California Adventure

Our morning at California Adventure started off mildly frustrating. We got to the park early, only to find out that we were unable to use the "magic morning" I thought we had to get into the park an hour earlier than regular admission. Then when we were allowed through the gates we weren't allowed past a certain point until 8am, but Troy used this as an opportunity to stand in the fast pass line for the Cars Land ride. The line for the fast pass ended up being 45 minutes, but compared to the 75 minute regular line wait, it was worth the wait for it. We were very grateful for our daddy. 

Our fast pass wasn't good until noon, so we had time to go ride a few other things first.

Here the girls are in A Bugs Land. I'm sure on a nice warm sunny day this part of the park is super fun and refreshing. But on the day we were there, it was overcast and rainy.

 

We made it Radiator Springs! This really is the coolest ever! You literally walk down the main street of Radiator Springs. So cool. I know a couple of nephews and a grandpa that would LOVE it!

Waiting for our car.

In front of the mountains of Radiator Springs.

We got to have a character dining experience at Ariel's Grotto. The food was excellent and the princesses were all there! Does it get any better than that!?!

Belle was a hit! See the possessive arm Hazel has around her. This is her FAVORITE and we got to witness the wonder of a 7 year old girl meeting her FAVORITE princess. It was a magical moment!

(**Rebekah...Troy very much thinks this looks like you. You could be a Disney princess! We have found your calling!!)


This, surprisingly, became a favorite ride for all of us! Who doesn't love the feeling of plummeting 13 stories after being an eery story about being in the Twilight Zone! We rode it 3 times. Good fun!!

Here are pictures of  2  out of the 3 times we rode it. The first picture was the 3rd time we rode it, you can see Violet checking out Aunt Becky to see her reaction. 

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It sprinkled off and on all morning, but around 1pm it just started coming down. We took that opportunity to do some inside things like watching a condensed Broadway type production of Aladdin and it is also when our with the princesses was scheduled, then we met up with Troy's sister Becky and fam again for another stage show.  

There was one ride that is really more fun on a dry 90 degree day, but since we weren't getting that kind of day we got to ride it in the rain. It is the Grizzly River Rapid ride. It is a like giant inner tube down the raging river ride. I bought the girls and I ponchos, but it is a "you're going to get wet no matter what you do" ride, and poor Hazel was in the line of fire the whole time. As you can tell from the picture below her pants were soaked and so were her sleeves. 

But hey....she got a new sweatshirt out of it.....here the girls are in front of the "service elevator" to the Twilight Zone on our last ride of the night.

After we got off the Tower of Terror for the last time it was 7:52, the sweatshirt Violet wanted was at a shop at the Paradise Pier, which was closing at 8:00 for the water light show that was going to start. I ran  swiftly and gracefully over to the shop that had the sweatshirt and got there with 2 minutes to spare, thus becoming the hero of the night, and got her the Sully sweatshirt.

Then we head on over to watch the World of Color light and water show at the end of the evening, new dry sweatshirts and smiles all the way!

I have to admit, after 3 long days of walking (and running), I sat for the World of Color. While everyone was watching a fun colorful, festive, loud, Disney filled water show of film clips and lasers, I sat...on the ground.... and had a great view of peoples bottoms. I just couldn't stand any longer. And it wasn't too long into the show that Hazel made her way over and lay down on my lap. We were exhausted!

 

But it was a fabulous, fun, we came, we saw, we took lots of pictures, and got new sweatshirts, Happiest Place on Earth kind of exhausted

This is the ultimate face of  Happiest Place on Earth exhaustion....I highly recommend it!