The next day we didn't have to get up quite so early.
We decided to head to California Adventure which opened at 9am.
During the holidays, DCA has the "Festival of Holidays" running.
It's a park-wide event that celebrates holidays from all over the world.
There are special performances, parades and food booths showcasing different holiday foods from around the world.
As soon as we entered the gates, I purchased MaxPass for everyone and booked our first fastpass to Guardians of the Galaxy: Mission Breakout.
Our first thought was to get Soarin' Over the World out of the way....it's not a favorite of mine (the old version was WAY better).
But, the standby line was already too long.
So, we continued walking.
I'm not quite sure what it is with us and early morning water rides.
The last time we were at DCA and were trying to ride Grizzly River Run (a raft ride), the ride broke down and we had to leave the line to get to our lunch reservation. We never made it back to ride it.
Darn.
Said sarcastically, of course.
Well, the kids saw that there was nobody in line for this thing and decided to git er' done!
We rode it once as a family.
I got SOAKED.
I mean dripping wet.
Everyone else was pretty much unscathed.
When we got back to the unloading platform, there still wasn't anyone in line.
They asked if we wanted to go again.
The kids begged to go again.
I decided that since I was already drenched it couldn't get much worse.
So, we went again.
Huzbend escaped and snapped some photos of us on the ride.
I'm happy to say that I didn't get much wetter riding the second time.
Although, I don't see how it would've been possible to be wetter.
.
For the record, it took about a solid 10 to 11 hours for my pants to dry out.
No kidding.
Next stop was the Redwood Creek Challenge Trail.
It's an elaborate forest-themed play area for kids (and adults).
It was all decked out for the holidays and had a few special holiday activities, like visiting Santa.
Katie doesn't like bridges.
Especially ones you can see through.
Here you can see Huzbend ushering her across.
Tire zip-line = AWESOME!
As part of the holiday activities you could "find" Chip and Dale at a secret location.
Since we were there so early in the day, right after opening, the play area was deserted.
Chip and Dale were just wandering aimlessly in a back corner.
That is, until Mikey showed up.
What ensued was not only super cute, but also very special.
How many kids get one-on-one time with the Chipmunk twins?
Why, hello there, small human!
They really liked his hair.
Dale snuck up when Mikey was distracted by Chip.
Hello, there.
Time for a more formal picture.
Say, CHEESE!
Chip did that on purpose.
Dale was in hysterics.
A squishy hug from Dale.
Followed by an exploding fist bump.
We extricated the kids from the play area and made our way cross park to the GotG: Mission BREAKOUT ride.
The ride is housed in the Collectors Tower or what used to be the Hollywood Tower Hotel.
No more Tower of Terror.
Don't worry, the new ride uses the same droppy ride mechanics.
SO excited!
We had a fastpass, so we didn't have to wait in the hour long line.
We walked straight past the Collector himself, Taneleer Tivan...
...and into the fortress itself which is lined with his "collection" of species and artifacts from around the universe.
Mikey didn't even know where to start.
So much to see!
The Collector had added the Guardians to his collection.
Rocket was not too happy about that.
He broke out and recruited us Terrans (humans) to help him break out his pals.
This ride was WAY more bouncy, droppy and intense than the Tower of Terror.
There are several times that you are shot up and dropped so fast that things actually hover.
My purse hovered off my lap and our backpack lifted off the floor.
That being said, it is an awesomely fun ride.
You smile and laugh and scream the entire time.
Since we were already on a thrill-high, we just jumped right over to California Screamin'.
This is the kids favorite roller coaster.
When you sit next to Katie, she talks to you the entire time.
She gives a running commentary about what she likes about the ride, what's coming up next, about the scenery that's passing by....
We've ridden it so much we know where the ride camera is.
It was time to ride the ride in which I am the master!
Toy Story Midway Mania.
Huzbend has yet to beat me.
This time, we even rode together so he could access my skill.
I still beat him.
Midway Mania stopped a bunch of times while we were riding it.
One stop was, like, 10 minutes.
So, we got to play a big longer.
When the ride stops, you can't play for points anymore, but you can still "shoot" at the targets.
Because of the ride-stoppage, we cut it pretty close to our lunch reservation time and had to race walk to make our reservation.
We ate at the Carthay Circle restaurant.
A not-quite-as-fancy-as-Napa-Rose fancy restaurant.
Katie enjoyed a Shirley Temple.
I can't explain this.
At all.
The meal was super yummy.
I don't remember what we ate.
I know Mikey had pasta and Katie had beef.
And Katie ate herself two helpings of the gluten free bread basket.
While we were stopping for a bathroom break, Mikey saw a restaurant cast member open a secret door in the wall and disappear behind it.
He then tried to press on every other wall in the area to see if he could find another secret door.
Huzbend, who was in said bathroom, came out and thought Mikey was insane and insisted he stop.
Another thing on the kids To-Do list was to ride Mickey's Fun Wheel.
Sigh.
I have only been on this one time.
When I was pregnant with Katie on a surprise trip for my birthday.
Here is my reaction....
Ugh. Blech.
Note: They do have barf bags on board.
For those not familiar with Mickey's (not-so) Fun Wheel, it's a giant ferris wheel.
Some of the cars are static just like on a regular ferris wheel.
But, some of the cars are "swinging" cars.
They are on a track and when the wheel turns you slide along the rail.
Here's a video to give you an idea of the ride.
(No, you don't have to watch all 9 minutes of it!)
It starts off all innocent....
Everyone else had noooo problem with this ride.
They loved it.
Even took some cute selfies on it.
Not much has changed in 11 years for me.....
still a big UGH.
Although, I did have Mikey to help me through it.
I decided I needed a break after that last one.
We crossed another thing of the kids To-Do list by letting them pick out Mickey Mouse ears.
The kids decided to do the "Jumpin' Jellyfish" ride.
In their words, "Just like the Tower of Terror but really, really slow and for little kids."
I wonder what they talked about.
We crossed another thing of the kids To-Do list by letting them pick out Mickey Mouse ears.
The kids decided to do the "Jumpin' Jellyfish" ride.
In their words, "Just like the Tower of Terror but really, really slow and for little kids."
I wonder what they talked about.
Still digging the chill, we decided to do some crafts at the Festival of Holidays booths......
....and watch some performers.
It was getting close to our return time for Radiator Springs Racers.
We headed over to Cars Land.
We had some time to kill, so we got in line for the Photopass dude residing on Route 66.
First, a picture of the family together....
The photographer quickly noticed the ham in the Sorcerer Mickey ears.
So, even though there was a moderately sized line behind us, he asked the kids to pose together.
The proceeded to have a kung fun fight in the middle of Cars Land.
She couldn't keep a straight face for long.
Parents turn.
We got a little silly too.
After what felt like a 30 minute photo shoot, we moved on to "Luigi's Rollickin' Roadsters".
It's a really cute dancing car ride.
Beep. Beep.
Fastpass time was up!
Radiator Springs Racers
We got in line when it was light out and exited the ride right at dusk.
The lights were already on.
Time to find dinner.
Mikey and Huzbend got some food from the Festival of Holidays food booths.
Katie and I chose tacos.
After dinner, we searched around for our special treats of the evening.
I picked Yule Log.
Katie had some chocolate panna cotta (or maybe mousse?) thingie.
And Mikey had giant Mickey & Minnie Christmas cookies.
Huzbend tried some new fangled holiday-themed beer that he ended up not liking.
We had to rush, rush, rush over the California Screamin' for one last ride for the day.
We had promised the kids we'd do the ride in the day and at night.
Two completely different experiences, don't ya know.
It was time to wait for World of Color: Season of Light to begin.
I thought the section we sat in was not as great as the section we had last year.
Oh well.
The make it worse, the restaurant we ate at this time was more expensive for a more obstructed view.
Sigh.
The World of Color holiday show is a must see with a show-stopping section featuring Goofy.
It's amazing.
SPOILER ALERT!!!
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At the end, there are soap-bubble hearts that float up into the sky.
You can't help but smile when you see them.
They come out of boxes that are disguised as giant gifts so you can't see how they're made.
So pretty.
I really like World of Color.
On the way out, Katie and Mikey wanted to stop for a few more photos of them with the giant x-mas tree.
Do they look like they are ready to go back to the hotel to sleep?
I think not.
But, then, this is when the 20 minute walk back to the hotel comes in handy.
They're nice and tired when we eventually do roll in to the room.
