October 2022 Part 5: Fall Break Part 2

Friday, October 14 dawned bright and early. We may have even made it up before the sun. We got all ready to go.  I made Rachel's hair to look kind of like Minnie Ears. 

And then Brian dropped Rachel and I off across the street from the Main Gate. I think someone accidentally left a needed item at the hotel, and Brian had to run back for it, so he dropped us off so we could make sure we got a scooter for the day. 

The main gate security lines were much longer than the ones for the parking structure, and I started to get nervous about making it through security in time, but we made it. After signing all the waivers, Rachel and I headed into Disneyland. We stopped at City Hall to learn more about the Later Return Time, and they gave me a map outlining all the rides that offered it. It was like getting a golden ticket. After that, Rachel and I headed to Fantasyland. We did a little shopping (because that's what Rachel wanted to do), got a Later Return Time for Peter Pan (once the boys made it into the park), and hopped in line to see how they redid Snow White's ride. Brian and the boys caught up to us a little before we headed into the ride building. 

After Snow Whites, we hit up Mr. Toad's Wild Ride, Peter Pan, The Tea Cups, 

Autopia

Astro Orbiters,

Space Mountain

Jungle Cruise (our skipper was amazing!), Splash Mountain, 

Indiana Jones,

Then lunch at Red Rose Tavern,  then on to SmallWorld, where Michael and I continued our tradition of making up back stories for the puppets. When we were loading the ride, Brian tried to sit by Michael, and we ended up delaying the ride a few minutes to reshuffle seating so Michael and I could sit together.  Brian was slightly offended by our insistence until he remembered that this is our tradition. My favorite one was when Michael said, "You see that Panda over there? It's been dead for three years." He said it totally deadpan, and I must say it was a proud mom moment for me. It's been several months now since this trip, and I'm still laughing about it. I love our tradition. 

After SmallWorld, we finally made it to Big Thunder, and then did a little browsing of the Main Street shops on our way out of the park. We also got a selfie next to the giant Mickey Pumpkin. 

After crossing the plaza and heading into California Adventure, we stopped to have a park photographer take our picture in front of the Headless Horseman. 

From there, we made our way to the Incredicoaster, this time with Gabe smiling and excited. 

I'm looking forward to when Gabe is tall enough to see his whole face in the ride pictures. 

Next, we headed over to Radiator Springs Racers. We had decided after spending so much time in line the first day for this one to go ahead and pay for the Lightning Lane pass for it. We gave up our drinks for the week to compensate, even though that didn't come nearly close enough. But, it's my favorite ride, so we felt like it was worth it. 

This time, we noticed that there are Cave-car drawings inside 

On our way out of Cars Land, we got to see Cruz dressed up as a pirate. 

And I made the crew pose for pictures in front of the Cars Land sign. 

And of course, throughout the day, we had more fun with the Genie Plus Lenses. 

We went to the Marvel Campus and Michael almost fell into another multiverse. 

We checked out the stuff in the shops and posed for pictures. 

We had planned to leave the park early enough to get to get to bed on time, but promises were made so we made a swung by the World of Disney Store to do a little shopping, which meant we left much later than anticipated. 

 We grabbed Wendy's on the way back to the hotel, and eventually made it to bed.