The Adventure Continues

The next day we went to California Adventure. Thank goodness for military discount and park hopper. Hubby's parents joined us this time. We had never been, so as much as I wanted to go back, back, back to Disneyland, hubby really, really, really wanted to go to California Adventure. He is a "very big ride" kind of guy. We figured we could knock out California Adventure for half a day and then head back over to Disneyland for the rest of the day. That didn't really happen, being that we didn't actually leave California Adventure until 9 pm, have dinner (yes, at 9 pm--vacation) and then head back over to Disneyland at 9:45 pm. Yes...totally unheard of, but you know, we're on vacation and our bedtime is officially Midnight.

The people at Disney are so clever and creative! I loved the Hollywood Backlot/beachy vibe going on (loved The Beach Boys playing in the back ground). They had a great kiddo area in "in a bug's land" with a much needed water area to cool off (and get over motion sickness). And I think they had a hotel over in the "Golden State" area that if you were staying there, you could actually enter California Adventure straight from the hotel. It appeared that way anyway. I was making mental notes everywhere. It was pretty cool. There were no tears. The girls were ready to ride. Still, the little rides, but they were ready to roll. Again, probably had a lot to do with the fact that they could see most of the rides, before riding. There favorite was Mulholland Madness--a mini-coaster that the girls were able to get grandma and grandpa on (grandma does not do roller coasters of any type, so it was small victory to get her on). The girls loved the fact that their grandpa, "screamed like a little girl"!

We all went on the very huge, Ferris wheel. It was funny, because they had two lines for it. The line if you wanted your car to swing, or the line if you did not want your car to swing. We chose that line. Which was absolutely no waiting. We just walked right up and in. There was at least a 15 minute wait for the other line. We. are. so. cool. aren't we? It was very, very, very high. It was a good long ride around...twice. It was very high.

I am a roller coaster girl. I've always been. As long as it doesn't go backwards or upside down too many times, I'm good. So hubby, grandpa and I went on California Screamin'--a very high speed roller coaster (to put it lightly). I watched it very closely. It had one loop. I noticed how fast you went through it, and was pretty sure I could handle it. Usually, I choose no loops, but the rest of the ride looked amazing. And it was huge. No rinky dink ride here. Huge. So we went on it. I rode with grandpa (who yes, "screamed like a little girl"). And two seconds into the ride, I realized I needed to get off immediately. The speed of it just shooting out of the loading area, did it for me. We hadn't even started the ride and I was feeling a little um...green. Itwassofast. Soveryveryfast. I didn't scream. I didn't move. I prayed. That's what I did. I prayed that I wouldn't throw up on hubby's dad (who was having the time of his life, oblivious to the fact that I was about to hurl). It was the longest ride ever. Somehow (I think it was all the praying), I made it off without losing my breakfast. Hubby and grandpa were high-five-ing all over the place and running to get back in line and do it again. It was all I could do to make it back to grandma and the girls. "Momma don't feel so good." I didn't get sick, but I was kind of wishing I would just to get it over with. I was a mess for a good couple of hours. I couldn't even look at that coaster. Just hearing it gave me a wave of nausea. And that just totally stinks when you're feeling that way and the rest of the crew totally isn't. I just had to suck it up (literally). Apparently I am not the roller coaster girl I thought I was.

I am a California Soarin' kind of girl though. We all loved this ride. This was a favorite amongst us all. It's kind of simulated to feel like you are hang gliding (though you are basically seat belted into a row of seats, watching a movie) over California. It starts out in the clouds and the next thing you know, your this close to dipping your feet into a lake, or brushing them across the tops of pine trees. You can feel the spray from ocean waves hitting against cliffs. And it was scented. As you soared, you could smell the orange groves, the pine trees, the salty ocean. It was so...nice. My girls loved it. We did that one more than once (motion-sickness and all). It was too good.

I just remembered. We did have the tears. For just a minute though. We watched "It's Tough to be a Bug!" in "a bug's land". It's a funny 3-D show. You know where the stink bug does his thing and it smells very um...stinky. And they go to spray bug spray on you and it really looks and feels like you're getting sprayed with bug spray. Spiders dropping from the ceiling. Your seat really does feel like an army of beetles or cockroaches are crawling underneath and behind you. Yeah. It was awesome. Scared the you-know-what out of my oldest. She wept. It was a really good show though. I swear. You must see it. Your kiddos will love it.

Another big one was The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror. You know I wasn't going on it, but hubby and grandpa did. It's basically a 13 story elevator ride that goes horribly wrong. You get to the top and the doors open and you are looking out over the park, from thirteen stories high, and then it just drops. I really wanted to go on it. But I'm a big old ride baby now. Hubby and grandpa loved it. Loved it. That is so the point. We had some friends go to California Adventure a couple months ago and this was their daughter's favorite ride. She's five. Yeah.

You need a break. I can tell. While you stretch, unload the dishwasher and get snacks, feek free to enjoy a couple pics.