PandaGirl's Summer Trip 7/26-7/30 (lots-o-pics)

[PandaGirl]

Here’s my latest trip to Disneyland. We arrived Sunday July 26th and left on Thursday July 30th. This is my 3rd trip since becoming an AP in March 09. My 2 year old daughter, Lily’s 3rd trip and my fiancée Richard’s 2nd trip this year. I haven’t been to Disneyland in the summer time since August 2004. It was really hot and crowded so I usually like to go in “off-season” times (Jan-March), but since I got an AP I didn’t want to waste a week off of work by going anywhere else. What can I say…I’m addicted.

Day 1- Sunday July 26th
We left Chandler AZ around 8 AM. I had been up since 1 AM (I was so excited to leave!) So after a couple of hours of sleep I woke up to see…
California!!!!

Now only 3 ½-4 hours to go!

I was so glad that we left early cuz Sunday was the only day that we’d be able to go see Aladdin. So we headed right over to California Adventure. We had about an hour until the last show at 5:50 so we spent some time in the Animation Building. I have always seemed to miss the Aladdin show on previous trips. I was completely blown away. It’s totally awesome!!! If you haven’t seen it, I highly recommend it. While in line Lily made a new friend. Her name was Michelle (which is my name!
Michelle and Lily

Some pics of the Aladdin show…


Next we went over to A Bug’s Land and rode Flik’s Flyers and Ladybug Boogie. Then we made our way over to Paradise Pier. On the way we did the tortilla tour and sourdough tour. We got a tortilla but no sourdough samples today.


Richard then did Single Rider for Screamin’ I don’t mind waiting cuz I love watching people take off. The trains were getting stacked up, two trains in the launch section. The ride was going really slow. (which was actually more fun to watch, people seemed a little more nervous than usual) Then came…

Richard said that somebody dropped some glasses while on the ride so they emptied this train out. Then it was Richard’s turn…He’s in the fourth from the last row on the left. He’s looking up like he’s saying “hey can you see me”


Front row Left side

It was starting to get dark. California Adventure is so pretty at night. It’ll be even better once the pier is filled with water and all the walls are down. Can’t wait!!

Lily’s favorite Disneyland souvenir…

Lily’s favorite ride…

While Richard and Lily rode the Golden Zephyr, I saved us a spot for the parade right in front of…

Some pics from the Electrical Parade…


They really get close up to you!!







One of these guys ran up to us and stomped on the floor. It scared the living daylights out of me!




We then followed the parade until the San Francisco bathrooms and then made our way out of the park. We ended up watching some of the Magical fireworks from the Esplanade. We hadn’t seen it yet so we decided to take off and watch it another night from inside the park so that we could hear the music.
Day 2 Coming soon…

[DonDuck]

Nice TR. Looking forward to more.

[WeWantsTheRedhead]

Your daughter is so cute :]

Hurry, I want to see more!! lol.

[OC2Epcot]

Nice report and pictures ... I remember that entry point on many-a-trip during my AZ days.

[royaldisneyfan]

Great TR. Kinda funny that one of the donkeys scared ya.

[RedHandedJill]

I like it so far! Keep it comin'!

[PandaGirl]

Day 2-July 27th Monday
We tried to wake up as early as possible to get to Disneyland at opening time 8:00 AM but we didn’t make it there until 8:30 AM which was OK cuz it wasn’t busy yet. Going thru the tunnel…

Lily was saying "OOOHHHH!!! OOOHHHH!!!" She was so excited!


My favorite ride....



Lily barely made it to the end of Main Street before she jumped out of her stroller and started running to the castle.









Here's a little video of her running until a photopass person freaked her out. It was hilarious!

YouTube - Disney Beach Aquarium 7 09 159

What would a trip report be without any duck pictures? If you look really closely you'll see some babies...





Back to the castle...



Lily made it through the castle and is now thinking "Where should I go first? So many rides so little time"



We rode Snow White (not Pinocchio), Casey Jr's train, Storybook Land Canal, the carousel, the tea cups and Mr. Toad (all within an hour and a half). Lines were very short. Here's some pics from Casey Jr's train...





Richard and me and the top of Lily's head...





Since there wasn't anyone on the boats we went there next, but by then there was a fifteen minute wait. The longest wait we had in Fantasyland that morning.





Carousel pics...





Weeeeee!!!!!!!!



After Fantasyland we made our way to Toon Town to visit Mickey!!! He was right at the front of his house so we only waited about 15 minutes.







After Mickey we ate Breakfast at the Riverbelle Terrace. Best place for breakfast IMO. Then we rode Pirates , got on the train to Main Street and headed over to California Adventure since Disneyland was starting to get crowded.
In California Adventure we rode Monsters Inc. and then played in the animation building for a little while. Outside we ran into Handy Manny...







It was starting to get pretty hot out so we started to make our way over the water play area over by Bug's Land.

On the way...pretty water....





Playing in the water...















After playing in the water Lily and Richard were ready for a nap. So they went back to the hotel while I hung around by myself. My first stop was to go and check out the Blue Sky Cellar's new exhibit. Then I headed over to Paradise Pier. Some of my pics...





I can't wait for World of Color!!!





Good bye!



I sat and watched the Screamin' launch for about twenty minutes. I was going to go Single Rider on Toy Story but decided that I should wait to ride for the first time Richard. He's still jealous that I rode Nemo first without him. I then thought about riding the fun wheel so that I can take some pics, but I chickened out. Since I had heard so much good stuff about the Grand Californian's lobby and WhiteWater Snacks I decided to go there next. I sat in the lobby for about ten minutes while I cooled down and then headed out.





I totally got lost. I don't know what happened but somehow I ended up in the parking lot. I felt really stupid for even being there. I was too embarrassed to ask for directions since I wasn't an actual guest of that hotel. I eventually found my way to Downtown Disney. I got a pretzel instead of those yummy nachos that I've heard so much about. Maybe next time. I then went back to the hotel to see if anybody was awake to come and join me. Everybody was still asleep so I laid down and slept for about an hour. Then Lily and I went back to Disneyland (Richard was going to meet us later for fireworks)

It was about 6:35 PM as me and Lily entered Disneyland. Celebrate! was on Main Street doing it's thing. We kind of got to watch as we were being moved along down a narrow pathway of a trillion people. It seemed really fun so I thought I'll get down towards IASW so that we could watch the whole thing there. By the time we got down there, there wasn't any good viewing spots so we went on a trip around the world instead.







I think I take this picture every time I ride..



Pink Lily...







Once we got off the ride Celebrate! was doing their thing again. And we still couldn't see it. It was really crowded. We then rode Pirates and the Haunted Mansion. There was this couple on HM that kept taking flash pics of themselves. Finally after the fourth shot a CM got on the intercom and told them NO FLASH PICTURES. After HM we started to make our way to Pooh. On the way we watched Splash for a little while. Here's Lily giving the riders some advice...









After we rode Pooh. Then we just walked around and people watched. We ate dinner at Tomorrowland Terrace. There was some teen boy playing a concert with a bunch of teen girls totally screaming for him. I don't know who he was but I think he said something about the new G-Force movie, so maybe he has a song on that movie. By this time it was about 8:45 PM and very crowded around the castle so I decided to wait for the 9:00 Fantasmic! to end and then go watch the 10:30 PM. We waited on the benches right by the pin store at the entrance of Frontierland. Which is not a good place to see the fireworks. There is a huge tree right where they go off. I finally got a call from Richard saying that he was on his way. He had a hard time getting to us cuz of the fireworks, but he finally found us still on those benches at 9:45 PM. We then headed towards Pirates to find a spot for Fantasmic! It was pretty crowded still but we managed to get a good spot in front of Cafe Orleans. Richard thought that he'd never seen the show but once it started he was all "Is there a pirate ship in this show?" I said yes. It all started coming back to him he said "I have seen this when I was a kid. This show is awesome." After the show we went back to the hotel.

Day 3 coming soon...

[PandaGirl]

Originally Posted by DonDuck

Nice TR. Looking forward to more.

Thanks DonDuck!

Originally Posted by OC2Epcot

Nice report and pictures ... I remember that entry point on many-a-trip during my AZ days.

Thanks OC2Epcot! Isn't it crazy that after all these years it still looks the same!

Originally Posted by royaldisneyfan

Great TR. Kinda funny that one of the donkeys scared ya.

Yeh he totally did royaldisneyfan. He got my heart pumping!

Originally Posted by RedHandedJill

I like it so far! Keep it comin'!

Thanks RedHandedJill!

I'm glad you're all enjoying!!!

[Darth Mickey]

Great pics!!! My daughter and I LOVED them, especially the Small World Topiaries and the sprinkler area of Bug's Land. Looks like you all had sooooooo much fun!

We can't wait to post our trip report in 4 weeks!!!

[ScottG]

Lily (my moms name too!) is so cute and the memories you've given her will last a life time. I can feel the fun and excitement just watching her.
Outstanding TR!

[LLCMC]

Love it! Thanks for sharing, and look forward to more!

[PandaGirl]

Originally Posted by Darth Mickey

Great pics!!! My daughter and I LOVED them, especially the Small World Topiaries and the sprinkler area of Bug's Land. Looks like you all had sooooooo much fun!

We can't wait to post our trip report in 4 weeks!!!

The sprinkler area is lots of fun! I even ran through the water. It's nice and refreshing!

Originally Posted by ScottG

Lily (my moms name too!) is so cute and the memories you've given her will last a life time. I can feel the fun and excitement just watching her.
Outstanding TR!

Thanks! I know she will always remember the feeling of walking up to the castle, cuz I still get chills everytime I walk down main street.

Originally Posted by LLCMC

Love it! Thanks for sharing, and look forward to more!

Thanks! I'll have more up later today!

[PandaGirl]

Day 3-Tuesday July 28th

This day we decided to have a Disney free day until the evening. We still hadn't seen the fireworks from inside the park so we were going to try and go later.
We started off our day by driving to Long Beach and visiting the aquarium there. It's called Aquarium of the Pacific. We arrived at opening time 9:00 AM and by 11:00 AM the place was packed with field trips. So if you plan on going here I recommend going on the weekends or late afternoons. Also my 2 year old was not impressed with the place so she was pretty difficult to deal with as well. This was my 3rd time coming to this aquarium and I really do enjoy it, but this trip would've been better had I brought my older sons (they're 8 and 11) Here's some pics from the aquarium...





Dory!!!





Lily having some fun!





You can touch small sharks and sting rays. (Not me though )







They also have a place where you can feed Lorikeets. If you buy the food, the birds will fly right up to you and stand on your hand and eat. Here's one of the birds...



After the aquarium we drove up the street to the first spot that had beach access so that we could play in the sand and water. We didn't have to go very far only about a mile. Here's some pics of the beach...



Lily playing...





It was Richard's first time swimming in the ocean. Can you tell he was excited?



Here's what I did...



And here's what happens when you make sure your kid has sunscreen and you forget about yourself...



After spending a couple of hours on the beach we went back to our hotel and we were starving. So we went to Johnny Rockets at the Garden Walk. Chili Burger-MMMmmmmm!!!! Chili Fries-MMMmmmmm!!!! Our plan was to go back to Disneyland to watch fireworks but we were wiped so we called it a night.

Day 4 coming soon...

[DonDuck]

Too cute!

Hope your sunburn was not too painful.

[PandaGirl]

Originally Posted by DonDuck

Too cute!

Hope your sunburn was not too painful.

Thanks!

It wasn't that bad, but it did make me extra hot the next day!