Well, it’s our third and final day at Disneyland/California Adventures, so we decided to go to California Adventures first and if time, make our way back to Disneyland. As it turned out we spent the entire day here because there was so much to experience and more of the bigger rides for the older kids. So we only had a short time at Disneyland at the end. California Adventure also had a light show (The World of Colour) on at 8pm, so we stayed for that. Like the last blog post, I think I’ll leave it up to the kids to tell you about their favourite rides in California Adventure. They can do it better than me because I spent most of my time on the ground with Akaisha (and believe me, I’m not complaining!….Some of those hairy rides are not for me!)

So, let’s start with the ride Flynn was roped into on the first day, Screamin’ . Here is Flynn’s account.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

“Holy moly, that’s a bit big! Aaaagggghhhhh!”

“It’s over son.”

Phew, that was so scary I could hardly breathe.

Sorry, I forgot to introduce myself. I’m Flynn and I’m in Disneyland on the scariest ride there is to be in the world and I went on it.

At first I was really scared because it just felt like I was being carried at 300mph and that wasn’t even the scariest bit. Close to the end after the big drop, there was a loop and I thought I would die, but in the end, it was one of the least scariest things because it just felt like I was going upwards.

At the end of the ride I felt like I was so cool and awesome. The name of the ride was “Screamin”.

By Flynn

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Opposite the roller coaster ride, was Mickey’s Fun Wheel (the Ferris Wheel) which nearly everyone had a go on. You could choose from the stationary carriage or the rocking one. The pictures speak a thousand words.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Kit and Chayse’s favourite ride was the Toy Story Midway Mania. It was a pretty awesome shooting game and the boys have decorated a page and written a little bit about the ride here.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We had started at California Adventure with the Grizzly River Run ride which Trev and Jai went on.

 

 

 

 

 

 

There was lots of entertainment along the way on the streets as we walked from ride to ride. This in itself was a great experience which the kids enjoyed immensely.

 

 

 

 

 

 

If any of you have seen the movie “Up”, then you’ll recognise the Boy Scout “Russell”. The kids met him at the Redwood creek Challenge Trail. They had fun traversing across obstacle courses and finding things in the wilderness before meetinRussell and earning their Wilderness badges.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Silly Symphony Swings proved to be a hit with the kids, with them running around after they had finished one ride and having another (we must have got there when the lines weren’t long).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Little Mermaid, Ariel’s Undersea Adventure, was Amber’s choice, but Akaisha and Cathy loved it too. So enchanting and relaxing (with wonderful music playing and no fast roller coaster rides.)

 

 

 

 

 

 

The ride told the whole story of Ariel through music and interactive props above, in front and to the side of you.

 

 

 

 

 

 

We made our way towards the the Fun Park where we entered “A Bug’s Land”. It was so well done, with even the restrooms resembling a discarded tissue box used by ants.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We went into the 3-D “It’s Tough to be a Bug” show and we were so impressed. The glasses made everything look like it was coming towards us and they even had air blowing from different parts of our seat to make it feel like rodents scurrying past or water spraying etc. On the way out, we couldn’t resist a photo with our favourite chipmunks.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The following are Jai’s thoughts on his favourite rides.

Disneyland was truly a once in a lifetime opportunity! It caters for every age with it’s widespread of children fantasies and adult rides.

Disneyland is literally across the street from California Adventure – which seemed to have bigger, more thrilling rides. Two of my favourite rides are Space Mountain (Disneyland) and Hollywood Tower of Terror (California Adventure).

Space Mountain is a high speed rollercoaster with sudden drops and rises. But the best part was….it was in utter darkness! Speeding through the dark and around corners, you have no idea what to expect. It’s set in space with stars twinkling above you, and it’s such a thrill, you just want to do it again and again!

The other ride I mentioned is the Hollywood Tower of Terror! As the name suggests, this ride is set as a huge hotel/tower that you ride up in an elevator. When you get to the top, lightening strikes the elevator that you’re in, and you are dropped, screaming, through pitch-blackness to the bottom of the building! Then you’re thrown up and down a few more times, before the ride ends.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I really enjoyed my experience at these two theme parks, and I would love to do it all again!

By Jai

The night was drawing to a close and we wandered over to the Hollywood Pictures Backlot where elecTRONica  was taking place and the atmosphere was very different. Lots of loud techno music, dancing and laser lights. We made our way back to the Paradise park area to watch the World of Colour Light show. There were people everywhere and it was certainly hard to see if you were a little person, but we managed.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

California Adventure was closing, but Disneyland remained open til 11pm, so we couldn’t resist the opportunity to say a quick goodbye to this special place.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So that’s our time at the wonderful Disneyland and California Adventure Theme park. We had such an awesome time and the feeling of magic will linger with us for a long time………………

Buying the 6 passes for a discounted price was definitely the way to go when wanting to see theme parks. We have a three day pass to Disneyland and three other attractions (Universal Studios, San Diego Wildlife Park and Sea World).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So onto the second day at Disneyland. We didn’t have our lovely friends to show us the ropes today, so just decided to spend the day at Disneyland and do California Adventure on the third day.

 

 

 

 

 

 

We started the day at Tomorrow Land where Kit and Chayse took everyone into the Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters. Shooting at Zurg targets was great fun for all, including Akaisha. Kit was very disappointed that he didn’t have his friend Lucas with him!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Beautiful gardens meeting Peter Pan and the Matterhorn Bobsleds kept us all entertained. It didn’t matter where you went in Disneyland, they had a theme which was carried out to the most intricate detail.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Princesses and castles provided that magical touch and inside the walls of the castle were places from every storybook you’ve ever read.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A Mad Hatter’s Tea party was just what we needed before visiting “It’s a Small World” (only to find it closed for maintenance during the off peak season.) But it didn’t matter, the gardens were worth a look, before we boarded the train that took us around the whole of Disneyland.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mickey’s Toontown was something to behold with all of Disney’s favourite cartoon characters living in the same town. We saw Mickey and Minnie and Goofey too.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A ride on Gadget’s Go Coaster provided more fun for those keen to go, whilst others enjoyed climbing Chip’n’Dale tree house and visiting Minnie for a quick cup of tea.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tomorrow land provided us with a hint of what our world will be like. Amazing to think of the changes that lay ahead, but with the way technology is advancing, not at all surprising.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Our kids have written a few words about some of their favourite rides, so I thought I’d let you find out more about Disneyland from their perspective.

The first to share is Amber.

The wonderful, the awesome, the coolest……….drumroll………….DISNEYLAND.

It’s the highlight of the trip for all the family.

Of course, I better tell you my favourite ride……STAR TOURS. The ride where you feel like you’re in a Starwars Spaceship with a crazy robot driver and the chair moved so it felt like you were crashing and rolling over.

My favourite character was the Mad hatter because he was stupidly funny and silly, like when we were getting a photo with him. He stood right in front of Flynn and I, but then moved us aside and striked a pose.

We learnt a new food too called Churros. They are so yum!

By Amber

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The big Mark Twain river boat travelled down the river and opened our eyes to the world of Tom Sawyer on his island and Davy Crockett’s Explorer canoes

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Akaisha’s favourite by far was the Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh. This ride took us through an enchanting story of Pooh’s dream. Akaisha was mesmorised and nearly got whiplash trying to see all the colours and characters.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We ventured inside the Haunted House again, this time as a family. Kit led the way and I must say, not half as scary as we were led to believe. In fact, we found the whole tour amazing. The sights and the sounds and the way the cars took us on an inside journey from ghosts to skeletons to graveyards, was a feat well done.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The next part of this Disneyland Blog is from Kaitlin who describes in general what it’s like to be in the magical Disneyland.

The Magic of Disneyland.

The most magical place on earth. It’s not just the colourful lights, castles and fairy gardens. Nor is it the smell of churros wafting through the air.

Disneyland has it’s own magic. Hearing laughter and squeals of children and adults of all ages. The beautiful settings of buildings and decorations to make hundreds of different little worlds. It’s the characters laughing and chatting to everyone as they walk in. It’s the constant music being played throughout the park. The fact that it’s one hundred percent made for little kids to “big” kids.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There are fireworks and colour light displays. Amazing parades including the Princesses, the Fairies, Mickey and friends, Mary Poppins, Lion King and every other Disney character you can think of, all dancing with big floats.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I think the most magical part was that ALL of Disneyland was created in the mind of Walt Disney!

By Kaitlin

The next blog will show our final day at Disneyland with some memorable moments from all of the boys. Until then, enjoy the magic of Disneyland……

 

We finally made it to Disneyland. We thought it would be one of the highlights of our trip, and we were not disappointed. The following blog is written by Trevor. He describes visiting Disneyland, then our experience at California Adventure. We had purchased special tickets which gave us three days of mayhem and fun. We have to say though that the first day of our Disney experience was more special than the others because we shared it with our new friends we met in Carpinteria. I’ll let the pictures do the talking as well as Trev’s lively account of our first day at DISNEYLAND.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Walt Disney has one Hell of an Imagination!

What a HUGE day we had! Up early and off to Disneyland. We had arranged to meet up with our new Californian friends (Chris and Darnell Martinov) and their four terrific kids (Nick, Mitchell, Olivia and Lucas). We had met the Martinov’s a week ago on the beach, and had quickly become great friends. They all knew Disneyland really well as they go about six times a year, in particular for their children’s birthdays.  Thankfully for us, they were our chaperones.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After meeting the Mad Hatter, we boarded a rustic old wooden boat and went on the Jungle Book cruise through the jungles of the world with leaping crocs, lions feeding, piranhas, African elephants and cannibals.  All these creatures were life-size moving, realistic robots. We loved the real jungle with massive fig trees, palms, giant bamboo, waterfalls, water mist and rocky caves.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Then we entered Indiana Jone’s world through the Temple of Doom. This adventure took us deep into an underground temple consisting of caves with real stalagmites, hot fires pits, booby traps and onto a roller coaster. The temple walls were covered in cracks, dust, mould and cobwebs and the air was cold. We tumbled through all sorts of dangers that all seemed so real. Amber and Kit had their eyes shut tight and buried into our laps for the whole thing. They couldn’t bare to look.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Splash Mountain was another thrilling ride where we all sat in a long log canoe that fell down waterfalls and went into dark caves and caverns. The adventure was very mystical with singing giant stalks, cartoon gangsters and heaps more. We all got wet!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Haunted House had us all really worried. Amber, Chayse and Cathy chose not to go in- chickens! The house was a very real life, old stone, three story building. Kit surprisingly insisted on going (wanted to be with the big boys)! We entered the foyer area with a large group of people. They closed off the doors so we were all in this huge gloomy room. Anticipation grew as all these sound and visual effects began to really spook us all. At this point Kit began screaming that he wanted to get out. He had climbed up onto my chest and had me in a vice-like grip. No turning back now! The ghosts followed us onto the moving carts that took us past laughing skeletons, very real animated holographic ghosts and leaping creatures. Kit settled down, but still had to be wrestled off me at the end.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We boarded a Star Wars space ship and went on a ride of our lives through space, mountains and under water with aliens, enemy space ships and huge underwater monster fish trying to eat us. We were in moving seats with an iMax screen in front of us. C3PO was our pilot. All this in 4D. Fantastic and very real! The highlight was when a huge underwater creature tried to swallow our little space ship. Its huge sticky tough slobbered all over our viewing window, then suddenly we smashed into another spaceship with the spaceships nose point smashing through our window and ending only inches from our faces.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We went from Disneyland to California Adventures (opposite each other.) We had Hopper passes which meant you could go between both any time you pleased.

The roller coaster, “Screaming”, was massive and its name explains what it was like. It began with a rocket take off horizontal, then straight up into the air. Then a huge vertical drop. This was followed by complete 360 loops and much much more. Trev (the only brave Howitt!) joined with the Martinov family to face his fears on the coaster. Nothing like having your stomach climb up through your mouth! It was so much fun, we had to do it all again. This time Flynn succumbed to peer group pressure and gave it a go. It was the most frightening experience of his entire life! Looking over at him as we shot down the vertical drop, Flynn’s face was pale and his mouth wide open with no sound coming out! He was sure glad to see it all end. Ask him if he would do it again… he answers “no way!”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Meanwhile, Cathy and those not brave enough to face “The Screamin” went on the more sedate Carousel.

 

 

 

 

 

 

“The Hollywood Tower of Terror” was our next challenge. Again the Howitt’s put in a poor show. Flynn and I were coaxed along with the very brave Martinovs. We entered a huge old stone skyscraper building, where we were ushered to a dungeon like room. We awaited a elevator to take us up the tower. Again the special sound and visual effects had us all cringing with fear in anticipation of the unknown. It didn’t help much with Chris saying many times “I just hate this so much that I just have to do it!” The spooky elevator all covered in cob webs took us way up to the top where a family of ghosts told us a terrifying story of death. All went dark and silent, then the elevator just dropped, hit the bottom and flew back up, opened its doors with us looking over the LA, then dropped again with all this cackling laughter and screams from the ghosts.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We had heaps of fun on much much more. Too much to tell. Bumber cars, spinning tops, Tarzan’s Tree House, Pooh Bears animation adventure…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I have to interrupt Trev’s blog with a little anecdote about Akaisha and Chris. I was actually surprised to see Chris with Akaisha again after his last encounter. Chris had kindly offered to look after Akaisha whilst we went on the Wings of Aviation 4D experience. Nick, their eldest, went to take Akaisha when we discovered she had filled her nappy (diaper if you live in America). I went off to change her and when I returned found everyone laughing. Yes, our little bundle of joy had left Chris a lovely surprise on his very white T-shirt. So, for Chris to tempt fate a second time………….what a man!

 

 

 

 

 

 

The kids loved the Toy Story shooting gallery adventure. Climbing into large spinning seats with 3D glasses and cannons, we set off into a colourful animated building. Our chairs would stop every ten seconds or so and face screens where targets appear and we shot them with our cannons. Everyone scores points with someone coming out champ. The kids would do this one over and over again if permitted.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The food was also an experience. Disneyland is filled with restaurants and shops. We had lunch at a stunning Mexican restaurant and feasted on a special Mexican donut on a stick, called Churros. Kaitlin well and truly over indulged on them! Late into the evening we went to an Italian restaurant and feasted on the biggest pizza we’d ever seen.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The night ended with us saying goodbye to our wonderful friends. Who knows when we will see them all again… hopefully they will visit Australia some day soon or maybe we will find another excuse to come to California!   (By Trev)

 

 

 

 

 

 

The next morning we left Malibu and travelled towards Los Angeles and in particular, Anaheim RV Park (which was situated close to Disneyland). We saw some cool cars on the way, but made it through the LA freeway without any scrapes and bruises.

 

 

 

 

 

 

At last we had reached the RV park and enjoyed the rest and relaxation whilst we prepared ourselves for the big American celebration of Halloween.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The kids were quite keen to celebrate Halloween “USA” style. We don’t really worry about it in Australia and the only other place that we’ve lived in that celebrated Halloween with a vengeance, was Cocos Island. The kids had bought some small pumpkins to decorate and I think they did a pretty good job. They looked really good at night with a candle glowing inside.

 

 

 

 

 

 

We had picked up costumes as we travelled around the US at Thrift shops, so managed to get them super cheap. The kids had a blast dressing up and it wasn’t long before we were set to go out to trick or treat at some houses.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I was interested to learn that many people do “Trunk and Treating” instead because it is safer and is more in line with their faith. We decided to go to a Mall party in Brea where the city council had closed off the mall and set up games and treats for the families as they wandered along.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Many of the shops remained open (and Kaitlin and I even managed to buy a dress each on Halloween!)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We did visit a few houses on the way. Apparently if a porch light is left on, then it’s OK to go up and knock on the door. That was quite good fun because we’ve never done that before.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The street was alive with people and the kids enjoyed playing some games and earning their sweets.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We had a late dinner at a Bar and grill place at the end of the street. Kids by this time were so full of lollies, so they didn’t eat much of their dinner!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We headed back to our RV, where all the festivities of the day finally caught up with some!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It was a fun, but exhausting night and we had to get up early to visit Disneyland the next morning.

More fun awaits!……………….

The drive from Carpinteria to Malibu was just one big line of traffic. There were still scenic spots to see, but every inch of space along the coast had been built on with either residential properties (which would be worth millions) or commercial properties.

 

 

 

 

 

 

We travelled through the Malibu Canyon to reach Malibu Beach and stayed at the Malibu RV Park. It wasn’t too bad and we ended up staying a couple of nights.

 

 

 

 

 

 

To digress a minute. Do any of you remember seeing the movie RV, with Robin Williams in it? If you have, you’ll appreciate the next moment, when Trev had to empty our septic tank. In the movie, Robin Williams attaches the hose and it gets blocked. Eventually through a weak spot in the hose, all the waste products build up until they exploded high in the air and landed “Splat” on Robin Williams.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Well….we had a similar experience at this RV Park, when Trev emptied the “waste” tank. I’m sitting comfortably in the passenger seat when Trev comes to my side window and says..”Remember that movie starring Robin Williams? That just happened!” “Yeah, right!” I replied. Then I smelt the stench in the air, got out to have a look and sure enough, waste product everywhere! The only difference was that it didn’t actually “land” on Trevor. The boys were ever so helpful in helping Trev clean up the mess!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A great start to our night of camping, but after several showers, the smell dissipated somewhat on Trev. The rest of the evening was spent bathing, eating and doing laundry.

 

 

 

 

 

 

We drove past some lovely looking houses on our way to the Santa Monica Pier (the end stop for those travelling on Route 66).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Pier was alive with activity, with someone selling something somewhere. Lots of entertainment as we walked along the Pier and many rides to keep kids and adults entertained for hours.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We wandered off the Pier and decided to see the “goings-on” along the way towards Venice. And we didn’t have long to wait with entertainers in the street and Muscle men on the beach. The kids were fascinated with the prowess and agility of men and women “exercising” along the paths and beaches. They even had a go themselves. At one point Flynn was copying the “big guys” and they were giving him words of encouragement. He was pretty chuffed.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In amongst all of this activity, we spotted a “Turtle”. Anything goes here! Later, we even met the turtle. He was a cool guy called Trenton, but all his mates called him “Turtle”, so that was it. Name stuck! He was Jai’s age and was visiting with his Mum, Jenice.  He said he’d come along for the ride to Venice, so got his Mum and off we went.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It took about half an hour to get there, but so much to see along the way. There were cool walkways and cycle paths, with a myriad of people and modes of transport.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We walked along the market and that was an eye-opener for the kids indeed! People from all walks of life (and more came out of the woodwork as evening drew near). Not necessarily a place you’d want to be at night or by yourself, but the kids were thoroughly entertained.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Everywhere you looked, there’d be something to watch, from skateboarders to gymnasts. In fact, these gymnasts were were trying to lobby the Government to make the style they were doing an Olympic Sport, hence the spectacular display of strength and agility.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We wandered back to Santa Monica Pier and ate some dinner with “Turtle”, Jenice and her Italian friend, Dave. Turtle and our kids decided to do some “shuffling” on the boardwalk (the guy in the booth next door put on some groovy music for them). Believe it or not, they actually made $5 when Turtle put his hat out as they danced. Trev and I thought we should have left them there for another half an hour and that may have paid for our dinner!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Needless to say, we had a great day made more special by meeting Turtle and his Mum.

The next blog takes us to LA where we experience Halloween USA style!……………