Enter the terrible twos

Sophie turned 2 on Saturday. To celebrate, my brother got 4 complimentary tickets to the Happiest Place on Earth. That's right, people, we got to go to Disneyland. I was elated!

First, we had to pick up FastPasses for World of Color. The line was huge! I'm happy for California Adventure. We got the Red Section for the 9pm showing. While Courtney and I got the FPs, Dan went on Soarin' Over California while mom watched Sophie.

We went to Disneyland and got a FP for Splash Mountain. Then, we rode Winnie the Pooh. I saw the moose heads!
I think that's pretty cool. I hope that if Disneyland continues to change, then they'll hide tributes like this for zealous people like me to find. After, we went on Haunted Mansion.

The guy in front of us was talking to a Cast Member about changes to Splash Mountain. He mentioned something about a watermelon after the first drop. After the first drop, we saw that they replaced one of the frogs with a huge watermelon. I totally forgot about the second drop IN THE DARK. It was SCARY! Then, the final, 50-foot drop was so steep to me! It was thrilling. In the final Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah scene, we saw the train pass by. I waved at the passengers. All-in-all, Splash Mountain was a lot of fun, especially with my brother's added soundtrack.

We had lunch at Napolini in Downtown Disney. Before we left, I split from the group to grab FPs for Thunder Mountain. I beat my family to Downtown Disney because they went through the crowded AdventureLand, while I exited through Frontierland. =]

After, we went to Captain EO. The floor shook the ENTIRE movie. I guess they want us to feel like we're dancing with them? Dan LOVED it. He wanted to buy a poster "for Sophie."

Then, Sophie got her face painted, while I got FPs for Roger Rabbit. We went on it's a small world and then back to BTMRR. Roger Rabbitt was kind of crazy. I tried positioning our front car to always face the back, so Dan could capture Sophie's reaction the the ride. We did a couple of gags at ToonTown, and I met Pluto!

Then, it was time for Chimichangas and Dole Whips. I went to Aladdin's Oasis while my mom waited in line, but Aladdin was getting ready to leave. This was it for Disneyland for today.

We went to California Adventure so we could watch the Pixar Play Parade. I welcomed the water because we were facing the bright, hot sun. Sophie was scared of the characters for some reason =/. Then we saw this guy:

Lotso! What a nice bear! That Mr. Potato Head cracks me up.

After, we went to Princess Dot's Puddle Park. THIS was Sophie's favorite part of the day. She just loved playing in all the water!

I got to check out the Blue Sky Cellar. I cannot wait for The Little Mermaid ride!

We rode Francis' Ladybug Boogie.

We headed over to the Hollywood Backlot and Animation Building. Dan was in awe of the Toy Story Zoetrope. Dan, Courtney and I talked to Crush, while my mom enjoyed the animation screens. When we got out, I saw a CM wearing red plaid. So, I looked for the celebrity he was with. It was Chelsea Staub from JONAS!!! My brother took a picture of us thinking she was one of my classmates from school.
Haha. I was pretty giddy as we made our way back to Paradise Pier for World of Color. I have always wanted to see a celebrity at Disneyland. Now I finally did =]

Red Section is all the way off to the right side, which didn't seem promising. Lines for the food and coffee near by are ridiculously long. The pre-show was cute.

Alas, the park went BLACK, and we entered the World of Color. The fountains soared high, and the colors were so beautiful! Seriously, it was like WOW. The projections weren't great from my angle. Half the time, I didn't know what character or scene they were showing. Center is the best place to be. For example, during the Nemo section, they made a tunnel with the water, but it just wasn't as awesome from the side. I don't remember seeing the cool Cheshire Cat or Steamboat Willie images from the early art concepts. "Part of Your World," "Colors of the Wind," and "A Whole New World" (with Mickey's Fun Wheel as stars in the sky) were really cool. My favorite part was the "So Close" section with all the love scenes. The blazing fire was a bit blinding. I can't wait to see it again, probably with a preferred dining package or the Wet Zone xP.

Courtney and I weren't ready to immediately after, so we went back to the Hollywood Backlot. Glow Fest is cool, but kind of weird. It's not Disney. We rode Tower of Terror, which was walk-on. The colors from Glow Fest did look cool from up there.

It was great to go Disneyland again. Until we meet again!

P.S. Check out Dan's blog.