Day 3: The Hopper Pass

Miles Walked: 8.2 (helped by the Hopper pass which allowed us to jump from Disneyland to California Adventure to Downtown Disney to California Adventure and back to Disneyland)

Rides and Attractions: Peter Pan, It’s a Small World, Railroad, Star Tours (again), Rise of the Resistance, Indiana Jones, Tiki Room, Toy Story Midway Mania, Space Mountain, 

Family Members Lost: 3.  Although not really lost, just separated: I went with Alva to the Bippity Boppity Boutique, my parents went on Big Thunder Mountain since my dad had missed it on Sunday and Oskar and Martin headed back to Galaxy's Edge for another trip on Smugglers Run.  And then Oskar and I headed to Indiana Jones while Martin, Alva and my Mom went to the Tiki Room. 

Highlights: You know how Martin and I are complete opposites, I sometimes feel that way with Alva.  She has developed a strong personality that involves wearing nothing but dresses and pretend makeup.  Instead of trying to squash who she is, I leaned in and signed her up for Bippity Boppity Boutique. This was going to be the only time and place where I would be on board for this “princess glow-up”. And while not cheap, it was an experience I am glad she got to have. After getting her hair pulled back (including extensions), her makeup done, nails painted, and her fancy new Elsa dress on, she truly was a mini version of Elsa, confident and strong.  She strutted through Disneyland, singing her songs and pretending to create ice sculptures. There was no stopping that girl. She even refused to put her jacket on later since, you know, the cold never bothered her anyway.

And even better, later that evening with barely a line to wait, Elsa aka Alva got to meet Elsa at the Anna and Elsa meet and greet near the Animation Academy. The little girl in line with Alva was so convinced Alva was Elsa that she couldn’t stop staring and trying to touch Alva’s dress. 

Lowlight: Indiana Jones. Yup. After waiting three days to finally get on the tide, Oskar declared it was too scary and he never wants to do it again. I don’t blame him. It was much louder than needed and as my mom pointed out, we can get the same driving experience on the road into Pillsbury. 

Lowlight #2: Pink Eye. Yup, after 7+ years of never having pink eye, it finally took us down at the very end of the trip. Even worse, it was after the shops had closed so we couldn’t even buy a fun pirate eye patch to cover the clinical patch. 

Disney Tip: At least one night let the kids stay up as long as they want. After missing the chance to have one last ride together with just Oskar the night before I promised him we could stay out until the parks shut down on our last night. And we did just that.  We shut down California Adventures at 9pm (watching the World of Color show on our walk out), headed over to Disneyland for one more ride before they closed at 10pm (watching a bit of the Mickeys Magic Show on our way to Space Mountain).  Alva even rallied and so the four of us got to have a nice moment to close out the trip.