Saturday was a lot busier than the previous three days. It was the weekend and I assume that a lot of local families took their kids to Disneyland for the day. But not to worry, we managed just fine, but it was also a lot hotter too. We got the kids up and at the front gate by 7:30. This was an early entry day, so there were lots of families in Fantasyland by the time they opened the gates at 8. We veered left and headed to Adventureland. I was on a mission. I wanted a family picture going down Splash Mountain. Our first day, when Mom took Jeremy on Splash he was terrified. This time, however, he was a veteran and he even put his hands in the air. If you go to Splash right when it opens, you usually get a log all to yourselves. So we ran to Splash, (Mom took Bailee on Winnie the Pooh for the 10th time), and we started our ascent up Chickapin Hill. Here is the result (Matt is a little kid just like his son): 
Like I said, this was his very first time going down Splash. He wasn't too enthused.
So Mom, Me, and Jeremy take a spin on Soarin'. That ride is so much fun. The way Disney designed it, you really do think that you are flying over all different California locations. Jeremy even ducks when a golf ball flies right at you. To make the experience even more enjoyable, they spray scents that match certain locations as you are passing them. As you enter the river rafting scene you can smell the pine trees, when you are soarin' over the orange fields, you can smell the oranges. It is a great ride which ends with Christmas fireworks at Disneyland. It is so popular, they even made a Soarin' Over California at Disneyworld in Florida.
After Soarin' we saw that we had a little more time and Jeremy was begging to go on the Tower of Terror. Mom hadn't been on this ride yet, she would always volunteer to stay with Bailee, but after the trauma at the Maliboomer, she figured that she could handle anything. So we took Jeremy on "The Hollywood Tower Hotel" which is what he calls it because there is nothing terrifying about it to him. We survived and as we were exiting the ride I get a text from Matt that said "I am surrounded by 'Charlie' - send reinforcements fast." I called him only to discover that a sweet little old couple was slowing hounding in on his perfectly saved spaces. Mom and I rush over to the hub and meet Matt. Once Mom saw where we were sitting she took off for some alone time (I'm sure she will blog about that herself). I bought the kids some Disney sticker books at Costco before we left, so I pulled them out and then enjoyed playing with them while we waited for the fireworks. We brought their light chasers that they got from previous trips and they had a ball playing and waiting for the fireworks.
These aren't your normal, run-of-the-mill fireworks. These fireworks were awesome. They take parts of the soundtrack to each ride they have ever had and they put it to fireworks with Julie Andrews narrating. It was really cool. During the summer, Disneyland has fireworks every night - EVERY night. Because it was the value season, they only do the fireworks on the Weekends, but still. Can you imagine how much it costs to do fireworks every night. And they are perfectly cued to the music and they never miss a beat. You even get to see Tinkerbell flying across the sky as fireworks are going off all around her. It is crazy! But very, very, cool. Now comes a down fall. As you can see we were laying down right in front of the castle waiting for the Fireworks to start, and right before they start, everyone starts standing up. Suddenly, our perfect view is blocked by balding heads and kids on shoulders. So we grudgingly stand up, but this made it all worth it:
So after the fireworks, Jeremy is begging to go on Splash yet again. So we stroller our way through the thousands of people. There are a lot more people here, but after about 15 minutes we make it over to Critter Country and we go on Splash (Bailee goes on Winnie the Pooh for the 12th time). Jeremy is so brave by now, that he doesn't even want anybody to hold onto him as we head down the hill. But I just couldn't help myself, I had to hold onto him see:
So after we got off Splash we saw that the second showing of Fantasmic was about to end, so we threw the kids in their strollers and we ran out of Critter Country, past the Haunted Mansion, over Pirates of the Caribbean, Behind Tarzans Treehouse, past Indiana Jones and the Jungle Cruise and we slowed to walk just as we were passing the Tiki Room. Phew! We beat the crowd. And we were in bed by 11:00. The park didn't close until midnight, but Sunday was our last early entry, so we decided to get an extra hour of sleep. Up next . . . our last day.
Like I said, this was his very first time going down Splash. He wasn't too enthused.
This time, he was ready for the drop.
So after Splash we headed to the Haunted Mansion, Pirates, and the Jungle Cruise. California Adventure opened two hours after Disneyland, so we headed over there to make it by park opening. Matt wanted to take a shot at the Maliboomer before it got too hot. So he and I went on the Maliboomer. There wasn't anybody else there so we went on it about three times. The last time we went, the cast member told us it was even scarier if you look up the entire time. So we did, I was skeptical, but as we were headed up, we couldn't see when we were going to stop. It felt like we were just going to keep going. It was trippy, but awesome. 20 minutes later we meet Mom and the Kids at King Triton's Carousel. Mom and Matt wanted to go on California Screamin' so I stayed with the kids. King Triton's Carousel is right next to Screamin' and the cast members let us stay on and ride it over and over again while we waited for our party to get off Screamin'. Instead of riding horses, you get to ride sea creatures. Our kids were in heaven. They could have stayed on it the whole day. It was about 10:45 and it was already getting hot. After we all took turns riding Screamin', we went over to Pizza Oom Mow Mow and had a pizza. The crust was thick and the sauce was plentiful. Mom got my favorite pasta ever: Chicken Fusilli. I looked at the park schedule and saw that the Aladdin show was going to start at noon. So we decided to head to the Hyperion theatre. Matt had got fast passes for Soarin' Over California, so he grabbed Jeremy and ran to the ride (it was on the way). They were giggling and skipping the whole way. 
Mom, Me, and Bailee cleaned up lunch and meandered toward Soarin'. As we were waiting we did a little shopping. Mom got a red visor and she found a Soarin' pin that had her name on it, so she bought that too. Soarin' is Mom's favorite ride, the plan was for Matt and Jeremy to go on it, and then Me, Mom, and Jeremy, but we ran out of time and we had to dash to the Aladdin show. This theatre is huge, it has three stories and it is a 40 minute Broadway show. Full costume, awesome music, and you even see Aladdin and Jasmine fly on a carpet above you. It was incredible. Jeremy and Bailee were in awe.
This picture isn't a photoshop job, this is part of the show. It was definitely worth the time, plus it was air conditioned, and it was a really hot day. The perfect break from the heat and the big crowds. After the show we were bushed, so we went back to the hotel for a nap. At this point in the vacation, all of us were napping now, the kids, mom, and the parents. It was awesome. You take a two hour nap and you are totally ready for the rest of the night and everybody is in a good mood.
Mom, Me, and Bailee cleaned up lunch and meandered toward Soarin'. As we were waiting we did a little shopping. Mom got a red visor and she found a Soarin' pin that had her name on it, so she bought that too. Soarin' is Mom's favorite ride, the plan was for Matt and Jeremy to go on it, and then Me, Mom, and Jeremy, but we ran out of time and we had to dash to the Aladdin show. This theatre is huge, it has three stories and it is a 40 minute Broadway show. Full costume, awesome music, and you even see Aladdin and Jasmine fly on a carpet above you. It was incredible. Jeremy and Bailee were in awe.
We were going to see the fireworks tonight. Mom waited a majority of the time when were saving for Fantasmic last night and she wanted to go on Soarin' since we didn't get a chance to earlier, so we headed over to California Adventure with Jeremy in tow, and Matt and Bailee headed to the main hub in front of the Castle to stake out a spot for the fireworks. Matt got a spot right behind the Partners Statue in this picture. It was a perfect place, or so we thought (more on that later).
These aren't your normal, run-of-the-mill fireworks. These fireworks were awesome. They take parts of the soundtrack to each ride they have ever had and they put it to fireworks with Julie Andrews narrating. It was really cool. During the summer, Disneyland has fireworks every night - EVERY night. Because it was the value season, they only do the fireworks on the Weekends, but still. Can you imagine how much it costs to do fireworks every night. And they are perfectly cued to the music and they never miss a beat. You even get to see Tinkerbell flying across the sky as fireworks are going off all around her. It is crazy! But very, very, cool. Now comes a down fall. As you can see we were laying down right in front of the castle waiting for the Fireworks to start, and right before they start, everyone starts standing up. Suddenly, our perfect view is blocked by balding heads and kids on shoulders. So we grudgingly stand up, but this made it all worth it:
So after the fireworks, Jeremy is begging to go on Splash yet again. So we stroller our way through the thousands of people. There are a lot more people here, but after about 15 minutes we make it over to Critter Country and we go on Splash (Bailee goes on Winnie the Pooh for the 12th time). Jeremy is so brave by now, that he doesn't even want anybody to hold onto him as we head down the hill. But I just couldn't help myself, I had to hold onto him see:
So after we got off Splash we saw that the second showing of Fantasmic was about to end, so we threw the kids in their strollers and we ran out of Critter Country, past the Haunted Mansion, over Pirates of the Caribbean, Behind Tarzans Treehouse, past Indiana Jones and the Jungle Cruise and we slowed to walk just as we were passing the Tiki Room. Phew! We beat the crowd. And we were in bed by 11:00. The park didn't close until midnight, but Sunday was our last early entry, so we decided to get an extra hour of sleep. Up next . . . our last day.
1 comment:
We certainly had some very good times. I really liked that we were never rushed or bushed. Going for 5 days is definitely the way to go. You have time to really enjoy what you are doing. Let's go again tomorrow. I'll pack my bags.
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