Disneyland was open until midnight and although we stayed nearly until then, it was impossible to get to every ride. We sadly had to pass on the Haunted Mansion (the one I was so excited about) the line was never less than a 2 hour wait and Fast Pass was not an option:( We also opted out of some like Jungle Cruise, Train, Dumbo and Small World (I know it almost seems sacreligious, but we had to be selective)
Emmrey was such a trooper and she rode everything that she was tall enough for with a couple of exceptions. Mark and I were talking about how this would never have happened with our other 2 girls at this age....so we were very fortunate and it made the trip so much more enjoyable:) She even rode Splash Mountain. I don't think she particularly liked it and she said she would not ride it again....but at least we all did it together!
Indiana Jones was one of our favorites (along with Pirates of the Caribbean). This was one that Emmrey was not tall enough for, so we did the Ride Swap on that one...AND we used a Fast Pass......this made all the difference!!
It was impossible to get a picture in front of the princess castle without a thousand other people being a part of it. This is the best we could do.
The character visibility was a bit disappointing. It was sparse to begin with and then when they were spotted, it was a huge line just to get a picture. Thus Pluto was the only character photo we got this time:( I felt bad that Emm didn't get to take pictures with the princesses, but she did get to see them in the parade.
We spent a lot of our time waiting in lines.....more than I care to remember.
And then "flying" through the ride!!
When we finally realized the line for Matterhorn was not going down, Mark took Bailee and Karsyn and waited (what ended up being )one and a half hours....yikes! While they spent their night in line, Emmrey and I rode some other milder rides and she also used some of her Disney Dollars to buy this little cutie......Her new baby Tiana ....oh my goodness another one to take care of :) She was just giddy with excitement to show her sisters.
The park was all decked out for the holidays ....so festive! Although it was a little strange to be walking around in 65 degree weather, sun shining, palm trees swaying and Christmas music playing?
We had the best time and I just loved experiencing it this time around with our girls....magical!!
Part 2
The next morning we were all a little sluggish, but we headed out for yet another day at Disney. This time at California Adventure which was a first for all of us.
Once again Emmrey was a good sport and at least tried most of the rides that she could. We all went on the Grizzly River Run together and got SOAKED. Good thing we did this early on when it was warm and we dried fairly quick:) It was a little rougher than I had anticipated, and Emmrey was not thrilled about getting wet. (This was before the ride started)
We made it up to her by allowing her to choose the next few rides, which included Little Mermaid, Jumpin' Jellyfish and the Golden Zephyr....
After Bailee and I waited in line for an hour to ride California Screamin', we decided that Mark and Karsyn definitely needed to try it out. Karsyn was not interested and so Bailee was more than happy to accommodate her dad for a second time. While they were screamin' we spent some time playin' in A Bugs Land.
Then we all met up for a viewing of "It's Tough to be a Bug"...
The girls turned into Toy Story Action figures for a brief moment....
Hollywood Picture Backlot didn't have too much that we were interested in doing, but the atmosphere was great and we did watch the Aladdin Show which was fantastic!
We had a great second day and the crowds were a bit more manageable, although still crazy!! We made it on almost everything at California Adventure. We missed Toy Story Mania....because well, it was MANIA, and sadly Bailee did not get her turn in the Tower of Terror:( They "ran out" of Fast Passes (one of my gripes) and the line was still 2 hours long. I had no intention of revisiting this ride....(I am still recovering from Disney World six years ago), and although Mark and Bailee really wanted to terrorize themselves, the line was just too monsterous!! Maybe next time!! Our favorite by far was Soarin' Over California which we went on twice and California Screamin' (at least for the 3 of us)....the best roller coaster we have been on in a while!! All too soon it was time to catch the tram back to the parking and call it a day ...we were exhausted!
Farewell dear Disney....we hope to see you again someday!!!
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