Josh Metellus had quite the surprise in store.
The Vikings safety recently gifted his unsuspecting wife Haley a magical five-day vacation to Disneyland to celebrate Haley's 30th birthday.
Josh, Haley and their 2-year-old son Joshy loved visiting one of their favorite destinations, this time with a special spin: Josh arranged a private tour with a Disney VIP Tour Guide that provided the Metellus family behind-the-scenes experiences and shared more history about the park opened by the Walt Disney Company in 1955.
Here is our first installment of "Offseason Diaries," which will give a glimpse at players' adventures with loved ones before football starts back up.
Note: The below "diary" entries were written by Josh and Haley from their perspective.
DAY 1
9:30 a.m.: It can be tricky to get to the airport early with a toddler, but flying Delta and heading to one of our favorite destinations makes it a whole lot easier!
DAY 2
10:00 a.m.: We entered the park and walked down Main Street, where we went straight to Cinderella's Castle! We had to get a family photo with one of our favorite backdrops.
Right after the castle, we rode the carousel multiple times in a row. Joshy really wanted to ride "Jingles," who was modeled after Walt Disney's favorite horse.
Noon: We rode the Mad Tea Party and Dumbo the Flying Elephant, and we had to make sure to choose the purple teacup for the Vikings!
3 p.m.: Of course we had to stop for the afternoon parade and wave "hi" to our favorite Disney characters.
DAY 3
8:30 a.m.: You know it's going to be a good day when you start out having breakfast with Mickey! Complete with Mickey-shaped waffles, of course.
11 a.m.: We got to do a private meet-and-greet with Mickey – and with Winnie the Pooh.
Of course, we had to do another spin around the carousel on Jingles!
7 p.m.: To celebrate Haley's 30th birthday, we went to Napa Rose at the Grand California Hotel.
DAY 4
11 a.m.: When we entered California Adventure, we got to meet Oswald the Lucky Rabbit. Did you know he was an animated cartoon character created all the way back in 1927 by Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks for Universal Pictures? He starred in several animated short films released to theaters from 1927-38.
1:30 p.m.: Joshy got to ride his first "big" ride since he's now 40 inches tall! It was a big deal for him to ride Jumpin' Jellyfish.
We had the best tour guide to walk us around Disneyland and teach us some of the history we didn't know before.
Checking out Disney's Cars Land is always a big hit with the boys.
DAY 5
Of course, never forget Disneyland snacks – a lollipop for Joshy and a churro for Josh. It's a must!
Thanks for tagging along with our vacation, Vikings fans! My family appreciates your support all year long, and I'm already looking forward to getting back to work for the 2024 season. Until then, SKOL!
Josh Metellus
