2012 California Trip * Day 3

The next day we checked out of our hotel in Anaheim and headed to San Diego.  We made a pit stop at the Newport Beach Temple.

 

We ate lunch and then went to SeaWorld.  The first thing we did there was go to the One Ocean Shamu Show.  It was really neat to watch.

 

The next stop was Dolphin Point.  We watched the Dolphins during their free time for quite a while.  Dolphins are Kaylee's favorite animals, so she really enjoyed seeing them in person.  She was hoping to get to touch one, but never got the chance.  She did get splashed by one later in the day and was excited about that.

 

Kyler got bored with the Dolphin watching, so Russell took him to go on some rides.  They went on Shipwreck Rapids and Manta Double Launch Roller Coaster. 

 

They joined us later for the Blue Horizons Dolphin Show.  I thought this show was a lot more entertaining than the Shamu Show was, probably because the people could get in the water with the Dolphins.

 

 

After the show, Kaylee and Kenyon went on the Manta Roller Coaster with Russell and Kyler.  After they were done with that Evelyn wanted to go on a ride, so they all went on the Skytower Ride.  Evelyn loved it!

 

We also went to Pacific Point and saw the Seals and Sea Lions, Otter Outlook and watched the Sea Otters, Penguin Encounter and saw the Penguins,  & Wild Artic and saw Polar Bears, Walruses, and Beluga Whales.

 

We spent the night at a hotel in San Diego.

2012 California Trip * Day 2

The second day we went to Disneyland Park first.  The first ride we on was Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage.

 

Next Russell, Kyler, Kaylee and Kenyon went on the Big Thunder Mountain Railroad.  While they were on that ride, Evelyn and I went and found Mickey and Minnie at the Big Thunder Ranch Jamboree.  While there we colored masks...

 

... marched in a parade (Evelyn is right by Minnie in this picture)...

... and dance with Mickey!  Evelyn had so much fun and of course Kaylee was jealous.

 

 

After that we ate lunch on the Tomorrowland Terrace.  The next ride was Star Tours.  The kids LOVED this ride too.

 





The next stop was Splash Mountain.  (I don't know why this picture is sideways, but it is.)   While they were on Splash Mountain, Evelyn and I wondered around Critter Country and saw Winnie the Pooh, but didn't get a picture with him.

 



Russell and Kyler stayed in Disneyland Park and went on the Matterhorn Bobsleds and Space Mountain while Kaylee, Kenyon, Evelyn and I went to Disney California Adventure. 

 

We were in line to meet Pluto and Goofy came over too, so we were able to meet both of them at the same time!  We were 1 of 2 groups that had pictures with both of them, right after us Pluto left and it was just Goofy.

 



After seeing Pluto and Goofy we got in line for Monsters, Inc. Mike & Sulley to the Rescue.  After waiting in the line for a few minutes, Kaylee decided that she needed to go to the restroom.  Luckily my mom was with us, so she went on the ride with Kenyon and Evelyn while Kaylee and I went to the restroom.

 

After that ride it was time to go to Disney Junior -- Live on Stage!  They LOVED every minute of the show.  It was so much fun to watch them and see their excitement.

 

After the show, we watched the parade in Disney California Adventure.  During this time, Kyler and Russell were wondering around Cars Land.

 

After the parade, everyone but me went on Soarin' Over California again.  I was still sick from Star Tours so I didn't dare go on it.

 

 

After Soarin' Over California, our time at the Disneyland Resort had come to an end.  We went to dinner with Kendall, Sheri, Braxton, Rylie and Grandma and then to the hotel to rest up for the next day's activities. 



2012 California Trip * Day 1

Over UEA we went to California with the Henningson's.  The first day (October 17, 2012) was spent at Disney California Adventure and Disneyland Park.

 

These are pictures of the kids entertaining themselves while mom was getting the tickets.

 

We went to Cars Land first thing.  We were going to go on the Radiator Springs Racers ride, but it would be a 2 hour wait, so we changed our minds.  (Later in the day we heard that the ride broke down, so we were glad we didn't wait.)  The first ride we went on was Luigi's Flying Tires.

 

The kids got to meet Red.

The next ride was the Tower of Terror. Mom, Evelyn and I opted out, and we are glad we did. Kaylee and Kenyon HATED this ride. I love how you can see Kenyon holding on to the guy next to him in the picture. After the ride the guy told Russell that Kenyon had "quite a grip".

 

While they were on the Tower of Terror, Evelyn got to meet Flick...

... and ride on Heimlich's Chew Chew Train.

 

The other's got to meet Flick after the Tower of Terror.



While in "a bug's land" we went to It's Tough to be a Bug, which is a 4-D show.  Evelyn HATED it, mostly because they squirted some water on us and she hates to get wet when she isn't in her swimsuit.

 

Next we ate our picnic lunches at Paradise Pier.  All throughout lunch Evelyn was telling me she wanted to go to Disneyland and I kept telling her that we were already there.  Just after eating Kaylee and Evelyn went with Dale and Lilliam to The Little Mermaid - Ariel's Undersea Adventure, while the boys played at the splash pad.  The next ride was Soarin' Over California.  Everyone (except for me) loved this ride.  All of the kids kept saying that they wanted to go on it again. 

 

Next we went to Disneyland Park and got in line for Space Mountain.  Kaylee and Kenyon weren't so sure they wanted to go on it but we were going to make them.  Again Evelyn told me that she wanted to go to Disneyland and I told her that we were there.  This time she replied, "I haven't seen Mickey, so we aren't there."  I decided that I needed to take Evelyn, Kenyon and Kaylee to Main Street, U.S.A. and meet some characters while Russell and Kyler went on Space Mountain and Splash Mountain.

 

We got lucky and ran into Mickey Mouse just as he came out.  Evelyn was so excited, she ran up to him a gave him a huge hug!

 

I love the expression on Evelyn's face in this picture!

Pluto was next...

 

 ... then Chip and Dale...

 

... and then Goofy!

 

Our next stop was Minnie's House in Toontown.

 

Meeting Minnie Mouse!

 

Exploring Minnie's House

 

"Hey, they glued down all the food!"

The next stop was Mickey's House...

 

where we got to meet Mickey again!

Mickey even let the kids drive his car!

Goofy's Playhouse was our next stop.

 

They all got to drive Goofy's Truck too!

 

Inside Goofy's Playhouse.

Behind the Playhouse was a small playground that the kids played on for at least an hour.  They LOVED Mickey's Toontown!

 

Donald's Boat was the next stop.

 

Here are the pictures of Russell and Kyler on Space Mountain...

... and with Braxton on Splash Mountain.

 

We all went on the Disneyland Railroad (not the entire loop though) and then on the Disneyland Monorail.  The kids thought the Monorail was the "Bullet Train" and really enjoyed the ride.

 

Next we watched the Parade in Disneyland Park.  The kids enjoyed this and were able to see Donald Duck for the only time the entire trip.

 

We ate at Denny's and then went back to the Hotel to rest for Day 2.