We did pretty well
getting out the door this morning. I got up at 5:30am and rode my stationary
bike and got ready. Our goal was to leave at 8am and we left a little bit
before 9am. As we approached Phoenix, we saw something in the sky but we couldn’t
figure out what it was. We finally saw
it when we got closer—it was a huge sign being pulled by a small airplane. It was a Geico advertisement, lol!
We stopped at our regular rest stop and then
stopped for lunch in Blythe. Unfortunately, it was down to one lane on the 60 and there was other traffic as
well so it took us about an extra hour to get here. We pulled into the Del Sol
Inn at 4:40pm. Our room is decent, even though it’s a little small. There’s
plenty of room for all of us to sleep so that’s nice. It took me a little time
to get everything situated so we could find space for everything. We went to dinner at Captain
Kidd’s buffet. It wasn’t the greatest food but it was fine and it was a good
variety. After dinner we walked back to the hotel and grabbed the rest of the
stuff from the car and came up to get ready for bed. Jonathan was dying to go
swimming or into the hot tub, so I went down with him. I don’t know how people
can stand it because it was pretty chilly, but he liked it.
Monday, September 30,
2019
We got up super early
today. We went to bed last night at about 9:30 or 9:45pm, and then this morning
everybody was up around 5:30am. I woke up at about 1am
thinking it was morning because there’s so much light coming into our hotel
room. The lights to guide your way to the rooms stay on all night and they’re
super bright and make it seem like daylight all night long. One more reason not
to stay at the Del Sol Inn again. We got all ready to go and the kids headed to
breakfast at 7am and then Michael and I joined them and we headed over to
Disneyland by about 7:15am. We got through security easily and got in line.
They
let us through the gates at about 7:45 AM and we went over to the rope drop by
Frontierland. We headed straight for Star Wars
Galaxy’s Edge to the Millennium Falcon ride. It was a long walk through the
queue, but we didn’t really have to wait and got right in. Andrew and I were
pilots, Michael and Jonathan were the gunners, and Emily and Daniel were the
engineers.
They told me my responsibility was to press the brakes and not hit
the train, but I didn’t even know where it was. After that, we stopped and put on
sunscreen and used the bathroom and then walked over to the Haunted Mansion to
use our Fastpass. That had been our plan this morning and it worked out perfectly.
After the Haunted Mansion, Michael couldn’t resist going on Splash Mountain
because the standby wait was only five minutes.
Next, we went to Big Thunder Mountain and used
our Fastpass. Then we headed over to Indiana Jones to use our Fastpass, but the
Fastpass line seemed almost longer than the standby line. It wasn’t too bad and
we got in and out pretty quickly. After that I decided we should go get in line
to see Jack Skellington and get a picture for Jonathan. It was on his must-do
list. He wanted to get the picture while he was wearing his Jack Skellington
shirt, but the pictures are only in Disneyland and he’s wearing that shirt
tomorrow. We were in line for at least 40 minutes.
Nathaniel got on
Hangouts as we were waiting in the line. As soon as we
were done with getting our picture, we darted over to Café Orleans to check in
for our lunch reservation at 11:40am. Luckily, we didn’t have to wait long for
a table. We were able to talk with Nathaniel for a little while, but it was pretty loud in the restaurant so it was hard to hear. If you look closely, he's in the picture because he is on a video call with us on Michael's phone.
When we were done eating, we walked straight over to Tomorrowland to use our Space Mountain Fastpasses.
Next, we went to Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters
where I did a terrible job and Michael beat me severely. We weren’t sure what
to do next because it was a while until our next Fastpass, so we got some
churros and some sodas and sat down and made a plan. First, we went to Star Wars Launch Bay. The
kids played around for a little bit and then we went to have our picture taken
with Chewbacca.
He was pretty funny. We all had a picture with him and then I
asked if I could have a picture with him, so he thought I meant a picture of
just him so there are some cute pictures of him posing for my picture by
himself and me laughing in the background.
When Michael was leaving, he had a
hard time finding the door and Chewbacca had a good laugh about it and was
making fun of him. By then it was time to head to Star Tours. Andrew was the
rebel spy on our flight. Next, we headed over to the Matterhorn bobsleds.
Jonathan and I didn’t want to ride so we found a place in the shade to sit and
wait for everybody. When they were done on the Matterhorn, we went over to it’s
a small world.
Then we headed over to the Jolly Holiday Bakery and Café for a
treat. Jonny had the Mickey Mummy macaron, I had the Matterhorn macaroon, and
Andrew had the raspberry macaron. Emily, Michael, and Daniel went to the shop
on Main Street that sells treats and Emily got a big Rice Krispies treat with
M&Ms on it and Michael got his peanut butter bar. Daniel wouldn’t eat
anything.
After our treats, we headed back to the hotel to rest for a little while. Jonathan had wanted to go back for a few hours, and Emily started wanting to as well. We got to the hotel room at about 5:30. We laid down for about an hour and got up and got ready and left a little after 7pm. We made it to Big Thunder Mountain by 7:30pm to use our Fastpasses. After that we wanted to get some dinner. Andrew really wanted to go to Rancho del Zocalo restaurant, but I knew Jonathan wouldn’t want that. So instead he and I went to the Red Rose Tavern and everybody else had Mexican. The Red Rose Tavern was really good. Jonathan had the kid’s cheese pizza and I had the beef poutine and a gray stuff gateau.
After our treats, we headed back to the hotel to rest for a little while. Jonathan had wanted to go back for a few hours, and Emily started wanting to as well. We got to the hotel room at about 5:30. We laid down for about an hour and got up and got ready and left a little after 7pm. We made it to Big Thunder Mountain by 7:30pm to use our Fastpasses. After that we wanted to get some dinner. Andrew really wanted to go to Rancho del Zocalo restaurant, but I knew Jonathan wouldn’t want that. So instead he and I went to the Red Rose Tavern and everybody else had Mexican. The Red Rose Tavern was really good. Jonathan had the kid’s cheese pizza and I had the beef poutine and a gray stuff gateau.
By the time we were done eating it was 8:40pm
and time to go to the Main Street Electrical Parade. Michael really wanted to
see it so Jonathan and I met him over in Fantasyland to watch it. Tonight was
the last night for it, maybe forever but I’m not sure. The line for the teacups
was so short that we decided to ride them toward the end of the parade.
Emily,
Andrew, and Daniel all took the train from New Orleans Square to Tomorrowland
to go on Autopia. Once the parade was over, Michael, Jonathan, and I all rode
the Alice in Wonderland ride. We still hadn’t heard from Emily and the boys, so
we walked over to watch Halloween Screams on the Sleeping Beauty Castle. They
caught up to us there and we watched the show.
Jonathan wanted to ride Peter
Pan and so did I, but the other kids didn’t so Michael took them to Pirates.
Jonathan and I ended up making it to the Millennium Falcon ride before the rest
of them. We had our picture taken and then got on the ride.
This time Emily
and Andrew were pilots, Jonathan and I were gunners, and Daniel and Michael
were engineers.
By the time the ride was over, the park was closed and we
walked out and walked to the hotel. We had prayer and sent the kids to bed. We
walked about 12 miles today. Hopefully the kids will let us sleep in tomorrow. I couldn't resist a picture of the decorated entrance to California Adventure, where we'll be going to the Oogie Boogie Bash party tomorrow.
