Disneyland, 2014 - Day 2

Daylight Savings seems to be a huge inconvenience for many people, but for us it’s a giver of gifts. Today, it gave us an extra hour of sleep and it gets the credit for all of us being up early for our Extra Magic Hour in California Adventure at 7:00 before the park opens to the public. At 6:45, we lined up at the private entrance to the park and when the gates opened we headed straight for Cars Land to ride Radiator Springs Racers. During the busiest part of the day, the wait for that ride can be over two hours long and we’re just not willing to wait that long for anything. Because we're Americans.

We stopped at Flo’s V8 Café for breakfast. If you've seen Cars then you know this is the gas station in Radiator Springs. Disney has created an incredible real-life replica and we sat outside, next to the gas tanks and fueled up for the day (do you see what I did there?).

The kids finished eating before Chad and I so they took off for The Tower of Terror. The two of us sipped our coffee, and wandered through Cars Land just as slowly as we wanted. We made our way down to Hollywood Land and ended up at the Animation Academy where we found an exhibit that absolutely fascinated us: A zoetrope. Now, if I were telling you about this in person, you might do what most of us do and go, “oh, uh huh?” pretending that you know what a zoetrope is. But it’s okay to not know things. I found this definition of it since I still don’t know how to describe it: “A zoetrope is a device that flashes a series of still images to produce the illusion of motion.” It blew my mind hole wide open. Click here to watch the video of how it works. Remember, the camera takes away a little bit of the awesomeness.

After we collected the kids and were ready to leave, we walked to Disneyland and the kids took off on their own. Chad and I went on the Jungle Cruise. We're watching the kids become less interested in the cruise and it’s hard because this is one of the most nostalgic and fundamental rides in Disneyland, but it’s just not exciting for them anymore. They’re becoming thrill-seekers. Next, Chad and I rode Pirates and we were in the back of the boat. The lady in front of me smelled so good that I had to know what kind of perfume she was wearing. During the darkest part of the ride, right as we were passing The Blue Bayou I leaned forward, tapped her on the shoulder and whispered, “You smell so good.” Right away, I knew that was probably a really creepy thing for her to experience, but I didn't stop. I asked her the name of the perfume she was wearing. She said, “Guess.” So I was like, "Um, Estee Lauder?" thinking we were playing a fun little game. Then she told me no, the perfume was called Guess. Sometimes I say things and immediately regret it and this was one of those times. I stopped asking her questions and for the rest of the thirteen-minute ride I just stuck my nose an inch from her head and breathed deeply. I wonder if she noticed.

Today is the seventh annual Harry Potter Day in Disneyland. Every year, hundreds of people come to the park wearing clothes that give a nod to their favorite little wizard. Ali has wanted to be a part of this for years and today she donned her Hogwarts t-shirt and knee-high Deathly Hallows socks which, although subtle, when combined with hundreds of others giving similar shout-outs to Harry Potter, was quite a spectacular sight to see: The scarves, ties, and wands; the cardigans, robes, and Quidditch uniforms.

Ashley met Peter Pan while the older two hid in a corner. Peter poked Ashley's head band and said, "What is that?" 

She said, "It's a head band."

"What's it for?" asked Peter.

"I keeps my hair from getting in my face." Ashley said.

"Does it keep it from falling off like his?" Peter said as he pointed to Chad.
 

All that was left was this
blob on the fence

In Fronteirland, as we were getting in line for Big Thunder Mountain, Jackson stopped at a cart and bought a chimichanga. He had been anticipating eating a Disney chimichanga since before we even left Washington. He munched his snack while we stood in line when he and Ashley started to annoy each other. I don’t know what started it, I gave up trying to get to the bottom of these things a long time ago. Ashley told him his chimichanga stunk and so of course, Jackson began waving it in front of her face and shoving it under her nose. She kept telling him to “stooooooop”which Jackson took as, “this is delightful, Jackson, please keep doing this!” She finally got fed up and slapped his hand away from her face, and his precious chimichanga flew out of his hand, over the fence, and into a pool of water. Jackson just peered forlornly over the fence at his floating chimichanga, knowing that we were not going to shell out another $6 to replace it. I hope the ducks don’t get indigestion.

We spent a few hours in the park and when everyone got hungry for Dole Whip, we made our way back to Adventureland. As we were in line to order, I showed my family a picture of my friend Amy who lives in Hollywood. Amy is the biggest Disney fan I know. Jackson thinks she’s cool because she has light saber tattoos on her fingers, Ali likes her because Amy is a fellow Harry Potter fanatic, and Ashley loves all her colorful hairstyles. Chad and I love her because she is way cooler than we could ever hope to be. I knew Amy would be here for Harry Potter Day and she had posted a picture of her outfit on Instagram. Minutes after I put my phone in my pocket, I look up and there was Amy. I think it’s been 8 years since I’ve seen her so it was fun to reconnect. We said goodbye and she and her friend left to go find pumpkin beignets.

We got in line for Indy and the wait was just way too long. So I told the family I’d meet them at the hotel and I ran off to Main Street for a bit before heading to the pool to absorb all the Vitamin D I lack by being a Washingtonian. The family came back and we spent another hour at the pool before it was time to go back to the parks. 

Chad and I wanted to have dinner in California Adventure and the kids wanted to go back to Disneyland. We split up and the two of us ate at Wine Country Trattoria. We sat in the Tuscan styled restaurant with tile floors and stucco walls, eating bruschetta, shrimp scampi, and herb-roasted chicken and talking about parenting, kids, and life. Meanwhile, the kids were texting us and having a blast on the roller coasters at Disneyland. After dinner we left the restaurant just as the parade was going by and as soon as that was over, we walked back to Disneyland to watch another parade from a bench on Main Street. Afterwards, we went on rides together until the kids wanted to meet back up. They were exhausted and their feet were sore. We came home and everyone was asleep within twenty minutes. Tomorrow the parks open later so I think everyone will sleep well tonight.

"If you be brave or fool enough to face a pirate’s curse, proceed."

The Niemeyers