As many of you know, I recently was assigned to write about Disney for the Register. With that assignment, I got an annual Disneyland pass. Plus, I get to cover other Disney-related events. So, you'll probably be seeing a lot of Disney-related pictures from now on.
Earlier this month, a big Disney convention was in town. (Shameless plug: Read our Around Disney blog coverage
here, if you are interested.)
Unfortunately, the expo coincided with Michael's first and only four-day road trip this year. (OK, shameless plug for Michael, too: Here's the
USC blog.) I had to cover the expo on two of the four days when our nanny, Ana, agreed to work long shifts. On my "day off" Friday, I decided to take Austin to the expo for fun.
We stopped off at the toy test area. Austin was the only kid there, so he got to play with as many toys as he wanted. He especially liked this dancing and singing Mickey that the employees kept turning on for him.
Austin also loved the Cars toys, not surprisingly. And he checked out the Handy Manny stuff, too.
After the toys, I decided to selfishly take him to a movie presentation, where clips of new movies, like Tim Burton's "Alice in Wonderland," were going to be shown. Also, some celebrities were scheduled to appear, including Tim Burton and Nicolas Cage. There were rumors that Johnny Depp was supposed to show up, but I wasn't sure if I believed them.
I didn't know how long Austin would last in a dark presentation where he had to sit still, but he was great. We were there for about an hour and he only a whimpered a bit during scary scenes. After Tim Burton talked, I figured Johnny Depp wasn't going to come to promo his role as the Mad Hatter. So, I waited until Nicolas Cage left and we left. No cameras or cell phones were allowed, so I wanted to pick up my stuff before the crowds came.
Austin and I went to meet Donald Duck instead.
After the movie presentation was let out, I ran into some people who told me that JOHNNY DEPP showed up. And I missed it.
ARGGHHH.
Here's the
Johnny Depp video and
our coverage of the movie event here, in case you want to see what I missed.
So, Austin and I met Donald Duck instead of seeing Johnny Depp.
At least Austin was happy. (This is my fake smile before what I knew what was really happening.)
On Friday, I took Austin to Disney's California Adventure after nap time for a few hours. I think I saw Melissa from "The Bachelorette" and "Dancing with the Stars" buying a churro. I'll check with my sources on Monday.
Austin and I spent most of our time at the Redwood Creek Challenge Trail, where he can run around and play.
Austin climbed on top of this faux rock with only a little bit of help.
He was too small for a lot of the challenges, but he loved this fake, hollowed out tree.
He kept going in and out of the tunnel branches.
And running and laughing.
Later, we found an area where kids can make noise, banging on old milk cartons and pipes. Of course, he liked that.
Austin and I will definitely go back soon for more Disney adventures.
-Sarah
