SoCal Vacation - Day Two

After some sleep, we were up before dawn and headed to Disneyland. It was Sunday, which is a Magical Morning day at Disneyland. There are a few days each week that are set aside for Magical Mornings, where people with Park Hopper passes are allowed into the park one hour before the gates open to the general public.

We left the condo at 6:20am to catch the Anaheim Resort Transit (ART) shuttle to Disneyland. (A word about the greatness of the ART service - it runs every 20 minutes and has multiple routes so that only a few hotels are served on each route. Therefore, the buses don't fill up and the route is short. For only $3 a day. What more could you ask for?)

We had a plan, thanks to the Unofficial Guide to Disneyland, which told us the order in which to ride rides, to maximize our fun and minimize the time spent waiting in line. And I tell you, IT WORKED!! During our entire time at Disneyland, we didn't wait more than 25 minutes in a line. We started with tame rides and worked our way up to the more intense stuff later in the day. My sister's kids had not ridden on rides much, so she wasn't sure how they would do. We decided to ease them into it, not wanting to traumatize them on something like Space Mountain first thing in the morning, and then have them so afraid they wouldn't ride the carousel.

So, just like the plan said, we first raced to Finding Nemo. This ride was the one thing Sophia was excited about, and the only thing that got her out of bed that morning. Then it was off to the Matterhorn. Sophia was tall enough for this ride, and as much as she like the dragon roller coaster at the carnival, we thought she would like it. Well, she didn't love it. She didn't freak out too much, but it was more than she was ready for.

Then it was off to Alice in Wonderland, Mr. Toad's Wild Ride, Dumbo (or elephant airplanes as Sophia calls it), the Teacups, Carousel, and Peter Pan's Flight.

And then, the good stuff. Next we headed to Frontierland to experience Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. I was nervous about this ride, since I remembered hating it so much last time I was at Disneyland. But then I realized, I was nine then, and if my eight-year-old nephew could try it, then I should be able to handle it too. Well, consider my fear of BTMR conquered! I LOVED it!

After Space Mountain (I still have a love/hate relationship with that ride) and Honey I Shrunk the Audience, we headed back to the condo. Along the way we met Pluto, Mickey, and Minnie. Too bad Sophia slept through that part! Then it was back to the condo to rest and play in the pool for everyone but my dad and me. We took a cab to the car rental company to pick up the 15-passenger van, and then to Target and the grocery store. Too bad that target.com led me astray and did not send me to the nearest Target store. It didn't help that Google Maps didn't work for us, either. Long story short, we ended up in a scary neighborhood in a different city, at Bargain Basket Mart with questionable meat and dented cans. We got some necessities, and headed back to the condo.

Then it was off to Mimi's Cafe for my dad's birthday dinner. The food was great and the service excellent. The rest of the group then crossed the street to enjoy a few more hours of Disneyland, while Sophia and I went back to the condo. While she got a bath and we both got to rest, the nine others enjoyed the Indiana Jones ride, Star Tours, Splash Mountain, and the Jungle Cruise. Whew! What a day!