HopeFamily

On the Monday morning after Christmas we told the boys to start packing because we were heading to Southern California for 4 days at Disneyland. Bart and Alex nearly fainted. Diane and I were excited because we had heard that it was really decked out for the Holidays. We had never seen it. We also wanted to see the new World of Color show. We just got to see a short test on our last visit and were curious to see if it was cool. We were not disappointed. We arrived late and went right to sleep. We were up early to enter the park around 7am for the early opening. Only some of the rides are running during the early opening, but the lines are short. As you can see the entryway was quite deserted at this early hour. No evidence of the crazy day that lay ahead.

It was day 1 and our first ride was Buzz Lightyear.

There were Christmas decorations every where. The castle was covered with decorations and lights. Quite lovely at night when all the lighting can be seen. There is a picture later in this blog.

The crowds were starting to build as we went on Mr. Toads wild ride. Next we went to Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. Its the wildest ride in the wilderness. The whole park had just opened and there was no line. We were able to get in two runs. The park was filling quickly and we got in line for the Pirates of the Caribbean. When we got out the park was getting very crowded.

It was still very early and although it was sunny, there was a chill in the air. The lines were all getting very long so we went to Splash Mountain. Usually one of the longest lines in the park. But this was Christmas break and it was chilly. The line was not very long. Here is a copy of the Disney photo.

Here is a clip from our only ride on Splash Mountain for this trip. It would only get colder over the next couple days. Definitely one of our favorites. We were very soaked and getting cold. The crowds seemed very big. We decided to head out of the park for dry clothes and lunch. On the way out we learned that the park was full and they had stopped selling tickets at 10 am. By 1 pm they also stopped selling tickets to California Adventure Park. Wow that doesn't happen very often. Apparently the big crowds were a consequence of increased demand because of the more than a week of rain delaying visits during the holiday season.

By the time we returned at around 6pm, the crowds were decreased. We had a big night in front of us. Our first goal was California Adventure and ultimately to see the World of Color show at 8pm. We started with a fast pass ride on Soarin over California. One of my favorites. Then we went to the ElecTRONica show they had going as part of the TRON sequel that has just come out. It was pretty cool. We then went on the Monsters Inc ride before heading over to the World of Color show.

After World of Color we headed back to Disneyland. We had seats for the 10:15 Fantasmic show. On the way we were able to go to the Haunted Mansion for the Jack Skellington Holiday. It was quite amazing. They had almost redone the entire ride. So fun to see something so different and new for the first time. After Fantasmic, we did it again. We finished the night with a ride on Indiana Jones and Big Thunder Mountain Railroad facilitated with fastpasses. What a great first day. Especially since the crowds were about as big as they can be.

Day 2, RAIN! Hard rain, constant rain. Luckily it stopped in the late morning. Decreased the crowds (a bunch) but the park in a drenching rain is definitely less fun. We were really dragging and it was cold and wet. After a couple runs on Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters and the Orbitor we went out to have breakfast. Invigorated and revitalized by a serious breakfast we went back into the park. We rode the train to "It's a Small World". It was very modified for the Holidays. The lines were getting longer. We did rides on Pinnochio, Snow White, and the Jungle Cruise. As we headed back to the hotel for the break, the weather showed signs of breaking.

As the sun came out, so did Mickey. He looks pretty relaxed in his holiday sweater.

That evening the rain was long gone along with most of the puddles. We headed to California Adventure for our first ride on Toy Story Mania. I beat Bart on this run. Alas, it would be the only time I would accomplish that goal on this trip.

Here is Diane, Bart, and Alex next to some giant ornaments in Bugs Land. There is a new shortcut that through there to the Tower of Terror. After the Tower of Terror we passed through ElecTRONica on our way back to Disneyland.

When we got back in Disneyland, Bart and Alex ran into Mickey.

Its a small world was lit with thousands of lights. It was very festive! It was cold, but the lines were very short. We did The Matterhorn twice (both sides), Alice in wonderland, Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. Then we headed over to Tomorrowland to ride Space Mountain and ride Buzz Lightyears Astroblasters three times. Alex got the family high score for the second run.

We all had a blast! We just weren't always happy at exactly the same time.

Day 3. We were tired after the early mornings and late nights an so we got a late start. We went directly to California Adventure. The lines were already pretty long.

First ride was the new Silly Symphony swing ride. Diane really liked it. Then we got in line for California Screaming.

I ran to Disneyland to get a Space Mountain fastpass. I ran into Buzz Lightyear along the way.

Then we went on Toy Story Mania, Bart had the highest score in the family this time.

After a nap and soak in the hot tub at the hotel we headed back to California Adventure. First we watched World of Color from the side. Then Rode the Silly Symphony Swings ( I didn't, spinny rides like that make me sick (nauseaous). We then did Toy Story Mania and Soarin over California. California Adventure was closing so we headed over to Disneyland. We took the train to New Orleans Square where we rode Pirates of the Caribbean and the Haunted Mansion. Back on the train Tomorrowland where Diane and Alex rode Autopia. We finished with a run on Space Mountain. There was a delay right when we were loading. But although the delay was short, it kept us from a last ride on Buzz. As you can tell by the smiles we all enjoy the riding the Space Mountain rollercoaster.

Day 4. New Years Eve and our last day at the Disneyland Resort. The park was going to be open from 8am to 2am. Potentially 18 hours of Disney. Would we, could we survive.

When we entered Disneyland we ran into the Mad Hatter and Alice. When the kids were small we used to take lots of pictures with the characters. This year you could count the character pictures on one hand.

We got in the park very early. We got right on Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. Next we went to the Haunted Mansion. After hitting the Orbitor we headed over to California Adventure when it opened at 10am. We wanted to make sure we got a ticket to the midnight World of Color show. We did the Tower of Terror, See the picture below. The guys inthe fromt right got in trouble for an obscene gesture. You can see them preparing their "birds" for the picture. Next we went to Monsters Inc, and Toy Story Mania before we headed back to the hotel for a short rest. If you can count swimming in the pool and sitting in the hot tub as resting. We had a 4:45 pm reservation at the Rain Forest Cafe.

They were practicing the World of Color set up for the new years eve countdown. In the full sun, the water made a great rainbow.

After dinner we went back into California Adventure for a few more rides. We went on California Screamin', the Silly Symphony Swings, and the Zepher. One more ride on Soarin over California and after a quick last visit to ElecTRONica before we headed back to Disneyland. We got to see the end of the Holiday fireworks show and got on the Disneyland Railroad to New Orleans Square. We did the Haunted Mansion and Indiana Jones Adventure one last time. It was getting late and we headed back to California Adventure for the New Years Eve countdown. We has a great place to stand for the countdown (see next post).

After the countdown and a last viewing of World of Color (It's AMAZING) we ran over for a final run on Toy Story Mania. We finished the ride at 1am and wanted to run back to Disneyland for the last hour before closing. We had been going for 17 hours. Our Dogs were barking and we were exausted. But we had a set of 1am fastpasses for Space Mountain. We dragged ourselves to Tomorrowland by about 1:40 am. Enough time for one last run on Buzz Lightyears Astro Blasters and a final ride on Space Mountain. It was 2am, the park was closed. We had a wonderful New Years eve day at the Disneyland resort. 18 hours and we were spent. Below is the castle with New Years EVe signs on either side. I really like the way that they have the lighting on the castle at night.

We got to bed about 3am. Our flight was at 8:09. After 3 quality hours of sleep we got up, finished packing, and went down to our taxi. The original guy was late but we got lucky and got a taxi off the street. We were to the airport in plenty of time. Alex and I crashed hard for almost the whole flight. I am sure we were dreaming about our next visit to the Magic Kingdom.

Today was the annual Illini Basketball game in Chicago. Usually at the United Center. Many great games over the years. We have been to 9 Chicago games in the past ten years. Last year we lost to a ranked Gonzaga team in overtime. This year it was University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana vs University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC). Got two Bachelors degrees from the former and was a professor at the latter for 5 years. Big differences in experiences between those two schools. Grew up in one and worked at the other. Make no mistake, I am an Illini fan. We were going into the game ranked 12 in one poll and 14 in the other. UIC has not been very good this year. They were 4 wins and 7 losses. The Illini were 10 - 1. Look at all the orange in the stands. It was a home game atmosphere.

We were getting together with with two old friends from both institutions to go to the game. All were Illini fans. The Illini got off to a sluggish start. But the Illini rebounded and led 49-41 with about seven minutes to go. However, UIC's "Flames" fought back to even it up as the game wound down.

The term the kids use today is "Fail", I guess I would call it choking. Anyway, the Flames beat the Illini 57-54. No Illini fan was happy. They say a picture is worth a thousand words. This picture of Diane at the end of the game says it all.