Thursday, November 15, 2012

Disneyland: Day 2

Because we bought 3 day tickets instead of just 2 days, we got a “Magic Morning” pass which let us into the park an hour early…
which was a great thing because despite the late night and time difference, Riker’s internal clock woke him up at 5:30 (6:30 AZ time).

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Our first ride of the morning was the Astro Orbiter in Tomorrowland.
Exact same ride as Dumbo, which Riker loved…yet for some reason, he was not loving this ride and started to cry. I think going up high was just too much for him (he did go on this again Day 3 and loved it as long as TJ stayed low).

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Buzz Lightyear was another favorite that we managed to hit up 4 times.
We had just watched all 3 Toy Story movies for the first time before coming to Disneyland, so this was very exciting!

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Although, I think TJ was more serious about defeating Zurg than Riker was…

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Finding Nemo Submarine was fun for Riker (less fun for TJ and I).

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Tea Cups (again!)

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Riker really wanted to go on the carousel and I really didn’t want to…
there is a carousel at the mall, so why waste our precious Disneyland time on the carousel.
But, this trip was about making everything magical for Riker, so we went on the carousel.

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In fact, I think we ended up going on the carousel 4 times.
And every time, Riker would exclaim “I’m having the best time on this trip!”
So, I think it was a winner.

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Our first character experience was Aladdin and Princess Jasmine.
Riker had no fear in walking up and talking to them.
He told them his age, showed them his “1st Visit” button, and was absolutely adorable.

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We also ran into Pluto!
Riker isn’t as familiar with the classic Disney characters, but he knows who Mickey is and he was happy to meet Mickey’s dog.

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We headed over to California Adventure and hit up Bug’s Land.
I thought Riker would love these spinning lady bugs since they are like the tea cups, but this ride ended in tears…
TJ said they go much faster than the tea cups and you can’t control it at all.

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But all the tears went away when we got into these bumper cars.
Riker loved being able to steer all on his own, but said it was “dangerous” to bump into other cars.

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We waited in line for 15 minutes for this Chew Chew Train.
I remembered it being awesome, but guess what…it’s not.
Riker thought it was great, but the whole thing lasted maybe 1 minute.
Definitely not worth a wait in line!

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The new Cars Land was so fun to see, the street looked like it was pulled straight from the movie!
Of course, it was also the busiest area in the whole park.
Luigi’s Flying Tires was fun, they are like bumper cars but float on the air like an air hockey table.

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And the Mater ride was really fun, the seats swing around while the tractor spins.
We only did these rides once, since the long lines (45 minutes!) and an impatient toddler don’t work well together!

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My absolute favorite part of Day 2 was meeting Rapunzel and Eugene.
Riker has seen Tangled so many times, he can practically quote the entire movie (and he often does!).
When it was our turn to walk into their house, he just lit up.
It was adorable because he was a little shy…these are his favorite characters, after all!

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They got right down to talk to him and he answered all of their questions.
He even asked Eugene if he could see his sword, but Eugene pointed out the frying pan hanging on the wall and said he uses that instead now!

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When it was time to snap this picture, Riker put his arm right around Rapunzel and stood close! What a charmer!
A while after we left, Riker stopped, put his hand on his head and said “Aw man, I forgot to ask where Pascal was!”
He had all sorts of things he wanted to say to Rapunzel and Eugene, but I guess he got a little star-struck!

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