Photo TR: Julie and Kevin invade SoCal!

[USRoadTripper]

My plan for a trip to California came last year when Hong Kong Disneyland opened. My last and only trip to California was in June of 2001, and I'd been meaning to get back there ever since. I had missed the opening of Main Street Electrical Parade in DCA by about a week, and had been very upset about that for a number of reasons. It has always been my favorite parade, and pretty much my favorite *anything* Disney has ever done. So once Hong Kong Disneyland opened, I got scared that they would send the parade over there and I wouldn't get it see it again!

 

Then last fall, I started getting to know some of the TPR folks who live in California, and decided that I really wanted to get out there and meet them, and also grab a bunch of coaster credits along the way. So I decided to head out to SoCal in May. Then Kevin convinced me to go to Spain with him, but that trip was already planned for May. So I pushed my trip back to the end of August, much to the chagrin of a few friends in SoCal

 

 

Thursday, August 31st

 

My morning started at 4:00am when I woke up and finished up a little bit of last minute packing. I changed the litter box, then fixed some breakfast. Dad arrived at 4:30...a half hour early...so he had to sit there and watch me eat my breakfast. We left my house at 5:00am, and arrived at the airport at about 5:10am, with my flight leaving at 7:00am. I was through security quickly, and was sitting at my gate within 20 minutes.

 

My first flight went from Nashville to Atlanta and was uneventful. Once in Atlanta, I found my gate easily, and was happy to find a food court nearby. I grabbed an egg and cheese bagel from McDonalds (that was completely soaked with butter!) and was on my way to LA shortly thereafter. The second leg of the flight was uneventful also, and I kept my little monitor on the flight tracking map the whole time.

 

Once at LAX, I waited a half hour for my checked bag with my liquids and gels in it to be delivered, then I caught a Thrifty car rental shuttle. Once at Thrifty, I was directed to a row of vehicles that I could pick from, but there were only minivans in that row! No way did I want a minivan since I knew I'd be doing a significant amount of driving! Eventually I got them to give me a regular car, which was what I had reserved in the first place. It was a red Chrysler Sebring, and it was quite nice!

 

I knew I'd probably be getting a call from my friend Mike as soon as I got to LA, so I kept my phone out. Of course, almost as soon as I started the drive, my phone fell under my seat where I couldn't reach it! I was staying at the Holiday Inn Express at the Magic Mountain exit, so I just headed there, then found my phone and called Mike. After unpacking a few things, I picked him up and headed for some lunch.

 

I'd been wanting to try a Del Taco for years, and lucky for me, there was one within a couple of miles! I got a crispy chicken taco, a macho taco and a chicken taco, and it was pretty good, though it's no Taco Bell! I think I will also always associate the taste of cilantro with Del Taco!

 

After lunch, we headed for the Mountain. I said that I wanted the first stop to be Psyclone since everyone seems to talk about how horrible it is, so that was where we headed. My first impression of the park was that it was quite a bit nicer than I thought it might be. Everything seemed to have relatively nice landscaping, lots of places were themed, and generally, I couldn't quite see what everyone was complaining about!

 

Once at Psyclone, I really braced for the worst. But luckily, I didn't think the ride was that bad! Yeah, it wasn't smooth, but I've ridden much, much worse woodies! Needless to say, I was very pleasantly surprised! We meandered across the back of the park for a bit, then rode Goldrusher since it was along the way. I thought it was a nice little terrain coaster, though it did have a couple of rough spots!

 

Next, we decided to go ahead and hike up to Superman and ride that since it was running. The hike was quite a bit more strenuous than I'd imagined, but I made it! Superman was running the left side, and had pretty much no line. I'd really been anticipating this ride since I love both launches and shot towers...I figured that the ride had to be good. And of course, I was right!

 

I thought the ride was really awesome! As soon as we were done, I said I

wanted to ride again, so Mike obliged.Since we were in the area, we rode Ninja also. This is definitely my favorite of the suspended coasters I've ridden since it swoops low to the ground and water, and is quite forceful. It does have a really lame ending though! Second only to Adventure Express!

 

When the ride was over, I found a soda machine that had a dollar's worth of credit on it, so I decided to buy a soda. It still cost me $2.50, but hey, at least I got a dollar discount! We wandered back down the mountain, then in the direction of Bugs Bunny World for my Canyon Blaster credit. On the way, I saw Sierra Twist, the bayern curve, and decided to hop on for a ride since I'd never ridden one before. It was kinda fun, but it felt like it was gonna dump me out the whole time! I'm glad we both survived! Mike put it best when he described it as the Matterhorn meets Space Mountain meets a Six Flags budget.

 

Afterwards, we explored Bugs Bunny World for a while. We tried to ride both Gloiath Jr. and the Tweety bird cages, but were denied both rides. After watching Mike chat with some ride op friends, and being introduced as his chick, we rode Canyon Blaster. Leaving Bugs Bunny World, I said I wanted to go take a look at Flashback, so we headed over there. I can see why this coaster never had a lot of attention...it's off in a little corner where nothing else is there except some bathrooms, so no doubt people didn't know it was there.

 

We crossed back across the front of the park and decided to take in Revolution while we were in the area. I found the OTSRs on this ride to be completely unneccesary, and very poorly designed. When I pulled the restraint down over my head, only the very top of my head would touch the sides of the restraint! I could turn my head and peek through the restraint, and Mike could see my whole face! The ride was quite comfortable since my head was almost completely not touching the restraint.

 

Next, it was time for my #200 credit! I'd decided a long time ago that I wanted it to be X, but X had been down for a while by that point, with no sign of it's reopening any time soon. So I decided that Tatsu would be #200. There was very little wait, so we decided to wait the extra and ride in the front row. It was still only about 6 trains worth of wait or so. I thought the ride was great, though it did knock the wind out of me pretty well! The pretzel loop seemed too big to me, and when the ride was over, I had to take a few minutes to get my bearings back. We tried to get Vault Icees, but the mix wasn't frozen yet, so we sat in the shade and chatted for a bit.

 

Once my head quit spinning, we went to ride Viper for the last ride of the night. I don't have a good track record of getting good rides on old Arrow mega-loopers, and this was no exception. The ride beat me up pretty well all the way through, especially near the end just before the element that looks like the butterfly on Tennessee Tornado. This one was definitely my least favorite coaster in the park, and the only one that really seemed to hurt me.There was just a little bit of time left before the park closed, so we decided to ride Log Jammer before it closed. It was a nice ride up until the

very end when the final splash soaked us both! I got pretty wet, but Mike was basically soaked!

 

By the time we were done, the park was closed, so we headed back for the car. I gave a call to Guy on the way out and finalized plans for the next morning, then dropped Mike off at his house. From there, I had to go pick up Kevin at LAX, since his flight was arriving at around 10:30. He'd texted me earlier to say that he was gonna be later than planned, which was fine with me since it meant more time in the park that night. I had a few minutes before I had to leave, so I found a nearby Pavilions supermarket and got some water and Snapple, then loaded up the hotel fridge before heading out for the airport.

 

There was no traffic (nor was there any traffic going from LAX to Valencia earlier) but I got seriously turned around when I was trying to pick him up! I have no idea what I did, but I somehow ended up inside a parking garage right across from where I needed to be. Luckily I didn't get charged for just driving in then out again, and when I made a second pass around the area, I found him waiting there for me.

 

We were both pretty hungry by the time we got back to Valencia at midnight, so we grabbed a bite in the Dennys in our hotel parking lot. I had a buffalo chicken sandwich, and it was very good but very messy! I had buffalo sauce running all down my hands, but boy was it tasty! After eating, we got settled in for the night and were in bed by 1:00am.

And to end out the night, we took a very wet ride on Log Jammer! More TR will be posted later, but comments are welcome!

Here it is...the NEVER BEFORE SEEN shot of the SFMM entry plaza! Be still my heart!

As seen here, Magic Mountain had a decent amount of very nice looking theming.

"I wish my rubber cement was tall enough to ride Goliath."

In a moment nine months in the making, Julie finally gives Mikey some rubber cement. It's a very long story. Don't ask

"Naw, it's all Boof!" Mike's shirt reminds us both of our favorite New Zealander!

Julie of Steel! I completely loved the Superman ride...every park should have one!

Here, Mike models the empty queue building for Gold Rusher. The lines were almost non-existant this night, which was great!

Yay! I'm at Magic Mountain! And this is Mike, who is doing his best teenage Asian girl impression in this photo.

Del Taco...mmm...nothing helps start off a trip like good, healthy California food!

Shout out to Crispy and all the other Albuquerque peeps on TPR! Chris, did you see me waving at you when my plane flew by?

Yay! Time to get out of Nashville for a while!

[arrowfanman]

Wow! That has to be the most I've read since...I was in high school!

 

But thanks for the awesome report Julie! Cant want for part dos! And tres. And quatro. And...

 

 

-Jahan

[zaneymon]

GO the Boof!!!!!!

 

Lookd like you had fun at SFMM cant wait to see more

 

Zane

[Mr.Six]

Awesome TR! Had a great time both of those days. Can't wait to see the pics of Day II at SFMM and the other parks.

_six

[Freefallbestrideever]

OMG! It's "teh wall of dah text" lol too bad you couldn't ride X, looks like a fun trip

[Scaparri]

Awesome Julie! I'm jealous! One of these days I'll get out there. One of these days. Lookin' forward to the next updates.

[bgwfreak]

Yay! A Julie TR!!!! Can't wait to see the rest.

[Skyscraper]

Super fun trip report Julie !

Great to see you had a good time at SFMM ! I miss SoCal really much !

And yes, Ninja is the best suspended swigging coaster !

 

I already want to see more of your SoCal trip ! Have fun !

[crispy]

Yes I did Julie, and I waved back, did you see it?

 

anyway, great TR, can't wait for more

[shesaidboom]

Glad to see another Julie TR, yours are always great! Also glad to see you had a good time at SFMM. That's one of the parks I've always wanted to visit and I'm hoping to not be completely disappointed once I do finally get the chance to go. I look forward to reading the rest of your TR.

[USRoadTripper]

Friday, September 1

 

I'm not sure exactly what time I got up on Friday morning, but Kevin was already up and out when I got up. I jumped in the shower, and when I got out, I noticed a note from Kevin that said he'd meet me in the breakfast room whenever I got up. So I headed off that way, and found him easily. He said he couldn't sleep, so he'd gotten up and soaked in the tub a while, then gone to get a bite. We both grabbed some breakfast, which for the next four days was gonna be the same...cinnamon rolls, cereal, yogurt, english muffins, bagels, juice and other stuff like that. It was good, and I think it's awesome that it comes included in the hotel price.

 

After we finished up breakfast, we went to pick up Mike at his house, made an unsuccessful attempt at buying a hair tie at a gas station, then arrived at Magic Mountain. Jahan, Guy and Alana were supposed to be meeting us at 9:30, but they all ended up being slightly delayed. Just as well since Kevin was having an issue with his ticket...seems that when Mike requested the free ticket for him, he didn't specify which park he wanted the ticket for! I guess Magic Mountain isn't the default park you get tickets to??

 

Anyway, Guy and Alana arrived just before opening, and soon people were pouring into the park. Really there weren't that many people, so there was no mad dash for any of the coasters. Kevin and I stopped in the first gift shop we saw so I could purchase a hair tie and he a hat, while everyone else went to get Flash passes. Of course there were no regular hair ties, only obnoxious Tinkerbell looking ones that cost $4! I needed it, so I forked it over, choosing the lime green one (I figured that if it already looked that obnoxious, might as well choose the most obnoxiously colored one too!)

 

When I met back up with everyone, Jahan was there, so again it was nice to finally meet someone I've been friends with for so long! Our first ride of the day was Tatsu, and there was no need for the Flash passes just yet. There was a small line, but not too much, and we all got on the same train. Kevin seemed to feel the same way that I did about it...good coaster, but a little too intense in places.

 

As we all headed to the back of the park, we noticed that Deja Vu was running! Kevin, Mike and Alana chose to sit it out, but Jahan, Guy and I opted for the single rider line. No one was in front of us, and as luck would have it, we all ended up in the very first train. Some girl ended up not wanting to ride, so she and her dad left the line, which enabled Guy and Jahan to ride together, and I had an empty seat near me. Strange but awesome. When we came out so quickly, everyone was like "What? You guys already rode??"

 

Next we all rode Psyclone, which Kevin also didn't think was that bad. The SoCal folks who think this is bad should head to Darien Lake and ride Predator, then tell me what they think! Continuing on, we all stopped for a ride on Gold Rusher. Jahan and Guy also did a "tribute to the banned kid" during the ride, which was hilarious! So glad I got it on tape!

 

We stopped at Jahan's former home next, Riddler's Revenge. I thought this was a really solid ride, and while probably not my favorite stand up, it was definitely the smoothest and most rerideable stand up I've ridden. As we passed Freefall, Mike took a moment to throw at penny at it, then we all moved over to Batman. Another solid ride, and still very forceful for its age.

 

Kevin was needing a break from the coastering at that point, so we all decided to rest for a moment. Guy and Alana decided to go ahead and part ways with us since that day was Alana's birthday and undoubtably Guy had something cool up his sleeve for that night. The rest of us hung out for another half hour or so, just joking and chatting. At 1:00, both Mike and Jahan went their ways for various reasons, with the promise of meeting up again later in the evening.

 

We were both getting a bit hungry, but we decided to go ahead and ride Colossus and Scream before having lunch so we wouldn't have to backtrack. Colossus came first, and we both really, really enjoyed the ride! It felt like a good woodie should, and gave some decent pops of airtime. Scream was next, and we both found it to be a good ride also, though it does suffer from quite a bit more rattling than most B&Ms do. The fact that it is so blatantly over a parking lot did detract quit a bit from the ride, much to my surprise. I didn't figure it would matter, but I kept finding myself noticing all the white lines we were zooming past! It's a shame since I did think it was a really good ride otherwise.

 

Famished, we headed off to Mooseburger Lodge for lunch. I didn't particularly like the looks of the mystery foods on the buffet, so I got the half pound burger while Kevin opted for the buffet. My burger was really good, though very big! I finished it all, but just barely, and I barely made a dent in the fries! Kevin seemed to enjoy the buffet well enough, routinely saying that he was eating meat that he couldn't identify!

 

After lunch, Kevin wanted to know what ride wouldn't shake him up too badly since he'd be riding on a full stomach, so I suggested Revolution, since I'd had a great ride on it the night before. Of course, the ride we got was terrible, and that coupled with the heat, the full stomach and Kevin's lack of sleep the night before spelled disaster! By the time we got to the landing on the exit stairs, his entire lunch was on it's way back out. After a few minutes he was ok, but I insisted that he wait in the shade while I got him some water to rehydrate himself. We chilled for a little bit, but once we started walking again, Kevin said he still didn't feel good and wanted to go back to the hotel for a rest.

 

We made our way out of the park and back to the hotel, where Kevin laid down for a rest, and I occupied myself with reviewing my pictures and doing a load of laundry. Three hours later, I called Mike again and he was ready to head back to the park, so we went and picked him up. The only credit I had left was Goliath, so that was where we went first. We still had some Flash passes from that morning, so we used those to bypass what little line there was and ended up only waiting about 15 or 20 minutes. Kevin was on the train in front of us, then Mike and I rode. Goliath definitely ended up being my favorite coaster in the park, and Kevin's too!

 

The only credits Kevin had left were Canyon Blaster, Ninja and Viper, so we stopped at Canyon Blaster first. We only had about an hour or less left in the park, so we pretty much just ran in, got him his credit and left. We did manage to pop our heads into the Bugs Bunny Burrow, which was just one random chair inside a tree stump hahaha. I also found an abandonned leopard print pimp hat! Score!

 

We hiked it back over to Tatsu, passing the site of Kevin's upheaval, if you will. We then climbed up the stairs to Ninja and Superman, neither of which had lines. We had fun playing with the pimp hat, and Kevin said he enjoyed his ride on Ninja also. When we got in line for Superman, Kevin decided to pass on riding, though he did wait with us. The car before ours ended up all the way in the maintenance bay since the brakes failed somehow and it was caught by the emergency brakes, which caused a breakdown. With only 8 minutes left until park closing, we assumed that it wouldn't reopen, but we were wrong! It reopened pretty much right at 8:00, though there were only two trains full of people waiting. The second train wasn't even full, so Mike and I rode twice in a row, for the last two rides of the night. They could have easily not bothered with bringing it back up, but they did, and I thought that was pretty cool.

 

With the park closed, we headed for the car so we could meet up with Jahan again at In-N-Out Burger. Of course it took longer to get there than we'd anticipated, but he was still waiting there patiently when we finally arrived. We all had burgers and fries, which is pretty much all that was on the menu! We'd meant to eat at an In-N-Out back in 2001 but were never able to find one near us. Eventhough the burger was pretty average, I was glad to say I'd been there!

 

When we got back out to the car, Kevin ended up being sick again, which now gives Mike the ability to joke that not only did Revolution make him sick, but my driving did as well!! I was gonna head off for a few more moments with Mike and Jahan, so I dropped off Kevin at the hotel and we all reconveened at a nearby Cold Stone Creamery. I had the cheesecake ice cream with a peanut butter cup mixed in...yummy!! Between the good ice cream and the good company, I had a blast.

 

After a while, I bid my boys farewell, with a promise that I'd get the TR online as soon as I could Kevin was asleep when I got back to the hotel...so soundly asleep that I had to check and make sure he was breathing! hahaha I was pretty pooped too, so I hit the bed almost as soon as I got in as well.

So after lunch, we rode Revolution, which made Kevin toss his Mooseburger's lunch into the foliage at the exit. I am told that it looked exactly like this!

Yep, everyone knew this photo was coming!

We had lunch at Mooseburger's, which could only mean one thing...fun with antler shaped crazy straws! I'm sure our waiter was happy to see us go!

So yeah, I took this picture with my left hand while video taping with the right hand, and not even looking at my camera's LCD. I think it turned out really well, all things considered!

It's Jahan! Ladies, isn't he adorable, even with the really bad case of coaster hair?

Screw this whole "through the trees" bit...it's all about Batman through Jahan's hair!

After a while, Guy and Alana split to finish celebrating her birthday. You guys rock! Can't wait to see you again!

Mike pauses for a moment and throws a penny at Freefall.

Later we moved on to Psyclone, where I totally rocked my side ponytail through the whole ride!

After the ride, Mike does his best Joe impression.

Yummy Tatsu. The Sky Tower was closed all day both days. Such a bummer

Mike and Kevin sort out the miscommunication regarding Kevin's ticket.

Aww, I really love this picture! I's such a lucky girl!

Mike and Kevin feel thuper thpecial as they arrive at the mountain, ready for a g-force filled day.

[USRoadTripper]

More pics

And finally...wow, does Mike ever look pissed in his Six Flags ID!

Comments welcome!

Yay for Lance Bass themed burger restaurants!

Y'know, I think Kevin is getting more and more used to this whole California lifestyle.

Kevin was too tired from holding up the world to ride Superman with us.

You can take the Mike out of Long Beach, but you can't take the Long Beach out of Mike, obviously.

So who do you think would win if we pitted Kevin against Jack Sparrow?

Kevin passes the site of the incident, still cursing and shaking his fist at Revolution.

"Curse you Revolution! I spent $20 on that lunch! Curse you Magic Mountain for not having a 'you'll digest it or it's free' policy!"

Kevin thinks "This place is so hidden that I could throw up in here and it wouldn't be discovered for days!"

Who's the coolest kid in Bugs Bunny World? Yep...5 year old Abby from Pasadena. Who's the second coolest? You guessed it...Mike!

Hooray for Kevin feeling better, and double hooray for Goliath being really great! Not as great as it's brother in Georgia, but great nonetheless.

After 3 hours to nap, do laundry and change clothes, we were back in the park. Here's the "Hey, everyone else has pictures with these bears, so I need one too" pic.

[thomas2]

Haha I have the same hairproblem like Jahan. It's just a mess when I exit a coaster

 

Lovely TR; I hope I can hit MM one day...

[bgwfreak]

I see that Carowinds Speed demon tshirt poking it's head out in California.

 

p.s. did you ever do a PTR for your Carowinds trip? I can't remember.

[disneyfan1313]

Thanks Julie! What a fun trip report. I enjoyed mooseburger lodge my first visit there - but the buffet scared me also. Good burgers though!

[USRoadTripper]

I see that Carowinds Speed demon tshirt poking it's head out in California.

 

p.s. did you ever do a Photo TR for your Carowinds trip? I can't remember.

 

No, I never did a Carowinds TR because I just went with my mom, so there were really no people pictures. It was mainly just coaster shot after coaster shot, so I didn't feel like it would be interesting enough to post! I might post it eventually...I dunno.

 

Thanks for all the nice comments on this TR so far!

 

-Julie

[mcjaco]

As usual Julie, a great TR. I'm taking notes for my future ones.

[Rollerholden]

Yay Julie awesome TR! You got a ton of great pics. I'm glad you had a fun time here in Cali. BTW, glad you finally ate at In N Out!

[USRoadTripper]

Saturday, Sept 2nd

 

I woke up around 8:00am, and Kevin was already awake and watching TV. Having a had much better night's sleep that night, he said he felt much better that the previous day. I showered and got dressed, and as we finished packing up our things, we watched some show on MTV about rich brats throwing $200,000 Sweet 16 parties. Lovely. We headed for breakfast again, which was nice as always. They had hard bolied eggs that morning, and after Kevin made a comment about how no one was eating them, I had to eat a couple of them just to prove him wrong

 

Finally, we packed up the car and headed south towards Santa Monica. There was pretty much no traffic, and we found where we needed to be quite easily thanks to my directions and Kevin's GPS. We parked the car in the first lot we found, which happened to be directly behind the Hot Dog on a Stick, which was one of our planned stops! The first order of business was for Kevin to do a bit of geocaching since there were three caches in the immediate Santa Monica Pier area. I'd never done anything like that before, but it was really quite fun!

 

The first one was up some stairs at the end of the pier, and hidden under a plaque about sewage or drainage or something. Kevin took a little glass heart out of the box, and left a pink flamingo "travel bug" that was trying to get home to Colorado, and a coin with an octopus on it. The next one we found was a webcam cache at the main entrance to the pier. We had to stand on a street corner facing some random dentist's office, and hold our arms straight out! We must have looked truly strange, but hey, one of Kevin's friends got on the web and was able to save the picture of us!

 

With that done, we headed onto the pier. I'd never been to anything like that area before, so I really thought it was a lot of fun! It was such a beautiful day, and we had a lot of fun just wandering around checking out the beach, the people and the birds. Soon we were at Pacific Park, which was the site of another "virtual cache" where you had to look around and answer a few questions.

 

We both bought enough tickets to ride the Santa Monica West Coaster and the Pacific Wheel, then promptly got in line for the coaster. Everything was just so cute and picturesque that we had a great time taking pictures and video in the area. We ended up riding in the front seat of the West Coaster, and this was a much better ride than I thought it would be! It looked pretty tame, but there were actually some pretty decent pops of airtime on the return leg, and the helix was much more forceful than I imagined! Kevin really ended up liking it as well, later saying that it was his favorite coaster of the whole weekend! Next we rode the Pacific Wheel, which was really great, and had such an awesome view!

 

The time on our parking space was running out (we'd only paid for one hour) so we headed back to the car. Since Kevin wanted to get a hot dog, and I wanted to explore a little more, we put another dollar in the meter. When I found Kevin again, he'd purchased a Hot Dog on a Stick and a lemonade, both of which he said were great. I'm not too big on corn dogs (who am I kidding...I hate them) and am allergic to lemons, so I couldn't get anything They did have cheese on a stick, but it was covered in that horrible corn dog batter...yuck!

 

We wandered down the beach a bit and discovered that Muscle Beach was just a ways down, so we took a moment to people watch. My mom called to ask a question about my cats, so I talked to her for just a bit, and she thought it was really cool that I was at Muscle Beach for whatever reason! Must be a much cooler thing to southerners than to Californians I guess! There was also some random middle aged dude in short shorts doing a hand stand...awesome.

 

When our second hour was up, we left and headed for a nearby Ralph's grocery store to pick up some tickets to Knotts Berry Farm later in the weekend. On the way, we passed the corner of Lincoln and Olympic, but WTF! No video store! Just a U-Haul and a Chevron! I was expecting to find an adult bookstore! Turns out that the Ralph's was out of Knotts tickets, but they called another one in the area and they said that they had some. Kevin bought a pound of Concord grapes, then we set out to find Ralph's #2. We found it pretty easily, but all they had were Soak City tickets! Gah! And the lady there gave us the most insincere apology for making us go out of our way that I have ever heard. So we left empty handed and headed south again towards Anaheim.

 

-Julie

Finally, this was the first stop on a multi-Ralphs tour of Santa Monica, all in a vain attempt at saving $6 each off of Knotts admission. Stupid Ralphs, not knowing the difference between a Knotts ticket and a Soak City ticket!

Later, while heading for the Ralphs grocery store, we pass the corner of Lincoln and Olympic! WTF??? No video store! Just a U-haul and a Chevron!

OMG! This dude was easily 50! Impressive, but the short shorts are quite disturbing!

A short walk from Hot Dog Stick is Muscle Beach.

Kevin loves his corn dogs.

Leaving the pier, we stopped for a bite at Hot Dog on a Stick, or as the building says...Hot Dog Stick.

The wheel offered awesome views of the beach and surrounding area, as well as a few nice shots of the West Coaster!

Kevin enjoyed both of the rides very much, despite not being a big Ferris wheel fan!

Next, we took a ride on the Pacific Wheel.

Not a very big coaster, but packs a surprising amount of fun!

The Santa Monica West Coaster!

Underneath this sign was the third geocache, and just beyond the sign was a sleeper hit of the trip!

Next, we headed down to the pier for a couple of rides.

This is the photo of us that was saved when we found the webcam geocache. We're standing at the bottom of the lamp post in the center of the picture.

Whowoo! Santa Monica Pier = way more fun than I thought it would be!

Here's what was inside. Some keychains, some change, a glass heart, a free day at a Golds Gym certificate...Kevin took the glass heart and added in two travel bugs (the box was so full it almost didn't close!)

"Aha! Here it is! Hidden in plain sight!"

Kevin hunts for his first geocache in the Santa Monica area...

"My GPS says it's right around here somewhere..."

[USRoadTripper]

Bump, so I don't have to post a big update at the very bottom of a page.

 

-Julie

[USRoadTripper]

Saturday, September 2nd - continued

 

Heading south, we ran into quite a bit of traffic on the way to Anaheim. It was never completely stopped, but was very congested and very slow. Godspeed to the locals who have to deal with it every day! We followed the directions in Kevin’s GPS to our hotel, then quickly checked in. After dropping our stuff in the room, we headed out to find food before going to the park. We’d spotted a Subway and a Chinese restaurant on the way to the park, so we opted for the Chinese. I had sweet and sour chicken, sesame chicken and lo mein, and it was all great! It was too much to finish and still be able to walk out in the California sun!

 

We finished the walk to the Disneyland resort, entering on a pathway opposite of Downtown Disney, and stopped at a will call window to pick up our tickets. We entered Disneyland, and found ourselves right in the middle of the afternoon parade! We cut through some shops to get up Main Street quicker, and eventually found ourselves at the entrance to Tomorrowland. We quickly grabbed fast passes for Space Mountain, with the return time being over 5 hours away! Just as well since we planned on closing the park that night anyway!

 

The first ride we headed for was the Matterhorn. On our last trip in 2001, the Matterhorn was closed for rehab...then with just weeks to go before this trip, the Disneyland website started to show the Matterhorn closed for this trip too! It said it was supposed to close on Thursday, and we'd be there that Saturday. Then the website changed to say that it was gonna close the following Tuesday. Needless to say that when we arrived and I saw cars traversing the tracks, I was extremely happy to see the ride open! It's a ride that's so iconically Disney that I didn't want to miss it again!

 

Our first ride was on the Tomorrowland side, and was one of the longest waits of the trip, clocking in at about 20 minutes or so. I thought the ride was great, and while not breaking into my top 10, I did think it was very fun! I was really happy to have gotten to ride it...it was a coaster I'd waited my whole life to ride! It was a coaster that I wanted to ride back when I hated coasters! It was really a highlight of the trip for me.

 

After the Matterhorn, Kevin asked if I wanted to ride Mr Toad...duh! Of course! This had maybe a 10 minute wait, which wasn't too bad considering that it was the Saturday of a holiday weekend! I really love this ride, and really really hated to see the one in Disney World taken out. Hopefully this one will be preserved since it's in the "Class of '55."

 

While we were in the area, we rode Snow White, then Pinocchio's Daring Journey, passing on Peter Pan because of the huge line. Kevin wanted to ride Pirates next, so we meandered in that direction. Our friend Donna had requested that we drink a mint julep for her while we were there, so we stopped for that before getting in line. I enjoy the Disney mint juleps much more than real alcoholic ones, eventhough they do "taste like drinking gum" as the girl in front of us in line put it.

 

We drank while we waited for Pirates, which also ended up being about a 20-30 minute wait. I enjoy this version of the ride so much more than Magic Kingdom's! It's so much longer and so much more elaborate! And I think that the Jack Sparrow and Davy Jones enhancements were very nice and very well done. They spruced it up just enough to keep it fresh, while still preserving everything classic about the ride.

 

We rode the Haunted Mansion next, with very little line. I figure that this mansion is about the same as the Florida version, but holy cow does the new attic scene rock! Totally kicks the ass of Florida's! That is an upgrade that the Florida park sorely needs, as their bride looks like total poo compared to Disneyland's new one!

 

While in the area, we rode the Pooh ride with basically no wait. I thought the ride was ok, though I'm not a Pooh fan at all. Definitely better than the country Bears though! *shiver* I took a bathroom break after the ride, and found Kevin on the phone with Donna when I came out. She was glad that we'd had a mint julep for her, and after exchanging pleasantries, we moved on. We got some Fast Passes for Splash Mountain while we were there, then went for a ride on Big Thunder Mountain. Another pretty solid ride, that's pretty much equal to the one in Florida.

 

We circled back into Fantasyland, and caught a ride on Small World. When we were done, it was parade time...oh joy. We struck up a conversation with a nice Cast Member who was fairly new to the company while we waited. We chatted about my time working at WDW, what it's like to work at Disneyland and whatnot until the parade passed by where we were. Kevin ran up to the pathway to see it, while I hung back a bit. Then the parade stopped. Now, I really hate most parades...but what I discovered is that the only thing worse than a parade is a parade that stops and just stands there in front of you! I could have bashed my head on the sidewalk and had more fun. Eventually, I called my mom and chatted for a bit.

 

After the parade, we went into Toontown to get the credit that we both bypassed in 2001, Gadgets Go-Coaster. Neither of us were counting credits at the time, or else we would have surely ridden! haha This was a pretty grueling wait, with just one train and lots of little kiddies in line around us. We managed to get the credit though, like the good little credit whores that we are.

 

Our Space Mountain Fast Passes were valid by then, so we started back over that way. We saw that the Fantasyland side of the Matterhorn had no line, so we quickly jumped in for a ride on that side. I thought they were pretty much the same, though a few more rides on each would have surely shown me lots of differences. Right when the ride first came off the lift, the glowing yeti eyes growled at me, and I thought I was gonna poop my pants! It came out of NOWHERE and scared the snot out of me! Of course Kevin had a good time laughing at me becuase of it!

 

We headed off for Space Mountain next, and had one of those "haha we're so much smarter than you" moments when we got there. The standby line was pretty long, but since we had Fast Passes, we got to walk straight past the whole thing! Then, once inside the building, there was no one! NO ONE! We were running, and dancing and taking pictures of us in this completely empty queue, feeling so much smarter than the suckers that probably waited an hour in the standby line! But anyway, I thought the new ride was awesome! So much better than the old version, and light years better than Florida's version! I wish that the WDW one with get the same treatment that Disneyland's got...better track, much improved space travel effects and hopefully audio!

 

We tried out Buzz Lightyear's Astro Blasters next since it didn't have much of a line. It was a nice ride, and I ended up beating Kevin quite handily thanks to hitting a lit up triangular target. Leaving Tomorrowland, we crossed the hub and went into Adventureland for a bit. We decided to stop to watch the Tiki Room, and Kevin got a Dole Whip while we waited. I really enjoyed the ambiance in the preshow/waiting area with the fire, the water effects, the staticky tiki god narrations and the super ancient Dole pineapple canning video!! The original Tiki Room is such a nice show...campy but fun, and something that I hope never changes.

 

It was almost time for fireworks by this time, and we were both feeling the need for a bit of dinner, so we headed to Casey's Corner. The line was horrible! We were so hungry and so tired that we became pretty giddy, which thoroughly entertained the two ladies in front of us! We all marvelled at how people can stand in line for 15 minutes directly under the menu, then have to pause to decide what they want when they get to the register!! At least I am not the only one who thinks these people should be drug into the streets and beaten!!

 

I got a regular hot dog, and kevin got a chili dog, and once the dogs were dressed for dinner, we went back out onto Main Street. Watching fireworks is just one step behind watching parades as activities that I truly hate while in theme parks. Yet Kevin really wanted to stop and watch them, so I sucked it up and ate my hot dog as they started. Frankly, I thought the show was really lame excepting just a few small points...they get mega kudos for working in the Electrical Parade music, and the Star Tours little segment where a laser shoots out of the castle and makes a green firework explode on the end of Main Street was kinda cool too. That was it though. Everything else was just music and unrelated explosions to me.

 

After the show, we waited around for the crowd to die down a bit, but sensing that it was gonna get worse before it got better, we battled against the crowd into Fantasyland. My memory is fuzzy about which rides came next, but I know we did Alice in Wonderland before leaving the area. Our Splash Mounatin Fast Pass was valid, so we took the path behind Big Thunder to get there. The path was really eerie though...there was no one else around, and there was no area music, so it made the park feel really deserted.

 

There was still no one around when we got to Splash Mountain, so the Fast Passes were completely unneccesary. I didn't remember much about this ride from my last trip, but now I can safely say that this ride sucks compared to WDW's! Firstly, the water moves so fast that it almost feels more like a rapids ride than a log flume. Florida's version meanders at a nice pace, letting you really take in the scenery. This one just hurrys you right on past the show scenes, giving you pretty much no time to take it all in. And secondly, they just don't develop the story nearly as much as they should. Everything just seems very randomly placed. So yeah, Splash Mountain definitely goes in the "Better in Florida" column.

 

We didn't have too much time left before the park closed, so we walked back towards the entrance via Adventureland. When we passed Indiana Jones, there was no wait, so we decided to end out the night with that. I think Indy is a solid ride, but to be the dissenting voice, I really don't think it's all that. It's got some nice theming, but there are too many places where you can tell that they either ran out of money and decided to leave you in the dark, or where they had major show scenes and effects not operating. It's definitely not a ride that I feel the need to wait very long for.

 

By the time we left, the park was closing, so we scurried out the front gates with everyone else. We both agreed that we'd had an incredibly fortunate day, in that we got to ride all the E-ticket rides plus see tons of other stuff, all on a Saturday of a holiday weekend when we didn't get there until the afternoon. Had that been the only day that we were spending there, I would have walked away feeling like I did a good solid chunk of the stuff in that park. Luckily, we still had two more days to go!

 

We followed the crowd out, and down the street towards our hotel, and pretty soon, we were both collapsed in bed, exhausted.

 

-Julie

Goodnight Disneyland! See you in the morning!

Nearing the end of the night, we spent some more time in Fantasyland.

Kevin stooped dancing through the Space Mountain queue just long enough to ask "Where are all the people?? Oh wait, they're all waiting in that hour long line that we just avoided!!"

Space Mountain at night. I love this picture!

Ohhhh.....Spoooooky!

Thinking of you, Mike! Wish you'd been there!

Go-coaster is a fun little ride, but one I am not likely to wait for again. Credit #210.

It's a Small World. In an attempt to save that unfunny caption, I will say that I am very impressed with how Disney can grow a tree with a hole in it.

Big Thunder Mountain. Alas, I didn't find any Guantanamo Bay prisoners in the theming that day.

After Pooh, we perused all the fantastic looking sweets, where Kevin decided on a chocolate covered strawberry.

The Haunted Mansion. (Uh oh, am I approaching that dreaded pattern of unfunny captions again?!?!)

Kevin enjoys a mint julep while waiting for our first ride on Pirates.

And then Pinocchio...gotta love any Disney ride with the word "ass" in it.

Next up, Mr. Toad! Be sure to rub the tongue on the way in.

There it is! The Matterhorn! Isn't it incredible how disney manages to keep snow on that mountain when it's 104 degrees outside? Disney magic, I tell you.

But first, a stop for a Space Mountain Fast Pass.

I really love the Partners statue too. Ok, enough oogling...there's a landmark coaster credit to get!

Pick on it if you like, but I happen to really like Disneyland's castle!

Hooray for Disneyland! I was so excited to be back after five long years!

Mmm...chinese really hit the spot for lunch after wading through about an hour worth of LA traffic on the way from Santa Monica.

[arrowfanman]

I would like this addition of the PTR, but you called my Remember...Dreams Come True "lame", and for that, I can never forgive you.

 

LOL...but honestly, great trip report! With the exception of the whole "I'm cooler than park-wide entertainment" gig, you have a rather honest and true perspective of the park. No wonder it wasn't an open invite!

 

Hope to see some more Disney!

 

-Jahan

[Director_Guy]

two things

 

1. Disneyland rocks harder than Walt Disney World.

 

2. Didn't the West Coaster used to be purple? When did they paint it?

[robbalvey]

two things

 

1. Disneyland rocks harder than Walt Disney World.

Not to everyone Disneyland my least favorite of all the Disney resorts in the world.

2. Didn't the West Coaster used to be purple? When did they paint it?

It seems to get a different color every few years. First it was red, then purple, then.....

[USRoadTripper]

Sunday, September 3rd

 

I'm not sure what time I woke up, but Kevin was already awake and ready to go, whatever time it was. After showering, we hit up the free breakfast again, then headed out for California Adventure. There was quite a lineup when we arrived, so we stood roasting in the already boiling sun for maybe 10 minutes or so before we could get in.

 

Kevin wanted to do Tower of Terror first, but then suggested getting a Fast Pass for Soarin' first. When we arrived at Soarin', the wait was only about 10 minutes, so we went ahead and rode instead of waiting until later. I still think this is a great ride, and Kevin loves it as well!

 

Next we went over to Tower of Terror. My first thought upon seeing the front of the tower is that it just looks fake. The burn on the building is very obviously painted on, unlike Florida's which resembles much more closely a real charred building. This tower just didn't look decrepit enough...or old enough, or dirty enough, or scary enough. There was no wait, and when we entered the lobby, we both thought it looked very out of place. It was very well lit, and looked somewhat inviting, which isn't the point at all! It's supposed to be dark and creepy! The library and interior queue were nice, but I took the chicken exit down before the ride started because I hate drop towers. Kevin said that the ride was good despite not having the 4th Dimension scene like MGM's tower does.

 

The next ride we did was Mike and Sully to the Rescue! Basically, I thought this ride was awesome! I loved it! The queue was packed full of stuff to read and look at, and it was all hilarious. I particularly loved the overhead monitors that were displaying the Child Detection Emergency Broadcast System "test." It pretty much said that if an actual kid had been sighted, you were supposed to scream your head off! Love it!! The ride ittself was really great...a fantastic addition to that park. I loved Superstar Limo, but I guess I'm with the masses in thinking that Mike and Sully is a better ride. I particularly liked how the Japanese restaurant actually smelled like Japanese food, and the area where they store all the doors...I'm sure it was probably just mirrors, but I was very impressed by the effect nonetheless.

 

We both picked up some frozen strawberry lemonade on the way out of the courtyard, then got in line for the next Aladdin show. The lemonade was way too frozen to eat right away anyway, so having 45 minutes to let it melt during the show was nice hehe We sat in the first balcony of the theater, a few rows back from the front, so we had great seats! I thought the show was really good...much better than the Steps in Time "be nice to your little brother" crap that was in there last time I was at DCA! Someone described the show as "Broadway calibur" and while I definitely wouldn't praise it *that* highly, I did think it was above average for a theme park show.

 

When we left, our frozen lemonade was just at the perfect consistency, so we ate as we walked back to the Wharf area. We hadn't decided on anything for lunch ahead of time, so we decided to do the bread and tortilla factory tours, then grab lunch at one of their respective restaurants. We did the Boudin bakery tour first, but they weren't giving out any samples! Boo! It is quite impressive that Disney can take something as ordinary as baking bread and turn it into an entertaining and educational theme park attraction!

 

Next we went to the tortilla factory, but as soon as the doors closed behind us, our friend Scott called Kevin. So kevin pushed through the doors, went outside to finish the conversation, and we went back in to the preshow. When the doors opened up to let us out of the preshow room, the right side door (the one that Kevin had barged through minutes earlier) didn't open! So Kevin says "Oh my god...the tortilla factory went 101 because of me!" Once we go to the end, we got a hot and fresh tortilla, which Kevin said was the best tortilla he'd ever made go 101 in his life. He also jumped on the "what is your weight in tortillas?" scale, but claimed that it was off by one since he'd just eaten one tortilla.

 

Kevin decided to go back to the bakery's restaurant for lunch, while I stayed at the Mexican place by the tortilla factory. While I waited in line, our friend Scott walked by! I hadn't seen him since about 2003 or so, so it was nice to see him again. We chatted for a bit, then he went to find Kevin. I got the chicken taco platter with beans and rice, and I thought it was excellent. Kevin got a salad in a bread bowl and said his was great also. Mike called during lunch, so we chatted for a bit, then when we were all done with lunch, we walked back towards the Pier.

 

Scott doesn't do thrill rides, so he held my camera bag as Kevin and I got in line for California Screamin'. We didn't wait very long...maybe 10 minutes or so. I still love this ride, even after having ridden some much bigger and more powerful coasters. It's just fun! I didn't notice the effects of the trim brakes too much since I still thought there was a nice amount of floater air over the bunny hills. Screamin' is a really solid ride...one that I wish was closer to me!!

 

Kevin and Scott didn't want to ride Maliboomer, so I utilized the Sad and Pathetic line. For a moment, I thought the ride was gonna break down. We all got strapped in, the ride lifted up in the air and moved up and down a bit, then immediately dropped back down to the base of the tower. Of course at that point, the person in the control tower tells the riders to please remain seated...like we had any other option! After another restraint check the ride was fine. But I do like this one less than others though because of the stupid scream shields.

 

Kevin said that he really wanted to ride Grizzly River Run, but Scott and I agreed that we didn't want to get that wet, so Kevin went for a solo ride. Scott and I waited on a nearby bridge and watched him float past, then retreated to the cool gift shop nearby to wait for him. I found this one spot in the store where an air vent would blow directly on me, so I just parked myself there. I joked with Scott that I was really studying the shirts in front of me...yep, that's what I was doing...NOT standing directly under an air vent! When Kevin found us, he was barely wet at all! Just his butt seemed to be wet.

 

I got a call from our friend Sean at that point saying that he and his wife Pamela were in the parking garage and wanted to know where to meet us. I wanted to tape Seasons of the Vine, so we agreed to meet there. After waiting outside the theater for only a few minutes, they found us and we went inside. It was great to see them too, but we see them most Decembers at WDW, so it wasn't some grand reunion or anything hehe I started taping Seasons of the Vine, but my battery ran out right in the middle of it!!! And it was right at the "time lapse grape growing" clip too! Oh well, just another reason to go back!

 

Kevin and I hadn't been in A Bug's Land, so that's what we suggested as our next stop. The entrance was a little haphazzard, with some water play areas for kids, and some random fenced off areas with Bug's Life character statues inside them. The rides area was really cute though! You can tell that the budget for the area wasn't that huge since everything is off the shelf, but I think they did a nice job with the theming.

 

Little did anyone there know, but Heimlich has been my favorite Disney character since the first time I saw Bug's Life. So I definitely wanted to ride Heimlich's Chew Chew Train! We only waited for one cycle, but I would have certainly waited longer! It was so adorable!!! You ride in Heimlich themed catterpillars, and pass all these foods along the ride path. You go through a watermelon that mists you, and an animal cracker box that smells just like animal crackers, and at the end you pass CANDY CORN! Realistically, if Heimlich wasn't my favorite character, the ride would have garnered a "meh" from me. But he is, so it's the best ride in the resort hahaha Ok, so that's an overstatement, but I did think it was really really cute!!

 

I said that I wanted to video tape the Monsters Inc ride, so everyone headed in that direction for a ride. My video of it came out pretty well, including when we stopped at the end and got harassed by the slug lady with the clipboard. She said "Oh great, another camera. Hope you get my good side" and "Hey, you left the lense cap on!" haha

 

At that point, the guys decided that they wanted to watch Block Party Bash, but the girls decided against it, so Pamela and I went to watch Muppet*Vision instead. I hadn't intended on watching it during the trip, but it was certainly better than watching another parade!! The preshow was almost empty, so I sat down on the floor and stretched out my legs and back. I must have looked pretty dumb, but it felt wonderful! The preshow, theater and show are all identical to Florida's version, so needless to say, I enjoyed it.

 

After a bathroom break, we called the guys and agreed to meet up with them at the Wine Country Trattoria, which is where we had set up dinner reservations. When we got there, they were going on about how great the parade was, and that it really was a "bash" and all. So Pamela and I start saying "Yeah, well Muppet*Vision was completely live action today. They said they were only gonna do that for that one show, and you missed it." hahaha I don't care how big of a bash they had, I can assure you that I enjoyed Muppet*Vision more than I would have the parade.

 

We were seated within just a few minutes in the Trattoria, so we had time to cool down before we ate. Pamela and I ordered the chicken alfredo lasagna, Sean and Scott ordered the lasagna rustica and Kevin ordered a panini, and everyone really seemed to enjoy their meals. I also got a glass of reisling, which was very nice. I wish I could remember what winery it came from! Scott and Kevin also ordered a sorbet dish for dessert. When they arrived at the table, Scott's was piled high on the top of a frozen orange, but Kevin's took a tumble and ended up laying on the plate next to the orange. We all awwed, then giggled about it.

 

After dinner, we wandered back onto the Pier, enjoying the park at night and the good company. Eventually, we decided to do the Sun Wheel, which was when Scott decided to bow out for the evening. Sean and Pamela opted for a non-swinging bucket, while Kevin and I got in line for a moving one. Kevin then decided to get them to let people go in front of them until we were gonna load in side by side buckets, so we could watch each other ride. I sort of freaked out about the wait, thinking that I might not have enough time to get a good seat for the Electrical Parade, but the parade ended up being later than I thought it was, so we were fine.

 

The Sun Wheel has got to be one of my favorite rides anywhere! Dare I say it's even my favorite ride in the whole resort! It's just so much fun! And I love the fact that you're not strapped in, so you can move around, get tossed around if you like, catch airtime if you like, whatever! I took video through most of the ride, and it is hilarious! It makes me laugh just watching us ride it!

 

After the ride, we all scurried over to where I'd decided that I wanted to watch the Electrical Parade. It was across from the Golden Dreams theater...exactly where I'd been planning on watching it. We didn't have to wait too long before the parade started, and when it got to us, I was in heaven! I've loved this parade since I first watched it. It makes me happy, simple as that. It's so strange that I hate parades, yet my favorite thing that Disney has ever done is a parade! I got fantastic video of it, so any time I'm feeling down, I can watch it

 

After the parade, everything was closed, so we filed out with the masses. We noted that Disneyland was open for another two hours, with another fireworks show and a Fantasmic, so we decided to go over there. That was the only feasable time to see Fantasmic if we were gonna see it. We ended up walking out through the Grand Californian, which is such a spectacular hotel! We spent a little time there in 2001, and if I had the money I'd stay there in a heartbeat! We weren't able to get handstamps as we exited, but we were assured that it wouldn't be a problem.

 

Well, we obviously weren't the only people who had that idea. The entry plaza was PACKED with people trying to get into Disneyland, so we had to wait forever to even get in! Then Main street was packed to the gills with people waiting for the fireworks to start, and we had to hustle through them too. I wanted to get a little something sweet from the bakery, so I popped in there right as the fireworks started. I ended up with two Mickey shaped cookies and two glasses of water for Kevin and myself. When the fireworks were over, the bakery became overwhelmed with people flooding in for snacks...glad I got in there when I did!

 

We met back up with Kevin, who had waited outside while I got the cookies, and went over to New Orleans square to stake out a spot for Fantasmic. Being locals, Sean and Pamela knew a great spot to watch from that offered a great view, and that no one was already occupying! The show was great as always, and we had a great view. The two Fantasmics both seem to have their pros and cons, which I figure makes them just about equal. The seating in Florida is much better and more organized, with every seat having a good view. But Disneyland's use of the Columbia, and the added Pinocchio scene are really nice touches. Equally good in different ways, I'd say.

 

After the show, once again everything was closed, so we headed out. Sean offered to drive us back to our hotel, and we gladly took him up on his offer since we were both extremely tired. He didn't even make us walk all the way to the car...he went and got the car and picked us up near the escalator! What a nice guy! I was pretty wiped out by the time I got back to the hotel, so we both crashed as soon as we got there.

I found it quite funny that while trying to take a picture of the restaurant across the lake, I ended up with this extraordinary shot of the cages you ride in on the Sun Wheel!

Comments welcome!

Later that night, it was all about one of my favorite rides anywhere...the Sun Wheel! This is probably my favorite photo from this trip.

Aww...Heimlich eating his way through some watermelon. Just around the bend you see the animal crackers, and then...CANDY CORN!

It was cute, it was funny but most of all it was a whole ride based on my favorite character!!! I LOVED IT!!!

OMG!!! Most adorable ride vehicle ever!!!

Time for one of those cheesier than lasagna rides that Julie loves!

Look! I found the only four leaf clover in the land. You wanna know where it is? Well tough

Tower of Terror...THROUGH THE GIANT CLOVERS! As seen by a bug.

Next, we went to explore A Bug's Land.

I would accuse Kevin of using the Sad and Pathetic line, but he's the only guy in a raft full of chicks! So I guess that would mean he used the "Pathetic Only" line!

"This is the MaaaaaaliBOOOMer!" Horribly repetitive safety spiel and claustrophobic scream shields, but a good ride nonetheless.

I really love the ambiance of the Pier. It's the kind of place where I could see myself just going there for dinner, riding a ride or two and just enjoying life. Reminds me of World Showcase in that regard.

Exclusive shot. And didn't that sign used to say "Paradise Pier, Fun in the Sun for Everyone!"? Now it just says "Fun in the Sun for Ever."

I, however, happen to love California Screamin' and will ride it dead or not.

Burger invasion! Watch out Kev!!!

Hey, it's Scott, Mr. I Will Only Ride California Screamin If You Strap My Dead Body Into It.

"Now that I've been to the DCA wharf, I don't ever feel the need to go to the real wharf!"

Mmm, that's some yummy looking stuff there! I think I'll have a Bag O Calories and some Polyvinyl Chloride please!

Passenger rules on the inside of the Monsters Inc ride. This sign had all of us cracking up!

A lovely fountain in the Muppets and Monsters Inc courtyard.

This is the Tower lobby. I didn't use a flash on this photo. See how bright it is...it seems way too bright to fit with the storyline.

Second stop of the day was the Tower of Terror. See, I'm sorry but that burn mark looks painted.

DCA...I enjoy DCA.