Anya's Suprise Trip to Disney Land

For Anya's 5th birthday, Grandma and Grandpa got a World Mark Condo in Anaheim, and we all went to Disney Land (thanks to a friend for generously gifting us some tickets to the park). Having been tricked by YouTube videos of tearfully surprised children (which I'm now certain were disseminated by Disney itself) Amy and I decided to surprise Anya and record it. 

Having tried to surprise Amy once before her coffee (the day I proposed to her) I should have been prepared for Anya's reaction to waking up early and having to deal with the "cleverness" of others.  In short the Miller/Lodwig girls don't take kindly to early morning surprises. 

Here is us breaking the news of our imminent Disney voyage to Anya. Note that she wants to go to school instead, despite the fact that it's not even a school day.



Moments after I stopped filming Anya began screaming and yelling that she didn't want to go.  She hid behind the couch and took off her shoes and threw them. 

We had to physically carry her in her PJs to the car and strap her down.  Her tantrum woke up our neighbors on both sides (and likely others we don't know of).

She abruptly stopped freaking out when she saw the Space Needle.  That moment sounded exactly like this: "WAAAaahhahaaa AahahahaA...Hey look there's the Wheedle and the Needle!"

After a brief discussion as to whether all red lights on all buildings were each a member of a vast wheedle herd (her theory not ours)  she was magically better. 

Here she is enjoying one of her favorite parts of any trip.



And Grandma and Grandpa Lodwig couldn't be left out of the awesome, "Let's surprise Anya" action.  And decided to surprise her at the Anaheim airport.  Anya is duly impressed as you can see.


It's funny how many people have a similar story.  Both Amy and I have told our parents that we didn't want to go to Disney Land (Brian and I wanted to stay on at Lincoln City Oregon, Amy wanted to keep hanging out at her grand parent's place).  I think Disney really means more to us than to the kids. 

That being said, the trip itself was great.

Anya was a total champ.  She never begged for anything, she didn't even spend all of her allowance.
She was charming to everyone we met.  And she genuinely seemed to enjoy herself and she really wants to go back soon.

Now that she's home she's been telling folks that her favorite things were the Dumbo ride, And the Jungle River Cruise.  She also walks around singing "In the Tiki Tiki Tiki Tiki Tiki room, In the Tiki Tiki Tiki Tiki Tiki room..."