Day Two

So, for those of you that have been following me, my most recent blog was a summary of my first day of my vacation to Disneyland.

Oh, If I could go back right now.

I digress...

Anyways, I will continue on to day two.

Sunday, January 15th

It was really easy to wake up early! The alarm went off, I bolted out of bed and got dressed and did my hair as I watched the news to see the weather forecast for the day. Turns out that it was supposed to sprinkle off and on that day, but no matter, Disneyland is BETTER in the rain! Once both Jeremy and I were ready, we went downstairs to check out the "continental breakfast to go" that our hotel offered us. It wasn't anything grand, but we grabbed it and went out to the parking lot to wait by Jeremy's parents car because we decided to hitch a ride with them to the park. In no time, we were on our way!

We arrived at the parking structure, got on the tram, and made it to Downtown Disney as it took all my strength and energy to not bolt off the tram and run to pick up our tickets. We got our tickets and finally, after months of anticipation, walked through the threshold and into Disneyland. We were meeting the Elquist's in front of the Mickey flowers so we could all go over to Space Mountain together and the moment I saw them, it felt like the Happiest Reunion Ever! After hugs, we ventured down Main Street, USA. I was so ecstatic! My smile probably wrapped all the way around my head at that point and could not contain my happiness! I was exactly where I wanted to be with exactly the people I wanted to be there with.

Now, let me take this moment to give props to my four year old nephew, Traven.

I love this kid.

LOVE HIM!

He is the strongest and bravest four year old I know.

This trip, he was tall enough for almost all the scary rides at Disneyland and he tried all of them at least once. Knowing that this was his first time on Space Mountain, we wanted to sit behind him and his mother so that we could be in on the picture. This is what we got-





















Isn't his face to die for?!?!?!

I feel a little bad for the people behind us. We kind of took over that picture.

After traumatizing Traven, we decided to go on Star Tours, which he has previously liked. The new Star Tours is so awesome!! Not only is it in 3D now, but each time you ride it, it's a different experience, well...there are 54 different combinations you can get, so it's pretty much different every time you ride it. Another cool thing is that at the beginning of the ride, they take someone's picture at random and you become a rebel spy that Darth Vader and Storm Troopers are looking for. Our rebel spy was Jason, our nephew! It was so much fun to see his picture pop up! After that, some of the family spent some time hanging out in Tomorrowland and Jeremy and I went to explore some shops on Main Street as well as check out the new restaurant on Main Street, The Jolly Holiday Bakery. As we came back to meet up with the family, we saw Alyssa and Traven!

































I credit this action shot to my awesome husband.

So to backtrack a little, before we left, we decided to do the picnic lunch to see World of Color that night, which I very highly recommend. Because we had chosen to see World of Color on this night, we decided to go over to California Adventure and spend the rest of the day there. We fastpassed Soarin' and went over to do the new Little Mermaid ride which was spectacular! After that, we picked up our picnic lunches and World Of Color tickets. Most of us had the American meal consisting of fried chicken, cole slaw, potato salad and a slice of apple pie, as Jeremy and Mike, my brother in law, had the European Antipasto consisting of weird cheeses and raw bacon.

Should you ever do this meal, try to get the American picnic.

After lunch, we did Little Mermaid again and got some cotton candy for Traven.
















Little cheeser!

I believe after that, although my mind is fuzzy, that we eventually traveled on to the Hollywood portion of California Adventure where we did Muppets 3D, Monsters Inc, and The Tower of Terror. Again, Traven being the bravest kid I know, came along with us. Here's the picture we got-
















I love that our family took up the entire right side of the elevator! I think at this moment, Traven was asking his mom if the ride was over yet. He didn't entirely like it... In this picture, we all decided to look as scared as we possibly could.















In hanging out in California Adventure, of course we went on California Screamin'. The reason I post this picture is because it will be how I remember Braden, the one of the right, while he is gone for two years on his mission. Gosh, I'll miss that kid.

After that ride, we got pretzels. Jalapeno, cream cheese filled pretzels to be exact. I could go for one of those right now.

Somewhere in there we rode on the Mickey and Friends Fun Wheel. I do not like this ride. At all. There are few Disney rides that I will not go on, and this in one of them. Thankfully, we rode in a stationary car, but it still went much higher then I anticipated.

We ate at the new Pizza/Pasta place on the Boardwalk and then got ready to stand to wait for World Of Color as it started to rain. This is where we were standing for the show-















It was so beautiful and perfect. My only complaint is that once the show started, the wind kicked up and blew the mist screens so it was hard to see the images projected on them. Other then that, it was incredible!

After World of Color, we'd had a full day. Everyone decided to go back to the hotel, while Jeremy and I decided to stay for a while longer to check out ElecTRONica then walk back. I had only heard bits and pieces of what ElecTRONica was supposed to be, but you simply cannot describe it- you have to experience it for yourself and for both of us being big Tron nerds, it was great for us!

At a feeble attempt to describe it, it was a big dance party with live DJ's spinning and dancers. This was part of the set up-




















Don't mind my frizzy hair. It was really raining at this point.
















This was one of the DJ's and Zuse- who would interact with him and the crowd.

There was also a 5 minute trailer of Tron Legacy in 3D in the Muppet 3D theater with effects and all. That was also SO COOL!

Off to the right side and in the back, you could find this-




















And filled inside was a bunch of arcade games you could find in the 80's, along with this-

















We took our time to geek out and then decided to go back to the hotel. We stayed in the Red Lion, which was about a 15 minute walk from the park. Not too bad since we don't have kids and we both walk fast. We made it back, rubbed our sore feet and fell asleep quickly!

Things I learned from Sunday-

*Pop Tarts make a better continental breakfast then what the Red Lion offers.

* Meeting up with family in front of the Mickey flowers makes for the best way to start a morning!

*If your four year old nephew can ride of the scary Mickey and Friends Fun Wheel, I can, too.

*Pictures on rides are always more fun when you have a large group and you all do a similar pose.

*Unless you like raw bacon, don't get the European Antipasto meal for the picnic lunch for World of Color.

*There is never a long line for the Little Mermaid, so every chance you get, you should go on it!

*When Grandpa doesn't wear a Ford hat or a BYU hat, it's hard to find him in a crowd.

*Stationary gondolas on Mickey and Friends Fun Wheel go WAY higher then the scary, rolling gondolas. I prefer neither.

*World of Color is just as magical the first time as it is the second, and probably the hundredth.