November Road Trip - Day 5: Disneyland and California Adventure

Our first full day in California was spent at Disneyland in the morning and California Adventure in the afternoon. We arrived early to beat the crowds.

I guess we didn't arrive early enough... The park officially opened at 10:00 so we arrived at 9:30. They opened the gates at 9:40 to allow everyone onto Main Street where we waited with the crowds until they removed the barricades.

Our first ride was Peter Pan.

The camera flash exposing behind the scenes... The ride is pitch black so, normally, we couldn't the other riders.

Fighting Captain Hook!

Waiting to get on Dumbo.

All aboard the flying elephant...

The Mad Tea Party

Giving Daddy a strange look...

I think Winnie the Pooh's around here somewhere...

We found Tigger!

Chloe was not impressed.

Bye, Tigger.

Here's Pooh!

On our way into the Haunted Mansion!

In Tarzan's tree house.

"The naked guy is Tarzan," says Lucy.

Ready for a Jungle Cruise!

Lucy's looking for some animals.

Found some monkeys!

We headed over to California Adventure, right next door to Disneyland, for some lunch and new rides for the kids.

Charlie on the Jumpin' Jellyfish.

Chloe, keeping busy while everyone else takes turns on the Silly Symphony Swings.

Can you see Lucy, Phil and Charlie?

Looking up at Mickey's Fun Wheel. You can choose to ride in a stable seat the just does the circle or a swinging seat the slides along the track as the whole wheel rotates.

Waiting in line can be hard for a 3 year old.

On the Fun Wheel. It wasn't too much fun for Charlie who wanted the non swinging lineup. We picked the swinging because it was a 20 minute wait instead of 30.

Picking Sea Creatures to ride on King Triton's Carousel.

Here we go!

Waiting in line for the most boring ride ever, according to Charlie.

Judging by the look on his face, it must be a horrible ride... Lucy seems to be enjoying it though!




Ahh, she get's her prince...

Meeting Mater!

And Lightning McQueen!

Wearing his 3D glasses for It's Tough to be a Bug!

Phil and the big kids on Tuck and Roll's Drive 'Em Buggies.

Daddy chose to sit out the Francis' Ladybug Boogie but the rest of us had fun spinning around!

The kids loved Monsters, Inc. Mike & Sulley to the Rescue.

We finished off the day with the World of Color light and fountain show.

Lucy is out!

Soon, Chloe will be too...

November Road Trip - Days 2 & 3: Las Vegas

Our second day of driving took us from Richfield, Utah to Las Vegas. The weather was great and the scenery through the mountains was amazing!

The winding road through the steep mountains must have been a challenge to build...

The Las Vegas strip by night.

The Eiffel Tower

At the Bellagio, waiting for the fountain show to start.



And the show begins...




The kids were enthralled. The Bellagio fountain show is a must see in Vegas!

Inside the Bellagio, with it's floral ceiling.

The garden displays were all decked out for autumn this time. The horses were covered in moss.





In front of some enormous pumpkins.

Charlie and the Chocolate Fountain.

I think Elvis is alive! Behind Phil, on the left...

The second fountain show at the Bellagio. They have one every 15 minutes so after a short tour inside, we returned for an encore.


Our second day in Las Vegas started out with a trip to the landmark sign.

Charlie, creeping into pictures at the Venetian.

The kids were waiting for the gondolas to go by.

The Las Vegas strip by day...

In front of a pirate ship at Treasure Island.


Phil and the kids at Skull Rock.

Lucy as she watches the outdoor gondolas at the Venetian.


We skipped lunch that day (we did have a huge buffet breakfast at the hotel that morning) and had an early (3:30 pm) buffet supper with the seniors at Le Village Buffet in the Paris Hotel and Casino.

All you can eat crab legs make fun jewelery for the kids...


Chloe manages a smile while eating her soup. We had to take her to the hospital the next day because she wasn't feeling well.

On a little stroll through the casino before going up the Eiffel Tower.



Our third fountain show, this time with an overhead view from the Eiffel Tower.


We had to bundle up as the temperature cooled off.

Charlie managed to take a picture of the rest of us.


The Las Vegas strip, looking north from the Eiffel Tower.

Still looking north, but with Caesar's in the view.

Looking south.

Looking West, at the Bellagio.

Looking Northwest at Caesars.