We arrived at Peter Pan first, with about a minute wait. It is such a cute and classic ride. I always enjoy going on it.
After Peter Pan it was Dumbo. Sierra loves the Dumbo ride. She and I rode in the pink elephant. Dan and Dallin chose the Dumbo with the green clothes on.
After Dumbo it was on to Alice in Wonderland, and then the Mad Hatter's Tea Party. The teacups were always the ride I most looked forward to going on as a kid. I just thought they were so cute. I remember the time, as a kid, when we were able to go to Disneyland, they had the teacups closed and I was very disappointed. Going these past couple years and riding on the teacups has been a fulfillment of my childish dream. :) Sierra got to pick the cup this time, so I am sure it is no surprise to anyone that she picked.. what else.. a pink one. lol
When the teacups were over we went on the carrousel again. And after that we had character breakfast reservations at Plaza Inn. We were a little early, but they do open the restaurant early for Early Entry, so we were allowed to go right in.
This breakfast was so much fun. I highly recommend it. Especially if your kids enjoy meeting a lot of characters. Last year Sierra was terrified of all the characters, but this year she did great, and actually wanted to meet them. We met Minnie Mouse, Tigger, Eeyore, Captain Hook, Chip & Dale, The Fairy Godmother, and the Gorilla from Tarzan. Tigger seemed to take an extra liking to Sierra. Every time he would come around to our table, he would have to mess Sierra's hair up. And each time she would just giggle like crazy.
The food was terrific. It was all buffet, and they had a lot of different choices. The kids only wanted cereal and toast (no surprise there, lol). But Dan and I really went to town. I got these adorable Mickey Mouse waffles with strawberries and whipped cream. And scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage, and biscuits & gravy. They also had an omelet station, where the cook will make an omelet to your specifications. And they had french toast, and bunch of pastries, hash browns, and pretty much anything breakfasty that you can think of. It was all so yummy! I just love breakfast food to begin with, and this did not disappoint. Unfortunately I forgot to take pictures of the food. I was too busy eating it. *hee hee*
When we were done with breakfast we headed over to the Frontierland side of the park. We wanted to go check out the new Pirate's Lair on Tom Sawyer Island. It was neat. A fun place for the kids to blow off some steam. And some new special effects in the caves that are cool, but a little scary for smaller kids. Our kids didn't go in the caves. They also have a show they do on the island, with Captain Jack Sparrow. But we went too early to see it, and we didn't want to waste time waiting for it. So maybe next year when we go we can catch the show. You can see it a little bit from the mainland. You just can't hear anything that is going on, so it is better to watch it from the island.
Once back on the mainland, we headed over to Critter Country. It was time to ride Winnie the Pooh. It is a cute little dark ride. The kids love this one. There is never really that much of a line for this ride, so we did it a couple times. Then we headed into the Pooh's Corner store to look around while we waited for it to be time to go on Splash Mountain.
Both Dallin and Sierras were brave and went on Splash Mountain. Although Sierra was worried about getting wet. Splash Mountain is my favorite ride in Disneyland. I love that it is cute, and it has the thrills at the same time. Dallin ended up liking the ride, Sierra said she didn't because of the drop and because she got a little wet. We actually didn't get that wet at all. We were in the back four seats, and had two teenage boys in front of us. They got the brunt of the water. I was a bit disappointed that I didn't get wet, because after Splash it had started to get on the hotter side.
We went on the Sailing Ship Columbia after that. It was hot on that ship. And this was where I was really wishing we had gotten more wet on Splash Mtn. It was the first time any of us had been on the ship. It was a nice ride, but probably not something I'd do again. This isn't the Columbia, but rather the Mark Twain. Isn't it purdy?!
After that we went into Adventureland to watch the Tiki Room show. This was the first time I have ever seen the show. It was so cute. I loved it. Funny, exotic birds talk and sing to us, and flowers and the totem poles sing as well. When the show was over, I just had to get a Dole Whip Float. I wanted to get it to eat during the show, but didn't have time beforehand. So I waited in line afterward. The machines unfortunately decided to overheat the minute I was at the front of the line. So I waited and waited and waited for the machines to cool off. I was determined to wait, because I knew the minute I stepped out of line it would've started working again. It was all worth it though once I got my tasty treat.
We were ready after that to head back to the hotel for a swim and nap. The pool at the Grand Californian is neat. It has a big "redwood tree stump" slide. And a smaller little kids slide to the side. It was nice and relaxing being able to cool off in the pool. Oh and the nap was relaxing as well. ;)
We had dinner reservations in Downtown Disney that night. At the Rainforest Cafe. We had about a 5-10 minute wait until our table was ready. This is a fun restaurant. There are jungle animals in the dining areas, and every few minutes the animals come to life. And every 20 minutes there is a thunder storm and the animals go crazy. The kids really didn't like it. Dallin especially didn't enjoy it. He had his ears plugged through most of the meal, because he worried that the animals would start making noises again. Well, I thought it was cool. The food was good, and big servings. It reminded us a little of The Cheesecake Factory's menu (not as good though, in our opinions). We probably won't ever eat there again though. Especially since the kids didn't enjoy the atmosphere.
When dinner was over we rode the monorail back into Disneyland (Dallin was excited about that). We then tried to head to New Orleans Square to check in for our special Fantasmic tickets we got. At that time though, the parade was still going on, so we had to head the round about way down the side of Main Street. It was good that we did though, because we ended up seeing a friend of ours from San Andreas as we were fighting the crowds to get by. Kellie Wright was there with her two sons and her mother in law. She was one of my counselors in the Primary presidency when we lived in San Andreas. We talked with her for a few minutes, and she updated us on what was going on with them, and others that we knew. It was really such a nice surprise to see her.
After we said our goodbyes to Kellie and her mom, we had to go check in for our premium riverside Fantasmic seating that we got. We checked in for the 10:30 show, and got to pick which seats we wanted. We were some of the first to check in, so we got some good seats right in the central location. Then we headed over to ride on the Disneyland Railroad from the New Orleans station. We waited about 20 minutes until we were finally able to get on. Everyone seemed to want to ride the train from that station. Before our trip, Dallin was all gung ho about riding it. We hadn't had the chance to ride on the train last year, so he really said he wanted to do it. He loves trains. Well once we got there, he changed his mind. He saw that there were tunnels. For some reason Dallin is terrified of tunnels(he said it is because they are dark). We told him there was nothing to be afraid of, and that he could close his eyes if he wanted too. So we were big, bad parents and made him ride. lol
We got off at the Tomorrowland station, and walked to Buzz Lightyear ride again. Since Dallin and Dan didn't get to do it the evening before. It was fun once again. And I am proud to say that I beat Dan, and had the top score. Woot woot!! :p
After Buzz we walked over to Adventureland to ride on the Jungle Cruise. This is the first time we have ever rode on it in the dark. It was neat that way. Fun, but I prefer it when I can see everything better. The skipper made the usual puns. My favorite being "the backside of water" joke.
When we got off the cruise, we were going to go on Pirates of the Caribbean. But both the kids changed their minds about that one. So we went over to Big Thunder Mountain Railroad instead, and were going to ride that one together. Once there, again the kids didn't want to go on it. So I gave Dan one of the fastpasses and he went and rode it. I was going to ride after he got back, but the line ended up being too long by the time he got back. While on the ride, the kids and I sat, relaxed, and got to watch a tiny bit of the fireworks from over the trees. We tried to ignore Fantasmic that was going on behind us. I didn't want it spoiled for the kids, since we had the 10:30 show.
Once Dan was finished riding BTMR, Fantasmic and the fireworks were over, so we decided to go get our Fantasmic seats. Now the premium seating is not cheap. But we felt it was well worth the money, not having to wait on the ground 3 hours for Fantasmic to start. We got nice chairs to sit in, and each got a big box of goodies. The boxes had Mickey Mouse rice crispie treats, brownies, macaroons, chocolate covered strawberries, and biscotti. And you get the drink of your choice. They also have balcony seating, that we want to try next year. The show ended up not starting until 11 PM. They were having technical difficulties. But finally they got it up and running. By the time it was ready to go, Sierra was passed out asleep on my lap. Poor thing! So she ended up missing the whole show.
I forgot how neat Fantasmic is. It is awesome how they mix water and fireworks together. Dallin said he really liked the show. At the end of it, we were all exhausted. So we packed up what was left of our goodie boxes, and walked back to the hotel for bed.
Day 3 coming soon!
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