Disneyland Day 4

Wednesday afternoon I had walked to a grocery store to get some infant Tylenol for Lauren's fever and also picked up some breakfast foods.  So Thursday, we were able to start our day cheaply with breakfast in our room!  Then we were off to California Adventure.  We had an early start this day, so we headed straight for Radiator Springs racers, but it was again too busy.  As it was on Tuesday, it was broken down and they weren't even giving out Fast Passes since they didn't know how long it would be down.  We stopped for a quick photo op with Lightening McQueen.  The girls didn't like his racing engine noise... can you tell?!

We detoured into the Bugs Life area and found the jackpot for our little girls!  Karen and Megan loved the Ladybug ride - they rode it three times straight and would have happily gone more if us adults had been willing!

From there we tried out the bumper cars.  Unfortunately Lauren couldn't do it so we had to drive in two separate shifts.  Then we rode on the caterpillar ride - I forget what he is called... I thought it was pretty boring, but the girls really enjoyed it!  I think Megan decided she like rides that were in the open!

At this point, Mom and I needed to find some coffee!  So while we did this, Carl took the big girls on the Ladybug ride again, let them play in the "puddle", and then headed towards the Grizzly River Run!  We met up with them there and he took Karen and Tina and raced the river!  Karen wasn't a huge fan - the big drop scared her a little bit.  She was already wet from playing in the puddle at a Bug's life and got really wet on the Grizzly River Run - she was shivering so bad, but even after being scared still laughed about the ride!

Mom and I took Lauren and Megan into the Wilderness Kids Challenge Trail.  They loved the chance to not be stuck in the stroller and to just run loose.  Carl came and found us here after their ride and I think the kids must have wandered and played for a half hour.  They would probably have happily stayed for most of the afternoon!  But we wandered on...

We caught a bit of Goofy's Silly Concert at Paradise Pier. From there we headed back towards California Soarin' - we figured we would fast pass it and have lunch at the Test Pilot's Grill.  Along the way we all got the surprise of the trip.  Carl's folks flew down early Thursday morning and found us at the park!  We had hoped they would be able to come but had just given up any thought that they would make it.  (Carl's sister had a baby that Monday and they were in Yakima helping her out with her other two little ones).  It was so great to see them!

Papa (Carl's Dad) showed us the error of our ways immediately... he bought the girls bubble guns right after they caught up with us and all of the whining magically went away.  With something to entertain themselves with, they were quite content!!

After some discussion, we got our fast passes as planned and grabbed our food at Test Pilot's.  California Soarin' was a really neat experience!  Megan was just a hair to short for it, but I think she would have loved it.  Karen's expressions, squeals, and laughter during the ride were priceless!!  We also got to see Minnie again after Minnie's Fly Girls performed.  The girls loved seeing Minnie!

I headed back to the hotel at this point with Lauren.  I had been fighting a headache all morning and could tell it was quickly turning the corner into a full-fledged migraine if I didn't get on top of it.  I napped for a good couple of hours with Lauren.  Carl stayed out with the other two girls, Tina, and his folks.  They rode California Screamin' (minus Karen and Megan), Goofy's Flight School, the Jumping Jellyfish, and waited in line to meet Woody and Jesse.  I think they also went into Disneyland and caught Cinderella as she was crossing the street.  She was gracious enough to stop for a brief photo op with my kids even though they aren't supposed to!

We had reservations for dinner at Goofy's Kitchen and fortunately, my headache had subsided by dinner time!  We all met up there for a fun dinner.  The kids weren't too sure about Goofy, Pluto, Chip and Dale... but they loved all the female characters we saw - Minnie, Belle, and Snow White.

Lauren was NOT a fan of the characters and dissolved into tears whenever they got too close!

It was a fun dinner that the girls thoroughly enjoyed!  After getting the kids to bed I headed out with Mom and Tina for a little fun.  We managed to catch Pirates of the Caribbean and then spent some time browsing in the World of Disney store.

Each day we were getting a little bit better hang of making the most of our trip with toddlers!