Day 6 - Disneyland Day 2

Caroline kept asking to ride Nemo on Day 1, but we did not want to waste 3 hours in line so Matt decided to wake up early on the 2nd day and get to the park before it opened while Nana and I slept in a bit. They arrived around 7:40 and got in line. As soon as they got in the park they headed for the Nemo ride, but the wait was already 2-3 hours long. Instead they went to ride other rides. They rode the Matterhorn, Pinocchio’s Daring Adventure, and It’s a Small World. Then they headed over to Toontown where they saw Goofy, Pluto, and Minnie, rode on the Go Gadget Coaster and played in Donald’s Boathouse and in the Fire station. By that time Nana, Poppy and I had gotten to the park. We all got on the Big Thunder Mountain Roller Coaster which we all really enjoyed. We wanted to ride the Pirate Ship Colombia, but it wasn’t sailing anytime soon so we headed to Tomorrowland. In Tomorrowland we rode Buzz Lightyear’s Astro Blasters which was like a Video Game and a ride all in one. Then we did the Star Wars Star Tours then headed back over to California Adventures for lunch.

While deciding where to eat lunch Nana saw a place called Ariel’s Grotto on the map near the pier so we headed over there. When we arrived we found out it was a priority seating character restaurant where you get to meet Ariel and then other princesses come to your table to visit and take pictures. The hostess asked us if we had reservations and when we said no she said they were taking some walk-ins. We lucked out and got in fairly quickly. After an expensive and disappointing lunch the day before it was a relief to get some good food in the park. During dinner we were visited by Cinderella, Snow White, Belle and Sleeping Beauty so we got pictures and autographs with each of them. It did take a large chunk of our day, but I felt it was worth it to see the excitement in Caroline’s eyes.

After lunch Caroline wanted to ride the Sun Wheel on a swinging car. The line was fairly long for a swinging car and while the view of the parks was nice the ride itself was just like any other Ferris wheel. While on that side of the park we went to see if Caroline was tall enough to ride the Mulholland Madness roller coaster. She measured at 42” so we hopped in line. This opened up a few more rides for her in both parks. I think she liked this ride more than I did. Next we headed to Nana’s favorite ride The Hollywood Tower of Terror which goes up and down in a free fall drop. After about a 30 minute wait we were almost to the front of the line Caroline says “I have to go potty.” We told her she had to hold it since we were next in line. We both had death grips on the handles and I tried to warn her as much as possible on what to expect. When I looked over she wasn’t smiling, but she wasn’t crying either. When we got off I asked if she was ready to go again and she said “Not now, but maybe later.” We went on and on about how brave she was and how most 3 yr olds have never ridden the ride. She was so proud of herself. She kept saying she got a little scared and I assured her that almost everyone else there did too since that was part of the fun.

For a nice change of pace we headed over to the Soarin’ Over California. Unfortunately Poppy had to leave for the airport before riding, but he stayed in line with us for a while to talk and say our goodbyes. This ride was spectacular and took us on a ride through the diverse landscapes in California from the Redwoods to the beach to skiing in the mountains to orange groves. It really did a great job of showing the cities and country side all in a 5-10 minute ride. After riding that we were done in California Adventure for the day and headed back to Disney.

Matt and Caroline decided to split off and go ride Splash Mountain while Nana and I rode the Indiana Jones ride which Caroline couldn’t ride due to height. We waited in line 30-45 minutes then when we were all loaded in the car and next in line to go the ride broke down. We sat there for about 15 minutes not knowing if it would be fixed or not, but they did finally fix it so we went through the ride. While not one of my favorites it was fun looking at the scenery and the detail in the sets. When we got back they asked us if we wanted to go again and after an hour wait for a 5 minute ride we of course said sure. I wouldn’t have waited to go a second time, but it was worth seeing it again and getting some of the details I missed the first time around. Then Nana and I walked through Tarzan’s Treehouse, which Nana remembered when it was the Swiss Family Robinson Treehouse, while waiting for Matt and Caroline to return from Splash Mountain. When they got back Caroline wanted to see Tarzan’s Treehouse so I took her up there just in time for sunset. The sunset was beautiful from up there! We had dinner then Caroline insisted that we watch Fantasmic again. This time Nana found us a wonderful place to stand even though people started lining up as early as 6:30 for the 8:30 show and it was already 7:30. It was nice to see the whole show and Matt was glad he didn’t have to keep Caroline on his shoulders the whole time to see it. It was just as amazing the 2nd time around and Caroline enjoyed it so much.

We braved the crowds after the show and tried to head to Space Mountain before heading home. The line was LONG and we were all tired. None more so than Caroline though. After about 10 minutes in line she asked daddy to pick her up and fell asleep on his shoulder. We ended up leaving once she fell asleep which was easier said than done since the fireworks had just ended. The crowds were horrible trying to get out of the park and we were switching off who had to carry the sleeping Caroline. When we finally made it to the bus stop the line to get back on the bus was even long. Luckily we made it on the 2nd bus which came just minutes after the 1st one. We got back to the room around 11pm and all fell into bed. Nana, Caroline and I were excited to have a lazy day after spending two solid days on the run. Matt’s conference started the next day so this was his last day of actual vacation for a few days. It was such a wonderful day we all decided we had to go back Friday.

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