Wednesday, July 13, 2016

Disneyland Trip Recap 4/30/16

Our second Disneyland day was allotted for California Adventure.  I had a harder time getting up this morning since I was still exhausted from our long day at Disneyland and Pearls in the Park the night before.  I got ready and put on my new Dole Whip shirt.


I was ready a little bit before Tara and Linda so I took my time going to their room.  On the way, I took a bunch of photos of the Disneyland Hotel hallway.  The carpet was so much fun!  I wanted to have pictures of it.


I met up with the girls and we headed out towards the parks.  On the way, we stopped to admire the Rose Court Garden where we had Pearls in the Park the night before.


After, we wandered through Downtown Disney and over to California Adventure.  We stopped at few places along the main entrance to take pictures.  I never saw the dedication plaque so I made sure to stop and read it.


We also stopped outside of Carthay Circle.  We had dinner reservations scheduled later that day, but we thought we'd get a few pictures now while it was quiet!


We slowly made our way into the park.  On the way, we saw a lot of booths for the California Food and Wine Festival.  We love the Food and Wine Festival at Epcot.  I really wish we'd had time to enjoy it!  I'm sure the food was amazing!


We headed over to get our FastPasses for Radiator Springs Racers since they run out so quickly.  As it was, all three of us got FastPasses for times 5 minutes apart even though we all got our tickets at the same time!


When we exited the line for the FastPasses.  We saw the entrance to Bugsland and "It's Tough to Be a Bug."  There was no line and pretty much no one even near that section of the park.  We decided to go see the show.  We literally were the only ones in line until right before the show started.  The cast member was really nice and told us a bunch of fun facts.  He even showed us where the Hidden Mickeys were!


After that, we headed over to Carsland.  The girls wanted to see it and we still had quite a bit of time before our breakfast reservations.


We decided to go on Mater's Junkyard Jamboree.  The line wasn't crazy long and it didn't look like something we'd want to be whipped around on after we ate.  I was a little bit anxious of how I'd do on it, but my stomach was fine.  Tara and I twirled around the track, waving to Linda every time we passed her.


After that, it was time to head over to Ariel's Grotto for breakfast.  Once again, we were some of the first people inside the restaurant.  We got a photo taken with Ariel before being seated inside.  I absolutely loved the decor.  I couldn't get enough of the little details.  I really loved the bubbles on the lights.


The food was delicious.  We were served a basket of croissants and muffins along with a tray of fruit.  After munching on that, we were served our meals.  I got the berry waffles.  We also got to meet some of the princesses.  Each was announced before making her way around the tables to great guests.  We ended up meeting Cinderella, Rapunzel, Belle and Tiana!  (We took photos but I have to get them from the girls!)


After breakfast, we had a bit of time to kill before our FastPasses for Radiator Springs Racers.  We decided to go on the Little Mermaid ride since it was along the way.


Then, we made our way to Carsland and Radiator Springs Racers.  This was my first time on the ride and I was a little bit anxious.  I also knew we'd just eaten and I hoped I would be ok.  Eliot told me it was a lot like Test Track, so I figured I'd be alright.  It was amazing.  All three of us absolutely loved it.  It was a lot more detailed than I thought it would be.  The outside part where you go fast was longer than Test Track, but so much fun.  They did a wonderful job with that ride.  No wonder it's always so popular!


After that, we made our way to Paradise Pier and walked along the boardwalk.  The line for Toy Story Midway Mania was pretty long so we decided to skip it.  Tara had planned to go on California Screamin' but she wasn't too excited about the loop.


Instead, Tara and I decided to go on Mickey's Fun Wheel.  Linda sat on a bench nearby to wait in the shade while we had an adventure.


Ironically, this was probably the longest wait we had the entire trip.  It took us about an hour to get on the ride.  And then, we were paired up with a mother and son since it was just two of us.  Luckily, we had a great time and enjoyed the view of Disneyland, California Adventure and Anaheim.  Linda also got a great picture of us waving to her!


We finished the loop and the rest of the boardwalk so Tara and Linda could at least see it even if we weren't going on any rides.  We decided to go over to do the bread factory tour.  After grabbing our free slices, we wandered about the bakery.  It was then that we realized we were starting to get hungry again.  We walked over to Ghirardelli's to get some ice cream.  Then, we sat in the shade, relaxed and talked for about an hour.


Next, we decided to head back towards the front of the park to see if Oswald was greeting guests.  We couldn't find him, but I did find an Ortensia plush that matched my Oswald plush at home.  I took a picture and sent it to Jeremy.  He told me his Oswald was lonely and wanted a girl friend.  I told him that if his Oswald could wait, I'd get him one when I was at Disneyland in June.  (Then, I'd have my 20% off AP discount!)


We decided to head towards Hollywood Land to explore the rest of the park.  We went over to the Animation Building, which is one of my favorite places.  I love sitting there watching the Disney movies.  We went to do the Animation Academy.  This particular time, we were doing an advanced drawing of Captain Hook!  It was more detailed than other classes I've done, but the three of us had a great time!


After, we went into the Sorcerer's Workshop to explore that.  We played around for a few minutes before heading back outside.


We realized we still had chunk of time before our dinner reservations so we decided to do a little bit of shopping along the main streets.  I didn't buy anything since I knew I'd have my AP pass the next trip, but I did take pictures of stuff I was interested in!


Once it was time, we made our way over to Carthay Circle.  We were given a short tour and explanation of some important pictures inside.  It was really cool.  Then, we were given a special menu for the World of Color package.  I ordered the salad, pasta and the lemon tart for dessert.  I also ordered the Pimm's Punch drink.  The food was so good- rich, delicious and I stuffed myself even though I wasn't even that hungry.


Before leaving, we were given our special FastPasses for World of Color.  We still had a little bit of time before we needed to get into our spots so we stopped at Carsland to see all of the neon lights.  This is the first time I've stopped to enjoy them.  It really feels like you're in Radiator Springs at night; the atmosphere is incredible.


After that, we went over to find our reserved spots for World of Color.  We were towards the right side at the very back.  However, the location wasn't bad since we were on a raised platform.  We got there early enough to position ourselves behind a bench that was there.  That way, no one could stand directly in front of us.  (People who got there later than us tried, and then got well acquainted with my elbows.)


After elbow wrestling for what seemed like forever, the show was finally starting!  Our view wasn't the best I've had, but it was good.  My big complaint was that one of the light poles was right in the center of our line of vision.  Nevertheless, I was just thankful to be there and I really enjoyed World of Color: Celebrate!


Tara and Linda enjoyed the show too.  On the way towards Downtown Disney, we all talked about how much we loved California Adventure.  It's so different than a lot of things we're used to at Walt Disney World.  It's also a lot more relaxed.  While in Downtown Disney, we stopped at the World of Disney store so the girls could get a few souvenirs for their families.  Then, we made our way back to the Disneyland Hotel.


Walking back to the hotel, each step felt heavier than the one before it.  It was Tara and Linda's last night of our quick weekend trip and I was dreading saying goodbye.  I had such a great time with them.  I was really sad to see it end, though we made some incredible memories.  I walked them to their room where we talked for a few minutes while they packed.  Then, I gave them both giant hugs and wished them safe travels.


With a heavy heart, I headed down to my room.  I was greeted by a few fuzzy friends that the maids had left next to my pillow.  That cheered me up a bit.  Plus, I knew I had one more Disneyland day in store, and I was going to make it count.  °o°

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