California Trip Part 2

March 7th -9th

Disneyland Day 1...

Our first day in Anaheim we left the hotel around 8:30 in the morning. We had purchased tickets to the Shuttle, which would take us the few blocks to the park without us having to worry about parking. We arrived just before the park opened and after turning in our passes for tickets and receiving 1st Visit Buttons (for the kids) we were on our way. We had a list of rides that we wanted to hit first (Pirates of the Caribbean, Indiana Jones, the Jungle Tour, Thunder Mountain, The Matterhorn, The Haunted Mansion) and we hit them all.
The lines were perfect! We never waited more than 10 minutes. If we saw a line that was short we jumped in. If the line was longer we grabbed a Fast Pass or skipped it. We managed to hit a few classic rides in the afternoon (Tea Cups, Dumbo, the Merry-Go-Round, Mister Toad's Wild Ride, the Autopia cars, and Pinocchio).

We fit in the Micheal Jackson show "Captain EO" and picked up Fast Passes for Space Mountain, which had been closed earlier. Around 2:30 PM we left the park and walked across the street to McDonald's were we had a lunch/Dinner. By 3:30PM we were back in the park where we shortly there after met up with Jenny Gaskell who would play with us for the next three days. That night we re-rode Pirates, Indiana, Thunder Mountain and rode Buzz Lightyear, and Spacemountain (twice). It was a day of sprinting from one ride to the other. We didn't leave the park until closing, but we left happy. Jenny met us back at the hotel where she and I investigated until we found the laundry. She was kind enough to stay up with me while I did a couple of loads.

California Adventure Day 2 ...

We were tired, but we were up early to get to the park before 8, because we had morning passes that allowed us to get into Disneyland one hour early. We once again ate breakfast at the hotel and rode the shuttle to the parks. Once we were there, it was a sprint to The "Finding Nemo Submarine Ride" which had been quite busy the day before.

After Finding Nemo we walked over to Fly with Peter Pan.

Once we had our early morning at Disneyland it was time to head over to California Adventure.

We really didn't know what to expect there. We hadn't talked to a lot of people about it or even done much research, but the night before I sat Jenny down and asked her to make a list of must do's for us. She was a very gracious guide even though she wouldn't be joining us until the end of the day. We started out with a flight over California in "Soaring", a must for anyone who has ever dreamed of flying. It was feeling of fear and wonder all wrapped into a 5 minute ride. When it ended we were all blown away.

After our amazing flight Mark went to get us Fast Passes for California Adventures huge roller coaster called "Scream." While Mark was getting our passes I took the kids on a tour of how Sourdough Bread is made. The kids loved that we got free samples of the bread. Ü Mark then joined us for a tour of how they make Mission tortillas, which they also gave us a sample of. Then it was on to "Scream." We did a parent swap, with Caitlyn, Austin, and I riding first, while Mark Colin, Reagan and Hallie rode the Ariel Carousel. All I can say about Scream is that it earns it's name. The kids and Mark loved it. Jenny had to ride it when she came that night. It gave me a headache and couldn't walk straight the rest of the day.

When Mark and Colin finished with their ride on "Scream," we were lucky enough to run into Woody and one of the Army Soldiers from "Toy Story." After our photo shoot and autograph session with Woody we walked over to "Mickey's Fun Wheel," which is a Ferris Wheel, but the cages actually slide back and forth. (It was freaky.) When we were off of the wheel the kids and Mark wanted to ride "Scream" again, so they got back in line while Reagan, Hallie and I headed over towards Hollywood Street to get tickets for the play "Aladdin." Mark and the kids joined us just in time to enter the theatre. It was awesome to eat snacks (which we later learned we weren't supposed to do) and sit and let the entertainment come to us. The actors did a great job. Even Hallie was entertained.

After Aladdin we separated again with Mark taking Colin, Caitlyn, and Austin to the "Tower of Terror" and I took Reagan and Hallie to talk with "Crush" (from Finding Nemo). The little girls and I had a wonderful time learning to talk Turtle, but I think Colin and Austin were scared to death of the "Tower of Terror." Caitlyn said it was great. When we joined back together we went on the "Monsters Inc." ride and then the "Grizzly River Run." We were all soaked, but it was worth it. Lastly we went on "Soar" one more time. It was still amazing, though maybe not as scary. By this time it was almost 4, so we left the park to once again visit the McDonald's (though I stopped at the Quiznos next door for Mark and I). Jenny met us at McD's and we split up: Mark taking Reagan and Hallie back to the hotel for an early night and Jenny and I taking the bigger three for one more ride on "Scream" and then a walk through "Down Town Disney." Jenny was kind enough to show us around her town of Fullerton including her house and the Disney Outlet. It was then time to head back to the Hotel and we were all in bed by 9.

Disneyland Day 3 ...

Can you believe we had it in us for another day? After a good nights sleep we were ready for another full day of Disney. We awoke early but instead of a boring breakfast in our hotel room, we had Breakfast with Minne Mouse and Friends!

Oh, what can we say. THAT MINNIE MOUSE CAN THROW A PARTY AND BOY CAN DISNEY CATER! From the Mickey shaped waffles to the eggs, hash brownes, bacon and sausage we filled up. The food was amazing, but the guests Minnie invited to the party were a great mix and fun to visit with. We visited with Tigger, Chip, Dale, Captain Hook, Eyeore, a Mouse from Cinderella, and of course Minnie herself. The girls had a great time getting everyone autographs.

Colin had a great time stuffing his face.

After filling our tummies we began to think about how we wanted to spend the rest of the day. Mark and I had already decided that we would end our trip to Disneyland with the new World of Color water show that California Adventure was putting on, so I went to get us Fast Passes for the show. Mark took all 5 kids to the Tiki Room and then to ride Thunder Mountain. I grabbed the passes and some yummy Mickey shaped suckers for later. I made it back to Disney before Mark and the kids finished with Thunder Mountain, so I grabbed some Fast Passes to Indiana Jones. I met them at Thunder Mountain and we all rode the coaster again. Then it was over to Pirates and then Indiana where Mark and I did the parent swap again. (Thank goodness for Tarzan's Treehouse.)

Look we found Mickey!

The rest of the day we rode several new rides such as the StoryBook Land Canal Boats, It's a Small World (where we got stuck for a half hour. Colin loved it.), Astro Orbitor, and Roger Rabbits Car Toon Spin.

The kids made a list of all their favorite rides and we tried to hit the them all at least once more. The requests were: The Haunted Mansion, Indiana Jones, Big Thunder Mountain, Matterhorn Bobsleds, Pirates of the Caribbean, and Space Mountain.

We rode until 6 and then took a break for dinner. Where did we go? That's right, McDonalds! As soon as we finished we headed over to California Adventure to use our Fast Passes to watch the World of Color. Jenny met us there. We had an amazing view from the front row. We had to wait for an hour, but the wait was worth it. There was amazing displays of fire, water, and lights projected into the water. Check out these pictures.

We finished of the night with our Disney lollipops!

We had to run like crazy after World of Color to make the last bus leaving Disney, but we just made it. The bus took us back to our Hotel, where we piled into the van and drove straight over to Glendale, where we stayed the night. We went straight to bed with happy Disney memories in our dreams.