Day 2: California Adventures

Miles Walked: 7.6

Rides and Attractions: Radiator Springs Racers, Luigis Rollickin’ Roadsters, Little Mermaid - Ariel’s Undersea Adventure, Incredicoaster (two times), Jumpy Jellyfish, Goofy’s Sky School, and Soaring Around the World. 

Family Members Lost: 3 (my dad went back to the hotel to take a nap and Alva and Martin shortly followed for an hour of swim time in the hotel pool) 

Highlights: California Adventure really surprised me this trip. The last time I was there, it was newly opened and there weren’t a lot of things to do. This time around, I was blown away by some of the activities that weren’t ride related. 

First up was the Animation Academy which came highly recommended by the same coworker who helped me navigate the app.  It is a 30 minute rough sketch class where you learn to draw a Disney character.  My mom, Oskar and I opted to learn to draw Grogu while the rest of the group was at the hotel.  The 30 minute art session was a perfect chance to sit down, get out of the craziness of crowds and actually do something artistic.  Plus, you get to bring your drawing home with you, so that is a bonus! We liked it so much that Oskar wanted to do it again the next day. 

After Animation Academy, we walked across the street to watch Mickey’s PhilharMagic, another surprise and favorite.  It is a 12 minute movie experience where Donald tries to get Mickey’s magic hat back while listening to some of Disney’s best songs.  It is thoroughly entertaining and had Oskar rocking with giggles and clutching his stomach from laughing too hard.  We actually did return the next day so Martin, Alva and my Dad could enjoy it as well.  

And with a bit more time to kill before regrouping, Oskar spent an hour running up, around and through the Redwood Creek Challenge Trail, finally free to cut loose and not worry about too many crowds. It was also in this section of the park that Oskar led me into “dark cave” to have my palm read by the magical rock and determine my spirit animal: a skunk and moose.  

Lowlights: After wrapping up a late dinner Alva was toast and ready for bed, but Oskar and I still had some energy left.  So we said goodbye to the group at the gates of California Adventure and ran back over to Disneyland in hopes of finally getting on Indian Jones! Unfortunately, the park closed 30 minutes before we got there… they had closed earlier that evening for their special Valentines Day event that required a separate ticket.  Oh well, I guess we still had another day. 

My Genie+ curse also continued with both the Incredicoaster and Toy Story Midway Mania shutting down during our reservation slots. 

Disney Tip: Pack a backup battery pack. By dinner that night my phone battery was dead. The use of the app to check wait times, book the lightning lane reservations and checking the map drained my phone.