Disneyland, Part 2

After Fantasyland, we walked over to Tomorrowland. The kids were really excited to drive the cars in Autopia. Hannah told Joey, "I'm an excellent driver." Okay, Rain Man.

After the cars we got to Joey's favorite part...the Jedi Training Academy. He had heard about it a lot from his friend down the street, so it was one of the day's top priorities. For those who don't know, the Jedi Training Academy is a Star Wars-themed show that takes place on an outdoor stage in Tomorrowland. Every hour or two, the "real" Jedis come out, invite some kids up on stage, and teach them sweet lightsaber moves. We got to the Jedi Training about 20 minutes early to make sure we were in the front row in hopes of giving Joey a better chance to get picked. It worked out nicely because we were able eat lunch in the shade while we waited in our spot. When the show started, I had a feeling Joey had a pretty good chance of being picked: we were front and center and he was wearing a birthday button and a Star Wars shirt. Sure enough, he was the first kid picked! He was a little nervous about going up just because he wanted to make sure he was doing everything correctly (he is definitely a rule follower), and he was taking this Jedi training very seriously! They gave all the kids little Jedi robes and light sabers.

Then the training commenced.

Once the training was over, the platform in the back raised up and out came Darth Vader, two storm troopers and Darth Maul. It was amazing. Darth Maul actually came right up to us, knocked over our water bottle, and then glared at us. It was really funny, and thankfully Hannah didn't scream.

All the kids got to take turns to fight either Darth Vader or Darth Maul. Here's Joey in his battle against the dark side.


And, Joey won!

After all the Jedi excitement, we went over to Critter Country to see Winnie the Pooh. The Winnie the Pooh ride hardly had any line so we went on that ride several times. Again, Hannah wasn't a big fan of the dark, but she got more and more used to it. After the ride we got to meet Piglet and Tigger. Hannah loved Piglet...

but wasn't so sure about Tigger.

This is us in 2009! Yes, somehow I ended up wearing the same shirt both times.

After Critter Country, we headed to the Pirate's Lair on Tom Sawyer's Island. Joey especially loved running through the caves even though he was a little nervous about what was in them. Thankfully he didn't notice that his father was almost abducted by a pirate during the taking of this picture.


Andy and Joey got a fast pass for Star Tours so next we headed back to Tomorrowland. As we were passing by Sleeping Beauty's castle, I happened to catch a glance of Ariel walking by. That was the one princess Hannah specifically asked to see that we hadn't seen yet, so we ran her down and Hannah got to meet her. Ariel wanted to see Hannah twirl.


Back in Tomorrowland, Joey and Andy had a blast on Star Tours and immediately got another fast pass for it for the end of the day. This was Andy's favorite ride at Disneyland when he was a kid, and they recently updated it and made it even cooler. I guess at one point Darth Vader said he was looking for a rebel spy, and Andy's face popped up on the screen. Apparently, Joey didn't notice that part, but he did yell, "Star Tours is AWESOME!" at the end of the ride.

Then both kids rode the Astro Orbitor twice and their parents tried not to hurl.

Joey got temporarily detained by some Storm Troopers after the rocket ride, but his Jedi training served him well and he was able to escape.

Next up was the Buzz Lightyear Astro Blaster ride.

At the end of the ride, not only can you see your picture, but you can email it to yourself for free!

Obviously, not the best picture, but notice our scores. At this point, I'm sure Andy would want me to tell you something about how his laser gun was defective and kept resetting. Whatever. We know who the sharpshooter is in this family!

After the Buzz ride, we went on Autopia again, Finding Nemo's Submarine Voyage, and got the kids a quick dinner. Then Andy and Joey headed back to their final trip on Star Tours and Hannah and I staked out a spot for the Mickey's Soundsational Parade.

The parade started at 7:00 and the boys made it back just in time. The parade was easily my favorite part of the day. It was amazing and the kids loved seeing some of their favorite characters like Peter Pan, Captain Hook, Tinkerbell, all the Princesses, Aladdin, the Genie, Mary Poppins (okay, that was my favorite), and more.

After the parade we made our way down Main Street, bought one thing of cotton candy to share (the kids liked it, but didn't want too much), and made our way back to the Toy Story bus. We saw kids melting down right and left as we were leaving, but thankfully our kids made it to the car without any drama. Joey saw one boy flipping out and said, "I think that boy got too many special treats today." Both kids fell asleep within 5 minutes of being in their car seats.

The next day I asked Hannah what her favorite part of Disneyland was and she said, "The bus." As in the shuttle bus to and from the parking lot. I made the mistake of laughing, so now anytime someone asks her what her favorite part was, that's what she says and then she laughs and laughs. I asked Joey if he had a good time and he said, "Yeah! I think we should go back tomorrow!"