Cali trip ~ Day 4, December 4, 2013 ~ Disney California Adventure
We ate breakfast at the Inn today and headed out for the park arriving there about 10. We rented an ECV for Mom today and she was much happier in that than she had been in the wheelchair on our first DL day. Even with the added expense, she prefers to be in control of her direction and speed! They stored our rental wheelchair where we rented the ECV so that was pretty convenient. We joked that we should have rented our rental wheelchair out to help cover the cost of the ECV
Dirk and I went and got a FP for RSR and then hopped in the single rider line because it was listed at 45 minutes and that sounded pretty reasonable. As we were working our way through the queue a little boy that was exiting the attraction was chattering on about how much he liked the ride and that he wanted to ride again...but not right now!
The level of detail in RSR is just amazing! It is difficult to believe everything is manmade. And our car won the race ~ hooray!
We found Mom after we got off and went to get our WoC FP. It was already almost noon
We entered the single rider queue for Soarin’ and were told there was no guarantee on the timing. It ended up being about 40 minutes, which was just a little shorter than the standby queue wait time. So much for Wiz saying Soarin’ isn’t all that popular out in California! The CMs directed Mom around the stanchion where she backed into the dispatch stand at the end of the ramp. They then told her to pull forward and she hit the trash can as she was turning. We told them to send us the bill and they said it was no problem. The CMs seem much more laid back in Cali than they are in WDW. Mom and I ended up on the same flight and Dirk got on right after our flight finished.
I wish we could have gone again on Soarin’, but it just didn’t work out this trip. Again the CMs were more relaxed here...I’m sure at WDW I would have been scolded immediately for even attempting to take this photo!
We had lunch at Flo’s V8 Cafe. The level of detailing and theming is just amazing ~ right down to the curb thingies at Flo’s pick up counter!
Dirk had the Pork loin with Coca Cola BBQ sauce with baked beans and mashed potatoes and gravy as his sides.
Mom got the Citrus Turkey Breast with coleslaw and corn salad as her sides.
I got the kid’s meal Macaroni and Cheese ~ it seemed rather small, even for a child’s portion, and at $6.50 it wasn’t inexpensive. That is a single layer of macaroni in that dish
It would have helped if I liked carrots too
Dirk and I each also got one of the Chocolate shakes with road gravel (smushed up oreos) so that helped fill in the nooks and crannies around the macaroni
It was a really good shake
Detail from the table ~ very 50’s
We had a great view of RSR, both through the big picture windows to our left, and up in the huge rearview mirror up on the wall on our right.
This area of the restaurant (out on the patio anyhow) was also where the Carsland characters came in and out for their meet and greets. Mater had me chuckling because he was muttering the whole time! I wasn’t close enough to the other characters when they were rolling through, but I imagine they all kept up the patter as they drove through.
We cut back through a Bug’s Land ~ Flik’s Flyers looked great after it’s recent refurb. Sadly we did not get back to ride it while we were here
The trolleys looked really good! But we didn’t get to ride them this time around either
This isn’t the best view of ToT with the overhead cable car lines...but it was one of the few I snapped. I sort of think of it like the ugly sun shades at EPCOT by Spaceship Earth, except the cables are more useful? Maybe?? Does anyone know if the cables are simply for show?
We headed off toward Aladdin. We hit there at a perfect time and were able to join the crowds just as they were loading into the theater. Unfortunately they ended up cutting the show short after only 15 minutes due to technical difficulties. It was right before the Genie appeared too
Such a beautiful (and massive!) theater
During the portion of the show we saw, there was something I have never seen at WDW or DL. One of the actresses was in a motorized wheelchair. Her chair was all decorated and costumed up so it really wasn’t distracting at all. It was nice to see someone with a visible disability in the show. And I can only imagine how neat that would be for younger children that could identify with her disability.
Next up was Monsters Inc., Mike and Sulley to the Rescue. It was better than SuperStar Limo had been before, but not quite what I had been expecting. Roz interacted with the car ahead of us, but unfortunately she didn’t talk with us in our car.
What a way to make a living ~ singing and playing on a vintage car in a theme park ~ so cool!
It was getting colder so Dirk went back out to the car to change into his jeans and get Mom’s coat while Mom and I went to see MuppetVision 3D. There is such a different feel to the outside of the Muppets here in DCA. The show was just getting ready to start and I didn’t have a chance to look around as we entered so I didn’t really see (nor do I remember from our previous trips) if the inside pre-show area resembles the pre-show at DHS or not.
Same show on the inside though. Love Kermit on the fire truck at the end
Mom and I went to the Sorcerer’s Workshop where Mom was most like Mrs. Incredible and I was most like Mulan. Does anyone know if they change the characters out as they are more or less popular? I remember in years past I was Belle at least once
We took a quick side trip to BoG in the New Fantasyland
Ok, not really, but I imagine this is the same technology they use ind WDW that they have had in the Beast’s Library here for many years.
Sofia the First was hanging around outside the Sorcerer’s Workshop entrance ~ I know yodiwan’s little girl likes her so I snapped a quick photo. I was careful to try to get a shot in between guests, but I didn’t notice any CMs shooing people away from taking photos of the characters if you weren’t with the people interacting with the characters like they do at WDW. The more we were at DL, the more I liked the atmosphere and laid back nature of the Cali parks!
Dirk was back by that time and he went to ToT with his FP while Mom and I went to animator’s workshop to draw Scrooge McDuck. It is pretty neat that they have changed up what characters you will learn to draw. It always seemed to be Mickey Mouse many years ago. I wonder how long ago they made the decision to switch up the characters more?
Here are our drawings of Scrooge McDuck. Mom said it is the best drawing she has made at any of the workshops so far
I was pretty pleased with my effort as well. It is amazing how well you can draw when you are following the steps of a professional!
Dirk finished up at ToT about the same time as Mom and I finished up at the workshop, so he and I went back to ToT with the two remaining FP. We were in, through the queue, and through the entire ride in about 20 minutes! Dirk was looking at me like I was crazy snapping so many photos by this point, and we were moving through the queue pretty quickly, so I didn’t get a lot of great shots in ToT...
Dirk was pretty excited to go upstairs to load this time as he had been on the other side of the lobby when he used his first FP and that queue led to the downstairs loading area.
WDW’s ToT is much better than DCA’s version, but it is still cool and a good thrilling attraction
Hello Disney California Adventure!
We kept running into this group of people this evening. They all had “I ♥ Beer” sweaters on. For some reason it made me think of wewantsdaredhead
They had definitely been living up to the logo though
I overheard one of the people tell someone that asked where they had gotten their sweaters that a grandmother of one of the group member had knit these all by hand!
We cut through A Bug’s Land a few times on this trip, but we never got to experience any of the attractions
I know Francis, I’m disappointed too. We will have to come back to see you soon!
We went back to Carsland and got in line for Luigi’s Flying Tires. That was fun. And another great example of well thought out accessibility. There was an alcove where they can bring a tire in and the guests can walk right into the tire without having to step over the side. We chatted with the CM a bit while we waited and she said she wanted to be sure we were safe and comfortable in our tire. I wonder how they say these things with a straight face? We gave her one of Ward’s pennies which she said she would put it on her necklace. They had told us before they rolled us out that we should stay put wherever we were when the ride ended. As it happened, we had one great flying trip across the whole arena at the very last second of the ride and ended up as far from the accessible loading area as we could so they had to come get us from there. I joked with the CM that it was a good thing we had given her a tip before the ride started! We had these triangle shaped passes for Luigi’s Flying Tires ala the tickets on Dumbo...which come to think of, we didn’t get a ticket to fly with Dumbo when were at DL on Monday. Do they not have those anymore in DL? And do they still have them in WDW with the new pager system?
Here is the little alcove where they brought the tire in and were able to turn off the air so it settled down to the ground flat. Then the little ramp was lowered and we could walk directly to the seating bench on the tire.
Next up was Mater’s Junkyard Jamboree. Mom had been looking forward to riding this (she had looked up all the attractions online before we left so she knew what DCA and DL had to offer as far as attractions and food and the like) and while we were waiting in line she thought it looked like it would be something she could ride ok...until we were right up in the load area and she watched the cycle right before us. She wisely decided it was a bit rough for her and she proceeded on through once those people were done. Dirk and I each had our own tractor and it really did fling you around. He had a blast. I enjoyed it too...right up until the last few seconds when I flew all the way from one side of the seat to the other and the seatbelt buckle gave me a free souvenir in the form of a vicious bruise
Can you guess where we stopped next?!
If you guessed the Bakery Tour you win...absolutely nothing
But I will tell you the bread is still really delicious! I really enjoy the little movie and seeing the process of them baking the bread. The one CM that was taking bread in and out of the oven was waving and dancing and having a great time watching the limited amount of people moving through the tour.
It’s like a little Disney ride for bread!
We headed back to Paradise Pier where Mom and I shared spaghetti and meatballs and Dirk had the shrimp thing again. There was an excellent mariachi band playing in conjunction with the Viva Navidad festival. It’s not a kind of music I normally like, but they were really good and had a super high energy level, especially considering how cold it was!
Dirk’s shrimp dish...again
Our spaghetti and meatballs which was really pretty good.
Mom finished up dinner and headed on over to WoC while Dirk and I went to RSR to use our FP. After we rode, Dirk ran back through the queue to use the last FP while I went on over to find Mom in the World of Color viewing area.
As beautiful as Carsland is during the day, it is simply stunning at night when it is all lit up!
Ramone’s ~ where the paint sprayers were actually working this time. It was weird as they weren’t spraying in the morning when it was warm, but they were spraying away when it was really cold at night
Looks just like the old Test Track to me ~ anyone else think so?
Luigi right at the starting line ~ one for the money, two for the show, three to get ready and quattro to go!”
Here is Dirk as he was running back to use Mom’s FP for another ride on RSR ~ he was just a blur
We ended up not using our WoC FP because there was an accessible viewing area that a CM directed Mom to that they told her had better views. It was interesting as there were benches in the accessible viewing area, but the CMs were requesting that people that were able to stand should do so until the show began to make sure everyone that needed a seat had one. It made sense to me, and as much as my feet were desiring a rest, I stood next to Mom. Boy were some people mad though...one guy was even swearing which wasn’t very nice. Dirk made it back from RSR and ended up watching WoC from somewhere behind us.
The WoC show had begun at 8:15 after the park closed at 8 so once again it was time to make our way to the front of the park. I just wasn’t used to the parks closing so early
We returned scooter and headed toward the World of Disney store in DTD with Mom in her personal rental wheelchair. I bought a sweatshirt to replace the coat I had forgotten at home. Luckily I didn’t bother putting it on that night because when I tried it on at the Inn, there was an large (at least for me) flaw in the design. Anyone else think it looks a bit like a witches hat? I tried to look cute...
...but I just couldn’t do it
It did make me feel better when I exchanged the sweatshirt the next night that the CM said she had gotten the exact same sweatshirt and thought the hood was pretty bad too. She explained that she only puts the hood up when it is really cold and she is working outside for one of the shows, like WoC, so she didn’t really mind it all that much. I explained that I live in Michigan and if you are wearing a sweatshirt with a hood, you are more than likely going to have the hood up
All the hooded sweatshirts had the same cut on the hoods, so I ended up with an entirely different design without a hood!
We headed off to the bus and got on a little after 10. By the time we made it back to the car and drove back to the Inn it was around 11.
The buses at DL are a bit more plush than WDW, with carpeting on the seats. I wonder if they stuff people on them the way they do at WDW though?
The bus windows were decked out in Toy Story ~ which my shirt approved of very much
The holiday season cups
Phew, that was a big one wasn’t it? Hope you enjoyed the full day at DCA. We didn’t get to use our park hopper option today
but it was a pretty good day. I was sorry we hadn’t gotten moving a bit earlier in the morning, but one of the things Dirk was really looking forward to on this trip was the food at the Inn, so I was glad for his sake that we were able to have a nice breakfast there before we headed toward the park.
If I haven’t completely worn y’all out, there is more to come ~ Thursday we headed to the San Diego Safari park so if you are looking for more Disney, join us again for Day 6
