Disney - Day 3

We eagerly anticipated a whole day in the park today. Forecasts before we traveled said we'd enjoy mid-60 degree temps and clouds. Perfect. Little did we know, we'd bring the rain with us... And it would wait until Friday to pour.

We were up early for Matt's follow up appointment and everything went smoothly. Good progress, said the doc, but some kind of surgical procedure is likely necessary. (And it sounds gruesome, so I'll spare you the details.)

It was lightly misting when we got to the park, the kind of rain a Seattle-native finds refreshing. We laughed at the people in their ponchos.

We were tickled at ourselves for finally being at the park an hour early, excited to use our Magic Morning pass. As we neared the gate, I read the fine print on the back of our ticket only to find that Friday is not a magic morning day. Humph. The only morning we could actually be at the park. go figure.

Not all was lost. Knowing we hate shopping when we're tired, Matt suggested we head over to Downtown Disney and buy some gifts. We found me an iPad case, a hoodie and a tote bag, as well as gifts for a few of our favorite kids.

It was a few minutes after opening when we got into Disneyland. Immediately we spotted Goofy - Matt's favorite - so we stopped for pictures and autographs. I think that was Matt's biggest vacation goal. We found a locker and stowed our stuff, and headed off to Fantasyland for pictures in front of the castle, then to find Rapunzel who was rumored to be in her tower. 

Rapunzel is a popular gal, so we kept tabs as the 30 minute wait turned to 60 minutes. I was about ready to abandon the notion. 

Then the real rain started in. It poured. We soaked. I was on the brink of tears more than once, and my wonderful husband reeled me in with extra optimism and tons of patience. We hoofed back to our locker thinking I'd change into my new hoodie, but we bought ponchos instead. It took me an hour to realize I could stay even drier if I kept my arms inside the poncho. (Seattle-natives don't wear ponchos.)

Wanting to see the lands we hadn't yet visited, we wandered through ToonTown in the pouring rain, enjoying the architecture and the homes of our favorite childhood characters. Now we'd been in the park for over two hours and hadn't done a single ride. It was time for Big Thunder. We got in line, and got close to the boarding deck, just as they closed the ride because the tracks were too wet. Later we heard from a couple of girls who'd ridden it just before it closed that it was going faster and looser than they'd ever experienced - so maybe it was good that it was closed.

Tears threatened again, just as my sympathetic mother texted "You know what you need? The Tiki Tiki room." I could take or leave the tiki birds, but its a family favorite for a 15 minute (dry) rest. I got her text, looked at Matt and tearfully said "Follow me. We're going to the tiki room. And we are eating a Dole Whip." And that's what we did.

We knew a surefire dry ride, since the doctor said no wet rides, would be Pirates. Again we got front row - my favorite place to be. As we fussed with the backpack, I suggested Matt just leave his poncho off for the ride. I kept mine on for convenience. The first drop had us soaked, tasting the river water. Yuck! We laughed, as Matt recounted "Take off the poncho, you said. You won't need it, you said."

It was in line for our next ride, Peter Pan's Flight, of which I have no recollection from previous trips, that I overheard a guy say "You accept it, let it soak in, and go about your day." I adopted his perspective, and started feeling better immediately. Oh, and Peter Pan was amazing. I only wish it had been longer.

Eventually, the wait to see Rapunzel whittled down to to a mere 20minutes. It felt good to get her autograph to make a very special 4 year old very happy, and she was so sweet in talking with me, and very convincing - I think I have a new favorite Princess.

We grabbed fast passed for space mountain and then rode AstroBlasters again. I never get tired of the interactive rides. Or the rollercoasters. Space Mountain didn't let me down. This time I broke the rules and left my glasses on. What an amazing difference to be able to see everything. So gorgeous.

We felt like we were nearing the end of our day, and decided that a trip on Splash Mountain couldn't be that bad, as long as Matt kept his eye covered with his eye patch and wore his hat. We ended up in the back of the log anyway. I had only very fuzzy memories of this ride - not remembering the story parts at all, so I'm glad we did it. And also, the ride broke down as soon as we rounded the bend after the big drop - and we sat under the open sky in the pouring rain, for a good 5 minutes. Good thing we were already wearing our ponchos.

It was time for a snack so we grabbed a funnel cake and decided to make a slow exit and call it a day. We happened to just be on main street to see the tree lighting of the evening, adding a romantic and Christmassy feeling to our evening. I talked Matt into seeing Great Moments with Mr Lincoln, which was beautiful and inspiring. 

We wanted to end on a high note, so we headed over to California Adventure for one last trip on Soarin'. We walked, we waited, we got into our seat... And then we were informed that our "flight had been grounded". Seriously? Determined not to let it end that way, we decided to hoof it over to Screamin' for one last thrill. The wait was minimal and it was so worth the extra walking. 

Having watched Mickeys Fun Wheel, I felt like we should just do it for the sights, high above the park, with a little swinging involved. Matt admitted to having never ridden a ferris wheel. This experience was hilarious and horrifying. The swinging is so extreme and there's no seatbelt - you're just contained in your gondola. I spent a good amount of time clinging to the cage, and thinking positively. This was easily the scariest ride in the park!

And with that, we were done! Ready to go back to the hotel, soak in the hot tub and say our final goodbyes to California.