Birthday Disney Fun

These special ladies have meant so much to me over the years since we became close when our 6th graders were in kindergarten together.

And a few years ago, when we started making our Disney trips together with the kiddos, our friendships grew. So what better way to celebrate my birthday with them than to do it at Disneyland?

Because of out-of-state trips for both Jen and Sue, the best dates for us to make this happen were Wednesday and Thursday of this past week.

We headed down midday Wednesday and got checked into a lovely hotel walking distance from the parks.

We started out at California Adventure, where we had a snack and then wandered for a bit, before riding the Incredicoaster.

Next up was a meet and greet with Frozone, a character from the Incredibles.

We then rode the Toy Story ride, before heading over to the Animation Academy. After drawing Mickey Mouse, the parks were closing, so we went out to find dinner. We ended up having a meal by an outdoor fireplace at the Disneyland Hotel.

After a fabulous hotel breakfast Thursday, we walked to the parks, but got caught in a rainstorm on the way.

The timing worked well for us to do some indoor activities - we watched the Frozen stage show at noon, then did another Animation Academy, and then it was time for our lunch reservation.

We had lunch at the lovely and elegant Carthay Circle, where we met up with Daisy Duck in the lobby.

Cheers to forty years!

Such a lovely meal in a lovely venue! (And we see you, Mark the server, photo-bombing us!)

We all had the salmon, and then I was able to pick out a dessert for my birthday, compliments of the house. Our whole experience was fabulous - and then Sue amazed us by paying for it all. Such generous friends I have!

Later, we went over to Disneyland, where we rode Thunder Mountain, Alice in Wonderland, Dumbo an Pinocchio. We also met up with Boba Fett...

...and Chewie!

The t-shirt I'm wearing was from my friend Emily, who made her own 40th birthday Disney trip back in May. She, in turn, had received it from a friend of hers. Now I have to figure out who to gift it to!

The three of us had such a great time together... maybe next time, we'll even take our kids with us!