Merry Christmas! Disneyland!

Saturday was our fourth and final day at Disneyland. By now we had been running so hard we were starting to get worn out. It was tough to get out of bed. We barely made it to the park by 8:00am. We knew immediately based on the line outside the park that today was going to be a little different than the other days we were at the park. It got crowded fast, and it was the most crowded day we have ever spent at Disneyland. We were glad we had done so many of the rides and attractions we wanted to earlier on our trip so that we could take it a little easier today.

We headed over to California Adventure. We wanted to ride the Radiator Springs Racers at least once more. Unfortunately, it wasn't like Thursday when we could just walk onto the ride. We got a fast pass and headed over to the pier to ride Toy Story Mania. We love this ride. It is so much fun to play the little carnival games inside the ride. Usually, it develops a pretty long line, but the line was short enough this morning that we were able to ride it twice.

The roller coaster was off to a slow start so we headed over to the Tower of Terror. This is one of Alison's favorite rides, but I am not a fan. Since I know how much Alison didn't want to ride it alone. I was a trooper and rode it with her. It wasn't so bad.

After the Tower of Terror, we were able to use our fast pass for Radiator Springs Racers. The line was pretty long today so we were grateful to be able to skip it. It is such a fun run. Cars land is one of our favorite parts of Disneyland. After the ride, we went over to the Cozy Cone to get some treats. They had this awesome cookies & cream churro. It was chocolaty on the outside with a creamy marshmallow sauce in the middle. So good. We also had to get our favorite Disneyland to treat - bacon mac and cheese in a bread cone. So yummy!

Before leaving California Adventure we took some time to enjoy the beautiful Christmas decorations around the park. The entire park, and especially cars land, was decked out for Christmas. We love it. The decorations and details are a big reason we love going to Disneyland at this time of year. We loved that in cars land they would be playing 'O Come All Ye Truckers' and other clever variations on classic Christmas tunes. Cars land is so festive this time of year. I thought it would be cool to get a picture of Alison using my iPhone to take a picture of some of the decorations. The picture turned out great, but Alison was not so amused. She decided to actually take pictures on my phone and I ended up with about 300 pictures of this tree.

Next, we headed back to Disneyland.  Our first stop was Hyperspace Mountain to get fast passes. One thing that really surprised us this trip was how popular Hyperspace Mountain was. With the changes to incorporate Star Wars into the ride, it was not unusual for the line to be as long as 120 minutes. As a rule, we don't like to wait in a line longer than 30 minutes so we relied on fast passes. While we waited we walked over to the castle. We hadn't gotten good pictures at the castle yet during this trip. We found an awesome photo pass employee over there. She was so into taking pictures it was a lot of fun and she got some great shots. We continued exploring the park and taking pictures along the way.

For lunch, we stopped by the River Belle Terrace. We ate there on a previous trip, but since then they have completely revamped their menus. Alison got a messy Mississippi BBQ pulled pork sandwich and I got a sirloin and cheddar sandwich. They both came with beans and potato salad. It was a great lunch.

Despite the crowds, we were able to ride our favorites, Space Mountain, Splash Mountain, Big Thunder Mountain, and the Haunted Mansion one more time. We definitely took the day at a slower pace. At one point we were walking past the Golden Horseshoe when they announced their show was about to begin. We popped in and found a seat. We sat by a couple visiting from Vancouver, who was visiting Disneyland with their grandchildren. They were so friendly. The husband asked if we were on our honeymoon, and we told him no, we were here for my birthday. We chatted for a bit while we were waiting for the show. They were so nice. The husband said one thing that I really loved. He said, "you are never too old to have a happy childhood." I think that is very true.

While we were standing in line waiting at the Winnie the Pooh ride we made friends with these two little girls. They ran past us in the line trying to catch up to their dad and sister. Unfortunately, their dad and sister loaded on the ride before they could make it to the front. We then watched as their Mom yelled for them to go to the back of the line. They were a little distraught to give up their prime spot in line (by then they were about to the front). When we moved from the line to the loading area they were right behind us. One of the girls pointed out that since Alison was wearing a white sweater she would "glow" during the ride. It was funny. Right about then, a hired hand came over to ask the girls their ages. Since one of them was under 7 they couldn't ride without an adult. Once again they were distraught, they just wanted to ride Winnie the Pooh. Fortunately, by then their dad was off the ride and able to run over so they could keep their spot in line. As we loaded into the honeycomb and made sure the honey bar was stickily stuck one of the girls yelled to Alison, "have fun glowing." It was cute.

It was starting to get dark and there was still one thing on our list we wanted to do in Disneyland before the night was over. It's a Small World is so beautiful at Christmastime that we wanted to ride it after dark. The problem is the line gets pretty long. We really wanted to do it so we would just have to wait in line. We got there before the lights turned on thinking if we timed it just right we would get on a boat right after the lights came on. Unfortunately for us, that is when it started to rain. We ended up bailing on the line to run and get our jackets out of a locker and buy an umbrella. Having rain gear made standing in line much more pleasant. Since we had to leave and come back we were about halfway through the line when they turned the lights on. It truly is an awesome Christmas display. We really love the Christmas version of It's a Small World. The ride was great until the end. The boats were stacked up a bit at the end, which isn't so bad except when it is pouring rain. To top things off they wouldn't let anyone put up an umbrella while we were in a boat. Instead, we just had to sit there in the rain. By the time they got us out of the boat, we were pretty wet.

We had reservations at Cafe Orleans and we had to run to make it. We got there to get more bad news. Because of the rain they had to close some of their seating so even though we had reservations we had to wait. They gave us a buzzer and asked that we stay around New Orleans Square. We did a little shopping and tried to stay out of the rain. It ended up being about a half an hour wait. When we did get seated we were still outside, but at least we were out of the rain. A lot was going against Cafe Orleans this particular night, so it would have been quite a feat for them to really impress us. We got some pomme frites as an appetizer. They are basically garlic fries with a little bit of remoulade sauce. They were very tasty. For our main meal, we went with the Monte Cristo sandwiches. These are the popular choice at Cafe Orleans. I tried the three cheese version and Alison got traditional. They were not our favorite. It was too much deep-fried food. Our stomachs could not handle it. We are glad we gave it a try, but I do not think we will be doing that again.

After dinner, we walked around the shops on Main street buying a few last-minute gifts. We were enjoying the ambiance of Disneyland. Then it was time to say goodbye. We left Disneyland and headed over to California Adventure. Right, when we got over there we noticed Mickey was standing in one of the shops with no line. Alison was so excited. We love to see Mickey, but this trip every time we checked there was over an hour line and we just didn't want to wait that long. We ran over and Mickey gave Alison a big hug. It was great. After visiting Mickey we noticed the line to see Santa was also really short. We thought why not. We got in line and Santa made us sit on his knee. He asked what we wanted for Christmas and somehow that question caught us by surprise. The Santa at Disneyland was very jolly. He was top-notch.

We also stopped by turtle talk. I had done this show a couple times, but Alison never had. While we sitting waiting for the show to begin this guy came over and started talking to us. He was probably pretty close to our age and you could tell he had some type of disability. He was such a nice friendly individual. He showed us some pictures some of the animators drew for him. He was so excited and we really enjoyed getting to know him. Turtle Talk was awesome. We sat in the back hoping to observe and enjoy the show. Sure enough, that didn't happen. Alison was wearing her Minnie Ears and after Crush talked to a kid near the front he decided he wanted to talk to the human in the back with the funny ears. Alison was a little shocked and Crush started off by making fun of the shocked expression she had when he called on her. They had a little chat about the ears and what we like to do for fun. Alison told Crush that we like to watch baseball. To which Crush responded with, "What is baseball?" Alison embarked on a fairly detailed description of baseball, telling Crush there is a ball that people throw and other people try to hit it with a bat. He asked if there were bases and Alison explained there were 4 bases and people advance to different bases based on how they hit the ball. Crush decided baseball is a complicated game. He brought out a foam finger that his son, Squirt, gave to him and asked Alison if it was used in baseball. Alison explained people use it to cheer. Crush wanted to cheer and asked Alison to walk him through the process. She explained you have to hold the foam finger in the air, at which point Crush disappeared from the screen to hold the finger in the air. She told him you then say, "Go Yankees!" to which he responded, "I think that's a trap." It was so funny. He then told us he likes to watch the angelfish play and that his favorite player is Mike and he is a trout. It was pretty clever. Crush went on to talk to a bunch of the kids. Later one of the kids said he liked games so Crush asked if he liked baseball. When the kid answered in the affirmative Crush warned, "you better not tell Alison she will make you cheer for the Yankees." Turtle talk was a ton of fun.

At this point, the first World of Color show was underway. We walked around cars land enjoying the neon lights when we noticed the line for Radiator Springs Racers was particularly short. We got in line and rode this ride one last time. It was a great choice for our last ride of the trip.

After the ride, it was time for World of Color Celebrate! This is the new World of Color for the Diamond Celebration. It is narrated by Neil Patrick Harris and Mickey Mouse. It tells parts of the story of Mickey Mouse and Walt Disney. It really is a celebration of Disneyland and it also pays tribute to many of the classic Disneyland rides, along with new favorites. It has a very different feel than the original Wold of Color. We really enjoyed it. We obviously love Disneyland and this show celebrates everything we love about it.

While we were wandering Main Street we came across a quote we really liked: "...Disneyland is an old friend. When we return for another visit, look at a picture, or talk with friends, we invariably spark a memory...Wasn't there a mule ride? A stagecoach? ...And whatever happened to those flying saucers? - Imagineer Bruce Gordon. We love Disneyland because of the memories. We love Disneyland because it is a place where kids and adults can enjoy together. It truly is a magical place.

"To all that come to this happy place: welcome. Disneyland is your land. Here age relives fond memories of the past, and here youth may savor the challenge and promise of the future. Disneyland is dedicated to the ideals, the dreams, and the hard facts that have created America... with hope that it will be a source of joy and inspiration to all the world." - Walt Disney

It was finally time to say goodbye. By the end we were tired and our feet hurt, but we couldn't have been happier and as soon we left we had a great desire to go back. That is all part of the magic. When we got back to our hotel we found a surprise waiting for us. The hotel staff had arranged the stuffed animals we won on the boardwalk on our bed. It made us smile. 

This may have been our best Disneyland trip ever. I am sure we will be back again soon.