SoCal Vacation - Day Seven

Our last day in Southern California. It was another early morning, though everyone had trouble getting going. Today was our day to spend at Disney California Adventure (DCA). But first, we had a couple of hours to kill at Disneyland.

DCA opens at 10:00am, while Disneyland opens at 8:00am. So, we headed to Disneyland at 8:00am to have one last chance to ride some of our favorite rides. First it was off to Tomorrowland, and Buzz Lightyear. My dad and step-mom missed out on Buzz the first time, and really wanted to ride it. We rode it once while waiting for KJ to get her glasses fixed (the first aid center at Disneyland is prepared for anything including eyeglass repair!). Then we met up with Dad and KJ and they rode it with the rest of the group while Sophia, my niece, and I rode the Astro-Orbiter. Then it was off to the Matterhorn. Sophia said she wanted to ride it, but then changed her mind once she saw it. Next was another turn on Dumbo.

And then, DCA! My sister, her kids, and Ernie were all excited for DCA since it had more roller coasters (or roller coatser as Sophia says). We started with Soarin over California. That is an AWESOME ride. It feels like you're hang-gliding over California. While I wasn't too keen on the heights in a few places, it was a great ride. Next we went to ride Monster's Inc. We liked it so much that we rode it twice!

After lunch we headed to Grizzly River Run and got our FASTPASSes to use later. Then it was off to Toy Story Mania. It was a 45-minute wait in the heat but it was worth it. Everyone had fun on this ride. (I don't think it was worth much more than a 45-minute wait. For anyone headed there in the near future, I would do this ride first unless they add a FASTPASS.) A few brave souls tried California Screamin while the rest of us enjoyed King Triton's Carousel.

It was starting to get hot, but we weren't eligible to ride Grizzly yet, so we headed to Muppet Vision 3-D since it would provide air conditioning! It was a fun show. Sophia got a kick out of it, as did the adults. My sister's kids were a bit bored, I think. My mom, my nephew, Sophia, and I headed to Turtle Talk with Crush (from Finding Nemo) while Ernie, my sister, and the rest of her kids headed to Tower of Terror. My dad and step-mom went shopping. We met up and headed to Grizzly and were glad for a chance to get cooled off!

We were ready for a break and headed back to the condo for naps. We sent my dad and step-mom out for dinner on their own, so they could have some time together. The rest of us ate the remaining sandwich fixin's for dinner before heading back to DCA. My dad and step-mom offered to stay at the condo with Sophia for the evening. A few rode Tower of Terror and California Screamin again. My mom, my nephew and I watched the Electrical Light Parade (which I remember from my first visit to Disneyland). Then we headed back to Disneyland, after DCA closed at 9:00pm.

We attempted to ride Space Mountain, but the line was 45 minutes and we didn't want to wait that long. We headed to Big Thunder Mountain, but it was closed. That left Splash Mountain, which a few brave souls rode. I took two of my nephews on the Winnie the Pooh ride. Then it was late, and we were all tired and heading towards cranky, so we decided to call it a night and head back to the condo.