Epic Vacation Day 2: California Adventure

We'd heard so much about Radiator Spring Racers that we made a beeline for that ride as soon as we were in the park. While we waited, Brent put Gita up on his shoulders and inadvertently knocked her head into the light- out of which a rolled up dollar bill came. Ireland was so enchanted by that, she kept the tightly rolled up dollar bill while all the adults exchanged glances. My guess? It's a cast member because I can't imagine anyone else doing illegal stuff, and then stowing it like that where there are always people and you can be seen. No no, this must be done when the park is closed. That's my conspiracy theory anyway. It started our morning on an interesting note, for sure.

I have to hand it to Disney, the queue is pretty cool with signs and fun things to look at but there is definitely always a line. I loved the shirts I'd ordered for this day but when they came in they were so small. The owner shut down her Etsy shop after that and she hadn't put it back up so I wasn't sure if the girls would want to wear them. Turns out they loved them!

Because it was just us in the car, we took off our masks and just enjoyed the ride.

Here we are with our white wall tires.

Turns out we were racing the people we'd met in line from Idaho and the mom graciously took these photos. We joked they were taking everyone from our state and they made it clear they didn't exactly love the influx- haha!

Yup- we just put our feet up and enjoyed the ride.

I absolutely loved Cars Land! It really looks like it's straight out of the movie. You can see the holiday bunting is made from filters.

Even the flower beds are made of tire planters and the flowers are actually tail lights...

...which look even more amazing at night all lit up!

From here it was time for me to face a fear and ride Guardians of the Galaxy: Mission Breakout. Back when it was Tower of Terror, I was adamant about not riding that one- especially when it was explained to me they have a cable attached to the top and the bottom so they can pull you down even faster than gravity would allow. When I was pregnant with Liesel, I was in an elevator that dropped a couple of feet for no reason and that was enough to put me on the stairs for my entire pregnancy. Well, I really did love the Guardians movies and I'm always telling my girls they'll never regret overcoming a fear so we got in line for this one. Ireland found a hidden Mickey in the galactic goo.

The line isn't too bad once you are inside as there are interesting relics to gaze at. The dog shifts a bit now and again so he had Gita's sympathy.

I can't remember if this is in any of the movies but if it isn't it should be!

There's also just some weird stuff in there.

Disney really is in the details and even the door isn't a regular door, it's something awesome like this!

As we got into our specific queue my anxiety was definitely getting up there.

But again, it was a pretty awesome queue. Weird vibe but not terribly creepy.

The ride was amazing!!! There are 6 different possibilities and we got Born to Be Wild. When Rocket plugged in the Walkman and that music blared through the speakers it was like, okay go time! Yes there were stomach-flipping drops but the humor of the scenes in-between made it more fun than scary. I really wish we'd been able to get this photo on the Disney app! Sometimes they would link and sometimes they just wouldn't. 

After a thrill ride Brent and I would always check in on Sydney. We tried to balance the thrills with something milder so we headed to Soarin'. The day was heating up so they had the misters on:

This ride was particularly poignant for the girls because of the Young Eagles program they've been participating in the last couple of years.

Thanks to that program, the legends of flight on these banners mean a little more to them than they did before.

We were at the front of the queue for a bit so the cast member let me snap these photos as well.

This time we were on top of getting some food before everyone was pushing their limits so we headed to the Cozy Cone. Fortunately the mobile ordering was not the nightmare it had been the evening before. The toughest part was finding a shady spot to eat because it was getting hot out. Chili Cone Queso: YES! Bacon Mac N Cheese: YES! Fillmore's Fuelin' Groovy Pomegranate Limeade: YES!

Gita and I preferred the chili, Ireland enjoyed the pesto and everyone else really loved the mac n cheese. The breaded cone filled everyone up and that pomegranate limeade went fast. 

Luckily the two other major rides in Cars Land have lots of shade in their queue which was lovely. First we tried Mater's Junkyard Jamboree.

The posters really crack me up. I envy the person who's job it is to come up with these.

Then we did Luigi's Rollicking Roadsters. Love the race car topiary!

The cement planters that are shaped like giant tires (with different treads!) were so fantastic.

See the topiaries shaped like stacks of tires? Ahhh I love the details!

The girls all wanted to pair off so Brent and I got to be in a car together.

This was such a cute ride, we really enjoyed it especially since they had holiday music.

Sydney clocked the Incredicoaster pretty much the moment we walked towards Pixar Pier. For some reason the loop de loop really had her rattled and she kept asking if we were going to make her go on it. 

We tried to calm her fears, tell her it wasn't any worse than anything else she'd been on so far but I dunno, she was really stressed out about it.

This was definitely a parenting fail- but not an intentional one. We always encourage our kids to face their fears and to set the example I had done just that by going on Guardians. Sydney wasn't having it which is fine. She was bracing herself against the turnstile and screaming maniacally in the end. A cast member asked her age and said she could wait by herself and Sydney popped up out of that rollercoaster and stood by the side, no problem. She seemed perfectly happy to just wait by herself.

We were a little disappointed, sure but it happens. What we didn't realize is that after our ride took off she crumbled into a pile of tears. As the next ride pulled in, there was our little girl huddled on the floor just sobbing. Of course there was a kindly mom who's heart went out to her and determined to wait with her and comfort her until her neglectful, cruel family came back. In case you're not sure, that's this neglectful, cruel family...

...having a blast on the ride without her.

After our ride, we were met with some serious judgement and cut eye about leaving Sydney behind. She was still upset and crying and that mom just leveled me with her look of disgust at my parenting. We trudged out to the kiosk selling Jack Jack Cookie Num Nums because I'd promised the girls anyone who was gusty enough to ride the Incredicoaster would get one (ipso facto, Sydney would not). Oh and it didn't end there. The credit card machine at the cookie stand wasn't working so I had to use cash. Sydney was now sniffling over not getting a cookie so Brent gave her some over my protests and then the girls were unhappy that she was unduly rewarded, oi. Then a cast member told us we needed to move from the curb where we'd sat down to stay out of the heat. It was a mess.

We did Midway Mania and Silly Symphony Swings but the mood was still somber. Sydney's melt-down took out the entire family. I needed a break, some time to reset, so Brent and I agreed to split up. I'd take Sydney back to the hotel and he would take the other 3 and try to salvage the day. Have I mentioned how much I loved staying at the Disneyland Hotel? I'm so glad we had that option because man alive, we needed it!

Brent took the other 3 to Goofy's Sky School and since it was a relentless 90* Grizzly River Run.

As you can see, they were pretty soaked but had plenty of time to dry off as they waited in the worst line the entire trip: Web Slingers. The switchbacks were brutal because when it looked like they were near the door they were routed waaay back. It's tough to tell from this photo but it went even further back than this.

Unlike Rise or Indiana Jones, there just isn't much to do in line. There's this one sign:

There's just not much to do with this information, ya know?

At long last they made it to the door!

Brent was relieved.

Once they were inside the queue was better.

It's a really great ride, just an awful line. Afterwards they gave their legs a rest at the Avengers show and then rode the Emotional Whirlwind.

By now Sydney and I were ready to give the park another try. Brent et al had Mac n Cheese and an Indian dish. 

Sydney and I grabbed a corndog and churro in Downtown Disney. 

She was particularly thrilled with that side of Nutella dipping sauce! 

Liesel mentioned that Cars Land would probably be lit up soon and it just so happens 5 min later that's exactly what happened. I just happened to be by the lighting of the big Christmas tree on Buena Vista Street. 

We caught up at Mater's Junkyard Jamboree where the girls were riding and Brent was waiting for them. Everyone was ready for a little treat so he headed to Pixar Pier while we hung out a bit. Pixar Pier Frosty Parfait: YES!  and It's Mango!: Yes. I'd heard about the It's Lemon! soft serve but the parfait had that as well as the blue raspberry icy underneath and it was really good. Brent is incredibly good with checking in with me to make sure I get what I want and on this one he called an audible and knocked it out of the park. The mango was really good too. It was lovely to reconnect on those benches just sharing some ice cream.

We all did Luigi's Rollicking Roadsters and then Soarin' before Brent took everyone but Liesel back to the hotel. Each night we spent 1:1 time with one of the girls and this was Liesel's night to have us and the park to herself.

But a quick pic with Donald Duck first!

Liesel and I headed to Radiator Spring Racers and this is when I really fell in love with that ride at night. 

The red rock all lit up looked so majestic and I swear the music was more powerful.

That waterfall made my heart sing.

Even the fence is made to look like a cactus! The Monument Valley looks so cool in the dark, night sky.

This was never intended to be a thing, but it became a thing. Beforehand, Brent and I agreed the girls could get ears and two pins: one to keep and one to trade. When we suspended the Chocolate Challenge, getting in as many chocolatey snacks became a big deal to the girls. We mobile ordered some treats which Brent picked up while Liesel and I snagged a bench near Sarge's Surplus.

Oh man, that rice crispy covered in MnM's set off a trend Brent and I were powerless to stop. From here on out during our 1:1's, each girl wanted to know when we'd take a break from riding rides so they could fill up on their treats. I mean it was a THING! 

As you can see, it was a big hit.

We decided to do something low-key and try the swinging cars on the Ferris Wheel. Oh man, those things are so much more of a commitment than they look! From a distance it seems like they are swaying gently, like one might rock a baby. Inside I had my hand on Brent's knee and the first time the car swung wildly back and forth I could feel him tense just in his knee! Some poor guy ended up with us as a single rider so there were were, the three of us facing him as the rocking showed no sign of slowing. I finally said, "Are YOU doing this?" and the tension in his voice told me that not only was he not contributing to the swinging, but he was terrified too. 

Brent checked the wait time on Web Slingers and suggested it to Liesel who was understandably wary. We decided to give it a try and they recounted me with the horror stories of how awful the wait had been in the heat of the day. The line moved quickly though and we realized we might be able to fit in just one more ride before the park closed. When we were on our last challenge of fighting those spiderbots, our arms tired, Liesel let out a primal yell as she flung her webs at them. Then Brent and I yelled so there we all were, slinging our webs as fast as we could and just yelling. It was awesome! 

We sped to Guardians of the Galaxy and made it in time for our last ride. Keep in mind we had the popcorn bucket and then the sack of goodies Liesel had picked up. Rocket connected the plug to the Walkman and we got Hit Me With Your Best Shot. It was awesome. Our picture makes me laugh because we were so distracted from our stuff flying up and down. Liesel said she saw the sack floating in the air in front of her face at one point. There's something about sneaking in just one more ride and we had SO MUCH FUN!!!

Liesel walked between us as we headed back to the hotel and held our hands. I get that your teens are a time to learn independence and spread your wings but in that moment the 3 of us felt so close, so tight, so bonded it was like no one else was even around. Our teenage daughter was unabashedly holding our hands just happy to be with us and my gosh the joy rippled through all of us like electricity. It was a perfect ending to a less-than-perfect day.