Vacation Day Five: Our Last Day

Sunday was the last day of our fun-filled vacation and our last early entry. Disneyland opened up to the public at 8, so we got the kids up, dressed and at the gate at 6:30 for our early entry at seven. So because everybody runs to Nemo or Space Mountain we sauntered down Main Street USA and stopped for a few pictures. Early Entry is the best time to take pictures because there won't be anyone in the background. It is just you and Sleeping Beauty's Castle. Jeremy did not want to stop and take pictures. He wanted to get to the rides. So we walk through the castle and the first ride we go on is Peter Pan. We boarded our pirate ship and sailed over London. I love to look down and see the tiny little cars make their way around Big Ben. It is so magical. Then we hit Mr Toads, Pinocchio, and Snow White. What else you asked? Yes, Bailee rode the Carousel yet again. Then we hit Dumbo, the Teacups, Alice in Wonderland, and the Matterhorn. Like I said you can get a lot done in that extra hour. So, at 8 when the park opened, Mom realized she hadn't been on Space Mountain yet, so we took Jeremy on a spin, while Matt took Bailee on Buzz. Then we switched and Mom took Bailee on Buzz. As we were meeting up we noticed some lanyards that Bailee was playing with. Mom was reading the side of one. They got "dream" fast passes as they were coming off of Buzz. Disneyland's promotion this year is the year of a million dreams, so they give away a ton of stuff and mom and Bailee got "dreamed." That is what they look like. So Matt and I hung them around our necks feeling all special even though we didn't actually win them, it was still pretty cool. They have plastic tabs that list all the fast pass attractions from both parks. When you get ready to use one of them, you just break the tab off. Pretty cool. So we were stoked and we realized that none of us has been on Star Tours. I love this ride, mostly because I am huge Star Wars Fan. So we boarded our transport to Endor. It was great. Pee Wee Herman is the voice of the droid flying us to Endor. It was great. Jeremy, however, was less than enthused. He sat in his seat with his hand on his cheek, just waiting for it to end. Someday he might appreciate the classics like I do. Oh well. So, knowing this was our last day, we wanted to get all the favorites in. Our first stop? You guessed it, Splash Mountain. So we walked all the way over to Critter Country and discovered that Splash Mountain was down! Oh no! Not my favorite ride! Oh, well, good thing we have gone on it at least half a dozen times. Jeremy probably doubled that because he went on it every time, he didn't have to swap like the adults. So, we consigned ourselves to ride Winnie the Pooh. Bailee was in Heaven!! "Everybody is going on my ride!?! Yeah!" It was great. Jeremy wasn't too happy. He is just a thrill junkie. As we got off Winnie the Pooh, Matt wanted to go on his favorite ride, Haunted Mansion. So as we were exiting that, we saw the raft to Pirate's Lair was approaching for the dock, so we jumped on that and went to explore all the caverns and caves that Pirates Lair had. We saw "the Dead Man's Chest." Ooooh. Then, the kids got to climb around in the "homemade" cages the Pirates were trapped in. Maybe I should get one of these for my backyard. Hmmm. Here is a far away version of this cage. I don't think that the kids realize what they are holding onto.

Then the "kids" decided to pump some water. Matt couldn't let them have all the fun.

Finally we found some caves for the kids to run, jump, and get a bunch of energy out before their nap. It was great, the Island wasn't crowded, and there was a ton of places to explore. The kids had a ball.

We managed to pull Jeremy down off the rocks long enough to take a family picture. Bailee wasn't too happy though.

As we exited the raft sailing back to the "main land" we even saw Captain Jack Sparrow. Jeremy was muttering under his breath and I bent down and asked, What's wrong Jeremy? "I don't have my pirate sword with me." The imaginations that little minds have.

It was getting really hot and we decided to go and have lunch at Red Lobster, so as we gathered our strollers, we decided to hop the train to Main Street. We slowly circled Disneyland, passing Fantasyland, Toontown, and Tomorrowland. We made it back to our hotel in no time. As we were getting ready to head to Red Lobster I searched and searched for my camera bag which had my camcorder and my wallet in it. Suddenly we realized that we had lost it. I was glad that Matt had the camera in his pocket. I would have been really devastated if I had lost all my pictures. I called Wellsfargo and cancelled all my cards. We still had an enjoyable lunch. The Halibut was fresh, and the Cheddar Bay Biscuits were plentiful.

After lunch, we took the kids and headed back to the hotel for a nap. I didn't sleep very well because I was worried about my bag. Matt kept saying, "Someone will turn it in. This is Disneyland, nothing bad happens here." I was starting to doubt that. I was sure some mutant band student (they were having a convention at Disneyland) had taken it. Anyway, after our naps we got up and headed back to the park. There were still some things that I wanted to do before we left. So we headed to go see the show "50 Magical Years" starring Steve Martin who started his career performing magic tricks at the Magic Shop in Disneyland. On the way, Mom got surprised by her favorite character.

Inside the theatre as you are waiting, they have displays about the early attractions and Walt's vision for Disneyland. As we were looking at the displays, Matt found something that hit close to his heart.

It's destiny Richfield clan, we need to go to Disneyland. As you can see, it's calling your name. So after the movie, we decided to try Splash again. It was working this time so we hopped on board. This is great ride. One of my favorites. Here are some shots of the inside of the ride.

After the kids last ride on Splash and Winnie the Pooh, we went over to California Adventure to finish a few things. It was still pretty hot, so we decided to head over to the animation studio. There we went to see Turtle Talk with Crush. This is a great show. Crush interacts with the audience and asks questions and answers a few. The kids were absolutely positive that we were looking at a screen from the ocean. After crush, we went into "The Beasts Library." All you have to do is answer a few questions and they tell you which Disney Character you are most like. Jeremy was Flik from Bugs life. Bailee was Princess Atta from a Bugs life. Mom was Jane from Tarzan. I was Belle from Beauty and the Beast (mostly because all I ever do now is read books), and Matt was - Jafar. Oh yes, he is pure evil. :) It was fun.
Afterward, we headed over to Paradise Pier. The sun was starting to set so we knew that we didn't have much more time. Mom really wanted to use the Fast Passes to ride Muholland Madness. She thought is just a tame little rollercoaster and didn't understand why there was a height requirement. Matt stayed with the kids, and her and I boarded our roller coaster. As we were headed up she said, "See, I don't see why this is so bad." Then the screaming began. When we got to the top it would take you to the edge and then turn you back around. I don't think Mom stopped screaming. Even when we got off the ride. In fact, I think she is still screaming now. Needless to say, she vowed that she would never go on that again. After Mom regained her composure, she realized that she was hungry. The kids hadn't eaten anything since Red Lobster, so we headed over to Taste Pilots Grill for a great big juicy burger with all the fixins'. Matt and I wanted to ride Soarin' one more time, so we scarfed down our food and ran to the ride. We met up with Mom at the Sunshine Plaza. The Main Street Electrical Parade was just starting. Jeremy was begging Matt to go on Tower of Terror one last time, so they ran to that while Mom and I sat with Bailee and watched parts of the parade. Basically the Main Street Electrical Parade are floats of classic characters with thousands of lights on them. They even have Pete's Dragon. It is cute. Toward the end we slowly headed to the exit gate to beat the crowd. As we were walking back to the hotel, the fireworks started. It had cooled down and it was a nice stroll back to the hotel. So we got back to the hotel, Matt and Jeremy met us there. We put the kids (and Mom) to bed, then Matt and I dashed back to Disneyland to spend some time alone doing our favorite things. EVERYTHING was a walk-on. We didn't even need to bring our fast passes. We walked on Indiana Jones, Splash, Haunted Mansion, and Pirates. It was the perfect end to our vacation. We got to do everything that we wanted to do. As we were leaving the Happiest Place on Earth we stopped at the Emporium and did a little shopping. Mostly, we bring Disney themed souvenirs with us to appease the kids, that way we don't pay an arm and a leg for a souvenir they will forget about a week later. I got a few cute items. I got a Mickey Mouse shaped ice mold, and Mickey shaped cookie cutter, and a license plate frame. The park was about to close, so we headed out along with the rest of the crowd. I checked with the lost and found before we left and they told me that they still hadn't received my bag, but they had me fill out a report. They were very positive and told me that people get their things back over 90 percent of the time. I was sure that it wasn't going to be turned in. Matt and I got back to the hotel, hit the sack exhausted but happy. We had a great time and made some awesome family memories. The next day we got up, packed, loaded the car and headed home. We pulled into Primm about 10 am (11 our time) and I called the lost and found. Lo and behold someone did turn in my bag. I was so grateful some honest person found my bag. It even had all the cash in it as well. So we arrived home about 5 that night. The kids were glad to be back in their own beds, but we weren't glad to be back for work. Still, it was a great trip and tons of fun.