Well we started the day knowing that we bought park tickets with an extra morning hour that we could use and Saturday was going to be the only day we could use it. That meant getting up and out the door a little earlier than usual. We made it to the gates at 7:30, so we got a half hour start on everyone. It was drizzling, and I let Russ take the kids to go on some early rides while I took the passes to get a fastpass for Radiator Springs Racers. One of the big bonuses to being in nearby parks! We had our only character dining reservation that day at 2:50 in the California Adventures Park, so we could spend most of the day at Disneyland making sure we got all the rides in we wanted. I also wanted to check out the Jamboree where they had a place to meet a Villain. Russ and the kids went on another round of Star Tours and the Nemo Submarine ride that always gets packed. I met up with the family at Pixie Hollow where the kids got to meet Periwinkle (the new Disney Fairy that turns out to be Tinkerbelle's sister) and then Tink herself.
I had wanted to go on the Alice and Wonderland ride because there wasn't one in Disney World, but the ride was down for the morning. So we ventured over to its a Small World and grabbed some popcorn on the go. That ride was working, so we went on it. It goes part of the ride outside, and seemed to be a longer ride than Disney World. It seemed like they tried to put at least one Disney or Pixar Character in each theme which was cool. So the only other ride I wanted the kids to try was Big Thunder Mountain Railroad coaster. Gwen was tall enough, and I knew there weren't any big dips for her. I didn't remember there being any dark tunnels for Trevor's fear, but apparently there were too many for him. So Gwen loved it and Trevor hated it. I wonder if it was after too many days of not enough sleep for him that he was just tired of being apprehensive about going on a new ride. If that was the first ride we went on, I don't think he would have cared as much.
So then we went up to the Jamboree that they put on during the Halloween season. They had a band, people carving pumpkins, special food, arts and crafts, and a Villian conjuring station. They take a group into a tent, cast a spell and a villian comes out you can get your picture taken with and talk to. So we did that, and the first time it was Cruella De Ville. She was AWESOME. She was so interactive, snotty, and exactly like the character in the movie. But she wasn't mean at all. She asked Gwen what her favorite color was, and she said purple, to which Cruella said, "well, that makes one of us." She also asked her what her favorite animal was, and Gwen said a cat, and Cruella said that she loves dogs. If Gwen happened to see Pluto, tell him that Cruella is looking for him. Gwen laughed at that and will laugh and tell anyone that asks about it. Then they kind of put on a fashion photography session. Cruella had Gwen get into her coat, and then the picture was taken when she opened the coat. Trevor got his own time with her, and she asked him to show her some of his model poses. That's the pictures that we got. Trevor had to strike a bunch of poses, and Cruella evaluated them...most of the time saying that they were really good poses. When she signed his book, she signed it on the first page, because she knew he saved that spot just for her, the most important person.
I took Gwen over to try to get some time with Rapunzel, but the wait was 90 minutes. So she settled for the Merry go round and a walk through Sleeping Beauty's castle. They had a story to see about Sleeping Beauty. So we decided to go back to see another villain. Russ wanted to try to get on Space Mountain, but the fastpass was already past 8:00. Our villain this time was the Queen from Snow White. Gwen was the one that got to wave the magic wand to conjure her, so she was pretty psyched. Unfortunately, this one wasn't as interactive. Just kind of quiet and thinking she was the best thing ever. So we did get her autograph and picture and met the boys outside the park to head over to California Adventures.
They stopped in for ice cream to tide them over until the 2:50 lunch/dinner meal. I went and got fastpasses for Trevor's favorite rollercoaster - California Screamin. We rode on Radiator Springs Racers, and luckily got the other track so this time we got Luigi's tire shop and changed tires instead of Ramone's to change the paint job. We didn't get a racing partner, so we still "won" and got a picture with my bangs in my face, but Gwen was still completely blocked from the picture. We knew that the last day at the park meant to get a gift for each of the kids. Trevor looked all over the Radiator Springs gift shops to see if he could find a prized Miguel Cabraro (I think that's his name) racecar from Cars 2 movie. Unfortunately, there wasn't one that they could find. So I found a reference book...all about the diecast cars. I believe the cover boasted something like over 300 diecast cars listed. Immediately Trevor was sucked in. He learned about the cars he had and cars he didn't have yet. It probably was somewhere right at his level for reading...so I don't know that it will stand the test of time, but for now, it had his interest.
We decided to head across the street to go on Mater's junkyard jamboree one last time. Trevor read his book the entire ride wait time. He pointed out to me facts like "Jeff Gordon was the voice of Jeff Gorvette in the movie!" and how many Mater cars he doesn't have yet.
That reminds me...I did miss one event on our first park day. Before we went on Radiator Springs Racers for the first time, we ate at the real Flo's V-8 Cafe. They served diner food. I had beef with gravy, mashed potatoes, grilled corn and pasta salad. I was worried that Gwen wouldn't eat anything, but she had her beef, bun, and fruit. Trevor wasn't too thrilled with the meat...but I thought he would be. I got a cute picture of Gwen in front of the cafe. Another one of those things they really got just like the movie.
Ok...so back to day 3....we had yet to go on the Ariel Undersea adventure ride. Gwen enjoyed it...it was very typical...like Peter Pan or other storybook rides Disney does. Since we were right there, we headed over to our lunch/dinner place. We were a few minutes early, but nothing we couldn't wait a few minutes for. First up was to get our picture taken with Ariel. Then get our 3 course meal....antipasta, salad, main meal, and dessert. Gwen got spaghetti and meatballs and Trevor ate Russ's fish while Russ ate some of his side dishes and some of Trevor's spaghetti. I got more meat and gravy....yummy.....and dessert was great too. Cookies, white chocolate, flourless chocolate cake, 4 different kinds of cupcakes and fruit. During the meal, our princesses came out to visit: Cinderella, Belle, Sleeping Beauty, and Snow White.
After the lunch/dinner the boys went to go on the roller coaster their last two times. I took Gwen on the Ariel ride again. Outside was the Phinneas and Ferb dance party that we saw the first park day. She joined right in to dance again. Then we walked over to meet the guys again over by the front of the park. We missed a different dance party that I know Gwen would have enjoyed, but I never saw it advertised anywhere, so I'm wondering if it was super secret or something. Instead we decided to do the Monster's Inc ride again. This time, at the end, the Roz talked to Gwen. She said, "Hey girl in the second row, I like your hair!" Gwen still had her hair done up with the black Jasmine hair extensions. And of course, just like the Mr. Potato Head a few days ago, she was just shocked that the character could see and talk to her!
I checked my phone to see that Alice In Wonderland had a 30 minute wait (at least it was operating) so we decided to trek one more time over to the other park. We waited in line, went on the ride and then knew it was close to the end. I believe it was close to 5:30 or so. I had asked if Gwen wanted me to run over to the Haunted Mansion to pick out a Sally shirt for her but then I knew I wouldn't be able to pick out what she would like. Two shops later, her choice was a soft Sally doll, similar to her soft princess dolls she takes to sleep with her. She LOVED that thing. I'm glad she was able to get something she too would like and remember the trip by. She also had a new Jasmine costume from the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique, so she wasn't just leaving with Sally. Disneyland was very packed at this time, the busiest by far we had seen since we had been there. I'm so glad we got to the parks when it was significantly less crowded. I was also seeing a lot of groups that day at the parks. I bet a lot of locals go during the weekend.
So we were back to the hotel, although it was already getting dark...we needed a little bit of food which we ordered from the hotel restaurant, and started packing. Our flight was 8am on Sunday, so we packed as much as we could, got up at 6, on the road by 6:30 and made it through security by 7:15. Flight back was uneventful and most of Sunday was spent organizing and cleaning up, ready for school on Monday.
And with that...our trip to California was over. Russ stayed back to do laundry, get a nap in and go back to work on Monday in San Diego. In looking back, I think both Russ and I were surprised at how neat it was. We had both been to Disneyland before, but it had been about 20 years ago. Especially since we knew Disney World really well, I don't think either of us were expecting much. It was nice to be able to visit Carsland while Trevor hasn't hit his teenage years yet. But everything on top of that was spectacular. We have even mentioned, maybe we could do that again sometime. It was so convenient to be able to park hop...and completely unrealistic at Disney World. Rides - they were both really equal. The Land doesn't have Epcot and its rides...except the family's favorite ride - Test Track has been transformed into Radiator Springs Racers....better than Epcot, in our opinion. The Pirates ride was better in the Land. We got to experience the changes that they do at Halloween, decorations and rides. I will say the one big difference they don't have is all the different food options. If you want to eat at the World, you have at least 100 options. I'm pretty sure you have half that at the Land. Epcot has so many different cuisine options, not to mention the other parks. That was my biggest challenge. I was glad to make a reservation at the princess dining place, but the other ones, I wasn't sure. "Next time"...if there ever is one....I want to eat at the Blue Bayou. The smells were sooo good riding on Pirates. I would love to stay at a hotel that really was within walking distance. We were able to stay at our hotel completely on points, but it wasn't within true walking distance. It was probably a half a mile away...which wasn't too bad, but I knew coming back at night wouldn't be fun to carry Gwen that far.
And next is finishing up all those pictures....that may take a while.....
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