Summer Vacation Part 3

 We were excited to get to our Disneyland hotel!  We had a room on the third floor overlooking the park.  We couldn't go to the parks until Thursday, but on Wednesday night we made our way to Downtown Disney to look around and splurge on a treat!  It was about a 5 minute walk from our hotel.  We looked in a gift shop and then found Crazy Shakes and had some very crazy, over-the-top, delicious shakes.  Troy and Teresa shared a chocolate brownie and Timothy and I shared a cookies and cream.

We watched the fireworks from our room and than got to bed so we'd be ready for an early morning at Disney!

Troy and I were up and ready by 7am so we could attempt to get a pass for Rise of the Resistance.  We both actually were able to get through.  By 7:15 we were off to the Magic Kingdom.  We did not have to wait very long and we were off to our first ride.  Although the kids usually pick Big Thunder first, we did Indiana Jones first to avoid long lines.  But Big Thunder mountain was second on the list!

The Disney castle picture.

Riding Big Thunder...a favorite ride!

We also went on Pirates of the Caribbean.  It is slightly different than Florida, so that was fun to experience.  Unfortunately, Timothy got splashed and got a little bit wet.  I would eventually grab some dry clothes for him from the hotel.  But first we all rode a new ride...the Matterhorn Bobsleds.  I was nervous, but it really didn't have big drops.

Soon enough it was time for a lunch break and a little rest.  It was a warm day and the shade felt good.  Soon after lunch, our number was called for Rise of the Resistance.  We all remembered the really long wait from January for this ride.  We almost bailed on it, but thankfully the wait was only about 30 minutes and the ride was much more fun this time.

Before heading back to the hotel, the kids got frozen lemonade...what has become the favorite snack at Disney.

We went back after dinner for a treat and some more rides.  We shared Mickey cookies, rode Big Thunder, Pirates of the Caribbean and the boys rode Splash Mountain.  

We ended the night with the fireworks and laser display at the park.  The kids really enjoyed the laser elements even more than the fireworks.

The next morning we were up early again.  It was a little harder to get the kids up by 6:45 and eating our grab and go breakfast.  Troy and I worked to get the virtual pass for Web Slingers and were successful.  We were out the door by about 7:20.  And once the gates opened, we headed to Cars land for the ride that is a little like Test Track.  We waited about 20 minutes.  Everyone enjoyed the ride.

Notice I am the only person with their eyes closed and arms down...but everyone else loved the fast parts of the ride!

Waiting for Cars.

Timothy was really excited to go on the Incredicoaster, so we soon set off to the Pier area.  Troy and Timothy went first and Teresa rode on the second round.  I chose to pass on the ride at this point. They all loved this new ride!

The survivors of the upside down loop roller coaster!

California Adventure Park has some smaller kid friendly rides, so we did a few of those before heading to the Little Mermaid to cool down.

Waiting for the ride to start.

We were all a little hot and tired, but I made us stop for a few pictures before lunch.

Family picture with Mickey!

A much need rest time mid-day.

Our turn for Web Slingers came after lunch.  The wait was hot and made the 40 minutes drag, but the ride was fun.  A bit like Toy Story Mania in that it was interactive and you got to sling webs to destroy spiders. We wandered around the Avengers Campus, but there was not much to see.  We did see an Avengers performance and Teresa picked out a shirt.

Looking cool in our 3d glasses.

After a water ride, we returned to the hotel for some down time before heading back in the evening.  The park was really pretty at night, especially the Ferris wheel lit up.  We all rode the Incredicoaster.  I was scared beforehand and very scared during the ride!!  It was a bit much for me and took awhile to recover from it.  The kids rode the Goofy coaster a couple times and then Troy and Timothy did the Incredicoaster one last time.  We enjoyed Num Num cookies while enjoying our last moments at the park.

Some very happy Disney guests!

Our last days of vacation were no less busy.  After Disney, we were up early and on our way to the San Diego Zoo.  I think we were all a little tired to enjoy this huge zoo.  But we did take a bus tour and wander around a little and see some favorite animals.  We saw many of the big cats that Teresa loves.  We had a great view of the cheetah up and active.

After the zoo we drove to our Carlsbad hotel and made plans to meet Danny for dinner.  After dinner, we drove to the beach.  Timothy really wanted Danny to go to the beach with us because he did last time we visited.  The beach was not busy and the waves were lots of fun for the kids.  We got to see the sunset on the beach.  After the beach we spent a little time at the hotel hot tub and pool.  A long, wonderful day!

Dinner out

Our final day was driving back to Las Vegas.  We made a stop at Joshua Tree National Park and drove through the Mojave Desert.  Lots of time in the middle of nowhere!!  Joshua Tree was neat, but very hot, so we just made a couple of stops for pictures.  In Vegas, we spent time in the pool.  It was the only pool I got right in, because the air temperature was 115 degrees!! No need for the hot tub.  After dinner we drove along the strip to see it lit up at night.  It was pretty to see.

Swimming in 115 degree heat!

Joshua Tree National Park

Vegas at night

We had a wonderful trip with so many memories made as you can see by my long blog and all the pictures!  As I write this, I long to go back and experience it all again!