Labor Day at Disneyland!

Thursday
Cedric is bored at the airport. Stitch finds something to do on the plane.


He joined me on my direct flight that stopped at Phoenix. I surprised him when I got off the plane and joined him in line. We arrived in Anaheim at John Wayne Airport. Took forever to get luggage, not so long to get our cobalt blue Chevy Cobalt.


We headed straight to Downtown Disney. Nemo!



We had lunch at the House of Blues then walked around the stores. Catfish nuggets with sweet potato fries and a huge slab of ribs.


The Legoland store


World of Disney. Cindy starts her wish list.


It's a gorgeous day in Florida. Cedric strikes a mermaid pose.


We're here! California! It's the entrance to Disney's California Adventure.


Got lost trying to find hotel. Checked into our room which was really cool on the 2nd floor overlooking the pool with high ceilings, extra windows, and a refrigerator! Did some pool time before cleaning up and heading to Newport Beach to walk around.


We checked out the pier and all the people fishing off it. Sushi at 345 (san shi go) for dinner.



Friday
We do a 4 mile run at 6am then get cleaned up to hit Disneyland as soon as it opens. It's only a 12 min walk from our hotel to the gate!


First ride: Astro Blaster! Pictures taken before I decide that the ride makes me want to hurl.


The Nemo line was over 2.5 hours long so we skipped it and rode Space Mountain twice in a row.

It's better than the one at Disney World. Hurl-acious. We hit 6 other rides in an hour and a half. Including:
Buzz Lightyear's Astro Blaster where Cedric kicks my ass.


Star Tours. Another ride that makes me want to hurl.


Autopia. Which I loved. Loong ride. Sweet. We even got driver's licenses.


Here's my cool car. And also the view from Cedric's car.



Off-roading...


Cedric is behind me.



Next, the Ho goes Westward to Critter Country and Splash Mountain.


Before, and After:


Then the witty Jungle Cruise. Can you find the banana?


Haunted Mansion.


Then we head to Pooh Corner. It breaks when we get in line. Ride Down! First of the many broken rides :(


On a recommendation, we go to the French Quarter for a Monte Cristo sandwich.


While we're waiting for food, the chefs check in.



And we've got good seats for the a pirate show.


Yum. Pommes frites with rosemary, parmesan, basil, and cajun spices. I have the Monte Cristo sandwich - a ham, turkey, and swiss cheese sandwich, dipped in egg batter and deep fried. But it comes with a side of grapes and strawberries. Healthy! And Cedric gets the chicken crepes. Also, someone else gets Mickey beignets for their anniversary.



Our awesome Filipino wait staff.


After lunch, we head to Disney's California Adventure (DCA). The High School Musical 2 show is just ending and Cedric learns some Bobcat (Wildcat?) cheers.


Cedric has enough energy to fight the Genie.



Tower of Terror. Our favorite ride at DCA that's not the Aladdin show. Go team! We end up riding this 4 times. It was only a 13 minute wait.


Then Monsters Inc!


Muppet 3D theater. Just like Disney Studios.




The obligatory Fruity Cedric pic and a rainbow.


Next we're off to Paradise Pier for California Screamin, the Sun Wheel (the most hurl-tastic of all Disney rides), and the Maliboomer! Welcome to the Maaaliboomer. Please put your loose items such as hats, sunglasses, cameras, and day packs in the storage boxes near your seat...


A Bug's Life 3D at DCA



Grizzly Falls: Before and After. We sat with a family of Angelinos. The dad thinks his family will get wet. Guess who does?


Soarin' over California


Aladdin at the Hyperion Theatre. We loved it. Gimme my umbrella...ella...ella. You look good up close. You look better from Jafar.


Monsters Inc (2nd time): If you are too big to ride inside the bus, you can ride on top as long as you don't crush the roof A lot of the guests at Disneyland fit this warning. Meanwhile, Cedric reaches for a drink from the Drooler Cooler.



Silly times at the Character roundup waiting for Turtle Talk which we ended up not going to.


Short dinner break off-park at Quiznos and rested up in the room before heading back to DL for fireworks. Afterwards, we hit some rides in Fantasyland starting with the Matterhorn. It's a Small World is my favorite ride at Walt Disney World. At Disneyland, not so much. Then all the scary ones: Mr. Toad's/Cedric's Wild Ride, Snow White/Evil Witch, Pinocchio.


Saturday
We run to Finding Nemo first thing on Saturday and only have to wait 90 minutes in line. Mine! Mine! Mine!


The fish hide from Darla.


Fake diver and more fake fish.



We ride Autopia...again.



Lunch with Billy at the Jazz Kitchen at Downtown Disney. Catfish for Cedric and Muffalettas for me & Billy.


Next, we headed to the Race Expo to get our race stuff. And I do more shopping... We head back to the hotel with all our swag and get prettied up for dinner.

Billy drives us to San Diego where we do some pre-race carb loading at Acqua Al 2. Blueberry steak for Cedric. Steak in Balsamic sauce for me & Billy. Sense a trend?




Sunday
Quick healthy breakfast, then off to see the rope drop. Eeyore!!


We went to Nemo first thing in the morning. Wait was just under an hour. It's worth it for this 15 minute ride. Stitch finds a cool place in the shade to wait.



Cedric & Billy spin the teacup. I sit this one out.




Soon afterward, we hear that a 4.7 earthquake has hit Southern California and all indoor rides close for 30 minutes to be inspected. We head to ToonTown to walk around. Then we take the train through Tomorrowland, Main Street, then Adventureland heading towards Indiana Jones. First we go through It's A Small World.


Indiana Jones is down so we get a FastPass so we can ride it later. Ride Down!

We head back to DCA to catch the Aladdin show with Billy. The Genie was even funnier than the first.

Block Party at DCA: Toy Story



Monsters Inc: Sully & George! And Boo!



A Bug's Life


Back to DL to catch Indiana Jones. Inside the gate the Parade of Dreams is starting.
Tinkerbell


Beauty and the Beast


Pinocchio



The Little Mermaid



The Lion King



Princesses


We FastPass into Indiana Jones. We get all the way to the front and the ride goes down. It has to be evacuated and we get a FastPass to any ride of our choice in the park.

Monday
3:15 am wake up call to get ready for the Half Marathon. We wait 20 minutes for a shuttle that saves us the 10-minute walk to the Main Gate of DL/DCA. Hmmm. Then we walk through Downtown Disney to get to the staging area for the race.

Course Map

Results

CINDY
Bib 2695
ChipTime 2:30:03
ClockTime 2:33:08
Overall 3902
SexPl 1776
DivPl 305
AgeGrade 44%
5k_split 38:01
10k_split 1:11:00
15k_split 1:47:13

CEDRIC
Bib 484
ChipTime 2:30:01
ClockTime 2:33:07
Overall 3898
SexPl 2126
DivPl 216
AgeGrade 39.5%
5k_split 38:01
10k_split 1:10:58
15k_split 1:47:21

BILLY
Bib 3330
ChipTime 2:30:00
ClockTime 2:33:06
Overall 3896
SexPl 2124
DivPl 269
AgeGrade 43.2%
5k_split 38:01
10k_split 1:10:58
15k_split 1:47:20

Post race we refuel by getting breakfast at McDonalds before heading back to the hotel for a shower. Then we "relax" by shopping in Downtown Disney and California Adventure. Ced gets a Mike Wazowski hat. I get a Nemo one.


We tried to go see Aladdin again, but it was dark that day. Booo. So we went to the Tower of Terror again. This time wearing our hats! Sorry, no picture. Booo.

Afterwards, we went back to DL to finally ride Indiana Jones. I thought it was kind of okay. I wouldn't ride it again.


An Astro Blaster rematch. This time I let Ced & Billy duke it out. Guess who won...


We grab some dinner with Billy at Tortilla Joes before he has to leave us. I hang out in the hotel room and start packing while Cedric passes out cold on the bed.


We head back to DCA and DL for the Electric Parade and the fireworks. We're early and there's no line at Mulholland Madness. We ride it 3 times! Cedric driving! HA!! And also the Maliboomer another 2 times. Paradise Pier is all lit up at night. Ced gets us cool light up necklaces for the Electric Parade. The dogs love them, btw, for their nighttime walks. Thanks Uncle Cedric!




After the fireworks at DL, we ride the Matterhorn again, then the Monorail to DTD and back before calling it quits. 4 days of park in all.

Here's the ride tally:
Disneyland
Space Mountain - Ced: 3, Me: 2, Billy: 1
Finding Nemo - Me & Ced: 2, Billy: 1
Astro Blaster - Me & Ced: 2, Billy: 1
Train - Me & Ced: 2, Billy: 1
Cafe Orleans - Me & Ced: 2, Billy: 1
Autopia - Me & Ced: 2
Everything else - 1

California Adventure
Tower of Terror - Me & Ced: 4, Billy 1
Maliboomer - Me & Ced: 4, Billy 1
Mulholland Madness - Me &: Ced: 3
Aladdin - Me & Ced: 2, Billy: 1
Sun Wheel - Ced: 2, Me & Billy: 1
California Screamin - Me & Ced: 2
Everything else - 1

We get up early again to head to the airport. The counter doesn't open for 45 minutes...



Everyone makes it home safely. Well, except for Cedric's camera :( So hopefully this blog will kind of make up for it. See you at the Tower of Terror 13k Halloween weekend!


We did Sea it all!