California Trip: Day Three

Day three started out early. We had breakfast at our hotel at 6:30 and then caught the hotel's shuttle service at 7 am to get to the park before it opened. Disneyland starts letting guests in about half an hour early and we wanted to get there early before the mega crowds ensued (later we realized that was indeed THE way to do it)!

The boys waiting outside the Disneyland gates.

We're in! Had to take the classic photo in front of the Main Street train station.

Looking down Main Street.

We headed over to wait in the line for Adventure Land to open at 8 am. Benjamin really wanted to see the Tiki room first (Grandma Pecos told him there were toucans in there and he was sold. Saying he's obsessed with toucans is an understatement. They're the new vacuums in our world.)

And.....in the Tiki Room. We had our own private showing and the first show of the day on Tuesday, March 13th. Since we were the only ones in there, the cast member said I could take photos with the flash on. Score! 

After the Tiki Room, we went on the Jungle Cruise since there was nobody in line. Ironically, this ride was the first ride I ever went on at Disneyland when I was seven...just like Benjamin!

After the Jungle Cruise, we grabbed Fast Passes for Indiana Jones and made sure Jonathan would pass muster (which he did...thanks to the hair). While waiting on our Fast Passes to become active, we ran over and did Pirates of the Caribbean (no line...yay!). The boys loved the Pirates ride...especially the two mini-plunges!

Here are the boys about to board Indiana Jones. Benjamin loved it. Jonathan was in tears when it was over. Maybe not the best ride for a five-year-old. 

After Adventure Land, we headed to Tomorrow Land for the first of the Jedi Training Academies. I had researched this a lot and had some friends let me know some tricks to get picked for this (the Tiki room was Benjamin's big "thing" and this, by far, was number one on Jonathan's to do list...we probably would have returned for other training sessions had this first one not worked out so well...we were quite committed). The above sign scored Jonathan a spot in the training session...Amen & Hallelujah, y'all!

Waiting to get picked.

After he got picked, he waited for his Jedi robe. He was actually one of the younger ones picked. And just to be clear...we weren't neglecting Benjamin here. He is just not a Star Wars fan like his brother. He was happy to be a spectator at this event.

Getting a feel for the light saber. Ironically, he owns four of his own light sabers...two of which are exactly like the one he used here. However, he had a dilly of a time getting that thing to work properly.

Practicing what the Jedi Master is teaching.

Doing the routine: "ACTIVATE! Left shoulder, right shoulder, leg, duck, other leg...."

And then the familiar music started to loudly come out of the speakers...

The Imperial March

And the stage rose to reveal Darth Vader. 

And the trainees were in awe...

And then right in front of us was Darth Maul. A little creepy if you ask me.

And then it was Jonathan's turn to take on {ironically, his favorite character}, Darth Vader.

He did not let his guard down! (Later he told me "I wasn't shy one bit!")

He fought a valiant fight.

In the above video, Jonathan is in the background with Darth Vader.

And all of the trainees defeated Vader and Maul! Victorious!

Receiving their Padawan certificates.

Our proud young Jedi.

After Jedi Training, we walked around a bit trying to decide where to grab a bite.

We ended up at the Village Haus. Everyone enjoyed their eats! Then back to pounding the pavement for more fun!

After lunch, we ended up in Toon Town (Benjamin has deemed this his favorite of all the areas in Disneyland). We were waiting in line for characters and one of the cast members pulled Jonathan out of line to show him the man hole that sings when you step on it. It was a hidden gem. Can you guess what he did to every subsequent manhole thereafter? 

Our first character of the day was Pluto...who is apparently near-sighted.

I was excited to bring our autograph books along...which are the ones I made the week before.

Pluto played quite a bit with the boys and got Jonathan giggling after he was done with autographs!

Of course, in Toon Town, you have to take a pic in the crazy jail. I have a photo of me in high school in this thing...wishing I could find it about now.

Toon Town cruising!

We wandered into the maze that is Mickey's house to find him for an autograph. Lots of fun things to look at in his house! Here's the boys on Pluto's bed.

Sitting in Mickey's arm chair.

Finding the guy we came to see!!

M-I-C-K-E-Y....M-O-U-S-E!

After getting Mickey's autograph, we wandered around Toon Town a little more. 

We headed out of Toon Town in time for David & Jonathan' Fast Pass time into the Star Tours ride. Benjamin had his fill of Star Wars for the day...so we did our own thing....tea cups (but did get a photo op with brother before he headed to Tomorrow Land)!

My precious view on the tea cups! He loved them. I tolerated the nausea that comes with me doing a ride like this....bleh. 

After meeting back up with David & Jonathan, we did our obligatory walk through of Cinderella's Castle and then headed to Critter Country to ride the Winnie the Pooh ride (it had the shortest line time on our Disney phone app and the place was getting mega crowded by this point).

After Winnie's ride, we ran into a life-size version of Jonathan's "Baby", known to the rest of the world as Tigger! Jonathan watched carefully as he signed his book.

All smiles with "Baby".

Can't forget Pooh.

Sweet.

We bought the boys their ears and decided to take a break at this point in the day. We hopped back on our shuttle to go to the hotel for a couple of hours of R&R.

After getting our second wind, we headed back to the park in time to get a spot for "Mickey's Soundsational Parade" down Main Street. This was one of my faves! So fun. The boys loved every minute of it...even the princesses!

Mr. Smeed noticed he & Jonathan both were wearing blue stripes! 

After the parade, we had dinner at the River Belle restaurant. We ate out on the patio and were excited to get a table on the river front. Our plans were to camp out there to have a great spot for Fantasmic. However, we didn't realize how chilly it would get (and how many melt downs that younger kid would have because of the cold). Both boys wanted to forego the Fantasmic show for something warmer (even with jackets, the wind was quite fierce that night). We decided to see Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln instead since it was near the entrance of the park and we would head back for the night after that.

On our way to the Lincoln show, we spotted Minnie!

She was super cute!

The boys actually paid great attention in the Lincoln show (where a figure of Lincoln actually talks and shares with the audience). At the end of the show, Jonathan exclaims: "I can't believe he's still alive!" We were kind of stunned that he knew who Abraham Lincoln was.

After the show, we headed to the hotel where we all were so exhausted, snores were heard within minutes of bathtime. A GREAT day, indeed!