Disneyland, Day Three: California Adventure!

Despite the exhausting previous day, we were still up with the sun on our third day (well, second full day), ready to go and hit Disney California Adventure!

All my research had emphasized that with regards to DCA, the two big draws for us would be to meet Elsa and Anna (um, yes please! My kids are Frozen obsessed, like the rest of the world...), and Radiator Springs Racers. What was suggested was to get there at opening, pull tickets for a return time to meet Elsa and Anna, pull tickets for a return time to meet Olaf, and then to grab Fast Passes for Radiator Springs before they inevitably were given out for the day, and that's precisely what we did. Whether it's because it was still a weekday (Thursday), or just we were that on top of things that morning, we were second in line to get return tickets to meet Elsa and Anna, which meant that rather than getting a return time, the princesses of Arendelle were ready to make our immediate acquaintance! I thought Ava might faint :)

After we had procured our passes to Radiator Springs, we explored Cars Land for a bit, taking in the authenticity of the land, before hitting Paradise Pier while it was still cool and gorgeous outside.

While a lot of Paradise Pier is visually stunning, the rides are certainly more arcade/carnival-style, and so we rode a handful of things - especially Ava and grandpa - before heading to the racers, one of DCA's biggest draws!

One of my favorite things about California Adventure was all of the shows. With the park being so much more Hollywood-centric, there are a lot of theaters and live shows in DCA, and we got to see two really cool shows. The first, and the one the kids really were excited about, was Disney Jr. Live!

My personal favorite, however, potentially of the entire trip, was seeing Aladdin live! I am a HUGE Broadway fan, and have taken Ava to see The Lion King and Beauty and the Beast live on tour, so when I saw that Aladdin was there, it rose to the top of my priority list. Because my sisters were dancing in the parades, they were given VIP tickets to the show that night, and we somehow lucked out on that and got to tag along into the Orchestra section, and watch this amazing show with my family, AND my usually unruly toddler was in awe and sat awestruck the ENTIRE hour plus! I think Divine Intervention was involved in this somehow ;)

That show? SPECTACULAR. I mean, wow. Ava and I are headed to see The Little Mermaid in September, and I officially cannot wait! 

Thanks to the park hopper passes, we were able to move between DCA and Disneyland that day, and so here are a few gems from Disney that day, too:

It was a great third day! More to come tomorrow!