Our California Dreamin' Trip - Day 6 California Adventure
After eating breakfast at the McDonald's on Harbor Blvd. (it was busier this morning and service was slower) we arrived at the California Adventure entry plaza shortly after the park opened at 10 AM. We headed directly for Soarin' Over California. Not only was my dad able to ride this, but there was almost no line. What a great ride! We sat in the front row in the middle, so we were at the top when the seats were raised.
After Soarin', we headed over to the Hollywood Pictures Backlot and picked up fast passes for Tower of Terror. Our little trooper Mark decided he wasn't going to ride, so Sharon and I had would be able to ride it twice with the fast passes. While waiting for our fast pass time for the Tower of Terror, we rode Mike & Sully to the Rescue, which was really neat! We saw Muppet*Vision 3D and then we were in our fast pass window. Sharon and I went to ride the Tower of Terror while my parents took the boys to Flik's Fun Fair. We rode the Tower of Terror twice. It was good, but I like the Disney-MGM Studios version better.
After our second visit to the Twilight Zone, we met my parents and the boys at Taste Pilot's Grill for lunch. After lunch, we saw It's Tough to be a Bug! It was the first time my parents had experienced, so it was fun to see their reactions to everything, especially the bugs' exit! We toured the Mission Tortilla factory and sampled some tortillas. My parents went to see Golden Dreams and Sharon, the boys, and I headed to Paradise Pier. We picked up fast passes for California Screamin' and went to ride the other rides while we waited for our fast pass time. Justin insisted he would not ride California Screamin' and he didn't want to ride the Orange Stinger. He rode the Orange Stinger, and enjoyed it. There was no line, so we rode it again. I liked it; it was like the swing ride I rode growing up at a dutch place in Holland, MI, only it was better with the "up and down" motion. We rode Mullholland Madness next (Primeval Whirl is better); it had the longest wait of the rides on Paradise Pier outside of California Screamin' (it was only about 20 minutes though.) Mark wanted to ride the Golden Zephyr, so we got into the short line for it. We went to get into our rocket, and there was only 3 of us. Justin had decided he wasn't going to ride it and didn't come out onto the platform. I went to find him while Sharon and Mark rode the Zephyr. I found him and we had a discussion about staying together. I rode the Zephyr with Mark after he and Sharon rode it. I then left my messages for my parents so we could have Justin go with them while we rode California Screamin' . Mark wanted to ride the Jumpin' Jellyfish, so he and I rode that after a short wait. After the ride, my dad called me back and we met him outside of Paradise Pier so he could take Justin (they ended up going to see the Aladdin musical.) Mark, Sharon, and I returned to Paradise Pier and waited for our fast pass time to come up. When it did, we got onto California Screamin'. Mark liked it, but didn't like his head hitting the shoulder restraints, since he sort of sat down lower than we did. I really enjoyed it; it was a smooth ride. They did a really good job on it.
After California Screamin', we headed back to the Hollywood Pictures Backlot. Along the way, Mark visited with Pluto. After checking with a castmember to see when Aladdin would finish, we rode Mike & Sully to the Rescue again, and then saw "Drawn to the Magic", a cute, short music show. Aladdin was running late, so we ended up waiting outside the theatre for a little bit for my parents and Justin. When the show got out, we headed into the Animation Building to see Turtle Talk with Crush, which is a great attraction. Mark was the first child picked to talk with Crush, so "Malibu Mark" learned how to talk a little turtle with Crush. Kids will say the darnedest things, though; Crush came out wearing a bikini top for another boy and asked him what it was. The response was "a bra." Crush was actually a little speechless, but how do you follow a response like that up?
After Turtle Talk with Crush, we checked the line for Soarin', but it was longer that we wanted to wait. We left California Adventure, which hadn't been real busy, and headed into Downtown Disney to catch the monorail into Tomorrowland. We rode the one decorated as the sub.
When we arrived in Tomorrowland, we headed over to Space Mountain. There were no fast passes left and the line was longer than we wanted to wait (Disneyland was really busy.) We headed to New Orleans Square and had dinner at the River Belle Terrace. The food was okay there. After dinner, we went to Fantasyland and rode the Storybook Land Canal Boats, after quite a long wait in such a short queue line. After the ride, we picked up some souvenirs and then headed out of Disneyland before the fireworks started so we could avoid the rush (Disneyland was closing early for a special event.)
