California love {day 5}...

Day two of Disney fun... another beautiful day in the Magic Kingdom. Seriously, we could not have ordered more perfect weather. We didn't kill ourselves to get out the door this morning, but were still at the park shortly after it opened. We planned to spend most of the day at California Adventure, but since it opens later than Disneyland we headed there first to get in a few Fantasy Land rides. 

Highlights from our second day include:

• Short lines, few crowds, lots of fun. 

• Riding the second boat of the morning at Storybook Land.

• We happened to be standing in the middle of Fantasy Land thinking about what to do next when they opened Dumbo for the morning. Of course we all hopped right on! Before our elephants took flight the line wrapped in, out and through the chains... a 1/2 hour long wait. Perfect timing for us!

After Dumbo we headed across to California Adventure. 

• The new Little Mermaid ride at CAA. It was nothing super special, but the girls really enjoyed it. 

• Grizzly run! We did this twice in a row figuring we were already wet so we might as well ride again. Grace loved it. We were all soaked. Thankfully the sun dried us off quickly. 

• A Bug's Land - lots of neat rides for little ones. The bumper cars were the only thing Claire couldn't ride. She stood outside with Scott and me saying "I'm not yittle anymore. I can do it now. I taked a good nap and growed big enough."

• The painful look I get from my girls when I ask them to pose for a picture. 

• More fun with cousins.

• Tower of Terror. The look on my face isn't fake. I have a complete love/hate relationship with this ride. I got nervous knots in my stomach before each time... yet I kept returning for more punishment. Gracie, on the other hand, squealed with delight and never stopped smiling. Her facial expression isn't fake either. I think at the end of our trip Grace's Tower of Terror tally was 7 death defying falls in all. 

 

• California Adventure - just in general. We loved it. Though we visited this park on our last long trip to Disneyland, Grace and Merrick were very sick and I was newly pregnant. None of us really did much or remember much about the park. I was very much looking forward to riding the big roller coasters, watching the girls discover new rides, and just checking out the park. It did not disappoint!

 

• Wilderness adventure area - it was like an outdoor Safari Sam's. Lots of swings, slides, rock walls, net ladders, etc. It was a good area for the kids to run and play and not have to wait in lines. 

 

 

• Family time - definitely a highlight!

 

 

• Midway Mania - the Toy Story target game. We missed this one last time, but it was a Diefen-favorite. We ended up waiting longer for this ride than anything else, and it was well worth it... all four times!

 

 

 

• Happy, silly, kids - another bonus of multiple days in Disneyland. 

 

 

• Mickey's Fun Wheel The Wheel of Death. I can say with much certainty that I have never been more scared in my entire life. Grace was panicking (because she was worried about me freaking out), Merrick had tears streaming down his face (because he was laughing uncontrollably at me) and Claire was clueless and trying to climb the walls, rock the cart, and squeeze out the door. I couldn't even manage to take more pictures than this because I was too busy holding on for dear life, screaming my head off, and begging to get out of the horrid cage. 

 

• The park at night - it was really beautiful.

 

 

Other highlights that don't have pictures are:

• The silly symphony swings (times 100).
• Goofy's Sky School - a little roller coaster that has just enough drops and turns to keep you on your toes.
• California Screamin' - a great roller coaster. I wish Grace was a little taller... she would have loved it. 
• Soaring over California - a nice and relaxing ride that flies you over the whole state. It is pretty and fun.

We could have lasted a while longer, but a few special people were waiting to meet us for dinner. We met Gary and Margaret at their hotel - another big surprise for the Diefenkiddos - and all headed to In N' Out for dinner before going our separate ways.