So after ToonTown we figured we should head over and see what was going on in Tomorrowland. (I dont remember why it was so important, but I think DH wanted to take the kids on Finding Nemo, and we knew the line would only get longer and hotter!) When we got over there the line was already a decent length. Now, Nemo is a ride I can do. I can. But I dont prefer to, and that is just after having been on it once. (Our last trip, in 2009, just DH and me) I am a little claustrophobic. Add in a long, warm line, and I am OUT, my friends.
(That last picture makes me laugh. Kind of how things were going at that point...)
I think DH was just a touch annoyed that I didnt want to go on the ride too, but he survived, while I got some Autopia (which was not open our first two days) and Star Tours FPs, and asked a nice CM standing outside of the Little Green Men Store (
totally had to look that name up
) to give me a crash course in pin trading. I have read lots of threads about it, but having never seen it myself, I asked her if she would walk me through it, so I would be confident in explaining it to my kids. English was not her first language, so we had a few wait, what? moments (not with words, just in understanding) but I felt a lot better after our little roleplay about giving our kids their lanyards and pins.
We purposely waited on the pin trading until the last day. Since this was a first trip for all of them, we knew there would be plenty to occupy them for the first few days, and I knew that Friday might be more crowded, and that pin trading would be something new and exciting. Silly, looking at that sentence. What kind of crazy over-planner tries to make sure there is something new and exciting with three little kids at
Disneyland? Anyway. After waiting for them for a while (in the wrong spot) to get off Nemo, we finally met back up. I think the line was probably about 30 minutes, plus the ride itself isnt short.
We had a snack and walked across to the Jedi Training Academy, where a show was getting ready to start. That was on our list, since DS6 is a Star Wars nut (inherited/encouraged by his parents
) and we had our sign and everything all ready. But the sun was killer! We werent early enough to get a completely shady spot, so we were sitting partially in the shade, with my legs out in front, saving him a spot on the line for when the show started. Which it didnt. First it was delayed a few minutes, due to technical difficulties, then cancelled. All that (okay, maybe 10 minutes) skin cancer time for my shins, for nothing! ;-)
By now our Autopia FPs were ready, but they didnt really save us any time. We had a few good experiences with FastPass during the trip, but just as often they were unnecessary or we were frustrated trying to get the timing right. A big
for FP enforcement. Autopia was fun, but hot. The kids liked it, but werent over-the-moon excited about it the way I remember my little brothers being. Different interests, I guess.
While we were in line I had given them the lanyards and explained pin trading. They were a little ho-hum about the whole process, and not that impressed that I wanted them to wear these heavy necklace-things. (Though they liked the patterns and were interested in some of the starting pins wed provided 6 each.)
Star Tours FPs were up by now, and that was a hit, again. Definitely in the Top 5 Favorites of our trip. I took them on it, and as soon as we got off, DH hustled us over to the the Jedi Academy (which was starting in 5 minutes). It wasnt any cooler an hour and a half later, but Im glad we made it happen. The bright yellow sign got DS picked, and he got to wear a robe and play with a lightsaber, and show how brave he was to fight Darth Vader, and I still (we were watching the video together) am not sure how much of he thought was pretend or maybe a tiny bit real. 6-year-old boys (especially bright ones) are a puzzle at the best of times. But he loved it.
My girls were actually kind of melting in the heat of the sun, so I left the video camera with DH at our ringside seat and took them up on the Terrace. Not the best view, but I could still mostly see what was happening, and my girls got to cool off and have some Gogurts.
After our little Padawan graduated from the Academy we were =starving= and went looking for a place to have some lunch. Somehow we ended up at Rancho del Zocalo (which would not have been my first choice). DH likes Mexican food more than I do, and I didnt see anything on the menu I wanted to try badly enough to pay $10-15 for. So I ordered a kids chicken taco two. Um, on paper it was very
healthy (wheat tortilla, apple sauce, weird mixed veggies, rice, etc.) but fairly tasteless. I added cheese, lettuce, and salsa (which I dont tend to even like) just to add some flavor! Filling, but blah. Our kids did okay with it. They were excited about the applesauce. I supplemented with snacks. I also changed my attitude about lunch quickly when we were almost done and (
TMI ALERT!!)
I saw a girl quite a few tables away that had just thrown up all over, and her mom was trying to clean it up with napkins and such, and then walked her 8-9 year old to the bathroom for further clean-up. (We didnt use that bathroom) Suddenly, my day looked infinitely better and I was grateful for all our blessings! Gross, I know, but it just goes to show that having fun and enjoying yourself are largely about perspective!
After lunch we werent super sure what to do, but DD2 helped us decide by promptly falling asleep. DH offered to take her to the lower level of the Country Bear Restaurant (shady, cool-ish) and let her sleep as long as she would. It was pretty hot, and the older kids had been asking about riding Pirates again, so thats what we did! Even though the line was much longer than we had seen it the rest of our visit. We saw our first (and nearly last) group of cheerleaders (there was a competition in CA the next day, I think? That day? I dont remember.) No big deal. They were at least as well-behaved as MY kids
;-) We were getting our first taste of some serious crowds, and I remembered- how it can get in Disneyland, especially in Adventureland/Pirates area when its crowded
(Add in some heat, and claustrophobia, anyone?) My kids were troopers in the lines though, especially since our plans had helped us not wait in too many long ones up to that point.
But you know that Pirates never takes THAT long to get onto, and before we knew it, we were enjoying some nice, dark A/C. Which is usually my favorite part about POTC, after the fun drops at the beginning. Im not really into dark and scary/spooky, and kind of have to compel myself to watch movies like Lord of the Rings, POTC, etc. with DH. I can appreciate them, and even enjoy them, but Id be happier if all movies were shot in at least partial sunlight and had little killing and lots of relationship exploration. Ha.
After Pirates, DD2 was still completely out, so DH was entertaining himself on his phone and with taking pictures, so we decided to check out Tom Sawyer
er, the Pirates Lair? I remembered it being cooler and kind of fun for kids.
(pic DH took. She is an awesome sleeper, isnt she? Surprised the heck out of us!)
The ride over and the Island itself were NOT so cool. Fun, yes, but it was just as warm over there, and the kiddos and I were all getting a little toasted. I dont deal super well with heat (yes, Im from Arizona and will probably live here the rest of my life now
) and was ready for a change of some sort. We rode back over (after much exploring In retrospect, I think my Dad liked Tom Sawyers because we were old enough during most of the trips to be turned loose while he stretched out on a log bench on the backside and rested his feet for 45 minutes
) and DD2 was just waking up. Before we met up I bought the kiddos (the older 2) a churro to share with me, which they had been asking for. And then we had to decide if we should wait around until our 5:30 return time on Splash Mountain (which sounded so fun in this heat!) or get out of Disneyland and head over to the somewhat less-crowded (according to MouseWait) California Adventure.
Video of the first half of our last day! (this installment and the one right before it!)
)
Oh one other thing is we are also about a 6 hour drive to Disneyland if we don't hit traffic!! And we stayed at the Anaheim Plaza also due to the room size being so big compared to other's we've stayed in.
