Our “California Adventure” a Road Trip to the West (Update: Day 17 - There and back again)

[whoever]

Wow.... GREAT TR!!!! I'm going to read your previous one now. LOVE The narration. Writing these is a great way to remember your vacations.. we regularly go back and re-read our's and it's like we are right there again. Keep it up!!! I really want to hit the WD museum in SF, the train barn, and Yosemite

 

[MarbleBob]

Nice update. I stink at quoting but back to my post, yes you DEF have to go the Railroad Museum in Old Sac next time you come through. It is really a good one and although I personally am not a huge train fan from the folks I know of that are they say it is one of the better ones. We also took a train trip through the forest in Mendocino similar to what you did in Santa Cruz. It is really beautiful and fun! You are right even though I was born and raised here I don't always appreciate it for various reasons esp the town we live in but I WILL admit this state has just about everything and even though we live here we try and see the sites as much as possible. You don't realize just how much cool stuff there is until you start exploring!! Loved your beach day and while I love the ocean and the beach I am not a big swimmer and get bored just sitting on the beach. My girls are both swimmers and love it but I just can't get into it. LOVE to look at it though and enjoy the beauty of it. Glad you guys had a fun day!!

OK. We'll definitely do the Railroad Museum in Sacramento next time!

Cool pictures of the pool/breakfast area at CCI. Glad the breakfast options worked out for you and the family.

What a great beach day. I've always driven past Newport Beach but never stopped. Looks like it is my loss! What a great beach to hang out.
Love Laguna. The tide pools are fun to look at.

You got some wonderful shots with the family. And I would have sooo voted to eat with you. Great Mex and In N Out. What else could be better?

Yeah, Newport is pretty cool. We did one of those "beach bus" tours back in 2010. Where they picked us up at the HOJO and they took us to Huntington Beach, Newport Beach, and Laguna Beach (as well as a few other sites.) We had such a great time at Newport Beach, that we knew the kids would love it. They have a ferris wheel and arcade games over on the Balboa side, we thought the kids would enjoy that too, but we just didn't have enough time.

Oh yeah, you're a kindred spirit, we would have loved to have you join us for the Great Mex and In-in-Out

What a great beach day!

CCI is sounding like a great option for a future trip. Can't go wrong with In-N-Out!

Jill in CO

Yes, I would totally go back to CCI again and recommend it to anyone looking to stay off property, but within walking distance.

Wow.... GREAT TR!!!! I'm going to read your previous one now. LOVE The narration. Writing these is a great way to remember your vacations.. we regularly go back and re-read our's and it's like we are right there again. Keep it up!!! I really want to hit the WD museum in SF, the train barn, and Yosemite

Thanks so much! I'm glad you are enjoying the TR so far.

 

[MarbleBob]

Day 12 - Tuesday, June 23 - California Adventure - Part 1

Yahoo, we finally made to our first day in the parks!!! I have a LOT of photos to share, so I’ll probably be breaking up the next few days into multiple posts each.

The plan for the day was to visit California Adventure with Nanny and Grandpa. Dave and Angie had decided that they only wanted to visit the parks on one day, as they aren’t the biggest Disney fans and this was their first visit to LA. So they went off on their own to tour Hollywood, Beverly Hills, Santa Monica Pier, etc. Sounds like they had a great day.

We chose to start with CA today, because today was early entry for DL, and we didn’t want to start the day with a disadvantage. Then tomorrow (Wednesday) we planned to hit Disneyland with the entire group (since CA had early entry.) And then on Thursday, my immediate family planned to start at Disneyland using our early entry day then.

So with that out of the way, let’s get started!

The park opened at 8am, so we wanted to arrive at the gates around 7:15 at the latest. Our goal was to follow the old “wide right” strategy and hit Radiator Springs Racers first.

We got up early and had breakfast at about 6:30am. Boy, the Candy Cane Inn sure is pleasant!

"Mmmm... donuts" (using my best Homer Simpson impersonation voice.)







It turns out that the hotel shuttle was scheduled start running at 7:00am, so that was perfect!





It’s like a three minute ride to the drop off point, short and sweet!

As a part of the Diamond Celebration, they have a sweepstakes every day where you text them the “Word of the Day". They text you back later in the day if you won. The prizes were things like a night in the dream suite (or whatever it’s called at DL, special parade/fireworks tickets, etc.) We never won, but we played along anyway. Today’s message was “Viewliner"



For some reason, I didn’t take any photos of the line, but we were able to get within 2 or 3 people of the turnstiles. Close enough that they pre-scanned our tickets before they started letting people in. We usually try to get to the parks early, and that’s always nice to get a pre-scan!

Once they opened the turnstiles, everyone headed into the park ("walk, people!") and they they had rope drops waiting up by Carthay Circle. Stephanie decided to grab all of our park tickets and get FastPasses for World of Color while we bee lined it for Radiator Springs Racers. (We knew that we’d ride the Cars ride a couple times today, and she’s ridden a few times before, so she didn’t mind missing out this time around.)

So Stephanie headed for through the Grizzly Peak area for World of Color FP’s...



While the rest of us lined up for the Cars Land rope drop.



We lost the great position that we started with because Nanny and Grandpa aren’t the fastest walkers, but we were still pretty close to the front.

And a couple minutes later, we were there!!!!



Grandpa isn't much of a thrill ride enthusiast, so we had to convince him that this was a fairly tame ride. He was skeptical, but went along with us anyway.

Nanny is a good sport and was excited to give it a try!



I bet there were only 20 or 30 people already in front of us, so it only took a couple minutes before it was our turn. That sure made the early start worth it!



OK Grandpa, let’s do this!!!!



This really is one of the coolest rides ever. The kids and I have all previously ridden it a few times, but this was a first for Nanny and Grandpa. Nanny loved it. Grandpa said that we “deceived him” and sort of gave us a hard time about it being more intense than we had lead him to believe. (But I know he secretly liked it, because he rode it again later that morning without hesitation!)

Despite having a good spot in line, we didn’t actually exit the ride until about 8:30. It’s amazing how quickly the first 30 minutes can go by! The plan was to meet Stephanie over at Mater’s Junk Yard Jamboree.

In the meantime, Stephane secured our WoC FP’s. We had pre-ordered a PhotoPass Plus, so she went and picked up the lanyard for that too. And snuck in our first Photopass photo



So yeah, we headed over to Tow Mater's







The theming in Cars Land is beyond amazing. This is as good as it gets! (Harry Potter land is pretty amazing, but I have a soft spot for all the Route 66 nostalgia.)

Stephanie was basically waiting for us when we made it over to the Junkyard Jamboree.



As it was still early, the line was pretty non-existent. We waited two or three minutes and it was our turn.





This is a fun ride too. Love the music!!

Oh yeah, I forgot, Stephanie had also grabbed FastPasses for the Anna and Elsa meet and greet. The return time was for around 9:30am, so we had about 45 minutes to burn before then. We decided to hit a couple rides in the It’s a Bug’s Life area on the way over to the Animation Building.

But first, we stopped for another PhotoPass opportunity.



We got a normal photo first, and then the photographer asked us to do a few silly poses...

I have no idea what this purpose of this pose was for



He didn’t have us say, “Ka-chow”, but at least I understood the relevance of this one!



Oh and one of just my family



After the photos, we stopped at Heimlich’s Chew Chew train. Such at stupid and awesome ride a the same time. LOL.

I love the bug lights in the queue





And here we go!

So what did you think?



I guess they liked it well enough.

Next up was Francis’ Ladybug Ride







I LOVE this ride. It’s just too cute!!!

Next up, we head over to meet Anna and Elsa.

 

[annegirl]

The beach day looks great. I love the ocean so much. You are definitely making me want to take a trip to California!
The last time I was at Disneyland there was not a CArs land yet. It looks like so much fun.

 

[annie170]

I've fallen a bit behind, but all caught up now.

I take it Downtown Disney at DL is smaller than at WDW? Are there a lot of the same stores?

Is it just me, or does that "Elsa Bear" at Build-a-Bear look like Marie? I feel your pain at that store. I don't know what it is that seems to take forever and you're just over it.

A friend stayed at the Grand Californian a few years ago and I just drooled over her photos. The Candy Cane Inn appears to be a good choice. I love places that have a continental breakfast, too.

I wish Magic Kingdom would get a Cars Land. The theming and rides just look so awesome.

 

[PrincessInOz]

Great start to your DCA day!
Looks like you really enjoyed CCI.

Poor Grandpa! LOL.
I've only been on Mater's Jamboree once. Everyone keeps talking about the music. I really can't say that I remember the music at all! I was too busy giggling on that ride.
I know that most thrill rides avoid Bugs Life but some of those rides are kinda cool....in a low stress kinda way.

Love the PP pictures as well. Great shots of the family.

 

[justafigment27]

Heimlech's Chew Chew train!!! Our one & only trip to DLR was in 2011 ... we must have rode that thing 5-6 times in a row b/c our youngest was such a fan. Cracks me up just thinking about it!

I am really enjoying all of your sunny, palm tree infused CA pictures!!!

 

[TheMaxRebo]

to say that is your favorite Lego store that is saying something so we will be sure to check it out. Mostly still into the Duplo trains but still the kids get a kick out of building the race cars and looking at the models (I might as well )

I'm with Buddy - there is only so much bear building a boy can take!!!!

Looks like fun at the beach ... though definitely glad to hear you approved of the loud music behind you! That is quite the view from the pier!

Gotta love a good salsa bar!

Laguna beach looks really cool - I like that it has a sandy beach area along with the more cove like area so kinda best of both worlds.

So how was the animal style burger?

Your morning spot for breakfast does sound nice

"Mmmm... donuts" (using my best Homer Simpson impersonation voice.)

Though, Buddy's pose makes me thing "My precious!" may have been a more apt quote

Glad that even with Granpa and Nana being a little slow you still got to RSR in good time and on relatively quick.

Man, I am going to have to research which FP are link and which ones aren't if Stephanie was able to get WOC and A&E ... are either of those link to RSR as well?

Those are some great family pictures by the Cars Land sign!

I love your description of the Chew Chew Train - stupid and amazing!

 

[MarbleBob]

The beach day looks great. I love the ocean so much. You are definitely making me want to take a trip to California!
The last time I was at Disneyland there was not a CArs land yet. It looks like so much fun.

Lots of fun indeed!!!

I've fallen a bit behind, but all caught up now.

I take it Downtown Disney at DL is smaller than at WDW? Are there a lot of the same stores?

Is it just me, or does that "Elsa Bear" at Build-a-Bear look like Marie? I feel your pain at that store. I don't know what it is that seems to take forever and you're just over it.

A friend stayed at the Grand Californian a few years ago and I just drooled over her photos. The Candy Cane Inn appears to be a good choice. I love places that have a continental breakfast, too.

I wish Magic Kingdom would get a Cars Land. The theming and rides just look so awesome.

It's hard to compare the two Downtown Disney's, but I'd say the DL one is indeed a bit smaller. It's more of a long strip, where the WDW is more sprawling. Although we've been to the WDW version countless times, we almost always visit the Marketplace side and ignore the West side. I don't recall the stores on the West Side, but I'd say that the stores are more different than alike. They both have their "World of Disney" and "Lego" stores, but many of the other shops are different. The restaurants are very different too. Off the top of my head, the only one that they share is Earl of Sandwich. At the end of the day, if I want to actually shop and/or eat, I think I prefer the WDW version. If I just want to go for a snack, window-shop, and enjoy the ambiance, the Disneyland version winds by a long shot in my book. It just feels more alive and festive!

It's funny, because the only other time we did a build a bear was at that same location nearly two years ago. Pickle made a white cat and called her Marie. (She was going to buy an "off the shelf" Marie from the World of Disney Store down the way, but she ultimately decided that she'd rather make one herself.) That being said, the Elsa doll sure does look like Marie

Great start to your DCA day!
Looks like you really enjoyed CCI.

Poor Grandpa! LOL.
I've only been on Mater's Jamboree once. Everyone keeps talking about the music. I really can't say that I remember the music at all! I was too busy giggling on that ride.
I know that most thrill rides avoid Bugs Life but some of those rides are kinda cool....in a low stress kinda way.

Love the PP pictures as well. Great shots of the family.

Yes, CCI was a hit! The Jamobree music sort of sounds like a country hoe down. Sort of a play off that one that says something about swinging you partner round and round.

Heimlech's Chew Chew train!!! Our one & only trip to DLR was in 2011 ... we must have rode that thing 5-6 times in a row b/c our youngest was such a fan. Cracks me up just thinking about it!

I am really enjoying all of your sunny, palm tree infused CA pictures!!!

Although I'm fairly bald, I think I would have have pulled any remaining hair out of my head if I had to ride it 5-6 times. You win parent of the year for 2011 for humoring your youngest on that one.

to say that is your favorite Lego store that is saying something so we will be sure to check it out. Mostly still into the Duplo trains but still the kids get a kick out of building the race cars and looking at the models (I might as well )

I'm with Buddy - there is only so much bear building a boy can take!!!!

Looks like fun at the beach ... though definitely glad to hear you approved of the loud music behind you! That is quite the view from the pier!

Gotta love a good salsa bar!

Laguna beach looks really cool - I like that it has a sandy beach area along with the more cove like area so kinda best of both worlds.

So how was the animal style burger?

Your morning spot for breakfast does sound nice



Though, Buddy's pose makes me thing "My precious!" may have been a more apt quote

Glad that even with Granpa and Nana being a little slow you still got to RSR in good time and on relatively quick.

Man, I am going to have to research which FP are link and which ones aren't if Stephanie was able to get WOC and A&E ... are either of those link to RSR as well?

Those are some great family pictures by the Cars Land sign!

I love your description of the Chew Chew Train - stupid and amazing!

We went through the Duplo train phase too. I think Buddy had every Thomas the Tank Engine train that they made back when he was little. I loved seeing the GoPro video that you made with Peter an his train. Watch out for that toe!

Animal style burger was terrific! It turns out that I'm going to take Princess and Buddy to Palm Springs in December to watch a skateboarding contest. We'll be flying into LAX and getting another Animal style burger is a must do!!!!

I'm 99% certain that Steph got A&E, WoC, and Radiator Racers all in one go, so A&E and WoC must both be disconnected from regular FP links. That being said, I'm 100% certain that WoC is disconnected from other FP's.

 

[MarbleBob]

Day 12 - Tuesday, June 23 - California Adventure - Part 2

I apologize for the slowdown in this TR. School is in full swing and we’ve been pretty busy lately. And of course, the weather has been amazing, so I’ve been spending less time in front of the computer too.

Anyway, I’m back for the next installment of our first day at California Adventure.

After visiting Bugs Land for a while, we were ready to head over to meet Anna and Elsa. I’m really not sure what to say about this… You can only see A&E with a FP. But the FP just gets you in a normal line. We still had to wait at least 30 minutes (maybe longer).



But you waited in a big room with a 360 degree projection on the walls. Every square inch of the walls had some sort of animation going, working together for a cohesive theme. They would basically play a song from a major animated movie, and then have video and photos going along with the music. Possibly one of the coolest queuing areas we’ve experienced. Despite waiting for such a long time, it was actually fun. Princess had a blast singing along with various songs.

Anyway, we eventually made our way back and it was our turn. Unfortunately, Anna and Olaf were absent, so we sort of missed out. But Pickle didn’t seem to mind. We didn’t mention it to her and she never said a word. She was stoked to meet Elsa anyway….

A family photo? Sure why not.



OK. Maybe I have a soft spot for Elsa too...



We had a while before we could redeem our Radiator Racers FP’s so we decided to make our way over to Grizzly River Rapids next.

Hey look, some scouts from Up!



We stopped by Carthay Circle for a few more Photopass photos.





Then we passed through the new Grizzly Peak area. They did a fantastic job with the recent re-theming. With our Yosemite visit fresh in our minds, they nailed the feeling and ambiance of a CA National Park. It was spot on. Great job Imagineers!!!





Nanny, the kids, and I all decided to ride the Grizzly River Rapids. Grandpa chillaxed outside the ride. And Stephanie went to explore.





The line went fairly quickly and we all had a great time. Unfortunately, Nanny lost the “Russian Roulette” game and came out soaked to the bone, while the rest of us were only moderately wet. Sorry Nanny!!!

So yeah, in them meantime, Steph explored the area a bit and took some more photos...



Even the trash cans are cool!











We found grandpa relaxing on a bench in front of the gift shop. Stephanie had grabbed a couple churros for the kids, anticipating that they’d be hungry and wanting a treat. Smart thinking Steph!!! There was a dude playing a guitar right there too. Which added to the ambiance and fun. He was pretty talented too!

So we relaxed for a little while, and decided to start making our way back to Cars Land.



And cool!!!! We stumbled upon our first photo spot celebrating the 60th. (there were several of these sprinkled around the parks.) Too much fun!

They had us do a bunch of different poses, but here are a couple...



Nanny!?!?!?!?



After we goofed around for a little while, we decided to get a move on...

 

[PrincessInOz]

Nice update! I always lose the Russian Roulette of water. It doesn't matter what ride....water loves me!

 

[kelmac284]

Nice update. I have to say we LOVE the animation bldg esp in the summer. Since we go to DL so often we have seen a lot of the stuff in places like the Animation bldg and Innoventions so now if we go in it is to escape the weather and relax. We love to go to the Grand every trip and take a load off and enjoy the ambiance, either the fire in the winter or the lobby in the summer. This is the same. We love all the clips and the music and if you are lucky enough to get a spot on one of the couches it is a great place for a little power nap LOL. Not sure if you explored the rest of the bldg but there is some cool stuff like the Animation Academy (learn how to draw a character) or Crush etc. Love the photo ops too. I guess they added some more and I wish they had had the Haunted Mansion one when we were there but we were there the beginning of June right after it started. But again nice update!!

 

[TheMaxRebo]

Sounds like an interesting set up for the meet & greet with A&E (or in your case, just the big E) ... at least the queue was interesting, but maybe they should call it "moderate pass" for that one

the Grizzly Peak area does look cool and neat to know they did do a good job of capturing the feeling of the real thing. Definitely want to get on the rapids ride at least once as Olivia loved Kali River Rapids and I've heard this one is better.

That is a coll PP spot with it looking like you all were in the bear mouth!

 

[MarbleBob]

Nice update! I always lose the Russian Roulette of water. It doesn't matter what ride....water loves me!

Thanks! I guess having water love you can both be good and bad, depending on how hot it is outside

Nice update. I have to say we LOVE the animation bldg esp in the summer. Since we go to DL so often we have seen a lot of the stuff in places like the Animation bldg and Innoventions so now if we go in it is to escape the weather and relax. We love to go to the Grand every trip and take a load off and enjoy the ambiance, either the fire in the winter or the lobby in the summer. This is the same. We love all the clips and the music and if you are lucky enough to get a spot on one of the couches it is a great place for a little power nap LOL. Not sure if you explored the rest of the bldg but there is some cool stuff like the Animation Academy (learn how to draw a character) or Crush etc. Love the photo ops too. I guess they added some more and I wish they had had the Haunted Mansion one when we were there but we were there the beginning of June right after it started. But again nice update!!

We didn't explore the rest of the building this time around, but we've done it (and the animation academy) before. You are totally right about it being a nice/fun place to relax for a while!

Sounds like an interesting set up for the meet & greet with A&E (or in your case, just the big E) ... at least the queue was interesting, but maybe they should call it "moderate pass" for that one

the Grizzly Peak area does look cool and neat to know they did do a good job of capturing the feeling of the real thing. Definitely want to get on the rapids ride at least once as Olivia loved Kali River Rapids and I've heard this one is better.

That is a coll PP spot with it looking like you all were in the bear mouth!

"moderate pass" I love it!!!! Yeah, we like this better than Kali River too

 

[MarbleBob]

Day 12 - Tuesday, June 23 - California Adventure - Part 3

So yeah, after a few wilderness adventures, it was time to head back over to Radiator Springs Racers for our next FP's. We headed out towards the boardwalk area and hung a left.



And then a little later, another right and we were back in Carsland.



Cool, another Photopass photographer. Let’s grab a few!







You might notice that Pickle wasn’t in any of these pictures. For some reason, she was “over it” for the time being and refused to join in. No worries, we’re on vacation! We'll go with the flow...

Since Stephanie’s parents aren’t quite as much into it as we are, we didn’t really explore the area too thoroughly. (Like checking out the Cozy Cone’s and Flo’s.) And no worries, because this was our third visit in the last five years, and we’ve explored pretty much every nook and cranny of this area in the past. So yeah, we got our photos and pretty much walked straight to the ride...





Pretty awesome, none the less.



And we’re back!!



Yup!



The theming in this area is beyond amazing!!!




Hey, it’s Radiator Spring!





So yeah, even with FP, the line took a little while. But relatively speaking, it was still pretty fast compared to that 70 minute wait for stand by!



Since Stephanie stayed back for FP’s earlier that morning, it made sense for me to stay back and ride by myself. No worries, I was able to grab a couple photos as they departed.

Another successful ride!!! I think Grandpa actually liked it this time around! Princess clearly did!



And of course, I had fun too!



Next up was FP’s for Soarin’. Love the new theming of this area. So good!







So yeah, the ride was exactly the same as before. But the screen was indeed clean, crisp, and fresh. Nice! (Oh, and it's always awesome to be in the top/middle row. No feet dangling above you!!!)



This is one of my all time favorite Disney rides, either here or at EPCOT. So cool! And it was fun to think that we had seen most of the spots on the video during our own California Adventure. Except for the Palm Springs golf course…

But wait, we’re going to have an addendum to our adventure…

I’m taking Buddy and Princess to a skateboard contest in Palm Springs this December. So we’ll be able to check that one of the list soon too!!!!

After riding Soarin’ the group was getting hungry, so we decided to head over to the Wharf area. Stephanie, Princess, and Grandpa had sandwiches and salads from the Boudin bakery, and then Nanny, Buddy, Pickle and me had the Chinese food. We’ve eaten at the bakery and the Mexican restaurants here a couple times before, but this was a first for the Chinese restaurant. I was pretty excited to try something new!







The menu!



And the food!



I had the Teriyaki beef. It was actually darn good!



Buddy had the Teriyaki chicken (on the right)



And Pickle got the kids chicken and rice (with mandarin oranges)



We all thouroughly enjoyed our meals!

And then from the bakery, Princess had a turkey sandwich



And Stephanie had a chicken salad in a bread bowl.



Steph said it was good. Not as good as the Boudine’s back in Vacaville, but she still enjoyed it. And to be honest, I have no idea what Nanny and Grandpa had. He probably had a turkey sandwich too, and I think maybe Nanny had the teriyaki chicken.

All in all, it was a pleasant lunch and it was good to relax in the shade for a little while.

 

[kelmac284]

Love the pics of you all on Cars. Esp your youngest and the lady sitting next to you LOL. They didn't look like they were enjoying it LOL. The food looks great and I have to say I have not eaten at the chinese place but that looks pretty tasty. Think I will have to try that next time. We love the area with the pizza/greek food so usually eat there and last time tried the new and improved taste pilots.

 

[TheMaxRebo]

Loving the animated gifs and also the still of Princess enjoying the ride!

That is pretty cool knowing you've seen most of the scenes in Soarin' in real life. (And smelled in real life too)

Food looks good - that looks like a lot of chicken salad!

 

[PrincessInOz]

Shame that Pickles was taking some 'time out' that morning. I hope she bounced back quick!
Great gif!
Your Chinese meals look delicious. Glad everyone enjoyed themselves.

 

[annie170]

I've never given DL serious consideration with how often I've been to DW. Your trip report has me totally rethinking this. The theming there is amazing!

Those are some really cute photo pass pictures. I remember those times when one kid was just "over it." Not much you can do, but she'll probably regret not being in the photos when she's older.

Which ending did you get in Radiator Springs Racers. I know there are two different ones and my daughter and son-in-law kept getting the same one after four rides.

Soarin' is my favorite ride in all of DW. Front row?! Score! Very cool that you've been to most of the locations.

That Chinese food looked very tasty.

 

[annegirl]

That theming is fantastic. I really love the photo op with you guys in the grizzly mouth. Looks really cool.