Ah, ok, next time I have a child fly 3000 miles to see me and tour around Southern California, I'll just hand her a cardboard box or maybe even take her to a dirty carnival. That'll save me a lot of money and annoyance! :rolleyes:


Thanks to everyone else for the responses.
Ah, Mr. Nom, wish I'd thought of this sooner, though I wouldn't abuse your powers too much. :) Hopefully you'll still be spreading pixie dust in a couple of years?

We wanted to hit Dumbo and suddenly Nathan needed to sleep. Mom and dad took turns with him out of line while the other waited with Alana for her elephant ride. Later in the day, dad had to miss out on Buzz because again, we had a sleepy stroller to watch.

Actually, she's pretty dyed in the wool. She's a big DVD watcher, as well as the Disney Channel stuff. She can quote Cinderella and the old Donald cartoons like crazy.

We actually got pretty lucky in that we did not have to endure the Princess Fantasy Faire thingy. I was sure we'd land up there.

It's dirty carnival season again in Petaluma as the Sonoma/Marin fair hit town. Since the kids are now both over 3, it cost $46 to get in. For the four of us. In about an hour and a half, the kids rode seven or eight rides, including a teacup ride, an elephant ride and the carousel. Plus, we saw lots of cows, sheep, pigs, goats and endless rabbits. In terms of characters, the kids were thrilled when Clo, the blow-up costumed mascot of the Clover Stornetta dairy walked by waving. The cast members or, more accurately, los cast miembros, made sure we had a safe and happy time.

What? No photos?

No, but here's a picture of Clo, pre-power-inflated suit.

http://cloverstornetta.com/clothecow/

Sounds like you guys had fun. If I lived in Petaluma, I'd totally take kids there, and have a blast doing it. Since I live about 5 miles from Disneyland, I figure kids might be disappointed if I took them to a carnival instead of Disneyland. Does that make sense, or do I still sound like an uppity bitch to you?

You sound like an uppity bitch.

OK, I'm kidding of course - and I think a lot of kids would be disappointed by being that close and going somewhere other than Disneyland, since little ones don't always have that concept of money, yada yada. If avoiding Disneyland prices, it's sometimes best to avoid any kind of park experience and replace it with the beach, etc...

Ghetto fun fairs are great- the more authentic carnies have less teeth, and if you're really lucky, less fingers...

Tup. The carnivals are where they go when the retire from the theme park buisness are worn out, spent, and missing teeth from the lack of good dental coverage. Not to mention the loss of fingers from oiling the lift chain while it is running :eek: !

;)

If I saw that thing walking around I'd run away screaming. As an adult. That cow has terrifying teeth.

No, you wouldn't. Clo usually hands out cups of ice cream.