Special Day at the Temple

What a blessing it was to go to the temple today! We met Betsy and Geoff there and had a special sealing session for members of our family, including my mother. It was a very touching experience and I'm so glad Andrew was able to be there with us.

Disneyland Part 3

June 22 Saturday

I got up at 5:45 AM today so we could make it to rope drop. We left the hotel at exactly 7:23 AM. We breezed through security and the ticket booths and got a great spot for rope drop and we were there by 7:46 AM. We decided to get our first Lightning Lane for Space Mountain, which we did for 8:15 AM, then we went right to the Peter Pan line when they let everyone through. It was a great plan because we were able to join the line when it was only half full, but when it was almost our turn the ride was having technical difficulties and we had to wait about 15 minutes so that ate up a lot of our time. We considered leaving but we didn't know how we would get out of there because it's such a maze. Thankfully, we were able to ride it. Andrew said all we needed was "a little faith, trust, and pixie dust." Then we went over to Space Mountain to use our Lightning Lane to ride that.

Andrew wanted to ride on Autopia again and Emily wanted to ride the canal boats so I went with her and Jonny went with Andrew. 

While we stood in line, Emily and I put some sunscreen on and it was pretty funny because she dropped the can of sunscreen and it went flying so we had to wait until somebody walked by to give it to her. We met up with the boys at Mr. Toad's Wild Ride. 

We ordered some treats from a couple places while we stood in line. I had already set up a Jolly Holiday order for some raspberry rose macarons for the boys, a cherry vanilla one for me, and also a strawberry stuffed croissant to try. Emily wanted a snack too so I ordered her a Dole whip. I also got a gray stuff, called Summer Stuff, from red Rose Tavern that I couldn't get last night. After Mr. Toad, it wasn't quite time to pick up our food so we went on the teacups and then got a posed picture on the teacups with a photo pass photographer. 

Our first pick up time was 10:25 AM so we split up and got on our orders and met up at Jolly Holiday to eat it. Emily was underwhelmed by her Dole Whip but Jonny gobbled it up.

By 11:04 AM, we could get another Lightning Lane so we chose Incredicoaster and headed over there because the time started at 11:15 AM so we park hopped. I didn't really want to ride it but I knew once we scanned in, we could get another Lightning Lane so I agreed. Jonny had seen a pizza planet truck in the little vignette at the end and told me I should ride it so I could see it. I almost forgot to look for it at the end of the ride but I saw it in the little scene with the huge Jack Jack and Edna. 

After that, we took a bathroom break and ordered food. The boys wanted Smokejumpers Grill. Jonny was pretty excited about that and was talking about it when we were sitting at Jolly Holiday so we thought that was a good idea. He doesn't ask for much so when he speaks up, I try to do what he wants. Emily was fading fast. She was so tired and hot and had a headache. She was going to get fries but ended up ordering from Lucky Fortune Cookery like me. There was a beef bulgogi burrito and a gyoza sausage bun that I had wanted to try that I had seen on Instagram and she got a teriyaki bowl. She also wanted a Coke Zero but we had a hard time finding one. I finally realized they had it at the Cucina Cucamonga Grill at San Fransokyo Square. We stood in line just to get a soda and then picked up our food at Lucky Fortune Cookery and walked it over to Smokejumpers Grill to eat with the boys. Luckily, they had found a table inside so we were able to sit in the air conditioning and enjoy our food. I tried to keep getting the kids to share my food with me but nobody wanted it. They gave me these weird chips things that were white and puffed. When I picked up the food, I asked the lady, her name was Rose, what are these? She said chips like I was an idiot and we left. 

Emily was so done and wanted to go back to the hotel. We could've waited around another 20 minutes and rode Soarin' but she wanted to rest and we changed that Lightning Lane and went back to the hotel. I even got us an Uber to save time and walking. As we were walking out of the park, Michael texted me a sweet note about how much he loves me and how grateful he is that I'm his wife. We got back to the hotel and Emily immediately went to bed. I stayed up for a little bit so I could get our next Lightning Lane and I chose Mickey and Minnie's Runaway Railway because I know how much Emily loves it. Andrew and I slept for a couple of hours. Jonny wasn't sure if he slept but Emily was sure that he did. Emily used my phone while I was sleeping to sign up for our next Lightning Lane of Big Thunder Mountain. We got up and got ready and left the hotel at 4:45 PM to head back to California Adventure to ride Guardians of the Galaxy. We saw a nice family who were clearly from Australia based on their accents on our walk to the park. They said, “excuse me, do you know this area pretty well?” We said we did and they asked how to get to Downtown Disney and we explained what they needed to do and that once they got through security they would just walk and they would see it. We talked a little bit and gave them some advice about some rides. They just got in today and they'll be in the parks for three days from Sunday to Tuesday. We passed the Guardians of the Galaxy ride and the dad asked what it was and we told him it was one of our favorites and that we ride it every day. We told them it was a drop ride and the mom said she didn't think she could do it but I told her I have the same problem but it's fun and she can probably handle it. They were from Melbourne and we told them that Andrew would be going to Brisbane. They were pretty shocked that Andrew said he would be there for two years. The security line was surprisingly long. The family we were talking to got in a different line but I couldn't resist going over and giving them some tips about linking ride photos and how handy it is to make mobile orders for food. We waited a while for security and I was pretty worried we were going to miss getting on the ride but we made it. I had the kids go first and I was able to catch up. We had fun riding together and we did YMCA for the picture so that was pretty funny. 

After the ride, the boys wanted to look around in the Avengers store. They both considered buying a hat but ended up not doing it. Jonny wanted to meet Loki so we hung around watching for him. Black Widow was walking around for a long time and I figured he wouldn't come out till she left. Andrew wanted another Quantum pretzel so Emily made a mobile order and got two of them for the boys again and I stayed around to watch for Loki. I asked two different cast members when he would be coming out and neither of them gave me the advice of where to wait for him but maybe they're not allowed to. 

By the time he finally came out, a line had already formed but it wasn't too long so we went and waited in it. We got to meet him and take some pictures. We had seen Loki on Wednesday as we were walking through Avengers Campus but Jonny never said anything about wanting to meet him so I reminded him that he needs to speak up. 

Then we headed over to Disneyland. We made a quick stop at Gusteau's to Go which was one of the stands for Pixar Fest. I got a crème brûlée and caramel macaron and Emily got a ratatouille pizza. We ate those quickly and then walked over to Disneyland. 

We wanted to catch the train over to Toon Town to ride Mickey and Minnie's Runaway Railway but it had just left so we walked instead. By the time we got there, we were on time but the ride was down. Unfortunately, they didn't give us a multi experience pass. I made a quick order for Daisy's Cafe to try those little blueberry donuts with Fruity Pebbles. 

We walked over to it's a small world since the wait was so short. I had read that you could eat on that ride and I asked the cast member and he said it was OK so we enjoyed the donuts on the ride. Emily tried one but the boys wouldn't. I had a couple and they were pretty good but nothing special.

There were two more treats I wanted to get. The first was the cookies from Harbor Galley. I asked Andrew if he'd be willing to go get those and he begrudgingly agreed. 

I also wanted to try the cheesy garlic pretzel bread from Edelweiss Snacks so I ordered them and picked them up while Andrew went to get the cookies.

Then we got on the train and took that to Main Street and met Andrew there. Then it was time to go back to California Adventure and use our Soarin' Lightning Lane. We stopped at Smokejumpers and found a table outside and got some waters and ate the cookies and Andrew and I ate our cheesy pretzel bread. Then we went to the ride. We were in section B but this time we were in row two. When it was over, we walked along the path past Grizzly River Run and went that way to Toy Story Mania. Jonny tried to talk Andrew into going on Grizzly River Run but he really didn't want to and the wait was 40 minutes and it looked like it had been down so we kept going. The Lightning Lane line for Toy Story was pretty long but we had fun. Andrew had the highest score so he was pretty happy about that. 

We had to rush over to Web Slingers in order to use our Lightning Lane because the park was about to close. We had three minutes to spare by the time we got there. Jonny beat us all on Web Slingers again. 

It was time for one last bathroom stop at the restroom at the entrance of California Adventure and then we said goodbye to that and hopped over to Disneyland. 

We went straight to guest services to ask about the fact that we never got a multi experience pass from Mickey and Minnie's Runaway Railway. I gave him my ticket to scan and he went ahead and gave us the pass with no questions asked. I had the kids go first but then I was done right away and I was able to catch up with them. As we were walking, Emily texted me and said that the pass was also good for Peter Pan. In fact, it was good for pretty much any ride we wanted that wasn't an individual Lightning Lane. We made it just in time for our Big Thunder Mountain Lightning Lane. I forgot how fun that ride is at night. As we were about to get on the ride, we got a text from Michael asking us how Big Thunder was. Haha! He said he was looking for Daniel on Find My and saw us and figured out where we were. I told Emily to text him back that it was “the wildest ride in the wilderness,” and she did. After Big Thunder, we all walked to Fantasyland and then Emily and Jonny went to Mickey and Minnie's Runaway Railway, Andrew went to Matterhorn, and I went to Peter Pan. That was the coolest Lightning Lane ever. There was a lady standing off to the left and another family got into that Lightning Lane before me. It's not even labeled, I just happened to see the cast member standing there. I guess I never noticed her before. Anyway, there was a family of four that went in front of me and it let us ride onto the part of the ride on the wooden part where you load and there wasn't even anybody standing there so I practically walked right on that ride and it was awesome. Michael texted me as I was on the ride and asked if I was riding Peter Pan by myself. I saw the notification on my watch so I was easily able to text him back, “Yes, I am.” The plan was to meet up at Buzz after that. Andrew and I were done first. Andrew caught up with me and we walked over there together. We realized that Emily and Jonny were still on the ride so we decided to go on Buzz since it was a walk on. The Lightning Lane and standby were the same so we weren't going to scan, but then realized if he did scan then he could sign up for a Lightning Lane for Autopia so that's what he did. So, we went on Buzz together. 

Andrew went to Autopia. Emily and Jonny got on right before I got on a second time by myself. One thing that took extra time for Emily is that she bought the little birdie that's in Runaway Railway at the gift shop. Emily wanted to get ice cream so they went and did that and I went on a third time. This time my trick didn't work but it stopped at the right place so I could hit a triangle a bunch of times so I ended up with 510,000 points. I started heading to the ice cream parlor and I spotted Andrew so we walked over there together. We stopped at the Plaza Inn bathrooms and I almost convinced Andrew to go on the Astro Orbiter but he didn't want to. Emily got a dipped cone, Jonny got a root beer float, but Andrew and I didn't want anything. I bought some bakery treats and two bags of English toffee. Emily and Jonny sat on the curb of main street and enjoyed their treats. 

We took a couple more pictures and left. 

We thought about getting an Uber but it would take too long so we just walked. It's been a fantastic trip! Everything has worked out great. Emily was a huge help and the boys were really agreeable about everything. We had a wonderful time. My favorite part of the trip is spending time with the kids, getting to ride everything we wanted to, and I got to try all the treats I wanted to. Emily's favorite part was that time that Soarin' broke down so we got a multi experience pass and she was able to ride Guardians again. She says her favorite parts are "bank error in your favor." Andrew loved the food.  He ate a quantum pretzel from Pym's Kitchen every day we were there. So did Jonny, but Andrew was more excited about it. Jonny's favorite part was Guardians of the Galaxy. I'm so glad we went on this trip!

 

June 23, Sunday

This morning, I woke up naturally at 8:40 AM so I turned off my alarm clock and started getting ready. I had it set for 8:45 AM so it wasn't a big deal. Daniel called a little after 9 AM and I was so worried about what could be wrong. His face started swelling on his right side and he wanted to know what to do. I told him he needed to call the doctor and I sent the phone number for him to call. Unfortunately, it was just an answering service so they weren't much help but we will call first thing in the morning. His face is pretty swollen and he didn't go to church today and he's been resting most of the day and taking ibuprofen. The kids and I checked out right at 11 AM. We sat in the lobby for about half an hour and then we had them watch our suitcases and walked over to the Cheesecake Factory. Jim and Maria met us there at noon. It took them a little while to find a parking space but it all worked out fine and we got a table right away when they got here. We enjoyed our lunch with them. 

Jim looks really good and he says he's going to work out three times a week to keep his Parkinson's from progressing. It was about 1:45 PM when we said our goodbyes. We had taken a picture but it didn't turn out great but that's OK. We walked back to the hotel, got our bags, and called the Uber. We realized Emily was in a different terminal than us but it's OK because they're all connected which she found out later. On the Uber ride, I saw a notification from American Airlines that our departure time was changed from 4:24 PM to 7:01 PM so that was frustrating. Jonny said he saw something about it but never told me and I wish he had because we could've just stayed at that hotel lobby longer but we were already in the Uber so we just went to the airport and found some benches by baggage claim and camped out there for a couple of hours. I had plenty to do and so did Emily. Andrew laid down on the chairs and took a nap and Jonny watched a movie or something on his phone. By about 4:45 PM, we checked our bags and went through security and met up at our gate. Andrew went with Emily and then they met us at our gate. We sat there for a little bit and then we went to Ruby's Diner to get some dinner. 

As we were sitting there, I happened to look at my boarding pass to see what group we were in and that's when I realized they were boarding earlier than they had said. After we arrived at the airport, they pushed the time back even further to 7:13 AM which was not that big of a deal, but then they changed it back to 7 PM and didn't give any notification. We weren't sitting close to the gate to hear the announcements so that was really frustrating and thankfully I had looked at it otherwise we wouldn't have made it. We had to say our goodbyes to Emily quickly because by the time we walked over there they started calling group 5. We gave her hugs and quickly got on the plane. They changed our row on us. They must've switched planes from what it was when we chose our seats and the row in front of us was an exit row so that's why they must've put us in a different row because Jonny's only 14 and he has to be 15 to sit in an exit row. When we got on the plane, we were talking about that and that's what I told Andrew and he asked why and I said it's because Jonny's only 14 even though he looks like a grown man and the flight attendant chuckled. Anyway, it was an uneventful flight and they did bring us drinks but only pretzels and no cookies. We got off the plane and got the bags and Michael picked us up right as we walked out the door so it worked out wonderfully and we got home and brought everything in. We had a quick lesson then we had a prayer. I need to get up early tomorrow so I can call the doctor. 

Disneyland! Part 2

June 21, Friday

We walked out of the hotel room at 7:35 AM. We got through security and into the park just after 7:50 AM. By the time we bought Genie Plus and reserved our first Lightning Lane for Guardians of the Galaxy, it was 7:54 AM. We got to Soarin’ by 7:59 AM. There was already a line built up but it wasn't bad at all. We had to wait in the standby line. Resort guests were already able to go in but we had to wait until 8 AM and then they started letting us in. It was awesome because we were able to sit in section B in the first row which is the perfect viewing spot because you're in the middle and nobody's feet are hanging down in front of you.

After that, we headed over to the Monsters Inc. ride. We walked around the backside of the park in the corner and spotted Mrs. Incredible/Elastigirl so we got a picture with her. 

I showed the kids the menu at Pym’s Test Lab that is a phone screen so that was cool. Then we went over to the checkerboard floor that's an optical illusion and we took a few pictures. The guy who was sweeping over there was excited to tell us some info and show me exactly where to stand for the best picture. 

Then we realized Doctor Strange was out so we got some video and pictures with him. 

Then we went and took a couple more pictures of the checkerboard. 

We thought about going to Web Slingers because the line was 25 minutes but we decided to head over to Pixar Pier instead. We got a picture in front of the Ferris wheel and Incredicoaster and then headed over to Silly Symphony Swings. 

Emily wanted to go to Bing Bong’s Sweet Shop so we went to the store and they had a bakery counter so we were all pretty excited about that. Andrew had wanted a Cookie Numb Num but he chose a double chocolate chip cookie instead. Jonny got a Mike Wazowski Rice Krispies crispy treat, Emily got a Rice Krispies treat, and I got a churro toffee and a peanut butter bar. We sat on a bench near the Ferris wheel and enjoyed our treats. We scheduled our next Lightning Lane for Web Slingers and then got in line for Incredicoaster since the standby wait was only 40 minutes but it actually only took us 30 minutes.

Andrew got some water from the Cookie Num Num counter and we headed over through San Fransokyo Square. I saw the line building for Baymax and it was short so we decided to wait. It was 10:50 AM and he was coming out at 11 AM so we waited for that. It was fun to hug him. 

Then, it was already time to go to Guardians so we headed there next. We got to sit in the front row this time. It was annoying because I didn't have a handle on the left side but there was a place you could grab but it wasn't the same. 

Andrew wanted a big pretzel so we got a pretzel for him and Jonny again and I got myself the Choco Smash cake and we all got some drinks and we sat and enjoyed it for a little bit and made our plan. Then we decided we should go wait in the Web Slingers line because the wait was relatively short at only 30 minutes. The wait time seemed to go up while we waited in line but we decided it was still the best use of our time. Nobody else had any better ideas and Jonny loves to be in California Adventure and he really wanted to ride Web Slingers so I said we should do what he wants because he doesn't ask for much. The wait was only 30 minutes for Web Slingers so that was nice. Jonny beat us on the score. 

Next, we headed over to Disneyland. I wanted to take the kids to lunch at Plaza Inn so that's what we did. Jonny ordered pasta with no sauce. We tried to convince him to get it on the side but he said no. Then he didn't finish the pasta. It was time to get the order I had made at Jolly Holiday for a Raspberry Rose macaron for Andrew, Jonny, and me and another cherry vanilla macaron so I went and picked that up and came back. We decided we would go back to the hotel and take a break and come back later. 

We even took an Uber to make it easier on ourselves. I stayed up long enough to make the next Lightning Lane selection and then I took a nap. Our plan was to leave the hotel room by 6:30 PM and we left by about 6:45 PM. The line at security was longer than it was this morning. It took us a little while to get over to Pirates. When we were almost to the point where they would load us, the ride stopped. They told us they were having some difficulties. Then we were glad that they started back up but they weren't loading anybody. Within about five minutes of the announcement, it was up and running again so that was good. Emily had switched one of our Lightning Lanes so we wouldn't miss it. After Pirates, we went straight to Indiana Jones and rode that. It was kind of cute because as we were leaving, there was a little boy in front of us complaining and he said, “That was the worst ride I've ever been on in my entire life!” We had a good laugh about that. They were setting up for Fantasmic so it was kind of hard to navigate but we made it over to Big Thunder Mountain in plenty of time. We rode it just as it was getting dark. 

They wanted to go ride Guardians again with our multi experience that we got from Web Slingers but I didn't want to ride it again so the three of them went over to ride it. 

I raced over to red Rose Tavern so I could get the gray stuff but they were sold out so I was pretty bummed about that. I still got a picture there.

I sat down and figured out what I wanted to eat. It's kind of hard to navigate and figure out what restaurants are open at a certain time. You have to just go into each individual thing and find out when it closes and that was annoying. (Update: I should have clicked the Dining tab in the Tip Board, which I found out after we got home.)I've always been curious about Bengal Barbecue so I did an order there and got a chicken and a beef skewer, a breadstick, and a pineapple spear. It was a little while before it was going to be available to pick up so I went by the Mint Julep Bar to try and get some beignets but that line was too long so I just went over to pick up my food and carry it over to Galactic Grill to meet the kids. They were already there. I had asked them to pick up a pineapple coconut churro from Willy’s Churro Cart in California Adventure so they had that waiting for me along with some water so that was nice. We sat and ate our food for a while. 

Andrew used my multi experience pass to ride Matterhorn. Emily and Jonny and I sat at the table and waited for him and relaxed a bit. Michael called and I got to talk to him and Daniel. I hadn't talked to Daniel yet. He ended up having his friends over tonight instead of tomorrow night. He was supposed to have an afternoon shift today but he gave it away and was glad about that and now he doesn't have to work tomorrow either. I stayed at the table and watched bags while the kids all went with our Lightning Lane on Autopia. Next, it was time to head over to Runaway Railway to use our Lightning Lane there. By the time we left that ride, it was 11:49 PM. We looked it up and it said that the railroad goes until midnight so we headed over to the Toon Town station. The sign said it comes every 20 minutes so once we had been waiting 20 minutes we almost gave up. Thankfully, we hadn't left the line yet and it came just after 20 minutes. We hopped on and took that to Main Street and walked back to the hotel.