California - Day 4

Our second day at Disneyland was packed!

There were a few rides that we ran out of time for yesterday that we made sure to get to today.  Our family was at California Adventure before the park opened and got to be there for the rope drop to get into the heart of the park.

Today was all about strategy.  What did we want to ride?  Which rides have long lines or late Fast Pass return times?  M really, really wanted to ride The Hollywood Tower of Terror to remedy the horror she had last year when we pretty much forced her to ride it.  I thought she'd love it.  Boy, oh boy, was I wrong.

An oldie but a goodie from last year.  She was scarred for life.

We grabbed a fast pass for The Hollywood Tower of Terror and made our way over to California Screamin' again.  Matt and M got in the short line while G and I went to Toy Story Mania.  Although the park opened only fifteen minutes prior, the line for Toy Story Mania was already at 40 minutes.  This line was the test for G.  Thank goodness Mr. Potato Head was doing a little stand-up gig while we waited.  G groped and poked just about everyone around us.  It's a good thing he's cute otherwise we might have been kicked out of the park for lewd acts. 

M & M joined us in the Toy Story line when Screamin' was done.  This is one of our new family favorite rides.

One more carousel ride before heading back to the Bug's Life area of the park.

The weather these last few days has been a little hot for California standards, so the kids were thrilled to find Princess Dot's Puddle Park.

Thankfully I packed a spare set of clothes for both kids today.  After a quick change in the bathroom it was time to go back for The Hollywood Tower of Terror.  On the way there we found out what was behind the World Grand Prix door from yesterday.  Look it!

Mater and McQueen!

The most disappointing part was that there was no door.

G was in utter amazement over these guys.  He talked about Mayer and AQueen for the rest of the day.

Now was the time we had been waiting for - The Tower of Terror.  The plan was to do a kid swap so M could ride twice while one of us waited with G.  The hotel bellman indicated that the only way to do so was for one of us to wait outside the gates and then walk in again.  G and I had a snack while M & M went on the ride.

I saw Matt's head above the crowd as they rounded the corner.  He had a small smirk on his face while he shook his head, "No."  Then I saw M's face, and it was not a happy one.  Apparently a year away did not help her.  I opted not to ride this one solo and we made our way out for a nap. 

By the time G woke up it was dinner time.  We remembered that there is a Portillo's in Buena Park.

Not the greatest photo, but they have a great outdoor patio.

After dinner we meandered our way back to Disneyland.  M & M went to California Adventure to ride California Screamin one more time while G and I rode Peter Pan and the Carousel.  We met back up as a family in line for Pirates of the Caribbean.

The best part of theme parks is being smart about how you do it.  Many people were starting to stake out their spots for the Illuminations and fireworks shows.  This meant not very many people were in line for rides.  We went between The Haunted Mansion and Pirates at least twice and walked right on to both rides.  We finished up just in time for fireworks.

Instead of fighting the crowds out of the park we decided to do a little shopping and get some ice cream.

When the time came to leave we spotted Goofy, or as G calls him "Doofy"

The plan for our last day in California is much more low key.  Stay tuned!