We actually splurged and got season passes for Disneyland this year (because 2 racing events plus a visit to LA made it seem like a good idea). Well, the week between Christmas and New Year is supposedly insanely busy, but we are not planning on getting these things again for a while, so we went anyway!
But, we had a plan. We made reservations at Carnation Cafe (which allowed us entry into Disneyland which we’d been told had actually been closed due to over-capacity). As it turns out, we had to wait 45 minutes for food, so again (as with our last visit), we got a free fast pass from the restaurant as compensation for our wait. That was nice! And, we had a pretty good vegan burger (and much needed coffee!) while we were there. Plus, our reservation was during parade time and we chose to sit outside, so we got to see the parade as well. The parade is one of Chloe’s favorite things to do!
After lunch, we rode the Jingle Cruise, got a fast pass for Big Thunder Mountain (return time was between 7:30 and 8:30pm!!!) and then headed to California Adventure for our very first visit there!
The Jungle Cruise line was no more than 20 minutes, so we started our day with a success!!! We got on a ride “immediately!”
It was a good plan to come into CA Adventure. It was still crowded, but not nearly as bad as one would think. We were able to walk around and get a feel for the place.
We never did get around to riding this cool looking trolley, though!
So, they put Frozen Fun in CA Adventure. We went to a sing-along show where, bonus, we got to see the REAL Anna, Elsa, and Kristoff (haha). Seriously, this was cute. Cameron was rapt and she was singing along loudly!! Plus, it was fun to see parts of the movie on a gigantic screen surrounded entirely by the music! The kids also like the Royal Historians narrating the story.
After the sing-along show, it was already getting dark! We watched a band parade by (lots of parades!) and then headed to Bug Land where we attempted to ride the caterpillar train (it broke down but at least we were in line for only about 10 minutes).
Then, we saw another parade on our way to Cars Land!
This girl was just wiggling to the music! I love how she loves to dance!
We finally made it through the crowd to Cars Land. We’d decided the kids would use the fast pass on Radiator Springs and they loved it! While Chloe and I waited for them to return, we walked around and enjoyed the scenery, then left to go ride the Carousel in Paradise Pier.
She loves the carousel!
When Dylan, Cameron and Tom caught up with us, Cameron joined us for one more carousel ride! They had a blast on Radiator Springs! It was a definite hit!
After that, we went back to Disneyland to use our fast pass for Big Thunder Mountain. The kids are so fun to ride with! Both of them rode with their hands up in the air!! I’m pretty sure I was the only one screaming on the ride!! After that, it was fireworks time! And then after fireworks, we started heading home. We got to go through an employee walk-way (“the fastest way to the front of the park”!). So all told, we managed to avoid much crowd madness and, for one of the busiest days of the park, we had a pretty good time! We ended with a little gift/souvenir shopping (Cameron and Dylan wanted to pick something out for Eli and Rocky). By the time we got to the car, it was way past 10pm! Kids sacked out on the way home. Success!
