Disney Dance the Magic.

Kendall's Dance Team was scheduled to participate in Disney Dance the Magic this year.  To be honest, I was not the least bit excited about this.  I am just not a Disney person.  I have been there a few times, but it just was not my thing.  That being said, I did not want to be a party pooper, since it was a very cool opportunity.  Leading up to the weekend, the team held extra choreography sessions to learn the routine.  They bought a new costume that had to be 'Disney approved'.  As it got closer, the excitement definitely built. 

We decided to go for a few extra days and make a vacation out of it.  Sidney did not want to go, as she had a horse performance that same weekend.  We did talk her into driving us to the airport in the wee dark hours of the morning.  As you can see, she was not super thrilled about it.

Traveling with Kendall is ALWAYS an adventure...from bomb mimicking disappearing ink to missing giraffe's to shoelaces getting stuck in the people mover.  There is always a story.  Well, this trip would not disappoint.  Before we even had a chance to go through security, her MAC dance lip stain exploded in her backpack.  Yep, quick cleanup job in the bathroom and off to security we went.  

Surprise...who gets selected for a random electronics check...none other than...Kendall:).  As I said, always an adventure.

Once we got to our hotel, we explored the digs.  It was pretty fantastic.  There was a roof top deck with some cozy furniture and two really nice hot tubs looking out over Disney.

Here is a view of one of the sunsets.  This is from our room, which was not quite the rooftop, but still beautiful.  Our hotel was probably a mile walk from downtown Disney.  The concierge at the hotel told us about a shuttle that was across the street that the Disney employees use.  It was free and ran constantly.  We used that to go back and forth.  It was excellent.

Friday, before the Disney festivities began, we took a short trip to Balboa Island.  This is a cute little Island near Newport Beach that has a row of small boutiques.  

One of the shops was attended by a sweet little english cream golden retriever.  Kendall found a cute little romper in one of the shops that fit her amazingly.  I forgot to take a picture, but I am sure she will be wearing it a lot, so I will eventually get a picture.

We could not resist taking a selfie in front of this cool block wall.

We were on a little island, so there was water all around.  We took a walk around the island and took in the fresh sea air.  The sounds of the ocean always instantly relax me (and make my hair poofy).

Bentley's family arrived on Friday.  They were staying at the same place we were.  So we all met up and grabbed dinner.

Elerie, their dance teammate that graduated two years ago, goes to school at Chapman University.  She joined us for dinner and the girls spent the afternoon with Elerie exploring campus and running around.

Saturday was dance day.  The team had to be there at 7am (I think...).  I just dropped them off at the park and went back to the hotel for a little bit.  They had an entire morning of rehearsals, pictures, etc.  I believe we are supposed to be getting some of the professional photos soon.  The actual performance down main street started at 1pm, so I got to the park a bit early and messed around.

There is so much to see and take in at Disney.  I loved this Cruella character.  She was so loud and obnoxious and engaging.  

I rode the horse drawn carriage.  Our ferrier had told me that he used to trim the Disney horses hooves.  He was in Norco, which is where the Disney horse ranch is located.  

I sat in front and talked to the driver.  The driver's are all employed specifically for the horses.  They start as horse care attendants and hire the drivers from within. She told be about her horse background and a lot about the training and care the Disney horses go through.  It was fascinating.  

I parked myself at the parade entrance early and had a fantastic seat.  The only problem was, I ended up on the opposite side of the street as Kendall, but I did get a few good pictures.  I also scurried to the end and had a great video of her at the end.  The only problem is that I pulled an old person stunt and did not hit record until the end.  So my great video is actually a great video of my feet.  UGH!

After the parade, the dancers changed and gathered up for a group picture.

Kendall and I ran back to the hotel, so she could shower and change.  Then it was back to the park we went.

We joined up with Bentley's family and rode nearly every ride.  Stephanie, Bentley's mom, just had knee surgery, so she was on a scooter,  We tagged along and got on many of the rides without waiting in line.  It was awesome.

We got out of the Rise of the Resistance ride merely seconds before the fireworks show.  It was awesome!

The dance team had a party after the park closed at California Adventure.  I volunteered to stay behind and join them.  The girls had fun, as they got to ride the coaster at California Adventure repeatedly as there were no lines to speak of.

The teams received park passes for two days.  So we got up at the crack of dawn and started all over again the next morning.  We started in California Adventure.

Kendall and I caught the float parade the second day.

Funny story.  The last time we were at Disney was in 2015.  Kevin had recently been diagnosed.  His friend did a fundraiser for us, and we took the girls on a dream trip to California.  The first day we had talked Kendall into riding the wooden roller coaster at Mission Beach.  I had forgotten how horrible and rickety those can be.  Needless to say, she did not go on another ride for a couple years.  Kevin was the one to take Sid on most the Disney rides, while Kendall and I sat and waited.  One of those rides was Finding Nemo.  Kendall and I both remember it very distinctly.  While they were in the submarine, we were watching a Star Wars show.  This time, Kendall and I made a point to do the Finding Nemo ride.  It was so much fun.  We thought of Kevin the entire time and enjoyed taking in the sights and sounds that he got to experience those years ago.  Here is a picture looking out our porthole.

It truly was an amazing trip. I am very glad we did it!