Our Very Own California Adventure!! July 30th-August 11th, 2008

[SoonerGirl]

I love your photopass pictures. We will have to get some of those as well because I hate always having to bug people to take our picture together.

I the shots of the Electrical Parade.......I am so excited to get to see this again. It has been years since I last saw it at WDW but that music & parade holds such a special place in my heart as I remember seeing it on my first trip to WDW. I am sure I will get something in my eye the night I watch it at DCA.

Can't wait for more.

I was really happy with our photopass pics, most of them turned out pretty good.

The Electrical Parade was great! I had never seen it before. It sounds like it is a special memory for you, I'm sure you'll enjoy it just as much this time around!

Yay....loving your updates!!! Your pictures are wonderful and I love the photopass pics!

Isn't the electrical parade great? I'm so glad you were able to score a bench too!

I'm kind of living through your TR and pics right now and wishing we had a Disney trip planned sometime soon...

Can't wait for more!

Thanks for the compliment of my pictures, I'm no photographer that's for sure - I need to have you give me some lessons!

We had a great spot for the parade thanks to you!

Don't you just hate not having a trip in the works? I don't know when I'll get to go again - it's kind of depressing!

Just read your entire trip report in one sitting and I'm loving it!! I go to DL at least once a month and never tire of reading trip reports!! And I must say your's is very good..can't wait to hear about San Diego!! (look at my location)

I've only been to Northern Ca once and after reading your report it makes me want to spend a week up there!!

Can't wait to read more!!

Wow, that's a lot of reading in one sitting! I'm glad you are enjoying it, thanks!! We really enjoyed our time in San Diego, we slowed down a bit there, after going constantly for a week, it was so nice to relax a bit!!

DH is taking the boys to our local high school football game tonight, so I'm going to try and get day 7 up later tonight.

 

[SoonerGirl]

Day 7, Tuesday August 5th

I was up before the early morning banging could disturb me on this day, because today we had early entry! For those of you new to DL, they don't have EMHs like WDW, instead they have early entry. I believe it is available 3 days a week (I could be wrong on this one - someone please correct me if I am). When you are staying off site, you get one early entry if you buy a 3 day or longer park pass. I think if you are staying on site, you can use early entry everytime it is available. Regular park opening was at 8am, and with EE we were able to get in at 7am. I was determined to have my family there before opening! Everything went as planned, the kids were excited and didn't complain about the early wake up call, and Grump just scowled his way through getting ready, mumbling something about having to get up early wasn't his idea of a vacation.........

We decided to skip the hotel breakfast and thought we could just grab something in the park later when we got hungry, so we headed out on time and arrived outside the gates at around 6:30-6:40. Since the area in front of CA was deserted that early, I took the opportunity to take a couple of pictures.

We had decided in advance, instead of using our entire EE on Nemo, we would skip it and do Fantasyland. I was anxious to ride Peter Pan, it's one of my favorites and the wait was always so long for it, so that is where we were headed first. I stopped along the way to take another picture without all the hordes of people around!

We had a very short wait for Peter Pan, then we rode Mr. Toad's again

then Dumbo

followed by Pinocchio's Daring Journey and Alice in Wonderland. As we passed the Carrousel, DS thought that maybe if dad helped him he could remove the sword from the stone

Darn! Still no luck!

Next stop was the Matterhorn Bobsleds. We rode the other side this time, and I think it was even more bumpy! But it was still fun, I think we laughed the entire time we were on this ride!

We walked by Nemo, and again, kept right on going to Tomorrowland! We got a FP for Space Mountain and then rode it standby. I think this ride was a favorite of all of ours! After we got off of SM our extra hour was about over. We were all pretty happy with what we were able to get done in just one hour!

We were trying to decide what we wanted to do next, when DS7 suggested Autopia. Now, I am not a fan of the Indy Speedway at WDW - it's just loud and smelly, so I didn't really want to ride it, and neither did DH or DS12, but we decided that we would go on it anyway for DS. Well, after waiting in line for 15 minutes and barely moving (they only had one side open, and it looked like only about 8 -10 cars) we conviced DS that it was a waste of time. Instead we rode Buzz, Astro Orbitors and then used our Space Mountain FP. By this time we were all getting a bit hungry. DS7 wanted something RIGHT NOW, and wasn't interested in waiting in line at the bakery, so we bought him an apple from one of the fruit stands. He munched on that while we waited in a looooooooong line at the bakery. DH & I shared one of those huge sticky buns, mmmmmm so good! And, since we were on vacation, I let DS12 have a rice crispey treat, and DS7 have a Mickey cookie for breakfast.

Once we settled the rumbly in our tummies, we were off to tackle the "Wildest Ride in the Wilderness"!

From there we rode Haunted Mansion again, and then Pirates . It's a good thing my boys enjoy this attraction - I would feel sort of bad dragging them on it over and over again if they didn't (but I would! ).

Look who I found!

We decided then to head over to Pirates Lair, so the kids could explore and I could try to find Captain Jack!!

I've got several pictures from Pirates Lair, so I'm going to continue this in my next post.

Day 7 to be continued - Pirates Lair, Carnation Cafe & Toontown!

 

[SoonerGirl]

Day 7, continued

Pirates Lair - here we come!

The kids had a blast running around exploring the island (but where was that elusive Captain Jack Sparrow?????)

Finally, as were about to give up and head back across, I saw the Captain walking right towards me crossing the bridge! Unfortunately, I didn't have my camera out at the time! He stopped and talked to DS7 for a minute, but DS played all shy and wouldn't respond. Before I could even ask for a picture, the Captain was walking again, so we followed. Eventually, I got my picture, but it sure was a lot of trouble!!

Let me tell you something about myself, I'm a pretty shy person, and what I had to do to get this picture is not for someone who is shy! Jack was standing at the top of some stairs talking to some other pirates who were there playing instruments and singing a song about Jack. Jack told me if I wanted a photo with him, I was going to have to dance for it I DON'T DANCE - AT ALL!!! I told him I would only dance if he would dance with me, but he said he was simply a spectator and those were his terms. By this time, a new group of people had gotten off of the raft and I had quite an audience, BUT - I did it, and got my picture!

After my humiliation at the hands of Jack Sparrow, we decided to go back across the river as it was getting close to time for our lunch PS. I took this picture of the Mark Twain on the way back.

We had a 12:10 PS for Carnation Cafe. I checked in around noon, and this time nothing was said about us not being able to check in until 5 minutes before our PS. I don't know if it was the different restaurant or the different hostess, but I didn't complain! We still had a bit of a wait though, Carnation Cafe's tables are all outside and the only open table was right in the sun. It was a really hot day, and we wanted some shade, so we waited for a table in the shade. We didn't have to wait too long though, maybe 15 minutes.

This was a really good lunch! DH had the Chef Salad, DS7 had hot dogs, and DS12 & I both had the half Turkey Sandwich on Pretzel Bread and a cup of Baked Potato Soup. Let me just tell you, that soup is TO DIE FOR!! It was so good, I even caught DS using his finger to try and get every last drop! I found the recipe for it once we got home, but haven't had a chance to try and make it - although DS asks me about everyday if I will!

Once we finished with our lunch, we decided to go check out Toontown. On our way we ran into Mary Poppins and Bert!

DLs Toontown is so cute! It looks much more cartoony (is that a word? ) than WDWs. Unfortunely it was so crowded that we really didn't get to do much. I did take some pictures though.

Roger Rabbit's Car Toon Spin - this was broken down, and the FP machines were shut off, so we didn't get to ride.

We tried to go through Mickey's House.

(Isn't his mailbox cute?!)

But, this was a far as we got - right inside the door

It was crammed full of people - you couldn't even move!

The boys crashed a car into Goofy's mailbox

And, a few more random Toontown pictures

It was a really hot day, so we all got an ice cream treat. I got one of those yummy chocolate chip cookie ice cream sandwiches, mmmmm! Once we finished our ice cream we decided to take a break. We had gotten up really early that day and we were all hot and tired, so back to the hotel we went!

Day 7, to be continued - Another evening at California Adventure!

 

[Spartangirl]

Wow, you all got tons done with EE! Sounds like you had a terrific day!

I LOVE that you had to dance to get a picture with Capt. Jack! How fun! I think I would have done it too, just to get a picture with him!

Looking forward to your next update...

 

[SoonerGirl]

Wow, you all got tons done with EE! Sounds like you had a terrific day!

I LOVE that you had to dance to get a picture with Capt. Jack! How fun! I think I would have done it too, just to get a picture with him!

Looking forward to your next update...

We did get a lot accomplished with our extra hour, the only attractions that had any wait at all were Peter Pan, the Matterhorn and Space Mountain - everything else was a walk on!

I was mortified to have to dance to get that picture with Capt Jack but, there was no way I was going to leave without a photo!

 

[SoonerGirl]

Day 7 continued.....

After a nice long nap we woke up refreshed and ready to tackle California Adventure!

We headed straight for Tower of Terror to get a FP, then went on a cab ride through the town of Monstropolis

This ride is like the dark rides in Fantasyland, but Roz talks to you at the end! It was fun, she asked DS12 if that was his little brother sitting next to him, and then she said something to him that was so funny at the time, but I didn't write it down and now I can't remember what it was!

It stinks to be getting old

When we left Monsters, I stopped in front of the Mickey fountain to take a picture of DH & boys, but a nice girl walking past asked if we would like her to take one of all of us

I returned the favor for her, and then we went over to the Animation Building. Turtle Talk with Crush was starting in about 15 minutes, so we waited around for that. I just love this show, makes me laugh everytime! After we got our fill of "Dude's" & "Cha's", we went to the Animation Academy where we learned how to draw Jack Skellington - I don't think there are any future artists in this family, but we had fun anyway!

By now, it was time to use our ToT FPs

The rest of the family loves this ride, I'm not a big fan of long drops, but this attraction is themed so well that I still enjoy going on, and for some reason the drops don't bother me as much on this attraction - maybe it's because you're enclosed - I don't know!

We were starting to get hungry and the kids wanted corn dogs, so we started the walk over to the other side of the park to Corn Dog Castle. As we were walking past the Animation Building though, I spotted a photopass photographer - so you know we had to stop!

Then, as we were walking past the big sun, a lady stopped us and asked if we would like her FPs for Grizzly River Run. We gladly accepted! The area around GRR is so pretty, we stopped to take a few pictures.

After that we made our way over and had our corn dogs - these corn dogs were HUGE! And they hit the spot. Once we were done eating we were ready to use our gifted FPs. One thing to note, GRR does not have the center part with the plastic cover where you can store your things like Kali does in AK, so before we got in line we asked the CM outside of the ride if there was somewhere we could store our things so that they wouldn't get wet. She directed us to some lockers that were close by that are free for the first hour or so, so that you have time to ride. We then walked back over to get into the FP line and spotted two girls looking at the stand by time trying to decide if they wanted to wait or not - well, we had 6 FPs and only needed 4, so we gave the girls the other 2. They were so appreciative! We told them we were just spreading the magic that had been given to us.

GRR is a great ride! We had a blast, and luckily we didn't get too terribly wet! Once we were done, we went back to our locker, retrieved our belongings and headed over to Paradise Pier.

The wait for Toy Story was again around 40 minutes and the kids wanted to ride again, so we waited for that. I still had the high score! I found something I'm better at than DH! When we finished with Toy Story the park was closing. Our plan was to head over to DL until it closed at midnight, but apparently that was everyone else's plan as well! It looked like everyone walking out of the gate was heading straight for DL, so we quickly decided that it wasn't worth fighting the crowds and we went back to the hotel and called it a day.

 

[Disneygrl36]

What a great day you had.............
Sounds like that extra hour was very productive.
Loved the dancing for Captain Jack story.......I mean how Capn Jack is that request? Good for you for having courage & getting your picture with your favorite
How cute are Mary & Bert? I hope we run into them as Mary is one of my favorites.
Did you get to go back to Toontown when it was less crowded?
Good for you with the high school on Toy Story Mania.......my DH always beats me on Buzz......maybe there's hope for me after all.

 

[weslovesauntmeg]

Great update!! Can't wait to hear the end!! Very nice of you to spread the Disney magic around!! Captn. Jack..that guy!! Such a ladies man!! Ha ha.

I love Toy Story..unfortunatley my aim is not so well..so while I score high..my sis always still beats me with the better aim!!

 

[got2travel]

Is the date right on your photos? If so I only missed you by 9 days!!!!

I haven't run into that 'Jack' yet. Glad you were able to work up your nerve and get the photo. No way a wench was leaving without a CJS photo!

 

[KimAshton]

You night picture of the park looks amazing.

 

[SoonerGirl]

What a great day you had.............
Sounds like that extra hour was very productive.
Loved the dancing for Captain Jack story.......I mean how Capn Jack is that request? Good for you for having courage & getting your picture with your favorite
How cute are Mary & Bert? I hope we run into them as Mary is one of my favorites.
Did you get to go back to Toontown when it was less crowded?
Good for you with the high school on Toy Story Mania.......my DH always beats me on Buzz......maybe there's hope for me after all.

The extra hour was great! If you can get up and around that early, I highly recommend taking advantage of it!

I thought Mary and Bert were great too, we were lucky to see them out, I don't think I've ever seen Bert out before!

We did go to Toontown again the next day, but with similar results.

Great update!! Can't wait to hear the end!! Very nice of you to spread the Disney magic around!! Captn. Jack..that guy!! Such a ladies man!! Ha ha.

I love Toy Story..unfortunatley my aim is not so well..so while I score high..my sis always still beats me with the better aim!!

Well, DH did beat me on accuracy, but I still got the higher score - I guess I just fire faster than he does!

Is the date right on your photos? If so I only missed you by 9 days!!!!

I haven't run into that 'Jack' yet. Glad you were able to work up your nerve and get the photo. No way a wench was leaving without a CJS photo!

Yep, the date is right, we were there until the 7th. Too bad we couldn't have waited another week!

You're right about the photo! I knew there was no way I could actually see him and not get a picture, my wenches would have never let me live that one down!

You night picture of the park looks amazing.

Thanks! Even I can get lucky once in awhile.

 

[chelseagirl_lv]

I just started to read your TR. This is a fantastic read. Cant wait for more.

Have fun!!

 

[travelmel]

I'm caught up on your updates! Good for you and the Capt Jack dance!! Was their video?? I could teach you how to upload it

We weren't able to take our pics with him but we got him from a distance and he was a fine cup of tea!

You and I share a lot of the same taste in corny pics.. I LOVE corny photo ops! I was too cheap for all those BEAUTIFUL photopass ones you got, though. Man those are cool. I like the one of you guys with your arms up at DCA. Great pose!

My favorites are the Darth Vader. I wish I would have had the time to see the show. 2 days, it turns out, wasn't enough! Who knew

Thanks for the great updates. You have a really cool family (even the grump!).

 

[Lizzybear]

I've just been reading your TR and it sounds like you had an awesome vacation We're visiting California shortly and taking in quite a few of the same places (SF, SD and of course DL) Subbing for the rest

 

[pperfectmom]

Wow! What a great update! And we are sooo proud of you for taking the Captain's challenge. It was worth it for the picture. I can't believe how much you all did in one day. It sounds like such a great time.

 

[disneydusted]

Hi SoonerGirl! I am following Jaycns advise to check out your TR and she was right! This is a very fun report! We are on the east coast and I am thinking that a west coast trip might be in order now. I was there a looong time ago, when I was in junior high so I think an adult visit with my family would be nice. You remind me of myself with all of the photo pass pictures! Everytime I saw one of the photographers I made the family get a picture. I think I drove everyone crazy!

 

[SoonerGirl]

I just started to read your TR. This is a fantastic read. Cant wait for more.

Have fun!!

Thanks! Glad you are enjoying it!

I'm caught up on your updates! Good for you and the Capt Jack dance!! Was their video?? I could teach you how to upload it

We weren't able to take our pics with him but we got him from a distance and he was a fine cup of tea!

You and I share a lot of the same taste in corny pics.. I LOVE corny photo ops! I was too cheap for all those BEAUTIFUL photopass ones you got, though. Man those are cool. I like the one of you guys with your arms up at DCA. Great pose!

My favorites are the Darth Vader. I wish I would have had the time to see the show. 2 days, it turns out, wasn't enough! Who knew

Thanks for the great updates. You have a really cool family (even the grump!).

HA! No, thankfully there is no video! My camera does video, but DH doesn't know how to use it, in this case that is a very good thing

I love all the silly poses on the photopass pics! DH hates it, but I'm a sucker for pictures, I'll usually pay just about whatever they are asking. These really weren't all that expensive though, I had a photopass card from WDW from a trip I took with younger DS a few weeks before, and I combined the WDW pics with the ones from DL and bought the CD for $65, shipping and all!

I've just been reading your TR and it sounds like you had an awesome vacation We're visiting California shortly and taking in quite a few of the same places (SF, SD and of course DL) Subbing for the rest

You're leaving pretty soon too! I bet you are getting excited! You'll have a great time, California is a wonderful place to vacation.

Wow! What a great update! And we are sooo proud of you for taking the Captain's challenge. It was worth it for the picture. I can't believe how much you all did in one day. It sounds like such a great time.

Thanks Marna! I couldn't let my wenches down!!

We did get alot done that day - it was great!

 

[SoonerGirl]

Hi SoonerGirl! I am following Jaycns advise to check out your TR and she was right! This is a very fun report! We are on the east coast and I am thinking that a west coast trip might be in order now. I was there a looong time ago, when I was in junior high so I think an adult visit with my family would be nice. You remind me of myself with all of the photo pass pictures! Everytime I saw one of the photographers I made the family get a picture. I think I drove everyone crazy!

Hi! Thanks so much!

There is so much to see and do in California, it really is a great vacation. Probably the best we've ever taken as a family.

Me and those photopass pictures! I know I drove my family crazy taking them, but they love that we have them now.

 

[MrsTomMorrow]

I am really itching for a DL trip now! Thanks alot!

 

[jlparedes]

Wow what a brilliant trip report. You have wonderful photos, I love the night shot of DCA. You have reminded me what I have right in my neighborhood! I'm from No. California and haven't been to the Sequoia Park or Yosemite in years and years. Although I do frequent SF regularly (not the wharf though) and it's still one of my favorite cities in the World. It sounded like you guys had a fabulous vacation! Thanks so much for sharing