Birthday celebrations plus Mickey and Friends

It's my birthday weekend! And I'm lucky enough to have my family here to celebrate with me!

Theresa took me out to a special birthday dinner at a fancy steakhouse earlier in the week. The meal was tasty, but there was another awesome happenstance. At the table beside ours was none other than Luke Skywalker himself, Mark Hamill, having dinner with a few other people. Really cool.

Fast forward to Sunday and we're headed to Disneyland! This week's hats are inspired by... Can you guess?

How about now?

That's right! The Mickey and Friends parking structure. Here on level 1 it's Chip and Dale. Both hats are originally from Disneyland.

One floor up on Level 2 it's the Daisy level. Alli is sporting a retro Daisy hat from the 90s.

That's better. This one has a pink bow and matches the hat.

Next is the Mickey Level. Also a retro Mickey hat from the 90s.

Goofy on level 4. The tag on the hat says it's from 1993.

Donald is a classic hat from back in the 80s from Disney World.

Ian, can you do what Donald is doing?

Lastly there's Minnie on Level 6. Who knew there would be all these retro 3D hats from the 80s and 90s that matched up to all the levels of the Mickey and Friends parking structure.

Hmm. Do I need this hat today?

First things first. I need to get my birthday button.

Then we're going to ride around Casey Jr.

Ian really wanted to ride in the caboose.

Taking some time to smell the beautiful flowers.

Enjoying a cup of tea.

Toon Town was our next stop.

I was very happy to see that the pond that was super dirty last week has now been cleaned up.

Round 2.

And Round 3.

These hats we're wearing today happen to match up with the residents of Toon Town too. T and I getting photos in front of Chip and Dale's Treehouse.

Mickey and the Mickey house.

Minnie's house.

We'll just say Donald and Daisy go together on his boat. It is named the "Miss Daisy" after all.

And lastly Goofy's house.

Right behind his house, Goofy was hanging out and meeting people.

He was loving my hat.

Okay, quick aside. I saw someone wearing this Hercules jersey a couple months ago. After searching online, I couldn't find it anywhere, so when I saw someone wearing it again, I knew I needed to ask where it came from. A site called boxlunch normally sells it, though they're sold out right now. Gotta keep an eye on that.

Whoa! And a Hercules medallion too! This one was homemade on a 3D printer. So awesome!

Ian is now claiming Roger Rabbit is his favorite ride. It's a fun dark ride, I agree. Better in its heyday, but still a well themed and creative ride.

The photopass photographers weren't out when we arrived this morning, which I thought was a little odd, so when we criss-crossed the park we made sure to grab some family pictures in front of the castle.

I love my family. Always up for fun and willing to be a little silly.

Who wants to get wet?!? I know one little boy. While we were on rides, Theresa and Alli ducked into DCA to get a sourdough loaf for everyone to split.

And while we were waiting for lunch to arrive, Ian took Gram on the wildest ride in the wilderness.

On a day with no clouds and a temperature that felt like 98, I was looking for more than just some shade while we ate lunch. Then I remembered that we were right by the Golden Horseshoe, and not only could we get AC, but also watch a show while we ate lunch. Perfect!

T loves plants that don't just look pretty but also provide food. Tomorrowland is filled with edible plants, and at the entrance T is showing the kids the eggplant and artichokes.

Let's take on the Evil Emperor Zurg.

I remember the cameras on Buzz used to be halfway decent. Now, not so much. And where's my score?!? Did I score over a million? Maybe. Guess we'll never know.

The obligatory hugs to all the toys in the gift shop.

it's a small world will be a great place to cool down for 15 minutes.

Everyone enjoyed the carrousel.

And while Gram and Pop Pop stood in line for Indiana Jones (waiting out a couple ride stoppages), us and the kids knocked out a few quick rides. Tarzan's treehouse isn't normally on my list of things to do, but the kids love it.

Ian has been big into the planets lately, so he thought it was cool to see a model of the solar system amongst the artifacts in the Tarzan Treehouse camp.

Over at Winnie the Pooh, Ian and Alli can ride in a row all by themselves, even though they're not 7. I thought it was too cute that when they were told they can ride together, they grabbed hands and waited in front of the gate.

Even with a fastpass, the grandparents still haven't got on Indy. That ride breaks so often. At least it gave us time for one more attraction. The tiki room was a favorite when they were little, and even now it's still fun for them. Ian still turns heads when it's time to sing along with the birds and he's the loudest person singing. And of all the places you can sit, he always wants to be right beside the tiki totems.

Time to head home to celebrate my birthday. On the walk out, I noticed a few new food trucks hanging out in Downtown Disney. Now that 4 restaurants have closed down on this side of DTD, I suppose these will help fill out the dining options over here. Burgers, Wings, and an Ice Cream truck.

Back at home, it's time to celebrate! Pizza and pies! Happy birthday to me!