Five Girls and A Guy: Our Disneyland Halloween/60th Diamond Celebration Trip:

On November 12, our Disneyland Countdown finally hit 0! We anxiously waited for the girls to get out of school so we could hit the road. Jadyn had a test on Monday and wouldn't be able to come until the following day so the rest of us, including Jorrins friend Duncan, headed out. On the way down we had fun listening to Disney music, looking at the sights and watching Disney movies. After a short unscheduled stop from the van overheating just across the California line we continued on. Our plan was to head straight to a Costco by our hotel for dinner. This was the only place Jorrin wanted to eat!? Due to the car trouble and traffic Costco was closed by the time we got there so we settled (or upgraded) to In & Out instead. Our hotel was a nice Hampton about 5 miles away and was a business hotel. I think we were about the only family staying there.

Tuesday we woke up bright and very early and headed to the park. We got right in and on the bottom level of the parking garage. This was our first experience with using the parking garage and riding the trams and it worked out very well. We had decided to do the one park per day passes instead of park hoppers and are really glad we did. With the 5 day passes we were able to spend 3 in Disneyland and 2 in California Adventure and it worked out perfectly. When we arrived the lines were longer than we expected for a Tuesday. I think between the Halloween party, fall break and the 60th anniversary the parks were busier than normal but we were still able to do everything we wanted and with fastpasses really didn't have to wait in any long lines. Tuesday was Disneyland. For some reason, probably because it is the first ride you come to and it is a short line our first ride is always the Astro Orbiter. We had tried to talk the girls into something else but they wouldn't hear of breaking the tradition. After that we went on all of the other Tommorowland rides and headed to Adventureland. This is the first year Jantzyn was tall enough to ride everything so it was nice to be able to go on everything together. This was her first time on Indiana Jones. She was a little nervous but ended up loving it and going on it a few times. We went on all of the rides on this side of the park including the Mark Twain which we usually dont have time for. Our favorites were Thunder Mountain, Splash Mountain and Pirates.

The day was warmer than usual so we decide to go back to the hotel for lunch and get freshened up. When we got back we went on more rides and waited for Jadyn and Jake to arrive. They arrived just in time to go on Small World for Grandma and send her a picture. She had given the girls some money for souvenirs but before they were able to spend it they had to go an certain rides and send back pictures for her. Before we left Robyn has also requested (demanded?) one picture per hour. We took pictures of things only die hards would know and asked if she could tell where we were. She was able to get most of them but because of poor wi-fi we fell short of the one per hour goal. That night we watched the new Paint the Night parade. It had over 1 million lights and was really awesome! We were right on the front row and thought we were going to get run over by the full size Mack truck from Cars. Because of the crowds they extended the hours to midnight and we took full advantage. By the time we left, ate dinner and got back to The hotel it was about 2:30.

Wednesday was California Adventure. We were up very early again (although some struggled with this Jaicelyn) so we could get to the park before it opened and get fast passes to World of Color and Radiator Springs Racers. Terry started power walking right at the rope drop for the WOC passes while everyone else headed to CarsLand. The power walk turned into a jog, then a full out sprint and he ended up 3rd in line. Over at Carsland the fast pass line was longer than the line for the ride so we just got into that and only waited about 20 min. This was Terry, Sheri and Jantzyn first time being there since Cars Land opened so we were excited to see all of the new stuff. Also Duncan had never been to California Adventure and it was fun to see his reaction. The ride was amazing just as we had heard! Next was Tower of Terror The only way Jake would go on it was by Jantz promising to ride Screamin if he did. We loved it so much we all got right back into line and went again. Even Jake. Then Screamin (Jaice and Jantz said they would wait until next time) and the Fun Wheel. Jake and Duncan both had to use motion sickness bags and Terry loved every minute of it. Then continued around the bay going on the swings, Sky School, Jellyfish and of course the Zephyr! After lunch we spent the afternoon finishing all if the rides and repeating our favorites. This was the earliest closing night with the park closing at 8 but World of Color was at 815 so we got our spots for that and it was fantastic! But not as fantastic as Fantasmic. I think we all still like that one better. We tried to get to bed early as the next three days would be long full days with closing being at midnight the rest of the time.

The next morning we decided to let everyone sleep in a little and ended up getting to the park about 10:00. This turned out to be what would happen the next two mornings also. Thursday was the second Disneyland day. We all wore matching Micky Head Villain T shirts that Sheri had made and got several comments from other guests. Our first ride today was Peter Pan and then finished out all of the Fantasyland rides. Spent the rest of the day wandering, repeating our favorite rides and finished the night with Fantasmic! Jake had never seen it before and was thoroughly impressed.

Friday was our second day at California Adventure. We hit the stuff we had not on the first day and doing everything else we wanted to again. Highlights were Jaice and Jantz first ride on Screamin. They both loved it and wished they had done it sooner. Watched Aladdin which turned out to be a nice nap for some. Spent some time checking out CarsLand and all of the little shops. We were a little worried that spending all day in one park would get boring but that did not turn out to be the case. Did some shopping, got a Carmel Apple Smoothie which was soo good! and watched the band at the Mad Tea Party. We did not get to the Frozen Sing a Long which didn't disappoint Jadyn at all. She also may or may not have booed Elsa and Ana in the parade. I guess that is not her favorite movie. That night when everyone else was at World of Color we ran from ride to ride and finished off where we began with Radiator Springs Racers.

Saturday, Day 5, was our 3rd day in Disneyland and last day of our trip. Highlights of this day included Toon Town, went to the Tiki Room and had a Dole Whip. None of us had been there before and it was a fun show and nice break. While the girls shopped, Terry took off and did some exploring and found a cool art shop called Disneyana. Also Walts bench and a model of what Disneyland looked like on the day it opened. We were tired of bringing in out own lunch so we walked across the street to McDonalds. On the way we saw a homeless man in a very dirty hoodie, with the hood up. Jaicelyn felt bad and wanted to give him some money so we did. After lunch as we were leaving the restaurant we saw the same man who had taken off the hoodie and looked very clean, eating and looking at his iPhone. Jaice was disgusted wanted to go ask for our money back! That night we saw the firework show Disneyland Forever with a couple songs written for the 60th anniversary. They are not just fireworks anymore. They put projections on the castle and every building on Main Street and even turned the Matterhorn into an erupting Mount Wannahockaloogie from Finding Nemo. After the fireworks spent the rest of the night running from ride to ride. The second to last ride was Splash Mountain. Terry and Jake wanted to try to put the heaviest people in the front to see if they would get wetter that way. Sheri and Jadyn wanted no part of it and go into their own log. They were in front and didn't see the three VERY heavy people get on behind them. They ended up getting completely drenched and were not very happy. Then for our traditional last ride we hopped on the Railroad to take a last lap and say goodbye to Disneyland. Cant believe 5 days went so fast but we loved every minute! The only bad thing is that they don't sell a 6 day pass!

The next morning we enjoyed sleeping in. On the way home we stopped in Las Vegas to see Brandon and Tracy and much to Jorrins happiness a quick dinner at Costco. We made it home totally exhausted but ready to turn around and do it all over again.

As the Disneygeek would say Enough with the words, bring on the pictures!