Old School Mickey Ears. When she pulled them out of the bag, she loved them. She turned them over to see her name on the back and she started to cry! It was an awesome moment! Thank God I was there to catch a picture of it! Those are tears under those glasses! Thank you Jeremy for helping me make Melissa's time at Disneyland one to remember forever!

After several great hours at Disneyland, we headed over to California Adventure for some of the fun things they had to offer. One being a glass of wine!

The next, this awesome coaster in the background!

We had a blast on the coaster, such an adrenaline rush!!

Can't leave without the cool Toy Story Ride!

Paradise Pier brought us warm Bread Bowls and hot chocolate on the chilly night before we stood to watch the World of Color. Again, Jeremy came through with some VIP World of Color reservations. That meant we could show up just a few minutes before the show and have a good spot. This was the second time I got to see the world of color and it was even better this time! We all stood in amazement to watch it!


The day after Disneyland we asked Melissa what she thought of Disneyland. She said it was better then she could have ever imagined, surpassed her expectations. That made me so happy!! There are some people that all their lives they dream of making the trip to Disneyland and for Melissa I don't think this was ever a "dream" but once she was there it sure was a dream come true for her, and really for all of us! These days that I got to spend with Melissa were amazing and I wouldn't trade them for anything in the world! Thank you to everyone that helped to make her time here amazing!! Thank you to my husband for being a single parent for 4 days! Thank you to my best friend Crystal for being there to support me when I needed to be there to support Melissa! Thank you to all of my friends and family for praying for me and her. Thank you to my sester for your camera so I could catch some beautiful moments on camera. Thank you to my friends for the tickets, presents and time and for all the encouraging words to help me get through these awesome days!