Day 2

Our plan for our second day was to use our Magical Morning early entrance pass to get into California Adventure and go to Radiator Springs Racers.  On the shuttle over to the park we learned that California Adventure is not open until 10 and doesn't do the magical morning thing-only Disneyland does.  So we quickly adjusted our plans.  It was about 8:45 so we went straight to Matterhorn as soon as it opened.  We were hoping for a ride that was running and a shorter line than the day before.  And we got both!  We literally hopped right on.  It was Justin and I with Molly.  My mom and dad took the two younger somewhere else...Brynn rode Buzz Lightyear's AstroBlaster with Grandma and Stockton rode Astro Orbitor with Grandpa.  Funny, huh?  Stockton was scared of the dark in the Buzz ride and Brynn was scared of the orbiter for whatever reason.  We exchanged kids and did the stroller pass thing so Molly rode Matterhorn with Grandma and Grandpa and Justin and I took Stocky and Brynn to Autopia.  We still had some time to kill before 10 so we also rode the Monorail while we were right there.

After that it was time to walk over to California Adventure.

We had two objectives once we got there:  get Fastpasses for World of Color and Radiator Springs Racers (both are so popular you can have these Fastpasses along with others-you can usually only have one Fastpass at a time).  Justin and my dad ran over to get World of Color passes while my mom and I hopped in the very long line for the Racers.  Well, the very long line went way fast and we got to the end with no tickets...we aren't as familiar with that park so the guys got a little lost making their way back to us.  But we got the passes soon enough and were ready to explore California Adventure.

We took the kids to Bug's Land and went to the bumper cars first.

Brynn was too little so she got some grandma and grandpa time on Francis' Ladybug Boogie.

Then we all went on Flik's Flyers.

Stockton really loved all of these rides, especially Flik's Flyers.

Oh, and there is Flik himself.

We were done with that area for a while so we decided to go check out Ariel's Undersea Adventure.  It had opened the same weekend that we were there a few years ago and it was a very long wait then, so we were pleasantly surprised to see that it was a short line, less than 5 minutes....in fact, I think that it was never longer than that the whole time we were there.  That was nice for Brynn because she rode the Ariel ride lots and lots and lots of times.

This is what Stockton did whenever a ride got dark.

After the Ariel ride we got some Fastpasses for California Screamin and then explored the Pier while we waited to ride it.

We happened to walk past Buzz and it was a short line so we waited a few minutes to meet him. 

Then we got to the swings and Stockton knew for sure he wanted to do that.  He was having a good time but had not gotten that excited for a ride so far.  He was so fun to ride with.  As soon as the ride started, he spread his arms out and kept them like that the whole time. He screamed and cheered and said, "Mom, I'm flying!  I'm Peter Pan!"  At the end he looked at me and said, "That. was. fun!"

That was all we got to-it was time to head back to California Screamin.  We were all pretty excited about this one because we had loved it last time.  Molly was barely the required 48" so she jumped on with Justin and me for the first run.

She did great...she got pretty nervous right before the upside down loop but made it through and was all smiles at the end.  Of course, she turned around and did it again with Grandma and Grandpa and Justin.

Stockton and Brynn rode the Carousel while we were doing to coaster.

We took a break then for some lunch and then went to explore a little of Cars Land.  This is the main reason we went back when we did.  Last time we were there, they were building Cars Land and we knew that we really wanted to take Stockton back when he was little and would really enjoy it.  He's a little past the Cars stage but he loved it all the same...actually, we all loved it.  The main drag was so fun and so much like the movie and it we had a great time exploring it.

We rode Mater's Junkyard Jamboree and then Luigi's Flying Tires.  Those were fun because we could all ride them.

This is funny.  Here is Brynn with Justin, getting ready to ride Mater's Junkyard Jamboree:

And here she is mid-ride:

A little nervous, you think?  She sure was clinging to her daddy!

We met a few cars that were wandering around the streets of Cars Land.  They look so life-like, and they talk!

After exploring for a bit longer there, we ended up back in Bug's Land.  Stockton really wanted to ride Heimlich's Chew Chew Train so my mom and I got in line with the kids for that.  Molly was not interested and neither was Justin so they went to The Tower of Terror to get Fastpasses for all of us for later.  Stockton and Brynn thought the train was hilarious because Heimlich eats so much food that he lets out a big belch right at the end.  They couldn't stop giggling.

When we got off, I texted Justin to find out where they were...turns out the line for The Tower of Terror was so short they just ended up riding it then.  Molly was most excited to ride this ride, and it did not disappoint her. 

I watched her come off and she was giggling and jumping up and down.  She would have turned around and done it again if we let her.

I was so scared and nervous to ride it, so I was okay with missing it, although it wasn't her only time riding it and I ended up facing my fear and riding it a couple times as well. 

Brynn had fallen asleep by then so my dad took a break and stayed with her while the rest of us rode the Monsters, Inc. ride.  I thought this ride was so cute and so clever and I loved the room with all the doors (we are very familiar with this movie...it was Molly's favorite movie when she turned 3 and we watched it nearly everyday).

Finally, it was time to go back to Cars Land for Radiator Springs Racers.  It was the longest line of all the rides in both parks so we were glad to have our Fastpasses because we got right on.  I was a little anxious to see how Stockton would do...he wasn't exactly scared of the rides, he just would get nervous of the dark rides.  He had been doing great with anything outside, but he hadn't been on anything too fast and I knew the ride sped up quite a bit at the end.

This ride starts out really calm, then goes dark and kinda crazy and then fast...you actually race another car.  I was so happy and excited to see how much Stockton loved it.  He thought it was awesome and skipped off of it and turned around and rode it again with the stroller pass. 

This was a top favorite for all of us, kids and grown-ups alike.  Disney really outdid themselves with the scenery and no detail was left out.  A really fun place!  I am so glad we decided to go back when our kids could get really excited about it. 

I had promised Molly some cotton candy so we went to find Justin, wait for the parade, and eat some snacks.  We had really good seats for the parade! 

It was a fun parade, although not nearly as flashy and exciting as the one the night before.  But it did have a lot of our favorite characters...Mike Wazowski and Sully, The Incredibles, Nemo and Dori, Woody and Jessie and Buzz, with Lightning McQueen and Mater bringing up the rear.

After the parade, we went back to Cars Land where Justin, Molly, and grandpa used up the last of our stroller passes for Radiator Springs Racers then we ate dinner at Flo's Diner.  Here is the main drag of Cars Land, all lit up at night.

Stockton had been begging for a light-up Mickey Mouse sword all night.  We told the kids they could each pick out a souvenir/toy to take home but we thought we'd wait until the last day before picking them out.  Well, when Stockton gets something in his head, it stays there and it's all he whines talks about until it happens.  So we took him to a store and helped him pick out something that wouldn't break the next day (like the light-up Mickey Mouse sword would have).  He picked a Buzz nerf gun and was happy with his purchase.  Grandma and Grandpa also bought the kids some Disneyland T-shirts to wear the next day and while we were all checking out, Molly and Justin ran over to California Screamin for one last go on that.  Seriously, that girl couldn't get enough of rides!  Brynn also got one last ride in for the day...the Ariel ride with Daddy.

We ended our night with the World of Color show.  It really is such an incredible attraction there.  The kids were mesmerized...and so were the rest of us!

We got home late that night...our latest night of all...the kids were worn out and had no trouble falling right asleep, all three in one bed!