Disneyland Day #3

Another morning, another breakfast buffet of scrambled eggs, fruit, and oatmeal, another shuttle ride, another day of Disney fun.

Last night the kids wrote cute lists of what they wanted to do most today. Calvin asked Autumn and wrote hers down for her.

Calvin's Wish List:

 Splash Mountain, The Haunted House, Toy Story, Mickey's Ferris Wheel, and Luigi's Flying Tires

Autumn's Wish List:

 Tea Cups, Dumbo the Flying Elephant, and Mickey's Ferris Wheel

I loved that they insisted on putting the lists in our backpacks and doing each item in order. We didn't do them in order (too much back and forth between the two parks), and we didn't do the Mickey Ferris Wheel again, but otherwise we stuck closely to what the kids wanted to do today. 

But before we did what they wanted, Andy went with Autumn to get a Fast Pass for the Cars ride (our ride time was 5pm this time. That line is insane.) I took Calvin with me to Ariel's Grotto to make reservations for tomorrow in hopes that Autumn would meet a princess (tangent about that in tomorrow's post).

While we were in California Adventure, we took advantage of some of the shorter lines.

Toy Story Mania again:

 Triton's Carousel:

 Ariel's Undersea Adventure eleventy billion more times:

This is a cute ride, but by the time we left, I had it memorized and I hated it. I would use the time to take a 5 minute nap, or sing along loudly and obnoxiously in a way that never would have happened somewhere that people could see me. I at least engaged long enough to clap with Autumn at the wedding scene at the end of every ride.

Then we unanimously decided to go back over to Disneyland. The Park Hopper ticket is the way to go, my friends.

Right when we entered the park, Autumn squealed with excitement when she saw an old friend:

 We waited in line to meet her, and then when it was our turn, Autumn ran up and gave her the biggest hug. She was a bit shy and didn't talk much, but she was thrilled to have a picture with Minnie.

Then the Jungle Cruse:

  This was a fun, relaxing ride. The kids loved the animals, and I embarrassed myself by screaming out loud when fake piranhas came jumping out of the water right beside the boat. They were freaky.

Andy and Calvin left us to go on the Indiana Jones ride, so Autumn and I hit the Tarzan's Tree house, which wasn't a ride but a tree house with a million stairs to NOTHING. To be fair, it's probably not as bad if you're not six months pregnant and carrying a 3 year-old, but you climb all these steep steps, cross a rickety draw bridge (remember my thing with heights?), only to see this:

 a tiny little roped off room with a scene from the movie. Well two of them. The first one was the evil cat after he just killed the parents, only without the dead, mangled parents.

At least there were pretty views:

 

That's it. Then you walk down again. At the bottom, Autumn had a great time with the props. So, if anyone wants my opinion, don't climb the thing (at least when you're hugely pregnant), just skip to the back of the tree where the fun stuff is at ground level.

spinning pipes that make noises

banging on a xylophone and pots and pans

this one was cool. You can see Autumn stomping on the big billows. When you move it up and down, it sets the pans from the second picture "bubbling." The lids move up and down on top of the pots and make music.

Andy and I met up at Pirates of the Caribbean (thank goodness for texting). He was mad because they had waited in line for the Indiana Jones ride, but Calvin waited until they were at the beginning and then decided he was too scared to do it.

More Pirates. More Splash Mountain. Autumn didn't want to go on Splash Mountain again, so she and I took a few whirls on the Winnie-Pooh ride. 

Then we decided it was time for lunch. We headed back to Main Street and stopped at Jolly Holiday Bakery Cafe. Of our random food choices in the parks, this was my favorite.

Corn Dog from a cart

 I had tomato bisque and a grilled cheese sandwich

 mac-n-cheese with fresh fruit and veggies

turkey sandwich for the creepy man

Calvin wanted a corn dog from a cart, but the rest of us had a pretty decent lunch in the shady, quiet outdoor cafe. I didn't want to leave and start walking again, but the magic was calling...

Then it was time for Tomorrowland--a section dedicated to all things Outer Space--because we hadn't been there yet. 

Astro Orbiter:

Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters:

 We loved this one. It was another target shooting one, but this time you controlled your own cart, and got to spin around and shoot things at every angle. I love that in these pictures we all look very intent on destroying Zurg.

Star Wars:

This was one of Calvin's favorites. None of us are huge Star Wars fans (I think Andy likes the original three), but Calvin likes the characters, etc. because of Star Wars Angry Birds and Legos. This one was a bit of a wait, but it was a lot of fun once we were "on board" the simulator that flew us through the fake galaxy. 

Lookin' hip in our 3d glasses:

 Lined up, belted in, and ready to go:

The best part about this ride was watching Calvin. He screamed and squealed and had his hands over his head. He yelled, "whoa, whoa, whoa!" the whole time. I guess it was mostly funny because it was all simulated and we never moved except for our chairs rocking back and forth. Calvin loved it though. We debated going again, but he didn't like the long lines, and we were looking forward to getting back to Cars Land.

Mater's Junkyard Jamboree:

 It was another fun, spinning ride. The kids adore them.

Posing with a mini-Mater:

 Radiator Springs Racers:

Worth the wait, as always. 

Sad you can never see the kids in the pictures though.

Just as we were ready to leave and go back to Disneyland, we ran into the Pixar Parade. We were lucky to hit it when we did and we had great front-row spots. This was one of the highlights for the kids. So great.

Pixar Parade:

 Calvin was so excited. He was pointing out EVERYTHING, telling me who EVERYONE was.

 Autumn waving to all of the characters. 

Autumn wasn't tall enough, so she and I waited out front while the boys went and did Grizzly River Run.

When we were back at Disneyland, Andy and Calvin left us to do the big boy stuff, like the Haunted Mansion and Splash Mountain over and over again:

Autumn and I did the usual round of Dumbo, Tea Cups, Alice in Wonderland, Pinocchio, Snow White, and the Carousel. The little kid rides in Fantasyland that we'd spent so much time on while the boys were off doing their thing.

I think by this time, Autumn was feeling a little sad. I'm not sure all of the reasons why, but I think she felt left out that the boys were always off having fun without her. I think she was sad she hadn't seen a princess yet. I think she was tired of walking and tired because it was late in the day. I think she was hungry. Whatever it was, I saw a side of her I have never seen before.

She wanted to go into the shops. She saw beautiful princess dresses and little toys and so many fun, pretty things, especially in the princess boutique right inside the entrance of Fantasyland. She asked if she could have a dress. They were $65. I checked my pocket. I had $6.

I didn't carry any money, because we were always with Andy for meals and stuff. I had a tiny bit of cash, just in case, but I learned the hard way that in Disneyland you can't buy ANYTHING for $6.

I looked around the pretty boutique. There was literally not one thing in there I could afford. I told her we would find Daddy and then come back.

She pulled me to a kiosk that sold glow-in-the-dark stuff and candy. She wanted a bubble blower. I asked the guy how much. $12. She wanted a necklace. $9.

Suckers: $6.95, sold only in a bundle.

She kept asking for things. She never does this, and I'm sure she didn't really care that much about any of them, she just wanted me to say yes to something. Anything.

The boys were 30 minutes late meeting us. She was clearly disappointed. I was sad.

I texted Andy to meet us outside, and I headed for the entrance as fast as I could, carrying The Girl. She begged for a Pink Minnie balloon a vendor was selling in the middle of the street. $7.

And then when we were ALMOST to the gate, the parade was starting, and they wouldn't let us pass on the street. They funneled us through a STORE. It started all over again. I was looking for something I could buy her. Even the bloody keychains were too expensive.

I felt like one of those trashy ladies in the dollar store who keeps telling their kid they can't have a treat today. I always think, "It's a dollar! Just buy the kid a dang treat!" But tonight I was that lady. Autumn was sad and whiny. I felt like a let-down. Andy was super late. I just wanted to get the heck out of "the happiest place on earth."

But then, we sat on a Mickey shaped bench and pulled some snacks out of the backpack, and she ate crackers and apple juice. And then she was happy again because that's the kind of sweetheart she is.

I told her we'd make it up to her tomorrow. And next time I'll carry my own stupid credit card.

Even though we were all tired and grumpy, we grabbed dinner at Red Robin. The food made us feel better and we went back to the room, bathed the kids, took showers, watched a bit of tv, and then went to bed. Having so much fun is exhausting.