California Spring Fling, 2001 - Day 4 About This Page:

[Little Mermaid]

Cast of characters: Same as yesterday! [img]images/icons/wink.gif[/img]

Today was supposed to be a laid-back, go with the flow day at Disneyland Park, but it didn't turn out that way.

We woke up about 5 a.m. (the time change is killing us) when Mark came over from the bed he was sharing with Stephanie and into ours. Three in a queen bed was a bit too snug for comfort, so I played musical beds and lay down next to Stephanie in her bed. I'm not sure why I thought I'd be able to actually go back to sleep! As I lay there thinking about the wonderful vacation we were having, visions of Disney's California Adventure popped into my head. Well, they had actually BEEN in my head for quite awhile, but we had decided to forgo DCA because we had heard it didn't hold much appeal for younger children. And, since we didn't have hopper passes, we didn't want to sacrifice a precious day of our (already too short) 4-day passes on a park that might not get a "4 thumbs up" from Mark and Stephanie. But, I couldn't help but feel a little guilty and a little unsure if we had made the right decision. We had come all the way to California, and were literally steps away from the entrance (and a interesting and inviting entrance it is), and we weren't going to go in. I felt like a kid who was made to wait outside the toy store, while everyone else went in. We had a spectacular first day at Disneyland Park yesterday, and the kids were eagerly anticipating a return there today for ride-mania. But, had we made the right decision?

I broached the idea of changing our park plans for the day, and Greg readily agreed (whew!). While I knew Mark was looking forward to going back to Disneyland Park, I also knew he'd be happy to go wherever mommy wanted him to go (I love that child!). Two down, one to go. Unfortunately, the "one to go" was NOT a happy camper when I told her that we would be forgoing Disneyland Park that day in favor of California Adventure. In fact, I believe her exact words were, "I don't WANT to go to that park…there's NOTHING for kids to do there" (said between tears and in a rather loud and high pitched voice ). Hmmm…what do do, what to do. I decided to invoke the "Because I'm the mommy that's why" rule, and promised her that if all else failed, she'd at least have another souvenir purchase to look forward to (I know her weak points all too well [img]images/icons/wink.gif[/img] ).

We were up and out of the room by 7 a.m., and were greeted by a beautiful Southern California day. The weather was so nice that we ate our continental breakfast out by the pool, and then made the short walk down Harbor to California Adventure. Not only had Stephanie's attitude improved considerably, but also she was so excited that she pushed Mark's stroller all the way to the park, all by herself (she only outweighs him by 10 lbs. or so )! We arrived at the DCA gates about 10 minutes before the scheduled opening time, but unlike Disneyland Park, the gates were not open early.

As soon as we passed through the turnstiles, I knew I was going to love California Adventure. The theming, while a bit on the hokey side, is wonderful. Everything was so pretty, colorful, clean and "new"…even Greg was impressed. Beach Boys music was blaring out from the loudspeakers just inside the turnstiles, and I set a new record for how early in the day I could embarrass my family. "Mom, please, you don't have to dance and sing…really, Mom…stop…you're embarrassing me".

As we entered Sunshine Plaza, I remarked to Greg that it was a shame that so few people were in the park. It was really sort of sad…there was nobody there! Oh wait…there IS someone there. Two someone's actually…two VERY IMPORTANT someone's…. Mickey and Minnie! There they stood, all alone, with nary a pushing, shoving guest in sight! Hot dang! We made a beeline for them, and Mark was in Minnie heaven. Mickey got a perfunctory hug from Mark, but Mark took Minnie by storm. He was so excited. After the debacle of some of the character meets and greets at DL Park the day before, this was EXACTLY what we needed-a private audience with Mickey and Minnie. Mark didn't want to let Minnie go. I had tears in my eyes when I saw how happy he was. Even if it turned out that nothing else appealed to the kids today, THIS moment was worth an entire day's pass.

After meeting Mickey and Minnie, we headed for the Hollywood Backlot to see "Muppet Vision 3D". But, we were sidetracked by some very unusual "characters" we found sitting on some of the concrete benches and statues in Sunshine Plaza. I don't know what their official name is, but we call them "Flubber". The people who portray these characters are encased head to toe in stretchy fabric…you can make out heads and arms, but that's about it. Mark's eyes were still glazed over from his meeting with Minnie , but Stephanie was actually frightened of them at first. But, Flubbers are very friendly, and she warmed up to them in no time.

After our character encounters, we headed to the Hollywood Backlot to catch the first showing of the day of "Muppet Vision 3-D". We walked through a cute queue area (both inside and outside), and were surprised to see only one other family besides us. The CM who gave the pre-show spiel about entering the theater and moving all the way down caught himself in mid-sentence and started laughing. He then told us to just sit wherever we wanted! The show is the same as the one shown at WDW (We surrender, we surrender), and we enjoyed it very much. Superstar Limo was next on our list. I've heard a lot of bad press about this ride, but the kids enjoyed it. It is a bit on the hokey side, but I enjoyed seeing the caricatures of the celebrities. Mark called it "the truck ride", and asked to go on it again several times throughout the day.

We left the Hollywood Backlot and headed back towards Sunshine Plaza. We were pretty tired from our 11-hour day at DL Park the day before, so we decided to take a laid-back approach to DCA. We did a bit of shopping at the "Greetings from California" store and "Engine Ears Toys", and took a snack break at the tables outside Bur-r-r Bank Ice Cream.

We then headed for the Condor Flats in the Golden State area to experience "Soarin Over California". I had heard and read MANY good things about this attraction. In fact, some had said it was the ONLY attraction at DCA worth the admission price. As much as I love all things Disney, it takes a LOT to impress me when it comes to rides and attractions. I'm here to say that "Soarin' Over California" is, to quote an old saying, "All that and a bag of chips". It was GREAT! Stephanie had originally balked at riding (she's afraid of heights), but we politely insisted that she give it a chance, and she LOVED it. It is truly awesome. Words can't describe it. When the ride was over, Mark jumped off his seat, and said, "That was a NEAT ride". Truer words were never spoken. In fact, that ride is what planted the seed for our two week trip to California in the summer of 2002 (my husband's idea…can you believe it?). We made a quick stop in the "Fly n Buy" gift shop and Greg purchased a very nice DCA cap, and Mark laid claim to a Tootsie roll-filled plastic airplane. Stephanie played the discerning tourist, and left empty handed (shock of shocks!).

We walked towards Grizzly River Run, but noticed that a lot of the people coming off that ride looked AWFULLY wet! We decided that if we were to ride it, it would be at end of the day, as we didn't care to walk around looking like drenched rats. Stephanie steered us into the Rushin' River Outfitters shop, where she selected a cute stuffed bear as her official DCA souvenir. This bear is really cute…his pawprints are in the shape of Mickey Ears. I thought it was very reasonable too, as it was only $10.

Our next stop was the Redwood Creek Challenge Trail. The kids enjoyed Hibernation Hollow (complete with bear sounds), the Ranger Tower, the tree slide, the rock slide, and a rope bridge. We spent about 45 minutes here, but the kids could have easily stayed another hour. We later heard that Chip and Dale can usually be found in this area, but they were nowhere to be seen. Next to Minnie, they are Mark's favorite characters. But unlike WDW, they aren't as visible at Disneyland, and we had a tough time finding them on this trip.

Paradise Pier loomed in the distance, and we made our way over there, stopping to admire the view across the lake. I'll say it again…this park is GORGEOUS. We ate lunch first at Burger Invasion, which is just another name for McDonald's. The lines were hideously long (there are very few counter service food establishments at DCA), and it took forever to get our food. We each had a Happy Meal, supplemented by Chef Salads for Greg and I. The food was surprisingly good (or perhaps it's because we were starving?) After lunch, we decided to check out the rides in Paradise Pier. The Golden Zephyr wasn't running because of high winds (or so they say), but Greg and Mark rode Mulholland Madness and Jumpin' Jellyfish (Stephanie chose not to ride, so I stayed with her). The Orange Stinger sounded like it would be a fun ride (according to the Birnbaum book), but once I saw it, I knew it wasn't a ride for children…not MY children anyway. The guidebook said that you rode in enclosed "bees", but we saw no bees. It was, in essence, a swing-type ride, where you are sitting in individual seats suspended from chains. There was no way in heck I would let Mark ride on that (even though he did meet the height requirement). And Stephanie quickly proclaimed, "No how, no way". Mark was a little disappointed, as he kept asking to "Go ride the orange", but we managed to convince him it wasn't safe (at least not for him). Greg and Mark rode the Sun Wheel (again Stephanie was a "no how, no way", so I sat out with her…truth be told, I was happy to ), and we finished our Paradise Pier tour with a turn on King Triton's Carousel (very cool).

After Paradise Pier, we headed for Bountiful Valley Farm. We stopped at a picnic table for a cold drink, and then headed for "It's Tough to Be a Bug". This is our favorite 3-D movie at WDW, and it didn't disappoint us at DCA. I've heard that some children find this show too intense, but Stephanie and Mark LOVE it. So do I! Other than ITTBAB, the Bountiful Valley Farm area was actually pretty boring. We went over to the Pacific Wharf area to see the Mission Tortilla Factory and Boudin Bakery. We were less than impressed with the tours, but enjoyed some tasty samples from the tortilla factor. The bread factory was NOT giving out samples (boo…hiss), but was MORE than willing to sell you a Mickey shaped loaf of bread for $7!

Mark had been asking for "the truck ride" (aka Superstar Limo), so we left Pacific Wharf and headed to the Hollywood Backlot again. Passing through Sunshine Plaza, we spotted Minnie (girl of Mark's dreams) and Donald Duck. Mark was thrilled to see Minnie again, and she was equally thrilled to see him. They spent quite a bit of time hugging, and then Mark reluctantly moved on to Donald. Mark apparently knows that Donald is a bit of a grouch, and before we could stop him, he gave him a whack on the bill! I was mortified! I pulled Mark aside, and proceeded to give him a stern lecture about NOT hitting the characters. The next thing I knew, Minnie appeared at my side, and gave my arm a squeeze. She took Mark by the hand, and led him to a nearby bench, where she held him in her lap and hugged him. I was almost in tears again. As we got up to leave, I looked back at Minnie one more time. She pointed to Mark, put her hands up to her heart, and waved. I couldn't hold back the tears any longer. She knew Mark was a special little boy.

We took one last turn on Superstar Limo, and then decided to check out Disney Animation. Hindsight is 20-20, and we should have visited this attraction first thing in the morning, as it was PACKED by late afternoon. This isn't the type of attraction that Mark does well in, and it was so crowded that Stephanie didn't have a chance to really do anything. But, as we left the building, we were surprised to see Mulan signing autographs. Stephanie got her picture taken with Mulan, so that eased some of the disappointment over the too-crowded Animation attraction. We saw Esmerelda further down the street, but by the time we finished posing with Mulan, she was gone.

We headed back to Condor Flats for another ride on Soarin' over California. The second time was every bit as good as the first. We sat in the second row again, although we all decided the experience could only be better if we could snag first row seats (then you wouldn't see anyone's feet dangling down in front of you). As we exited the ride, we threw caution to the wind and decided to go for a third time. This time, we were in the third row, which is still nice, but not nearly as good. The higher up you are the better. Nevertheless, Soarin' Over California rates as one of the Top 5 attractions at any Disney park, IMHO.

Mark wanted one last ride on Mulholland Madness and Jumpin' Jellyfish, so Greg took him back to Paradise Pier. Stephanie and I headed back to Redwood Creek Challenge Trail to get a bit more video, and we all met up near the Golden Zephyr (still grounded due to high winds).

Tummies were growling for supper at this point. Mark spied a popcorn cart and asked for a pre-supper snack. I wasn't thrilled about him eating popcorn right before supper. But, what the heck, it's vacation. We must've been hungrier than I thought, because that popcorn didn't last long between the four of us! Reaching the bottom of the bucket, one last kernel remained. Stephanie pulled it out, and to our surprise, we found a piece of popcorn in the shape of a Mickey head! None of us could bear the thought of eating it, so we carried it gingerly back to the hotel. Miracle of miracles, it survived the trip from California to Minnesota, and is sitting in a dish in my kitchen as we speak. I think I should shellac it!

We ate supper at the Taste Pilots Grill in Condor Flats. It is typical counter-service, but the onion rings were very good. We had planned to do Grizzly River Run after dinner, as well as one last showing of ITTBAB, but sore feet and fatigue won out. It was also getting a bit chilly, so we decided to call it a day, and head back to the hotel.

When we returned to the hotel, we gave the kids VERY quick baths, and they fell asleep almost instantly afterwards. Greg and I were both worn out, and my feet were VERY sore. But, it was a wonderful day at California Adventure, and we were VERY glad we made the decision to check it out. Stephanie said more than once during the day that she was embarrassed that she had made such a fuss that morning about going to DCA, because she LOVED it. In fact, we could have easily spent a second day there. But, with only two days left on our passes, we felt it only fair to the kids to use those days for Disneyland Park, where they could ride rides to their hearts content.

Coming Next - Day 5 - Ride-mania at Disneyland Park

[ 12-30-2002, 12:08 AM: Message edited by: Little Mermaid ]