Sunday 11/21
Disneyland was opening at 7am on Sunday for Magic Morning and Mimis didnt open until 7am, so we ended up going to McDonalds for breakfast. As we were sitting there eating, it started pouring rain. We headed back over to the hotel and donned our ponchos, then made it over to Disneyland just after 7am. We were pleased, but not really surprised, that there was hardly anyone in the park. We rode Space Mountain twice, back-to-back, then took a ride on Buzz and decided that, since everything in Fantasyland was open, wed ride a few rides we never had before. The line for Peter Pan was typically long, so we rode Snow Whites Scary Adventure and Pinocchios Daring Journey. Both were walk-ons but neither of them was all that impressive to us. By that time, Magic Morning was already over, so we headed for New Orleans Square by way of Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. The rain had pretty much let up by that point, so I used my poncho on BTMRR to cover the wet seat, but otherwise didnt have to put it back on again.
In New Orleans Square and Critter Country, Jungle Cruise, Pirates, Haunted Mansion, Indy, Splash Mountain and The Many Adventures of Winnie-the-Pooh were all walk-ons, so we got in a lot of rides in a short amount of time. Since wed done so well with riding so many rides, we decided to head over to California Adventure and could see from the esplanade some of the construction that was ongoing, including the re-theming just inside the entrance on what would become Buena Vista Street, the fountain with what Alex called the worlds largest hubcap and, in the distance, the framework for the Cadillac Mountain Range in CarsLand.
We started on Soarin, which was another short wait, then headed for Paradise Pier. As we passed the FastPass distribution for World of Color, there was no line, so we stopped and picked some up. We got the red zone for the first showing, which meant that they were nearing the end of the FPs for that show and would soon start handing them out for the second show that night. When we reached the World of Color viewing area, which had been under construction the last time wed been at Disneyland, we were pleased to see that Paradise Bay was full of water because wed never seen it that way on either of our previous trips. Also, by that point, the clouds were breaking up and, although it was still cool, we started to get more and more sun.
We rode Toy Story Midway Mania, which has been updated to include characters from Toy Story 3, and California Screamin before heading over toward Tower of Terror and Mike & Sully to the Rescue. The construction had us kind of going in circles as we tried to figure out how to get around some of it. We found Mike & Sully okay, but the area right near where Aladdin is shown was fenced off so we couldnt figure out how to get to Tower of Terror. It turns out that a new walkway had been installed from A Bugs Land to Tower of Terror, so we had to backtrack to get to it. After a couple of rides on it, we decided to take a lunch break.
Since the Disneyland would be open until midnight for the entire week, we felt more compelled to take afternoon breaks so wed have enough energy to make it later into the night. We had lunch at California Pizza Kitchen at the Anaheim Garden Walk, stopped at a convenience store and ColdStone for some provisions then went back to the hotel to put our feet up for a while. It was sunny but still too cool, in our opinion at least, to use the pools.
After a rest and some coffee made in the Keurig coffee maker in our room, we were on our way back to Disneyland with jackets and sweatshirts. We got to ride the Matterhorn, which wed avoided earlier due to the rain, then hit its a small world, Autopia and the Monorail before dragging Tammy onto Finding Nemo, which isnt one of her favorite attractions. We went back over to California Adventure prior to our World of Color show time and entered the viewing area about 30 minutes prior to the start of the show. We found a good spot up against a railing which meant that no one could come at the last minute and stand in front of us. The one criticism Id have of the show is that, after walking all day in the parks, it is no treat to then stand for the duration of the show.
The show itself was pretty fascinating. It wasnt just lights and water, but projections on the water screens and music and dialogue and synchronization with the lights on Mickeys Fun Wheel and even big bursts of flame that we could feel the heat from even as far back as we were. After World of Color, we worked our way back to Tower of Terror and Mike & Sully then went back to Disneyland for a couple more hours of rides before the midnight closing. By the time we made it back to the hotel, we were all in agreement that, if wed just had that one day, wed have felt that we did as much as we possibly could have. That definitely ended up being a good thing given what was to come over the next three days.