Wednesday June 27th was our third day at the resort. We were going to go to Mickey's Toontown Morning Madness in Disneyland, but since we had such a late night the night before, we decided it would be better to sleep in a little. We slept until about 8:30 and got up to get ready to go into Disney California Adventure park. This was our day to concentrate mainly on that park. This is a picture of the front entrance, across from the Disneyland entrance.
We were ready and waiting at the special hotel entrance to get in the park by about 9:15. They unofficially start letting guests in at 9:30. At that time the only ride open is Soarin' Over California. Once inside the park, that is the ride we walked to. This is a very fun ride. You feel like you are flying in a hang glider, while sitting and staring at this huge IMAX screen. The ride moves with the scenery's changes, and it also shoots smells of what you are looking at as you "fly" by. It is neat to see all the different scenery of California. My one teeny tiny complaint is that they need to have some sort of tribute to Northern California. All the shots concentrate on the Bay Area on down to Southern California. And being a NorCal native, I wasn't feeling the love. lol Other than that minor complaint, it truly is an awesome ride to experience.
Once we were done riding Soarin', Dan headed over to Disneyland to get us some fastpasses for Indiana Jones. That way he and I could go on it later that evening. While he was off doing that, the kids and I met Lightning McQueen and Mater from the "Cars" movie. The cast member asked if one of the kids wanted to help, and gave Sierra a rag to polish Lightning up. After that I took the kids over to the Paradise Pier area to ride on King Triton's Carousel. It is a cute carousel, all the animals are sea creatures.
The kids and I then walked over to the SS Rustworthy to check that out. It is a little play water area, for children, in the shape of a rusty old fire boat. It was OK, but seemed a little run down. We probably won't bother going on it again. When the kids were finished checking out the Rustworthy, Dan had come back with his family. His mom; Cindy, three of his sisters; Laurie, Erin, and Lindsay, and his nephew and niece; Brandon & Makenna. They were there at Disney with us for the next two days.
After they arrived, I was off to get all of us some fastpasses for Soarin' again, and for Grizzly River Run. While they all went on the Jumpin' Jellyfish ride. Once I was back with the fastpasses, we all went on the Golden Zephyr ride. Dallin ended up loving this ride. And we ended up going on it quite a few times.
Once the Zephyr was conquered, the "big kids" went on Mullholland Madness, while Grandma watched Dallin and Sierra. Mullholland Madness is a type of coaster. It zips you quickly back and forth around the track. It was an alright ride, pretty fun. But nothing really impressive. I don't know if I'd take the time next trip to do it again, unless everyone else wanted to go on it.
When Mullholland was over, it was time for Dan, Dallin, Sierra, and I to walk over to Ariel's Grotto for our lunch reservations. The rest of our party went to do their own thing. They had had a later breakfast, so weren't ready to eat lunch yet.
Ariel's Grotto was a nice restaurant. You pay a flat fee for a three course meal. A salad or soup, the main course, and dessert. The food was about average, not terrible, but definitely not the best we've had at the park. The kids both got Mac & cheese yet again. This dish was themed very cute. On top of the macaroni it had goldfish crackers and a hot dog made to look like an octopus. They also had carrot sticks and celery with ranch, and for dessert Dallin had apples with a caramel dipping sauce, and Sierra had a berry and yogurt parfait. As for Dan and I, we both had a salad, I had a cheeseburger & Dan fish and chips, and for dessert Dan had a parfait like Sierra, and I had a scrumptious chocolate cake. It was the best part of the meal! :)
The restaurant is a place to meet the Princesses easily. We got to meet Aurora, Cinderella, Snow White, and Belle. And on our way out, we stopped and said, "Hi" to Ariel. She doesn't walked around with the rest of the princesses. You have to wait in line before you go in to eat, to meet her. The kids didn't want to meet her then, so we skipped it. But then, they decided when we were leaving that they had to see her. Which actually worked out better for us anyway, because there was no long line when the kids changed their minds. Dallin and Sierra both say that their favorite Princess was Cinderella.
After lunch we walked over to the Hollywood Backlot part of DCA and went to check in for the Aladdin show. We had special seating, that we got for buying our vacation package through AAA. We had to wait about 30 minutes before they let us in the theater. The wait was worth it in my opinion, because the show was great. It is pretty much like the movie, but they added a couple extra songs, and shortened the story a bit. The guy that played the genie was hilarious. He did an awesome job. I definitely recommend this show if you have the time to see it.
When the show was over we went and saw the Muppets 3D show. Dan's Mom met up with us there. The other members in our party had already gone into the show right before us, but Grandma went in with us. This was a funny show, although the preshow had me cracking up even more. I forgot how funny the Muppets are. I used to watch the Muppet Show faithly as a kid. This show is a 3D show, and my eyes, because I wear glasses, ended up really hurting by the end of it. And I started to feel nauseous. So I probably will stay away from all 3D show from now on. It wasn't worth it to me. The kids love this show though. Dallin especially was cracking up over some of the hijinks.
We got out of the Muppets theater and met up with the rest of our party. Then we headed into the Monster's Inc. ride. This is an adorable dark ride. The queue is also fun. They have a bunch of different posters and signs relating to the monster world that are too funny. The ride pretty much follows the story line of the movie. "Monster's Inc." is my favorite Pixar-Disney movie, so I enjoy this ride.
After Monster's we walked over to Grizzly River Run. Lindsay took Sierra to watch her while the rest of us went on Grizzly. Unfortunately Sierra isn't tall enough yet to ride it, and Lindsay didn't want to get wet. Next year Sierra should be tall enough. This is a very fun raft ride. It was Dallin's first time on it, so he was a little nervous. He did really well and decided that he liked it, when it was over. I actually didn't get all that wet this time, but enough to cool off a little from the heat.
When that ride was over, we walked back to the Paradise Pier area to use our fastpasses to go on California Screamin'. This is such an awesome roller coaster. The kids couldn't ride it, and didn't want to anyway, lol. So they stayed with Grandma, Laurie, Erin, & Brandon and rode the carousel again. While Dan, Lindsay, Makenna and I went on Screamin'. I love the start of the ride. It shoots you off really fast over the water. I also love the loop.
We walked over to the Maliboomer after Screamin'. Only Dan, Lindsay, Brandon, and I went on it though. The others decided to pass on it. This was fun. It is a big tower thing, and you get shot up, however many stories tall it is, really really fast. What a rush!
When that was over, some of our party went over to get some icecream at Burrrbank Icecream and relax. We let them take Dallin and Sierra to get some, while Dan and I took Brandon and Makenna onto Twilight Zone Tower of Terror. I love love love this ride. It is my favorite in DCA. It is the best, if you are into thrills. You end up going on this "elevator" that takes you to the "twilight zone" where you get dropped multiple times. It takes you up and drops you a little ways, and then takes you all the way up to the top, the doors open where you can look out at DCA and DL and then it drops you again, then up again to the top, and down a varied amount of times. Woooo such a blast!!! Here is a picture of us that was took while on the ride. We're in the second row.
After TOT we met up with everyone else from their icecream bonanza. They said the kids really enjoyed the icecream. Dallin enjoyed it so much he had it all over his face, they said. While Sierra was more prim and proper and ate the icecream with a spoon. lol Grandma and Auntie Lindsay took the kids over to the A Bug's Land part of the park to ride all the fun bug rides. While the rest of us, went to go on California Screamin' again. Then we went into A Bug's Land to meet up with the kids and ride the rest of the rides with them there.
We all went on Francis' Ladybug Boogie together, and the Heimlich's Choo Choo Train. Dallin and Sierra had already done the other rides right before we did those two. So after that we were finished with A Bug's Land. Grandma had to go and get her car, and then she was going to our room at the Grand Californian to relax, and so she could watch our kids later that night while we went on the bigger rides. The rest of us parted ways as well. Dan, the kids, and I were going to get dinner. And the others were headed back to Disneyland.
We did have reservations planned at Goofy's Kitchen, but decided not to use them. We weren't hungry at the time that the reservations were, plus we didn't feel up to walking all that way to Disneyland Hotel. So we skipped it. And instead when we did get hungry for dinner, we just went to the "walk up & order" places in Paradise Pier. Sierra and I got food from Pizza Oom Mow Mow. Dan and Dallin got food from Burger Invasion, which is actually just McDonalds. It was all OK, as much as fastfood can be. It was enough to satisfy our bellies anyway.
Once finished with dinner, we hurried over to Soarin' again. We wanted to use our fastpasses, that we still had, to go on it again, before the Electrical Lights Parade started. Sierra by that time had decided that she didn't like that ride anymore. Something about flying into the fireworks at the end that scared her (Plus I think it was a tired and cranky issue, more than anything). So she was kind of freaking out, about getting on it. I told her that I would ride right next to her and it would be alright. She calmed down enough to get on it, and was OK for the most part. On the ride Dallin was cold, and a nice lady next to us let him use her jacket while riding. I thought that was so sweet.
When we got off the ride, the Electrical Parade was half way over. We did walk over to watch the rest of it go by. This is such a nice parade. I am glad they brought it back, and put it in DCA to enjoy. I remember going to Disneyland the year they were retiring the parade at the park. So it has been especially nice to see it again these past two years.
After the parade was over, we fought the seas of people leaving, to walk back to the Grand Californian entrance to get to the hotel. It was time for the kids to go to bed. They were more than exhausted. Grandma was there in our room when we arrived. After the kids were in bed, and prayer said, Dan and I headed out back to Disneyland to ride some of the rides we couldn't go on with the kids. By this time though my feet were torturing me. I definitely recommend getting really good shoes, if you plan on spending as much time at Disney Resort as we did. I had brought Keds, and sandals which are both fine for wearing shorter amounts of time. But neither had good arch support, which I need with my high arches, so my feet were really miserable by Wednesday night and Thursday. I did not let it stop me from having fun though!
We were ready and waiting at the special hotel entrance to get in the park by about 9:15. They unofficially start letting guests in at 9:30. At that time the only ride open is Soarin' Over California. Once inside the park, that is the ride we walked to. This is a very fun ride. You feel like you are flying in a hang glider, while sitting and staring at this huge IMAX screen. The ride moves with the scenery's changes, and it also shoots smells of what you are looking at as you "fly" by. It is neat to see all the different scenery of California. My one teeny tiny complaint is that they need to have some sort of tribute to Northern California. All the shots concentrate on the Bay Area on down to Southern California. And being a NorCal native, I wasn't feeling the love. lol Other than that minor complaint, it truly is an awesome ride to experience.
Once we were done riding Soarin', Dan headed over to Disneyland to get us some fastpasses for Indiana Jones. That way he and I could go on it later that evening. While he was off doing that, the kids and I met Lightning McQueen and Mater from the "Cars" movie. The cast member asked if one of the kids wanted to help, and gave Sierra a rag to polish Lightning up. After that I took the kids over to the Paradise Pier area to ride on King Triton's Carousel. It is a cute carousel, all the animals are sea creatures.
The kids and I then walked over to the SS Rustworthy to check that out. It is a little play water area, for children, in the shape of a rusty old fire boat. It was OK, but seemed a little run down. We probably won't bother going on it again. When the kids were finished checking out the Rustworthy, Dan had come back with his family. His mom; Cindy, three of his sisters; Laurie, Erin, and Lindsay, and his nephew and niece; Brandon & Makenna. They were there at Disney with us for the next two days.
After they arrived, I was off to get all of us some fastpasses for Soarin' again, and for Grizzly River Run. While they all went on the Jumpin' Jellyfish ride. Once I was back with the fastpasses, we all went on the Golden Zephyr ride. Dallin ended up loving this ride. And we ended up going on it quite a few times.
Once the Zephyr was conquered, the "big kids" went on Mullholland Madness, while Grandma watched Dallin and Sierra. Mullholland Madness is a type of coaster. It zips you quickly back and forth around the track. It was an alright ride, pretty fun. But nothing really impressive. I don't know if I'd take the time next trip to do it again, unless everyone else wanted to go on it.
When Mullholland was over, it was time for Dan, Dallin, Sierra, and I to walk over to Ariel's Grotto for our lunch reservations. The rest of our party went to do their own thing. They had had a later breakfast, so weren't ready to eat lunch yet.
Ariel's Grotto was a nice restaurant. You pay a flat fee for a three course meal. A salad or soup, the main course, and dessert. The food was about average, not terrible, but definitely not the best we've had at the park. The kids both got Mac & cheese yet again. This dish was themed very cute. On top of the macaroni it had goldfish crackers and a hot dog made to look like an octopus. They also had carrot sticks and celery with ranch, and for dessert Dallin had apples with a caramel dipping sauce, and Sierra had a berry and yogurt parfait. As for Dan and I, we both had a salad, I had a cheeseburger & Dan fish and chips, and for dessert Dan had a parfait like Sierra, and I had a scrumptious chocolate cake. It was the best part of the meal! :)
The restaurant is a place to meet the Princesses easily. We got to meet Aurora, Cinderella, Snow White, and Belle. And on our way out, we stopped and said, "Hi" to Ariel. She doesn't walked around with the rest of the princesses. You have to wait in line before you go in to eat, to meet her. The kids didn't want to meet her then, so we skipped it. But then, they decided when we were leaving that they had to see her. Which actually worked out better for us anyway, because there was no long line when the kids changed their minds. Dallin and Sierra both say that their favorite Princess was Cinderella.
After lunch we walked over to the Hollywood Backlot part of DCA and went to check in for the Aladdin show. We had special seating, that we got for buying our vacation package through AAA. We had to wait about 30 minutes before they let us in the theater. The wait was worth it in my opinion, because the show was great. It is pretty much like the movie, but they added a couple extra songs, and shortened the story a bit. The guy that played the genie was hilarious. He did an awesome job. I definitely recommend this show if you have the time to see it.
When the show was over we went and saw the Muppets 3D show. Dan's Mom met up with us there. The other members in our party had already gone into the show right before us, but Grandma went in with us. This was a funny show, although the preshow had me cracking up even more. I forgot how funny the Muppets are. I used to watch the Muppet Show faithly as a kid. This show is a 3D show, and my eyes, because I wear glasses, ended up really hurting by the end of it. And I started to feel nauseous. So I probably will stay away from all 3D show from now on. It wasn't worth it to me. The kids love this show though. Dallin especially was cracking up over some of the hijinks.
We got out of the Muppets theater and met up with the rest of our party. Then we headed into the Monster's Inc. ride. This is an adorable dark ride. The queue is also fun. They have a bunch of different posters and signs relating to the monster world that are too funny. The ride pretty much follows the story line of the movie. "Monster's Inc." is my favorite Pixar-Disney movie, so I enjoy this ride.
After Monster's we walked over to Grizzly River Run. Lindsay took Sierra to watch her while the rest of us went on Grizzly. Unfortunately Sierra isn't tall enough yet to ride it, and Lindsay didn't want to get wet. Next year Sierra should be tall enough. This is a very fun raft ride. It was Dallin's first time on it, so he was a little nervous. He did really well and decided that he liked it, when it was over. I actually didn't get all that wet this time, but enough to cool off a little from the heat.
When that ride was over, we walked back to the Paradise Pier area to use our fastpasses to go on California Screamin'. This is such an awesome roller coaster. The kids couldn't ride it, and didn't want to anyway, lol. So they stayed with Grandma, Laurie, Erin, & Brandon and rode the carousel again. While Dan, Lindsay, Makenna and I went on Screamin'. I love the start of the ride. It shoots you off really fast over the water. I also love the loop.
We walked over to the Maliboomer after Screamin'. Only Dan, Lindsay, Brandon, and I went on it though. The others decided to pass on it. This was fun. It is a big tower thing, and you get shot up, however many stories tall it is, really really fast. What a rush!
When that was over, some of our party went over to get some icecream at Burrrbank Icecream and relax. We let them take Dallin and Sierra to get some, while Dan and I took Brandon and Makenna onto Twilight Zone Tower of Terror. I love love love this ride. It is my favorite in DCA. It is the best, if you are into thrills. You end up going on this "elevator" that takes you to the "twilight zone" where you get dropped multiple times. It takes you up and drops you a little ways, and then takes you all the way up to the top, the doors open where you can look out at DCA and DL and then it drops you again, then up again to the top, and down a varied amount of times. Woooo such a blast!!! Here is a picture of us that was took while on the ride. We're in the second row.
After TOT we met up with everyone else from their icecream bonanza. They said the kids really enjoyed the icecream. Dallin enjoyed it so much he had it all over his face, they said. While Sierra was more prim and proper and ate the icecream with a spoon. lol Grandma and Auntie Lindsay took the kids over to the A Bug's Land part of the park to ride all the fun bug rides. While the rest of us, went to go on California Screamin' again. Then we went into A Bug's Land to meet up with the kids and ride the rest of the rides with them there.
We all went on Francis' Ladybug Boogie together, and the Heimlich's Choo Choo Train. Dallin and Sierra had already done the other rides right before we did those two. So after that we were finished with A Bug's Land. Grandma had to go and get her car, and then she was going to our room at the Grand Californian to relax, and so she could watch our kids later that night while we went on the bigger rides. The rest of us parted ways as well. Dan, the kids, and I were going to get dinner. And the others were headed back to Disneyland.
We did have reservations planned at Goofy's Kitchen, but decided not to use them. We weren't hungry at the time that the reservations were, plus we didn't feel up to walking all that way to Disneyland Hotel. So we skipped it. And instead when we did get hungry for dinner, we just went to the "walk up & order" places in Paradise Pier. Sierra and I got food from Pizza Oom Mow Mow. Dan and Dallin got food from Burger Invasion, which is actually just McDonalds. It was all OK, as much as fastfood can be. It was enough to satisfy our bellies anyway.
Once finished with dinner, we hurried over to Soarin' again. We wanted to use our fastpasses, that we still had, to go on it again, before the Electrical Lights Parade started. Sierra by that time had decided that she didn't like that ride anymore. Something about flying into the fireworks at the end that scared her (Plus I think it was a tired and cranky issue, more than anything). So she was kind of freaking out, about getting on it. I told her that I would ride right next to her and it would be alright. She calmed down enough to get on it, and was OK for the most part. On the ride Dallin was cold, and a nice lady next to us let him use her jacket while riding. I thought that was so sweet.
When we got off the ride, the Electrical Parade was half way over. We did walk over to watch the rest of it go by. This is such a nice parade. I am glad they brought it back, and put it in DCA to enjoy. I remember going to Disneyland the year they were retiring the parade at the park. So it has been especially nice to see it again these past two years.
After the parade was over, we fought the seas of people leaving, to walk back to the Grand Californian entrance to get to the hotel. It was time for the kids to go to bed. They were more than exhausted. Grandma was there in our room when we arrived. After the kids were in bed, and prayer said, Dan and I headed out back to Disneyland to ride some of the rides we couldn't go on with the kids. By this time though my feet were torturing me. I definitely recommend getting really good shoes, if you plan on spending as much time at Disney Resort as we did. I had brought Keds, and sandals which are both fine for wearing shorter amounts of time. But neither had good arch support, which I need with my high arches, so my feet were really miserable by Wednesday night and Thursday. I did not let it stop me from having fun though!
Here's a picture of the Paradise Pier area of the DCA park. I love the look of the Sunwheel ferris wheel. But you can't get me to go on that thing. You can't see it totally, but off the the left side of the picture you can see a part of the Cali Screamin' coaster. The middle has big Mickey Mouse ears. And the loop in the coaster goes around the middle of Mickey.
We met up with Laurie, Erin, Lindsay, Brandon, and Makenna in Disneyland. Our first adventure of the night was Pirates of the Caribbean. Since the kids refused to go on this, we had to, at least, go on it once while at Disneyland. It is one of our favorites. I love how they have added Captain Jack Sparrow and Captain Barbossa to parts of the ride. But still kept the old ride pretty much the same. They also have a cool Davy Jones special effect, on a part of the ride, now. We only had about a 5-10 minute wait, because the fireworks had just got over. So that was nice.
After Pirates we used our fastpasses to go on Indiana Jones. I love this ride too. It is a blast. It is a jeep ride that takes you through the Temple of Mara (?). You encounter a bunch of dangers; a giant snake, bugs, arrows flying at you, a huge boulder coming straight for you. Crazy, exciting ride. The queue is cool too. There are objects that say "Do Not Touch" that when you actually touch them something happens. Another Disney touch that I love. When Indy was over, everyone else said goodbye to Dan and I. They wanted to go back to their hotel and sleep. Since Dan and I had two extra Indy fastpasses, we decided to go on the ride again. :D
Then we did one more ride, Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. It was fun doing it in the dark. And after that we decided to go back to our hotel. We did want to go on Space Mountain, since Dan hadn't gotten to ride it yet that trip. But we didn't have fastpasses, and we knew that even that close to closing that there still was probably about an hour wait in the Standby line. So we passed on it, and instead hobbled back to our hotel. Thank goodness the Grand Californian is so close, because my feet felt like they were about to fall off. lol
Our final day coming soon...
2 comments:
Amber, you did a great job on the journal and pictures of your trip. This is a great way to keep your vacation histories for the family. The kids look adorable. It was such a fun time. Grandma C.
Hi... just happen to cross your site...
Im planning to go to Tokyo or Hong Kong Disney this Christmas. Hoho and I found some stuffs from Hong Kong Disneyland here as well:
disneycloth.cwahi.net
I will definitely take tones of photos there!!!
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