Oh the ideals we have before we become parents. Even though my sister and I grew up going to Disneyland every spring and with a drawerful of every Disney movie ever made, I vowed that I would not raise my own kid on Disney. (Blame it on my feminist, anti-capitalist, anti-corporate college education). Flash forward to three and a half years later, when I have relaxed a great deal and remembered that Disneyland is actually The Happiest Place On Earth! (Especially when you get FREE tickets from a friend whose boyfriend’s father works there!).

And flash forward to me at 29, thrifting this dress because I loved the Minnie-ness of it!

I really like mixing distinct patterns lately, and was happy that the weather called for another layer over the two dresses (including the long sleeved black dress I had on underneath Ms. Red Polka Dots) so that I could add this recently thrifted 70s boho sweater to the mix.

But enough about me, back to my Mini Minnie. My mom went to Disney World last year and came back with a Minnie Mouse dress and ears for our little Mycie Mouse. She didn’t know who Minnie was then, but loved the outfit right away and has worn it constantly since then:

And you know what, Mickey & Minnie are about as sweet as can be and if my daughter is going to have a cartoon obsession I’m glad it’s them and not SpongeBob or Transformers or even a Disney Princess (much as I adore Princess Aurora).

So here are some photos from our day at Disneyland. My dad, my sister Lacey, and Mycie and I woke up at my grandparent’s house in Shafter, California at 6am and were soon on the 5 headed south about two and a half hours to Anaheim. Mycie’s first impression of the place? Waiting in line sucks.

But flying around on the rocket ships is pretty fun!

Although she didn’t wear her Minnie dress to the park, she did sport red (I blogged about this darling little top/dress, a gift from my friend and Etsy customer Joanne) and wanted a bow in her hair, like Minnie.

Toon Town was definitely her favorite part of the park (and the carousel was her favorite ride- we could have just taken her to the mall!).

She was pretty much scared of every other ride- the Submarine, Alice In Wonderland, even The Jungle Cruise!

My sis and I snuck away to ride Splash Mountain (and eat a churro) and had so much fun! She snapped this shot of me after we got soaked (we sat in front).

It’s A Small World was a big hit, of course.

The free tickets we got worked for Disney’s California Adventure too, and since we had never been (though my sis and I were both at Disneyland the day it opened- February 8th, 2001, my 20th birthday), we left Mycie watching a parade with my dad and ran over to do the Soarin’ Over California ride. It was awesome. And gave us a chance to take cheesy photos, thanks to the fact that the letters in the word CALIFORNIA include the first letters of both our names.

Lacey:

Amber:

And we had to get this shot too. I wish I could fine the photo of my mom, my dad, my three year old self, and Lacey’s one year old self all wearing matching Mickey Mouse sweatshirts and standing at this very spot back in ‘85.

Lacey extended the fun of the day by presenting Mycie with these new, sparkly, dare I say princessy set of Minnie ears the next day when we were back at our grandparent’s.

I can’t wait to take her back when she is a little bit older! And I am also really looking forward to taking her to another very special, but very different, place next month- Yosemite! Now that’s some well rounded family travelin’.

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