He Said: We decided to focus on the other park today. We only had to be there by 9 to get Fast Passes for the World of Colour show that night, with the park opening officially at 10. So we slept, had a fairly relaxed morning, and then the fire alarm went off. The whole resort was emptied. If we'd had sunscreen and clothes on Ryan we would've made it. We took longer than we probably should getting dressed and leaving the room, but it ended up being nothing. We went to get the tickets, then went back to the room for a bit. After that, we tried California Adventures, and I have to say - eh. It's a theme park, I think targeted pretty squarely at Knotts Berry. The only ride I remember liking at Knotts Berry was the inner tube rapids, and they have that here. The rides are also very non-disney. There's bumper cars, spinny swings, a ferris wheel. They al lhave the window dressing and maybe a twist or two, but they're also rides you could do at WEM. Pirates, Haunta Mansion, those are experiences you can't get anywhere else, and they're top notch. You don't see a cable, a light, or a camera. The rides in California, are rides they have at any carnival, and you can see the man behind the curtain. The one item I liked was the zoetrope they had set up that showed how Toy Story characters animeted when the lights flickered. The kids were terrified of the 3d bug movie which was, surprisingly, very frightening. I think they completley missed their target audience there. It looks like a bug's life, has the bug's life stars, but it will scare the bejeebers out of anyone under 10, I think. The kids loved the Disney Playhouse show and were ambivalent on Muppets. Mara was having a bad morning. Not enough sleep I think. She eventually started crying, then fell asleep in her stroller. So we came back to the hotel, put her in bed and all had naps. I think. Shannon may not have.
After that it was back to the park for supper and a planned trip to Aladdin, which was cancelled when we hit the spray park instead. The girls got SOAKED. Absolutely drenched, and they loved it. We then went to the Word of Colour, which was fairly impressive. Movies on water and coloured fountains. Amazing when I saw Fantasmic 12 years ago. Now, I've seen that style a few times. The kids were suitably impressed though, I think. Today was the 55th anniversary of Disneyland, but we missed all the festivities. As I type this I realize I was going to to get a 55th special mickey ears hat, available today only, to put in my home theatre, but I forgot. Ah well. The fireworks were cancelled tonight. Apparently the wind is an issue. We have a great view of them from our room, we realized last night. Shannon and I watched them last night. I tried to wake up Gillian, but she was out for the night. There was also a second set somewhere past the Tower of Terror, which places them I think east, outside of the park. Not sure what those were.
She said:
Yup, California Adventure is definitely not "Disney". It's like a cleaner Capital Ex. I'm user the teenagers lilke it though. World of Colour was amazing. Ryan enjoyed it - especially the music - until he conked out. I don't have much to add. Seemed a little cooler today - probably only 33 instead of 37.