House of Estrogen

SoCal Day 9: Surf's Up Breakfast and Heading Home

For our last morning in Anaheim, we got checked out of our condo and headed over to the Surf's Up with Mickey and Friends character breakfast at the PCH Grill at the Paradise Pier Hotel.

Most of us had fun meeting the characters.

Nina would have been happier at a non-character meal, but she was a good sport when they came over to her.

The breakfast buffet was good - all the usual suspects - bacon, sausage, Mickey waffles, fruit, made-to-order omelets, muffins, and... uh... rice. I'm completely baffled at why Addie came away from the Danish/waffle/muffin/syrup/fruit filled table with a plate of rice.

We got final autographs in autograph books.

It was a nice way to say farewell to Southern California on our last morning.

After breakfast was over, we headed to John Wayne Airport in Orange County. That's a great little airport if Disneyland is your destination. It is really close to Anaheim, an easy drive, and the rental car parking is super convenient to the terminal. It is definitely better than the madness that is LAX.

We had such a great trip! Good-bye Southern California! Thanks for the memories!

SoCal Day 8: California Adventure and Mickey's Halloween Party

Our next morning at California Adventure was a bit more relaxed. We were mostly trying to knock out a few rides we had missed the day before. We rode Soarin' which is always a favorite. It was probably our last time to ride it as "Soarin' Over California" too as Soarin' is getting ready to undergo major renovations both at Disneyland and Epcot to become "Soarin' Over the World".

 We got warm hugs from Olaf,

and Nina and I went on Tower of Terror.

We were dying to try out the snacks at the Cozy Cone Motel, so we headed over to Carsland.

The Cozy Cone is just too cute. Each cone sells a different snack... Popcone, Cone Queso, Ice Cream Cones, Cone-Coctions, Cones, cones, cones! We tried just about everything.

Elise and J.C. got bread cones filled with chili or barbeque. Addison and Nina got ice cream cones. I got a cone full of mini churros with Mexican chocolate dipping sauce. Delish!

Carsland is all about the details... love it.

Despite all of J.C.'s protests about not wanting to get wet, we convinced him to go on Grizzly River Run which was a blast. Then we had lunch at Smokejumpers Grill and went back to the condo for our usual afternoon siestas.

(Disney Photopass stock photo)

For the evening, we had purchased tickets to Mickey's Halloween Party at Disneyland. The Halloween Party is a separate ticketed event. The park closes at 6:00 to anyone who doesn't have a Halloween party wristband. I had always wondered how they actually enforce that, but they do it quite well. They are checking for wristbands everywhere you go... before you get on a ride, before you get in a trick-or-treat line, entering or exiting different areas of the park. They definitely manage to lock it down to just party guests and escort anyone out who doesn't leave on their own.

I was pretty sure I couldn't convince the family to go entirely in costume, but they were all completely onboard when I suggested that we wear super hero t-shirts to go along with Addie's Wonder Woman costume. I think we turned out rather festive looking even if a t-shirt is a bit of a costume cheat. We were certainly a lot cooler and more comfortable than some of the people we saw walking around in full-on furry or leather costumes in 90 degree heat.  People watching is half the fun of the Halloween Party. Guests go all out with their costumes.

Our first stop was the Little Red Wagon for their famous corn dogs. Holy awesome hand-dipped corn dog, Batman! Excellent dinner! We enjoyed people watching while waiting for the sun to go down, so it would start cooling off.

There is an overlap from 3:00-6:00 when party goers are allowed in the park and non-party-goers haven't left yet. It is very crowded during that time, but as soon as you start approaching 6:00, ride lines drop dramatically. We rode Star Tours and Astro Orbiter.

The Halloween Party was a bit of a mixed experience for us. The kids loved the trick-or-treating. It was fun seeing both party-goers and characters in costumes. The decorations were great, and the short lines for rides were a real treat. On the downside, the party specific things like trick-or-treating, meeting the villains (who are rarely seen in the parks), and meeting the characters in costume all had very long lines.  It was a strange mix of crowded and not crowded. If you wanted to meet Malicifent or Cruella de Vil, your wait was well over an hour, yet if you wanted to ride Space Mountain Ghost Galaxy, your wait might be just 10 minutes. The Halloween Party is definitely a great way to ride lots of the popular rides that usually have long waits. The main goal for us though was the more Halloween-specific activities, and those were all more crowded than I had anticipated.

The castle looked appropriately creepy and Halloweeny. The lights and sounds on Main Street were fun, and the Halloween fireworks show is neat.

Rivers of America was spooky as well with fog and special lighting.

(Disney Photopass stock photo)

It was all good. Everyone had a good time. Nina and I rode Haunted Mansion Holiday (Haunted Mansion at Disneyland gets redone this time of year with a Holiday overlay.). I think Addie rode the Winnie the Pooh ride 3 times in a row with no wait, and how cute is Pooh in his bee Hallloween costume?

Am I glad we went to the Halloween Party? Definitely.  Would I go again?  Not sure.  I think you have to go with the right expectations. You are not going to meet every villain. You may not meet any villains unless you are willing to spend a lot of your evening in line. You are not going to see every character in costume. You are going to have to battle bigger crowds at times than you feel like you should given the price you paid for the ticket.

We ended the night with this lovely photo of me on Splash Mountain (which was walk-on... no line at all). Nice.  This was another one that Addie had begged to go on but then came off declaring she would never ride it again.

It was a fun night. It definitely didn't quite live up to expectations, but it was fun regardless.

Day 8 Favorites:

Addison: Grizzly River Run and Trick or Treating

Nina: Grizzly River Run and Star Tours

Elise: Star Tours, Trick or Treating, and Splash Mountain

Ann: Grizzly River Run

J.C.: Star Tours

SoCal Day 7: Disney California Adventure

This day was the Disney day I was most looking forward to. I must have reworked our Ridemax plans twenty times to get the "just right" itinerary.  We got there for rope drop and carefully positioned ourselves to the far right to utilize the "wide right technique" which purportedly puts you in the right place to beat the crowds to the front of the line for Radiator Springs Racers. We were in the correct spot. We were pumped and ready. Then the crowd grew, and grew, and grew. We started questioning our sanity. Were we really up to the rope drop race to Radiator Springs?  Just before the rope dropped, we decided we weren't cut out for it. Instead, JC and the girls headed straight to Toy Story Midway Mania while I gave up our prized right-hand side position to head left to get Radiator Springs Racers fastpasses. (The fastpasses aren't located near the ride, so it is a completely different strategy if you are heading there.)  The line wasn't bad for fastpasses, so I started toward the others, assuming they had probably already ridden the ride. I texted JC to let him know I was on the way, and he told me that Toy Story Midway Mania had a delayed opening and they were still in line. What?  Doesn't he know the first rule of getting to the parks early?  Don't waste time in line! I got over there, and the ride was still closed. JC, Elise, and Nina headed over to California Screamin' while Addie and I decided to go meet Donald.

I then got another text from J.C. that California Screamin' had a delayed opening as well. WHAT? How is a rabid planner supposed to handle all these ride closures? They went back over to Toy Story which by now was open. They walked right on with no line at all and then went back over to California Screamin' which had no line either. I guess the delayed openings scared people off and worked to our advantage. Whew!

Addie and I hopped in line for Toy Story and had a blast. I love this ride.

 

Nina was feeling a bit queasy after California Screamin', so JC and Elise went on it again while Addie and Nina posed for their own California Screamin' picture!

I don't know that Nina was thrilled with Addie's suggestion of the carousel, but she was a good sport and went on it anyway.  It was certainly more tame than the roller coaster! We went on Ariel's Undersea Adventure too.

By now, it was getting close to our fastpass time for Radiator Springs Racers. We left Paradise Pier and headed over to Carsland.

Carsland is just beyond amazing. Disney totally outdid themselves on this section of the park. I had been super excited to see Carsland, and it lived up to my every expectation. The details and theming are just perfection.

(Disney Photopass stock photo)

(Disney Photopass stock photo)

You feel like you're right there in the Radiator Springs, like you've been transported into the movie.

Radiator Springs Racers lived up to all the hype and expectations. People have called it the best themed ride at any Disney park, and that's the best way to describe it. So.Much.Fun! If you are contemplating a trip to Disneyland, it is worth it for Carsland and Radiator Springs Racers alone!

We visited Mater's Petting Zoo, and Elise and Addie went on Mater's Junkyard Jamboree.

 
They said it reminded them of the teacups? After that, we left Carsland and headed over to Pacific Wharf for lunch at Cocina Cucamonga. It was really good. Disneyland beats Disney World hands down when it comes to quick service food.

After lunch, we saw the Aladdin show which was wonderful. Then, I headed off to get Anna and Elsa fastpasses and nighttime Radiator Springs Racers fastpasses while J.C. and the girls went to Tower of Terror.  We described Tower of Terror to Addie in great length, telling her again and again that it has "terror" in the name for a reason. We told her it was scary and that she probably wouldn't like it. She still wanted to go though. I have no idea why. She isn't terribly daring when it comes to rides. For whatever reason though, she really wanted to go on Tower of Terror.

It went about as badly as we had predicted. She spent almost the entire ride with her head tucked under Nina's armpit, nearly in tears. She came out and said, "I'm never, ever going on that ever again." We resisted the urge to say, "We told you so." It was so tempting though!

We then met up with Sully and rode Monsters, Inc. Mike & Sulley to the Rescue which was a cute ride.

At this point, it was crazy hot, and we made our usual family split. Nina and J.C. went back to the condo for naps. The rest of us soldiered on. Fortunately, the wait for Anna and Elsa was air conditioned. Even though we had fastpasses, we still had to wait quite a while. We couldn't complain though. The A/C was a welcome respite. Addie was so excited to meet Anna and Elsa - definitely a high point in the trip for her.

The heat was getting to us as well, so we stopped by Clarabelle's for hand dipped ice cream on our way out of the park. Yum!

 
Then we said hi to Oswald, got autographs and went back to join the others for naps.

 

When we came back in the evening, we had dinner in Downtown Disney at one of my favorite spots, Earl of Sandwich, and then we wandered around Downtown Disney a bit. Elise was pretty psyched to find Lego Hulk.

I had spent much of the day periodically calling the Ask Otto hotline to find out the fastpass return time for Radiator Springs Racers. My goal was to get a fastpass return time just after dark. I succeeded in that quest, so Radiator Springs Racers was our main goal for the evening. If I thought Carsland was neat during the day, it is absolutely spectacular at night. I loved it!  I wish we had gotten there at dusk to see all the lights turning on, but we'll have to try for that another time.

(Disney Photopass stock photo)

(Disney Photopass stock photo)

Radiator Springs Racers almost feels like a completely different ride at night... an even better ride than it was during the day. Wow. Loved it.

Riding the Racers after dark was really our only goal for the evening. We ended up heading back over to Paradise Pier where we rode the Golden Zephyr

 

and the Silly Symphony Swings. Poor Addie looked like she was going to puke through the whole ride. I kept watching her, just sure she was going to hurl any second. When the ride finally came to a stop, she was looking a bit green. I don't think I'll take her on one of those swing rides again any time soon. This picture was taken before the ride, not after. She definitely didn't have a smile on her face after.

It was approaching bedtime for J.C. and Nina (are you sensing a pattern here?), so they went on back. The rest of us decided to stay for the World of Color show.

(Disney Photopass stock photo)

As a slight aside, in the above picture of the ferris wheel, do you see how the cars of the ferris wheel are on individual tracks within the wheel? In preparing for our trip, I've seen this referred to as "Mickey's Death Wheel", "Mickey's Wheel of Terror", "Mickey's Wheel of Doom", etc.  It actually has barf bag dispensers in each car!  It is supposed to be completely unnerving and terrifying. We did not choose to attempt it. It looks like such a pretty ride, but apparently it is evil. Given that Addie and Nina had already gotten a bit nauseous on calmer rides earlier in the day, I'm pretty sure at least one of them would have lost her dinner if we attempted the Wheel of Death.

Anyway, World of Color was... well... colorful.

(Disney Photopass stock photo)

We weren't that excited by it, so we bought some popcorn, and headed back to the condo before it ended to beat the crowds.

(Disney Photopass stock photo)

Radiator Springs Racers was enough nighttime fun for us. We had a blast that day, even if World of Color was a bit of a disappointment.

SoCal Day 7 Disney California Adventure Favorites:

Addison: Radiator Springs Racers

Nina: California Screamin', Aladdin, and Radiator Springs Racers at night

Elise: California Screamin' and Aladdin

Ann: Radiator Springs Racers at night

J.C.: California Screamin'

 

 

 

SoCal Day 6: Disneyland

When it comes to Disney vacationing, I'm a planner. I like to plan strategically to maximize fun and minimize waiting in lines. Although we had never been to Disneyland before, I had done my research, created my itinerary on Ridemax, and we had a plan.

 

We arrived at the park prior to rope drop, excited to see all the Halloween decorations.

We rushed straight to Peter Pan's Flight, knowing that our only shot at riding it with a short wait was first thing in the morning. So much for my fastidious planning... we got there to find a 35 minute wait. We weren't hardcore enough Peter Pan fans to waste precious morning low-wait time waiting for that one ride, so we gave up on Peter Pan. We'll have to save that for another trip. Fortunately, every other ride in Fantasyland had no wait at all, so we were able to cram in a bunch in that 35 minutes when we would have just been standing in the queue waiting for Peter Pan.  JC ran off to get fastpasses for Indiana Jones Adventure while the girls went on the Teacups. They practically had the ride to themselves!

Next we went on the Storybook Land Canal Boats which I absolutely loved. It definitely ranks up there as one of my favorite Disney rides of all the Disney parks.

It is so beautiful.

(stock photo from Disney Photopass)

(stock photo from Disney Photopass)

We were trying to focus on rides that are exclusive to Disneyland that we can't ride at Disney World, so next we were off to Alice in Wonderland, Mr. Toad's Wild Ride, and Matterhorn.

(Disney Photopass stock photo)

We had just enough time to sneak in a ride on the Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage before it would be time to race to our Indiana Jones fastpass return time. I was a little worried I would get claustrophobic in the submarine, but I did just fine. I think it helped that I was one of the last ones in and first ones out.

It is a cute ride. Now that I've done it once though, I don't feel the need to climb down into one of those submarines ever again.

Indiana Jones was next. Most of the family loved it. One didn't. Poor girl... I think we scarred her for life. It wouldn't be the only time on this trip either.

To offset the trauma of the Indiana Jones ride, I took her on the carousel while everyone else went off in search of churros.

We had a mediocre lunch at Village Haus restaurant, took a few more pictures, and then headed back to the condo for naps. It was H.O.T.!

After wonderful naps, we came back refreshed in the early evening as it was finally beginning to cool off.

You may be looking at these pictures wondering if we lost Nina somewhere along the way. Posing with characters is like her own personal version of torture. You won't find her in any character pictures by choice (we did force her to get in a couple photos though later in the trip).

Dinner that night was our best meal of the entire trip. We all still start drooling a little if you mention it. Big Thunder Ranch BBQ. I would recommend it to you, but they are closing it in January to make room for Star Wars Land, so you'd have to plan a trip quick. It would be so worth it though. Seriously. Yum. Heavenly. Mmmmm.

I mean what's not to love about BUCKETS of BBQ?  J.C. thought he had died and gone to BBQ heaven.

Star Wars, Schmar Wars... it is criminal that they are closing this place.

I think we had planned to go on Big Thunder Railroad right after dinner, but that sounded like a big pukefest waiting to happen after our huge meal.

 

We opted for Jungle Cruise instead. Addie was very excited that it was now dark enough to turn on her ears.

(Disney Photopass stock photo)

J.C. and Nina don't have quite the Disney stamina that the rest of us do, so they headed back to the condo. Elise, Addie, and I planned on taking the Disneyland railroad to another part of the park to ride a couple more rides before the parade. The train was out of order though, and our feet were out of order as well. We just plopped down on the curb and hung out resting, waiting for the parade to start.

Addie got to see Goofy again. He signed her autograph book...

and then tucked her pen in her braid.

 

The Paint the Night Parade was fantastic. I'm normally not a big Disney parade fan. We usually skip most of the parades at the Disney World parks. It is Disney blasphemy to even admit that, but I'm just not much of a parade person. Paint the Night is a new parade this year for Disneyland's 60th Anniversary though. I had heard it was spectacular, and I'm so glad we staked out spots to watch it.

 

The fireworks were great too, but my pictures are awful, so I'm not even going to bother sharing them. The parade was really the big highlight for us though. After the fireworks, we headed back to the condo to get some sleep before our big California Adventure day.

SoCal Day6 Disneyland Favorites:

Addison: Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage and Mad Tea Party

Nina: Alice in Wonderland ride

Elise: Paint the Night Parade

Ann: Storybook Land Canal Boats, Big Thunder Ranch BBQ, and Paint the Night Parade

J.C.: Indiana Jones Adventure, and Big Thunder Ranch BBQ