California Adventure Park

We bought 2 Day Park Hopper Tickets to Disneyland.   What that means is you pay extra so that you can hop back and forth between Disneyland and the adjacent Disney California Adventure Park in the same day.  We actually didn't utilize the "hopper" ticket and spent a full day in each park. Initially we were concerned that because Disney CA Adventure Park is smaller that we'd want to return to Disneyland but in actuality we found that not only was there plenty for our kids to do there but we liked it better because it wasn't as overwhelming and it was a little less crowded.  

Before we even left NJ, "L" had been excitedly talking about visiting Cars Land.  So our first pit stop (pun intended : ) in CA Adventure Park was to Radiator Springs.

We posed with some celebrities....

Rode Mater's Junkyard Jamboree and Luigi's Flying Tires.

One of the most memorable parts of the trip was while playing boardwalk games.  "L" and I were teamed up again "P" and dad in a water shooting game.  "L" and I won, which brought P to tears.  Without hesitation or being urged by either me or hubby, "L" immediately gave his Dumbo prize to his little sister.  It was one of the proudest moments as a parent.

There was a spray park in front of Paradise Bay, which "L" loved playing in.  It really goes to show how little kids need to make them happy.  While "P" was napping "L" drenched himself as he ran in and out of the sprinklers.

One of the highlights was watching the parade travel through the park.  We plopped ourselves down on the side of the road and just watched all the famous Disney Pixar characters pass by.

We also visited Dancing with Disney, which was a big dance party complete with a DJ, Disney characters, fun dance music and blowing bubbles.

We got on a bunch more rides.

Uncle K and Emo stopped by for a visit.

I actually paid a little extra for our hotel room for a lanai balcony (which was huge!) and a view of Disneyland.  The second night we didn't return to the park for the fireworks but we got a perfect view from our balcony.  I'm glad we got to see it once inside the park but didn't feel the need to return to watch it a second time.

It was an exhausting trip, trying to maximize our time inside both parks.  But it was still fun.  No doubt the kids had a blast. 

Farewell Disneyland.  Thanks for the memories!