Disneyland Part 5

(Not sure if anyone is reading these...but it will be nice to have to have all of these posts to remember our trip!)

We spent Friday at Disney California Adventure, which is much smaller

in comparison to Disneyland Park. DCA opens at 10am so a group was ready early and headed over to Disneyland first to grab some fast passes for Space Mountain. Then we all met up at DCA and rode the Monster's Inc ride. Then we headed over to Bug's Land while Kenny and his cousin rode the Tower of Terror ride.

Grayson got some love from his Lala while everyone else rode some Bug's Land rides. (It was about 10:30 by this time so he was really ready for a morning nap and we hadn't even done anything yet!)

We rode Flik's Flyers and Tuck and Roll's Buggies. Then Uncle Chris and Kindra took Kennan and Brayden on the Ladybug Boogie ride. Look! No hands!

Then we all rode on Heimlich's Chew Chew train. Definitely a rode for the under 5 crowd, but we all enjoyed it. Bug's Land is an area geared toward the little ones for sure!

After Bug's Land we watched a Monster's Inc show on Hollywood Blvd. It was okay...I had thought it was going to be more like a Pixar Parade, so I was a little disappointed. But it was still cute.

Because we are Disney Visa Card holders we got to have a private meet and greet with some characters. It also came with a free 5x7 photo which was pretty neat. We got to meet Chip and Dale and spend a few minutes with them. (Speaking of Disney Visa cards...Ours got lost on Wednesday while we were at Downtown Disney...not sure how I forgot to mention that in my Part 3 update. I handed my card to Kenny while he was at a store. He didn't have his wallet so he *thinks* he stuck it in his pocket along with some cash I gave him and his cell phone. I left with Grayson and Brayden while he stayed with Kennan. About 15 minutes later I got a call that he couldn't find his card. We left Downtown Disney, went to the house and called and put a hold on the card. Come to find out, someone tried to use it...which makes me want to yell "Where are all the honest people?!?!?!?!" Why can't someone honest, kind and thoughtful find my lost stuff?? Anyway...we canceled the card and came home to a new one the next week.)

While we were meeting Chip and Dale the super nice Disney employee told us where we might be able to meet Donald (we had been searching for him all week.). We took off at super speed toward the location and got there just as Pluto was leaving. Pluto and Donald switch off at that location so we ended up having to wait only 5 minutes to meet Donald AND we were first in line. Woohooo!!

Then we ran into Lightning and Mater. I kind of wish they would have talked or had their eyes move or something, but oh well.

On our way to meet Woody and Buzz we ran into Duffy. Don't know who Duffy is? That's okay, we didn't either. Duffy is the teddy bear that Minnie gave Mickey before he went on a long trip. He was pretty cute, but he couldn't sign our autograph books because he is too young. He didn't know how to write his name yet?!?!

We made it to Paradise Pier and met Woody!

Then we went to lunch. For lunch on this day we had pre-ordered picnic lunches. With our lunches came tickets to the World of Color show which is in the evening at DCA. There are a few ways to get tickets for the show and we thought this was the way to go. The lunches were okay...might not do it next time though.

Grayson fell asleep during lunch so Lala and Grumpy stayed with him while I took the kids on Mickey's Fun Wheel. We chose the non-swinging gondolas which was fine with me! Kenny, his cousin, brother and his girlfriend went on California Screamin' at this point (we had gotten Fastpasses earlier in the day for that).

Then we got to meet Buzz! (He also doesn't sign autograph books because his gear prohibits his fingers from moving!)

After walking around Paradise Pier and getting some ice cream Kenny, Lala and I took the kids to the Hollywood Pictures Blacklot area. Everyone else went back to the Tower of Terror (again, we had gotten some Fastpasses for that). We lucked out and got to meet Handy Manny right before he was about to leave. Grayson loooved him! Check out that cheese face!

Then we went to the Disney Junior Live on Stage show. It was geared at kids 5 and younger (my opinion) and our 3 kiddos loved it! Grayson really loved singing and dancing with Mickey!

After the show we met back up with everyone else and headed to Soarin' over California (using the Fastpasses we had gotten earlier in the day). I stayed behind with Grayson (he was to young to ride) and we went and redeemed the free 5x7 we had gotten earlier with our character meet and greet. After everyone rode the ride we got to meet Minnie (in her flight suit) and then had a snack.

Then Kenny, Lala, the kids and I headed over to the hotel where Kenny's cousin was staying. The kids were pretty wiped out and we needed a break after an already full day. Everyone else stayed at the park and checked out the winery and tasted some local beers. Here's Brayden after the walk from the park to the hotel!

While in the hotel room Kennan became better acquainted with his new Duffy Bear. When we met Duffy we got a sticker to put on our shirts. For the rest of the day Kennan held on as tight as possible to his sticker, never letting it out of his sight. (If you don't know, Kennan has a slight obsession with stuffed animals and Duffy stole his heart.) So while everyone was snacking after Soarin' over California I took him to buy a Duffy bear. He

was going to be spending some of his own money on the bear and he was okay with that. In my mind we were going to find a small bear, already in his sailor outfit for $20-25ish dollars. Well.....all we found was $30 bear and $20 outfit. WHAT?!?! Are you kidding me? The cost would not deter my sweet-stuffed-animal-lovin' boy. So, meet Duffy!

After hanging out at the hotel and having some dinner we headed back to DCA. This is Grayson on the walk over, about to be fast asleep!

The tickets we got a lunch had a color on them so we knew which area to head to when they opened the seating (well, standing) area for the World of Color show. The show started at 9:00 but we were there at 8:00 and went straight for an area right against a railing, towards the back. I knew it would be perfect (thanks to some advice from the cousins and my aunt) because no one would be able to stand right in front of us. We stayed in the area for an hour, making friends with those around us while we waited.

This picture was taken right before it started, by one of our new friends. I just love the picture but hate that Grayson isn't in it. He was still asleep in the stroller, right behind Grumpy! He actually slept through half of the show!

I didn't take any photos of the show, only video (see below). It's amazing to see what can be done with some water and lights!

After the show, which lasted about 25 minutes, we all went in different directions. Kenny, Kennan, his cousin, brother and his girlfriend went over to Disneyland Park to ride Space Mountain again. Lala, Brayden, Grayson and I went to ride the Ariel ride. Grumpy went to ride Soarin' over California with the last Fastpass (he didn't ride it earlier in the day). Then we all headed home. It was a lloonngg day!!! But it was our last at the parks because we had 3 day passes. We definitely made the most of our day!