{Travel Diaries} Disneyland 2015 - Day 3

On day 3 in Disneyland we chose to go to California Adventure.  I had never been before and was really looking forward to it.  They were building it the last time I was there and it was set to open about 3 months later.

Our morning started out like this:

Ellie had so much fun that she was exhausted and slept in past 8am!! Not only that but we weren't even being that quiet and she just slept through the noise...maybe we should try this at home more often.  

Finally she woke up and we all got ready to go.  We decided to eat breakfast in Downtown Disney at the Jazz Kitchen Express, I had been eyeing those beignets since I saw them on the menu on day 1!!  They did not disappoint and reminded me of the ones I enjoyed at Cafe Dumond down in NOLA many years ago!  Ellie could tell that we were heading back to the magical land and was super excited in her stroller, yet again!

One thing I noticed was that the large CALIFORNIA letters were no where to be found, I guess the got rid of them? 

After we walked into California Adventure we went on the Monsters Inc ride, which was fun because we had just watched Monsters University with Ellie a couple of weeks ago.  She had a blast on this ride and it was like it took you through the movie.

After our first ride we walked around a little bit we remembered to get our fast passes for the Radiator Springs Racers.  We got our fast passes less than an hour after the park opened and they were already set for 7:00pm!! five minutes later and we probably wouldn't have had an opportunity to go on the ride!

Then we went over by the Tower of Terror and the boys wanted to go on it, so Nanny and I took Ellie to Its A Bugs Life area and went on one ride before the boys showed up (and Ellie had an accident in her diaper) we got Ellie all cleaned up and headed to the boardwalk area.  I spotted the The Little Mermaid Under the Sea ride and bolted for it.  There wasn't even a line! so we hopped right into a shell and Ellie was completely mesmerised.  After that ride we headed over the water and the boys went on California Screamin' so I took Ellie on the carousel.  It was so fun because most of the animals were from the sea.  I chose an orange fish for Ellie since its her favorite color!

As Nanny and I were walking along the boardwalk we spotted one of those mirror that make you look wonky...well girlfriend had a hard time figuring it out and because she is so short her image wasn't really distorted at all.

We found that in California Adventure there were more rides that had a height requirement that Ellie didn't meet than in Disneyland.  So we finally found another one for her, the Golden Zephyr and it was a lot of fun!  Ellie couldn't sit on my lap for this one, she had to be a big girl and boy and I thankful they make the smaller rider sit in first!! I envisioned her sliding out so many times while on the ride, I am so glad she was safe by my side the whole time!!

We finally met up with the boys again and headed back to It's A Bugs Life area to go on the caterpillar train ride.  Ellie loves to be goofy with Nanny's sunglasses, and this did not disappoint.

We got to be in the very front of the train. I have no idea how we got so lucky on this trip!!

but Ellie was pretty done with taking all the selfies!

The best we could manage.  It was a fun ride, but super short which I guess is good for little ones who are nervous or can't sit still for very long.

We were getting hungry so we headed to Cars Land for lunch at Flo's V8 Cafe.  The food was pretty good and we found a nice spot in the shade.  We got a chocolate milkshake to share and it totally hit the spot.  After lunch Nanny took Ellie back to the hotel for her nap and we stayed to go on a few more rides with Papa.

We rode on the swings, and after being on them I understand why Ellie is too short!

It was really fun but there were some teenagers/young 20's that were being total assholes and almost got the ride stopped because they kept grabbing for each other and trying to flip their swing around.

Then we went on California Screamin', now that right there folks is a roller coaster you do not want to miss.  I would have been very happy to go on it about 5 or 6 times....I just love looking at the pictures they take and had I known where the camera was, I might have had a better pose.

Then we went back to Tower of Terror.  It was a super fun ride and I can only imagine how great it is at nighttime.  Basically you sit in an "elevator" and it takes you up a few floors, opens the doors so you can see the "hotel" and then up some more.  Then it drops you several floors super fast, then goes back up and down, up and down, and again if I knew when/where the camera was I would have had a better pose.  When we went to check out our photos the group in another elevator had the best picture! I was cracking up and so jealous that we didn't think to pose like that...next time I suppose!

Here we are outside the Tower.

Then it was about the time that Ellie woke up from her nap so she and Nanny headed back over. We went on the Ariel ride again and despite the photo she really did love it.  I have to tell you it is hard to get these pictures while the ride is going!

And here is my favorite Disney Princess, the one who taught me to be a hoarder!!

Ellie really did have a blast riding around in her stroller and was just a big goofball.  I found my strand of Chewbeads in the suitcase and thought she might enjoy them, she barely took them out of her mouth the entire time and her shirt was soaked with drool...I think she might have some molars coming in!

Mickey's Wheel at night.

And finally an hour before the park closed, at 7pm we made our way to the Radiator Springs Racer's ride.  It was shut down because of malfunction and some people in line were getting extremely pissed!  Nanny and Papa were the first in the Fast Pass line while Thomas and I stayed with Ellie in the stroller parking area and about 5 minutes later they fixed the problem and the ride was up and running again.  We had to tag team this ride since Ellie wasn't tall enough.  We only had to wait about 15 minutes for Nanny and Papa to trade with us and then it was our turn.  Ya'll the line for the people without a Fast Pass was like a 70 minute wait and most of them had been waiting in line the whole time the ride was shut down!!  Luckily they have a rule that as long as you are in line before the park closes they will let you stay for the ride.  What a relief for them.  When it was our turn we got a Yellow car and the ride was pretty entertaining and fun.  I think the only way I would ride it again though is with a Fast Pass, I don't think its that good to wait in line for that long.  

Then we all headed back to the hotel to go to bed.

Have you been to California Adventure?  What was your favorite part?

♥ Ashley

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