California 2014 - Part 2

We snapped a few family pics in front of the castle Thursday night then headed for Cars Land in Disney Adventure Park.

This was Keegan's night!  We walked Radiator Springs and saw Lightning McQueen and Red and rode Luigi's Tires and Mater's Tractors.  

Ka-Chow!

We stayed for the World of Color show that projected movie clips with music onto water using lasers, fountains and the occasional fire.  It was really amazing.  Ava said it was her very favorite thing besides meeting Elsa and Anna.  We didn't fast pass it so we were standing in the back of the park with a not-so-great view.  Five minutes into the show an employee came and grabbed us and a couple of other families and took us to VIP seating by the water.  We were so excited.

We headed back to the hotel after the show and slept in the next morning!  

We got to Disney Adventure the next morning around 10:30.  We saw a Disney Jr. show, Aladdin in the theatre, rode Ariel's Under the Sea ride and a Toy Story ride and saw lots of characters.

We ended the day with the Pixar Parade.  The kids loved seeing their favorite characters come through dancing and waving.  

It was the perfect end to our Disney trip!  We grabbed another much needed coffee and then took off  to San Diego!  That post coming next :-)

California 2014 - Santa Monica & Disney Land!

We packed up (what seemed like everything we owned) and headed out west to California last Wednesday!  This was Keegan's first time to fly and Ava's third, although she didn't remember.  They were so excited!  They loved both the airport and flying on the airplane.  We flew into Los Angeles around 9:45am, rented a car and headed straight for the Santa Monica Pier.  The first day of vacation is so much fun.  The excitement and anticipation.....It was just awesome.  75 and sunny in Santa Monica.  We spent a couple of hours having lunch, playing at pacific park arcade and the kids couldn't resist checking out the pacific water.  They both needed a change of clothes before we headed to Anaheim!

Quite a bit cooler than the gulf!

We grabbed a much needed coffee and left for Downtown Disney!

We checked in to our hotel then walked the downtown disney area where we had dinner at Naples Pizzeria.  We snapped a few pics at the Lego store there.... 

The next morning we arrived bright and early at Disney Land!!  

It was an incredible experience.  The kids were amazed by everything.  Ava had an autograph book and absolutely loved the character encounters.  Keegan loved giving his favorites big hugs.  We saw several awesome shows, rode the rides that we could ride as a family, took tours of Mickey and Minnie's house, watched Mickey's sensational parade and walked many, many miles.  It was a great day!

Very First Character Encounter!

Jeff headed straight for the 'Meet Anna and Elsa' line and we traded off waiting while the other took the kids for three hours.  Yes, exactly three hours.  I took this after waiting in the line for the main line for an hour.

I took the kids to ride Dumbo first then the tea cups and then Jeff took them to see Mickey's house.  So fun!!

Keegan's Favorite!

We finally reached the finish line and walked in to meet Elsa and Anna.  

They talked with Ava for a bit about Olaf and her favorite rides so far.  They signed her book, took some pics and we were off.  Three hours for three minutes.  But Ava says it was her very favorite thing so I guess it was worth it :-)

Astro Blasters!  Their favorite ride.

The Mickey Sensational Parade was my very favorite thing at Disney.  The music, the dancers, the characters.  It was so perfectly orchestrated.  As is all of Disney.  The kids were in awe of it all.  

We headed back to our hotel around 5 for showers and rest and went back from 7:30-10:30 for Cars Land at Adventure Park.  It was so cool to see Radiator Springs at night.  That post coming soon!