DISNEYLAND DAY 3

Our 3rd and final day at Disneyland was magical. (sigh...) With a 3 day park hopper, you are able to do one "Magic Morning" which gets you into Disneyland one hour before normal operating time. Not all of the rides are operating and a Cast Member told us it's basically only Fantasyland that is open during that hour. But for anyone who's been, you know one hour can go really fast!

We got up extra early and were in Disneyland just after 7:00 am. We did not eat breakfast and planned to eat in the park after doing a few rides. We rode Snow White's Scary Adventures first and there was absolutely no line. I knew there had been some recent updates to Alice in Wonderland so we decided to go check that one out. The line was about 15 minutes long so it wasn't too bad and the updates were awesome. I really enjoyed the updates, they looked really great!

Then we rode the Pinocchio ride and decided that would be a really scary ride for children! We decided to head to find breakfast, but then we decided to do the Sleeping Beauty Castle Walk Through first! They have a few dioramas set up depicting scenes from the movies. It's never busy at all and it's air conditioned. There are stairs involved, but it is still a classic attraction that I think you'll enjoy.

We then went to Indiana Jones and got some Fastpasses. Then it was River Belle Terrace for breakfast where I got the yummiest Cinnamon Roll French toast. Holy cow it was AMAZING! It's another food that I am concocting in my head to remake at home. Then we went over to Haunted Mansion again, the line was not nearly as long as Day 1 thank heavens. After Haunted Mansion we were in our time slot for our Fastpasses for Indiana Jones. So we rode that one (one of my ALL TIME favorites) and then headed over to Tomorrowland.

In Tomorrowland we rode Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters, Autopia, and then the Monorail. After the Monorail we talked and decided we wanted to go back to the hotel to take a nap and then come back late afternoon to conquer our last evening there. We ate lunch at Denny's and pretty much everyone napped for 2 hours straight.

We went back to California Adventures and waited in line for the Monster's Inc ride. It is another one of my favorites that is just a "kid ride" but totally magical for me. After that, we went over to California Screamin', I once again did not ride, but enjoyed just relaxing and resting my feet. Then we rode The Little Mermaid: Ariel's Undersea Adventure again because for some reason, that wait is always so short and people were getting sick of long lines.

We decided to go back to Disneyland for awhile and try to catch the parade as well. We rode the Pooh Bear ride and then I got an amazing delicious dark chocolate covered pineapple skewer from Pooh Corner. We were really undecided about what to do with the rest of our evening, so I scouted out some spots for the parade (we were like 5 rows back!) and we parked ourselves there. We sat and waited for 2 HOURS and we still didn't have super good seats. People had parade spots 4-4.5 hours early. It was ridiculous but worth it.

Parades are part of the nostalgia of Disneyland to me. Going with my family for so many years, The Main Street Electrical Parade is a huge part of those memories. Paint the Night Parade pays great tribute to that amazing parade! I only wish they had a better way to show it. It's frustrating to have people smash in front of you. Or as soon as you stand up to stretch they move their stroller where you were just sitting, like apparently common courtesy goes out the window when parades are involved at Disneyland! So be prepared to be frustrated and defend your spot like crazy.

After the parade was over, we were about 20 minutes from the fireworks starting and I was just not feeling up to it. I didn't want to wait anymore and have people get frustrated and be smashing into me anymore. Colten was done too. So we headed back to the hotel and called it a night. I like to end on as good of note as possible and that parade waiting had pushed us to our limits.

It was absolutely worth waiting for, but holy crap, get there early and be on the defense. LOL! It's always so bitter sweet leaving Disneyland for the last time. I kept looking backwards and feeling all sad and nostalgic and wishing the carefree feeling I get in the parks would never go away!

Recap of What We Rode:
Snow White's Scary Adventures
Alice in Wonderland
Pinocchio
Sleeping Beauty Castle Walkthrough
Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters
Autopia
Monorail
Monster's Inc
California Screamin
The Little Mermaid: Ariel's Undersea Adventure
Pooh Bear Ride
Paint the Night Parade


Recap of What I Ate:
River Belle Terrace Cinnamon Roll French Toast
Denny's Across from Disneyland
Pineapple Skewer

See the recaps for the other days here:

Disneyland Day 1

Disneyland Day 2

Disneyland Day 3