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 4: Spending the last day with characters and the Court of Angels.

Our last day at Disneyland was a short one. The last day is always a sad one. We started out at the Matterhorn and my dad got FASTPASSES for the Haunted Mansion. We found Marry Poppins and Bert hanging out near the Matterhorn so we had to take pictures with them. The rest of our group left for New Orleans while we waited to meet characters. The meet and greet line closed a couple of people after us. We got lucky!

Since we were in the area we decided to look for Silver Mist at Pixie Hollow. Before we entered we asked the attendant which fairies were in there. He said he didn't know but asked who we were looking for. My sister mentioned Silver Mist the attendant said we should take our chances and wait in line. When we got to the front guess who was there? Silver Mist! I don't think cast members are allowed to tell us who's in Pixie Hollow but they still drop hints. We conversed and took pictures with Silver Mist. She also taught me how to pose like a fairy. Tinkerbell was just around the corner so we chatted with her and got pictures with her too.

Since we were in character hunting mode we continued to the Royal Hall to see which princesses were there. Cinderella, Ariel and Aurora were there. Not anyone we were particularly interested in seeing at the time so it was off to meet up with the rest of our group.

We met up with the rest of our people at Haunted Mansion, just in time to use the FASTPASSES. While we were on our tangent the rest of our group had already went on Pirates of the Caribbean and Haunted Mansion. They rode both of the rides again with us.

We passed by Club 33 again and I realized that the door I found yesterday was indeed a new entrance to the club. They expanded past the Court of Angels and made it the main entrance. I think that Disneyland is using it as a waiting room for members who are waiting to eat dinner there. I wanted to take pictures in the courtyard because I think it's one of the most beautiful places in the park. It's also a good place to rest during a long day. This place may not mean a lot to some people but it's been photographed in many family photos and hosted numerous marriage proposals. To me, it's a spot I've hung out at that's now a part of Club 33.

We ordered Gumbo and Clam Chowder at the Royal Street Veranda for lunch before we left for California Adventure. It was pretty good.

We traveled back to Cars Land for Luigi's Rollikin' Roadsters, the ride that we found yesterday. They referred to the dancing cars as 'dancing cousins.' Since floorless technology is pretty new to Disneyland glitches and hiccups are expected. But did it really need to go down on a hot day, after a super long wait, right before we were going to get on! We were next group in the line cue and they had to shut the ride down to test some things before resuming operation. They told us our dancing cousins were taking a little siesta. Good thing it only took about 15 minutes. The ride was super cute but a lot rougher than I expected. Lots of sudden direction changes while the dancing cousins were dancing.

Before we left for home I tried to take grandma to Downtown Disney but we barely made it past World of Disney before she wanted to turn around and head back.

What a fun trip! Here's to many more!