Day Three: Rope Drop in California Adventure
We woke up at 7 and started our morning routine. Dressed the kids, had breakfast and went back to the room to get our back pack ready. As Brock was pulling everything out of the bag from yesterday he found the goldfish. Not just the goldfish, but the fruit snacks and pita sandwiches and basically all of the snacks that I had laid out for him to pack. He had, in fact packed them, at the very bottom of the bag and we just didn’t search hard enough for them. Groan. Ah well, lesson learned; snacks would be packed on top from here on out.
We caught the shuttle and were in California Adventure, waiting for the individual ropes to drop before we knew it. Our plan was for Brock to get the Radiator Springs Racers fast passes while the girls and I headed in the other direction towards Anna/Elsa, Monsters Inc, etc. Brock headed toward the fast pass line and the girls and I found a shady spot on the sidewalk next to the Disney Junior Live building. We lasted about two seconds before a cast member informed us that when the rope drop happened no one on the sidewalk would be moving. He asked where we were headed, so he could show us the best place to wait. Problem is, I didn’t know. I didn’t really have a plan other than to occupy the kids until daddy showed up with passes. We planned on meeting the sisters, but I knew Brock would want to be there for that so I wasn’t going to make that our rope drop event. TOT was out of the question without daddy to stay with Brynn, so I landed on Monsters Inc. Here’s where the day sucked the most.
The cast member showed me what side of the street I needed to be on and we made our way over there. We still had about 15 minutes before park opening and there was only one family in front of me. So I thought we were in a pretty good spot. It was hot though, and we were standing in the street under direct sunlight. A mom pulled up next to me with four kiddos and only one double stroller, the kids were like 5,7,8,9. I think this mom was here with grandma and they were trying to rock this vacation outnumbered. The kids were hopping in and out of the stroller, driving each other crazy and generally acting up. Mom and grandma weren’t paying attention, they were tag teaming who would stay with the stroller and who got to go get respite in the shade. I have no jerkiness towards the family, they were all nice and I totally understand how bored the kids were and how hot the adults were; my only issue is that my kids don’t get why they can’t behave the same way. As we waited crowds were gathering on the sidewalks around us and every few minutes the cast members would make an announcement about the sidewalk people moving last at rope drop. Consequently all of the people on the sidewalk would crowd onto the street, next to, in front of and basically on top of us. Sooooooo annoying. So long story short, we’ve been standing in the same spot for 15 minutes, under direct sun, with people crowding all around us and the stroller hopping kids non stop ruckusing next to us. I’m over it. Now we have about five families in front of us, but we haven’t actually moved at all, they just crowded in. There is this family of four in front of me with a girl dressed as Belle, the mom in this family was just awful. Super bossy, and telling her family that if they didn’t follow her plan in the order she planned it than they would all suffer the consequence of an unhappy mommy. I’m done, my kids are done, they are getting whiny. Brynn wants out of the stroller, Audree wants in the stroller, they both just want to do something other than stay in the same spot forever. And me, well I want to scream and am thinking to myself that this is just the worst and that rope drop is not worth it.
Then the rope drops and we quickly make our way to the Monsters Inc ride, getting passed on both sides like it was a legit race to a grocery store before a hurricane hits. I park my stroller and get in line with the kiddos. We are maybe ten families back, but the line isn’t moving. What I didn’t know is that they do an opening show thingy with the kids for this ride. So they start calling for all of the kids in line to come to the front. They explain that in order to open the ride they need the power of the kids screams. My kiddos are ready to scream, but they also want me with them. I want to get pics anyway so I go over with my girls, effectively losing our place in line. All the kids gather up, and the cast member tells them that whoever has the best/loudest scream gets to be the kid of the day for that ride. So they get to board the ride with their family through the exit all day. Pretty cool little perk to earn huh?! My kids screamed their heads off, but to no avail. The winner was the little girl dressed as Bell with the super bossy mommy. I know I shouldn’t care, but I did. The woman had just been so rude and pushed right in front of my stroller at rope drop and was so bossy and now she was getting pixie dusted. Anyway we got in the back of the line and waited our turn to hop into a taxi. It wasn’t a long wait, maybe five minutes. The girls really liked the ride, and Daddy was waiting for us when we got out.
We huddled up, drank some water and Brock and I exchanged stories of the jerkiness that had happened around us. He had some seriously rude Canadians in the fastpass line. We were both frustrated with our day so far, and sadly had really let other people impact our moods. It was time to get back to the reason we were here; each other. We came on this trip to spend time together as a family without the distractions of daily life. We decided to head over to the Disney Animation building where Elsa and Anna were meeting. When we had brought the kids before the sisters were still meeting in Disneyland, and you had to go first thing in the morning to get a return time for much later in the day. I had waited forty minutes with Brynn in a baby carrier strapped to my chest just to make sure Audree got to meet them like six hours later. I was very pleased that they were now meeting in an air conditioned building with tons of entertainment going on while you wait.
We only had a 15 minute wait and then we were in the room waiting our turn while other families met them. We were the last in our group and the girls were clearly getting excited as they watched the other kids hug the sisters. Then it was their turn! Warning: you are about to be over loaded with photos because this meet was so dang cute and funny. My girls curtsied for them, hugged them, hopped like frogs and, of course did “shake a butt”. Shake a butt is exactly what it sounds like, it started one night during a rinse off from bath time and has become their favorite thing to do. The sisters were cracking up, the cast members were cracking up, the other waiting families were cracking up, and Brock and I were definitely cracking up. On the way out the photo pass photographer told us that we had to be sure to meet Donald and shake tail feathers with him. The meet was just so great, it was such a great way for Brock and I to get ourselves back on track and remember that these times with our kids are irreplaceable. We didn’t really even notice any other families in a negative way the rest of the trip, and we certainly didn’t let anyone else affect us like that again!
Audree doing a curtsy
Audree thinking about her answer to Anna's questions about chocolate
Brynn starting to shake her butt for royalty. Note the expression on Anna and the photographers faces.
Audree mid-hop
And Brynn mid-hop
So much sass!
Brynn shaking her butt again.
Group hug
Next we headed over to meet Olaf. As we got in line he took a break, but came back quickly. I think we waited maybe 10 minutes, not bad at all. You could see Olaf the whole time you are in line, he’s in this weird little area in between buildings. Like they just threw up a backdrop as an after thought. Not a complaint at all, just a bit strange since Anna and Elsa have this whole regal set up. Not a lot to write home about with this meet. Olaf was fine, signed an autograph and took some pics.
We had some time to kill so we headed over to our trusty Bugs Land area and hoped on Heimlich’s Chew Chew train again, grabbing fast passes for TOT along the way. After Heimlick we hit up Fliks Flyers and Francis Ladybug Boogie. By now we were getting hungry and still had a little time to kill before our RSR fast passes were valid. So we headed into the Pacific Wharf area and checked out our options. The kids had pita sandwiches and goldfish that we had brought along. Brock and I settled on splitting Carne Asada from Cocina Cucamonga Mexican Grill. It was delicious, and plentiful. We were stuffed. Brock however was having some oral pain issues. We found him some ibuprofen and prayed the pain would lessen quickly. I can’t speak for everyone, but I personally think that dental pain is some of the worse pain to deal with. I’ve given birth twice and had excruciating gall bladder attacks(which is truly the worst pain I’ve ever felt), but dental pain just has this way of becoming all consuming. It takes over as the only thing you can think of and makes it hard to concentrate on anything else.
With our fast passes for RSR valid we headed over to Carsland and Brynn fell asleep in the stroller. Brynn has this pink blanket that she goes through life with. In general it stays home unless we are taking a trip or a very long car ride. Obviously we brought it with us on the trip and after the first Disney day and having trouble getting her to nap we decided that it would absolutely be coming into the parks with us for the rest of the trip. Truth be told I have bought four of this exact same blanket just so that I’d be able to wash it, so if it got lost in the parks I still have three more. Brynn never took a binky, just this blanket, which she shoves into her mouth. I know it’s gross, but she’s a kid and frankly all kids are a little gross. The blanket brings her an enormous amount of comfort, so it was totally worth having on hand and she had no problem napping the rest of the trip because she had it. Anyway Brock took Audree on RSR and she was bouncing off the walls excited for it. She has been looking forward to riding this for a long time. We watched the you tube videos of people riding it so she would know what to expect and she felt very prepared and ready. She absolutely looooved it! While they were on the ride I sat down next to a military family who are stationed in San Diego and were on their first trip to Disneyland. The mom and I chatted for a long time and it was so nice to meet them. She told me all about the kind of discount Disney gives the military and how they made their trip work. I made sure to thank them for their service and we chatted at length about my families military service. I’m not going to go into it here, because it’s long and emotional. But suffice it to say that I have generations of service in my family including some who never made it home from their tours. So it’s very important to me to always respect our military members and their families. Okay tangent over.
Audree came skipping up to me when she finished the ride and was anxious to get back on it. Brock had gotten us our first rider swap of the trip so I could ride with Audree. So we left daddy with the sleeping Brynn and headed off to the races. This ride is just so fun and Audree was so fun to go on it with. She just loved it and our car won so that was a plus.
So excited!
While I was waiting for RSR I noticed that we actually had another fastness valid too. It was time for TOT, so I texted Brock that the passes were valid and he headed over there to wait for us. Audree and I got off the ride and booked it over to TOT. We made the decision that Brock should take Audree this time, since it didn’t go so well with me the day before. I reminded him to get a rider swap again because by the time they got off our fast passes would no longer be valid and rider swap was the only way I could get on without waiting in the stand by line. So did she make it this time? Yes, barely, but yes. Brock said she was freaking out, she wouldn’t let go of him through the intro and was not too happy with the boiler room. But he kept her talking and encouraged her and they made it on the elevator. Funny thing about Audrees first ride, it was also the first ride for four other little kiddos. Brock said that three of the kids were straight up crying the whole time. She came off the ride and let me know that she had done it and is indeed a big girl but that she never wants to go on it again. Hey trying it once is all we require. Although to be honest I might try and get her on it again in a few years, when she’s older and isn’t sharing her ride with four other terrified kids.
So obviously she wasn’t wanting to go on it again with me, but I was still pumped. I asked Brock for the rider swap pass and he got the worst look on his face, he had totally forgot to get one. By now my fast pass was long expired and that was super annoying. My husband is the best, my favorite person on the planet and he’d just gotten our daughter through a traumatizing experience, but I’d be lying to say I wasn’t annoyed with him. I had reminded him right before they got in line and this was my favorite ride. The stand by line was 30 minutes which is too long for me in general, but way too long to expect my family to sit and wait and by now Brynn was awake again. So we headed into Bugs land again and I grabbed a fast pass for TOT. The fast pass was going to be ready in 35 minutes so I got over my frustration with the hubbers pretty easily. We took a spin on the Lady bug boogie, followed by Heimlich’s train, and Flik’s Flyers. For those keeping track this brings our Heimlich total to three, believe me that number will continue to climb. By then my TOT fast pass was valid so we split up. I went on Tower and Brock took the girls underwater in a clamshell to visit Ariel. My Tower ride was awesome! It was just as great as I remembered it being. Sadly I only got to go on it the one time, I’m not exaggerating when I say that most trips I get on it six or more times, but on this trip I was grateful to ride it at least once.
After my tower ride I texted Brock and found out that they were heading towards the Carousel, so I took off for Paradise Pier. We met near the Carousel and decide that the only way we were going to do California Screaming was through the single rider line. I went first while Brock took the girls on King Tritons Carousel. I was on the ride and back to the carousel before they finished going around. Gotta love single rider, this was our first time using it for Screaming, and it was awesome how quickly we rode. Once they finished their ride we switched, Brock went to do single rider and the girls were wanting more Carousel. I was happy to oblige and started towards the entrance only to get immediately turned around by a cast member. Apparently someone had unfortunately lost their battle with lunch while riding and they closed it down for clean up. Felt so bad for whomever it was because getting sick is the worst, but throwing up in public is just so awful. I was grateful that none of us were suffering in that way, and also that my kiddo and hubby weren’t downwind of whoever had been sick.
Since we couldn’t do the Carousel again we kept on walking down to the Toy Story meet and greet area. I checked my app and it said that Buzz would be meeting soon. I wanted this meet and greet. We had gotten both Woody and Jessie’s autographs before but had never even seen Buzz. So we got in line. Not a bad wait for Buzz at all. When we got in line it was Woody meeting, then Buzz came out and they met together for a couple of guests then Woody peace out and it was all Buzz. So as it turns out Buzz is kind of an awkward meet and greet. He doesn’t sign autographs, and he doesn’t talk. His arms stick out from his sides quite a bit which makes hugs challenging. But he made up for it. Audree gave him a curtsy, so he bowed, so Brynn bowed, so Buzz bowed again, so both my girls bowed. This went on and on, they had what could only be called a bow off, and the girls bows morphed into squats and jumps. It was hysterical. We bid farewell to Buzz and continued down the Pier.
We had really wanted to take the girls on Toy Story Mania, but weren’t sure how they’d do with the 3D glasses. It turned out that overtime we were in the area the line was 30 minutes or longer, which we just weren’t going to do with the girls. So no Toy Story this trip, which is a bummer but also just means it goes on the list for next time.
So next up for us was The Silly Symphony Swings. This was a first for Audree and she was beyond excited, she chose Brock to go on it with her. Brynn and I took some selfies and tried to spot them from the ground. They got off and Audree bounded up to me saying she had sooooo much fun and now wanted to go on it with me. The thing is, I didn’t want to go on it. I love thrill rides, but the swings freak me out. Every other ride seems so much more secure, the swings feel like you are just going to fall right off. I can’t explain it well, but yeah they freak me out. But this is my favorite five year old and she’s having the time of her life and she just discovered a new ride that she wants to share with me. So needless to say we climbed the steps and got in line. Because of her height we could only ride tandem, which was completely fine with me because that actually seemed more secure in my mind. I got her strapped in and got myself hooked in and nervously waited. No joke I was nervous, anxious, butterflies in my tummy, over the swings. We took off and my stomach flipped, just once, and then I settled in and enjoyed this ride with my amazing kiddo. She was just so happy and not the least bit fearful. We had fun trying to spot daddy and Brynn and wave to them. She was laughing her head off. It was one of those parenting moments where you are really in it and enjoying every second, but are also outside of it soaking it all in and etching it into your memory. I don’t know if that makes any sense at all, but I don’t know how else to explain it. It was magical for me.
After the swings we were ready for a ride the whole family could go on so we headed to the Golden Zephyr. We all really enjoyed the wind in our hair and got some family selfies on it. Then we split up. Brock and Audree backtracked to go on the Jumping Jellyfish whilst Brynn and I strolled down towards Grizzly River Run to pick up some World of Color fast passes. I wasn’t totally sure that fast passes would be necessary because it wasn’t very busy. Turns out they are very necessary if you want to see anything at all. Before the trip we had talked about doing a World of Color dining package, but the pricing was not justifiable for us. So we rolled the dice with a fast pass and actually ended up loving our view.
Anyway by the time they got off the jellyfish and started heading our way we were ready for dinner. Brynn and I started heading to SmokeJumpers Grill, then Brock called. He and Audree were on their way to us, but she needed a potty, like now. You do pass like three restrooms between the Jumping Jellyfish ride and the Smokejumpers Grill, but Brock didn’t know that and I had all the park maps with me at the stroller. Anyway they made it to me in time and I took Audree in to the bathroom, where I used the post it note trick I learned on the Dis to cover the sensor for her. The post it trick is freaking genius, she loved it and referred to it as “mommies special trick” the entire trip. Saved me from a lot of anxious Audree moments! While we were already at the restrooms I decided there was no better time to change the kids into some pants and sweaters. So after Audree finished I swapped her for Brynn and got them all cozy and ready for the nighttime entertainment. We were finally ready to eat. Brock and I split a cheeseburger and had some beer, the kids rocked out some chicken nuggets and fries. Everyone was happy, Smoke Jumpers Grill was tasty and we would definitely eat there again. They had a topping bar which we made full use of, and various dipping sauces which is instant happiness for my condiment loving kiddos.
And with that beautiful pic of the back of a toilet I will say goodbye. It won't be a long wait though, I just had too many more pics to make it one post. To be continued...