Disneyland: Day 4- Crazy Crowds, YouTube Celebs and The Tower of Terror

Today was our last day in the parks. We slept in again and didn't get to the parks until early afternoon. Today was the last day anyone with a local season pass could use it for the holidays which meant everything was super crowded this morning. There were so many people crowded in front of the security check point you couldn't even distinguish who was in what line. The crowd reached half way to Harbor Blvd! My sister and I went to Disneyland and our parents went to California Adventure to get FASTPASSES for The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror.

While we were in Disneyland My sister spotted FreshBakedDisney. They're a group of YouTubers that vlog about Disneyland, it's history and secrets. They also do trip reports and ride-throughs. My sister said, "Hey! That's FreshBaked!" and one of them turned around and "Muffins?" I didn't quite get the reference but I replied, "Did you just say muffins? I Like muffins!" After my sister got pictures with them and they were out of ear shot she explained to me that their fan base is called muffins... Like fresh baked muffins... I get it now! I just made myself look like an idiot in front of a group of YouTube celebrities.

The line for Big Thunder Mountain Railroad was short so we hopped on that then grabbed fast passes so we could do it again 20 minutes later. This ride is one of my favorites in Disneyland. It's referred to as the "wildest ride in the wilderness!" Fun Fact: The miniature mining town that surrounds the roller coaster is called Rainbow Ridge.

We got our Tower of Terror passes from our parents at the Pacific Wharf in California Adventure. Before heading out to our next attraction we got lunch a Award Wieneres in Holywoodland. I got a Bacon Street Dog that had bacon, grilled onions, bell peppers dressed with a spicy ketchup. It was delicious! The film strip fries it came with were amazing too. Possibly some of the best french fries I've ever had.

After lunch my sister and I headed out to the Tower of Terror. Early next year California Adventure is closing the Tower of Terror and will change the theme to a Guardians of The Galaxy theme. I had to ride it one last time! They already started construction and covered the whole building. There's also a sign outside of the attraction that says, "'Late Checkout' Experience as you never have before... In complete DARKNESS!!" I'm sad to see the Tower of Terror go because it's one of my favorite rides in California Adventure but I'm excited to see what they're going to do next.

I forgot to charge my camera and my external battery the night before and all of my electronics were starting to die on me so we quickly went on Goofy's Sky School, used a couple of California Screaming FASTPASSES we had acquired earlier that day and headed back to the hotel to swap batteries and get some food. Should have just brought the batteries with me.

Walking back and fourth from the hotel is exhausting! When we headed back out to the parks there were still crazy long lines outside of the security checkpoint but it wasn't as bad as this morning. There were actual lines this time, not just a massive crowd. 

Recently, Innoventions has been turned into Star Wars Launch bay where you can meet characters from the movies and play a few Star Wars Video games. There's also an area where you can watch a short documentary. The place has displays scattered around filled with star wars props too.

A great time to go on rides like The Haunted Mansion and Pirates of the Caribbean is during Fantasmic and the nightly fireworks show. Disneyland isn't doing Fantasmic at the moment because of the construction going on around Tom Sawyer's Island and The Haunted Mansion was crazy busy today even during the fireworks show. We decided to try to get on Pirates of the Caribbean. This years holiday fireworks show is called Believe... In Holiday Magic. For some reason or another Pirates of the Caribbean was closed during the fireworks show so we found a little spot next to the ride's entrance and watched the fireworks. The area along the Rivers of America in front of Pirates of the Caribbean is a really good spot to watch the fireworks show. The moment the fireworks were over we went straight to Pirates of the Caribbean.

Before going back to the hotel for the night we went back to California Adventure one last time and went on Luigi's Rockin' Roadsters.

This has been an exhausting, fun trip.

Here's to many more!

Disneyland: Day 3- More Characters, Amazing Shows and Drawing

We started our day off at Costco to grab food at the cafe and gas. Our day began later than usual. When we got into the parks we went straight to Radiator Springs Racers in California Adventure. It was still down! We were able to go on Heimlich's Chew Chew Train for the first time on my sister's friends recommendation and Mater's Junkyard Jamboree again before Radiator Springs Racers was up and running again.

I wanted to get better pictures with Moana and my sister wanted to get more pictures with Jack and Sally so we headed to Disneyland. Because it rained earlier today Moana was in her rainwear. We didn't talk much just took a few pictures and left. When we arrived at Jack and Sally's meet and greet spot we were told that Sally would be on break by the time we got to the front and we would only be able to get pictures with Jack. Sally would be back later so we left the line and had to time our arrival so that she would be there by the time it was our turn to meet them. With the help of a very informative cast member we were able to figure out a time to get in line so that we could meet both Jack and Sally. We were the first group to meet them when they came back from their break!

My sister and I met up with our parents, wandered around Toontown for a bit and went on It's A Small World. On our way out we saw Micky's Magical Map. This stage show was unexpectedly awesome. It depicts Mickey's journey to apprenticeship with special appearances by King Louie, Pocahontas, Mulan, Rapunzel, Tiana, Sebastian, and Stitch.

After a quick dinner we headed back to California Adventure for the new Frozen- Live At The Hyperion show that takes place where Disney's Aladdin: A Musical Spectacular show was in Hollywoodland. This is an hour long high tech stage show that has all of the oh so familiar Frozen songs and antics.

My parents went back to the hotel so my sister and I went to The Disney Animation Building for a while. Ana and Elsa were doing a meet and greet there! The line wasn't too long so we got pictures with them. The Animation Academy was doing a tutorial on how draw Jack Skellington. My sister wanted to go so we hung out in the Animation Courtyard, checked out Belle's library and watched the movie montages on the walls for about an hour while we were waiting. In the past there was also another attraction called Ursula's Grotto where you could record yourself singing Disney songs. The door was locked this time. They might be changing the area into something else. This gave us a much needed break!The timing couldn't have been any better.

Before heading back to the hotel we went on Monsters Inc. Mike and Sully To The Rescue, went back to Disneyland to ride Indiana Jones in Adventureland, Buzz Lightyear's Astro Blasters in Tomorrowland, Peter Pan's Flight, Mr. Toad's Wild Ride and Pinocchio's Daring Journey in Fantacyland. We also saw Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln which which I haven't seen in years.

My parents came back to the park to watch the fireworks but they were cancelled because it was too windy.

Today was a long day!

Disneyland: Day 2- Holiday Decorations, Meeting Disney Characters and Super Accurate Weather Apps

This is the first time I've been to Disneyland during the holidays in a long time. My mom, sister and I tried to use our Magic Morning today but it was way to early for us. We got to the park around it's regular opening time. Our original plan was to get FASTPASSES for Space Mountain and head to the Indiana Jones ride but we ended up going through the standby line for both because the lines were so short. The signs outside of Space Mountain say Hyperspace Mountain but the signs at the entrance say Space Mountain. I'm not sure what to call that attraction anymore.

We met up with my dad and went on the Jungle Cruise. The Jungle Cruise was decked out with Christmas decorations and the cast members were armed with new holiday jokes. During the holidays the sign outside of the Jungle Cruise reads Jingle Cruise.

On the way out of Adventure Land I saw a sign that said Moana Entrance and noticed people lining up outside of Aladdin's Oasis. It was the line for Moana's meet and greet and it was starting soon! My parents didn't have any interest in meeting her so they went to do their own thing. My sister and I only waited about 30 minutes to meet Moana! She taught us how to pose like a real wayfinder. Unfortunately Hai Hai and Pua weren't there. My pictures with Moana didn't turn out that great so I'll try to attend her meet and greet tomorrow.

Tom Sawyer's island has been closed the past couple of times I've been here. I thought they were redoing Fantasmic but I'm thinking it might be part of the new Star Wars land. I'd have to to more research on that.

The French Quarter was also dressed up for the holidays. There were Mardi Gras decorations everywhere! The most festive attraction during the holidays has to be the the Haunted Mansion. Every holiday season Jack and Sally take over the creepy haunted estate and add a unique holiday theme to it the only way they know how... The Tim Burton way.

After we got out of the Haunted Mansion we explored the French Quarter and went on the Pirates of the Caribbean. There weren't any Christmas decorations on this ride. I guess pirates don't celebrate Christmas.

Every time we go to Disneyland we have to pass by Club 33. I did a pretty extensive segment in my blog about that place the last time I came. I think it was Day 2 if you're interested.

We found Jack and Sally's meet and greet spot in the French Quarter but they weren't going to be there for a while so my sister and I got gumbo from the Royal Street Veranda and headed out to Fantasyland.

My favorite ride in Fantasyland is Peter Pan's Flight but didn't go on this time around. The line was way to long. Maybe we'll ride it sometime later today or tomorrow. We ended up going on Snow White's scary adventures, who's line is always short.

We made a point to stop by Pixie Hollow to see who was there. It was just Tinkerbell today. Since we decided not to wait in line this time my sister took a picture with the cast members at the entrance.

When we arrived at Jack and Sally's spot my sister took a picture with the cast members there too. Photos with cast members might be a new thing for us. Jack's actor's voice sounded just like Jack's voice in the Nightmare Before Christmas. I was impressed. It's a very hard voice to imitate. While we were hanging out we talked about a lot about what we did on Halloween. My sister wanted to ask Jack if he had interest in any other holidays outside of Christmas but she didn't get the chance. In the movie Jack is fascinated with Christmas.

Shortly after our last trip here, Soarin' Over California had been updated and is now Soarin' Around the World. The line queue and introduction video are still the same. That's right my friends... Patrick Warburton is still there! This attraction now takes you through the Alps, Pyramids of Egypt, Sydney Harbour, Mt. Kilimanjaro, The Great Wall of China, the Matterhorn in Switzerland and always ends in Disneyland. They also added scent to the expierence.

While we were in California Adventure we went on Luigi's Rockin' Roadsters. This was last ride we rode on our last trip here. They seemed to work out all of the kinks and perfected this new trackless technology that this ride operates on. They also incorporated some Christmas songs into the attraction for the holiday season.

When I checked the whether on my phone this morning it said it was going to rain at 4 today. After we got food at Rancho del Zocalo and got in line at Thunder Mountain it started to rain. Guess what time it was... 4 o'clock on the spot! Not a minute sooner or later. This weather app of mine is scary accurate!

Since it was raining my parents headed back to the hotel. My sister and I took their FASTPASSES and went on Thunder Mountain 3 times. It's so much more fun in the rain.

 After we used our passes we went back to the shops in New Orleans and wandered around Main Street. A little while later we meet up with our mom who came with snacks! Way to go mom!

We also had passes for Radiator Springs Racers but it was down. The Cast Member said we might be able to use them tomorrow morning if they can't get the ride up before closing time.

We decided to go back to the hotel but got sidetracked by Mater's Junkyard Jamboree where you get to ride one of Mater's square dancing tractors. By this time we were soaked but the line was super short! We ended up riding it 3 times before we headed back to the hotel.

What a day!

Disneyland: Day 1- Getting There, Downtown Disney, Possible Vlog

Today we headed off on a last minute trip to Anaheim! We left Sacramento later than usual which meant running into lots of rush hour traffic. On our way there we stopped at a truck stop for lunch like we normally do. It took us way to long to get here!

It was pretty late by the time we got here so we didn't do much. After we checked into the hotel we went to Target to get some supplies, energy drinks, bottled water and snacks. 

We grabbed dinner down the street off of Katella. My mom and sister got Gyros, my dad got a burrito a few doors down and I got teriyaki beef at a mom and pop restaurant next door. It was pretty good.

After dinner we headed out to grab our tickets at will-call so we didn't have to worry about it in the morning. My mom wants to take advantage of our Magic Morning tomorrow. My sister and I started vlogging on our way there. We didn't get much filmed because her phone died. I haven't decided if I'll publish those vlogs yet. I'm not very good at creating and editing videos. My parents went back to the hotel and my sister and I left for Downtown Disney because I haven't photographed it yet. As many times as I've been here I can't believe I haven't taken pictures there yet. We went all the way down and stopped at World of Disney and the Build-A-Bear store. They have Charmanders in stock now! There was also some left over merchandise form Disneyland's 60th anniversary at Build-A-Bear. There's a new shop in Downtown Disney called Anna and Elsa's Frozen Boutique. It took the place of the Disney 365 store. 

At the far end of Downtown Disney by the ESPN Zone there was a concert going on called, "Downtown Disney Live!" It was pretty awesome. They played a lot of classic rock.

Keep following me on this trip... If the vlogs turn out well, I'll post them!

Tomorrow we go to the parks!!!