I suggested he walk away for a bit and put it all the way in his pocket until we got into the park where we could put it at the bottom of the backpack. While he disappeared, the rest of us went through security. That plan didn't work, because the whole security force was on to him now. A different woman (Disneyland has a lot of women security personnel) approached him and asked him what he'd done with the knife.
Keep in mind, this is a dull knife with a two-inch blade. They never asked to see it. He didn't even realize he had it, really. It's just always in his pocket and comes out in time of need. I mean, this is CHAD! So they question him on where he might have dumped the knife and claimed they were concerned for the safety of guests and employees. They would not keep it for him. He must return it to his car or hotel room (over an hour round trip). Eventually, he just found a hotel outside the park gates that promised to hold it for him until he returned for it.
Meanwhile, I'm waiting with the kids and making them all use the bathroom while we wait. We eventually got reunited and entered California Adventure unarmed.
Our first ride was Soarin' Over California. While in line we met a nice family who had come all the way from Shelley, ID. :) They were good friends with some of our old friends from our previous address. They went on and on about how much they loved this family and I didn't dare tell them that family had lost touch with us (not our choice, but maybe we offended them somehow). Anyway, we ended up sitting near them and he took our picture for us.
(He covered up the flash, just like I keep doing!)We spent quite a bit of time enjoying the Disney Animation displays. These were some cartoon pictures on a wheel that "moved" when the kids turned them. They were fascinated.
This was a library like in "Beauty and the Beast." There were some semi-interactive stations that the kids enjoyed. I think the looks on their faces tell it all. :)
I loved this shot of Daddy and Sarah checking out the talking book.
This was a fun backdrop for a picture. The street ended in a wall, but the perspective was painted to be a little deceiving.
We saw Sully and got a picture with him. Sarah wasn't as excited about meeting the Monster's Inc. celebrity as much as the others were. But he looks so huggable!
Next was the Monster's Inc. ride. We could all go on it. There weren't a lot of rides that we could all go on, so we tried to take advantage of them.
These are probably more illegal pictures.
We left the animation area and went towards "A Bug's Land." On the way was the Twilight Zone's Tower of Terror. I wanted to go on the ride, but no one else seemed interested. I kept asking and finally someone agreed to go with me! Surprisingly, it was Rebekah who wanted to go. I wasn't sure about that, but we were on!
The interior of the building the ride was in was decorated to look deserted and dilapidated. There were dead flowers and cobwebs everywhere and everything was grey. There was a theme of people being electrocuted and returning as "ghosts." I worried that this would bother Rebekah. Nope.
What did bother her was the ride itself. We sat in seats, put a strap over our laps and rose into the air. Then suddenly we dropped and Rebekah found herself with her feet higher than her head and she was clinging to my arm! It did that a couple more times before the ride was over. If you ask her, Rebekah will still tell you that she did NOT like that ride! ;)
After I emotionally scarred Rebekah, we went to find everyone at the bumper cars. We took a few turns getting everyone a ride that wanted one.
Leah preferred to watch from the outside.
We skipped a few things in this section and made our way to Paradise Pier. The carousel was something we could all ride. I can't get over all the bright colors in this shot!
Sarah and Joseph enjoyed the ride.
Daniel found himself a very nice dolphin to ride.
One ride that caught the eye of Chad and I was the big wheel (Mickey's Fun Wheel). We were quite impressed by the track that some of the cars were on. As the wheel turns, the car slides around on this ovalish track and keeps rocking. Leah and Joseph did not want to ride in a rocking car. We ignored them and forced them on. I was grateful that we all fit into one gondola.
Leah and Joseph were the most worried by the rocking (and some of it was pretty big), but Sarah thought it was worth some giggles. :)
There was a ride that boys wanted to go on. Joseph and Sarah were too small and I think Leah opted out (she did that a lot), so Chad waited with them. While we were in line and riding, Chad bought some cotton candy for the kids. As we finished it up, we saw the army men from Toy Story come walking by, singing. That was kind of fun.
When the cotton candy was all gone (all 6 kids got some, eventually), we had sticky hands. We cannot have sticky hands! While we were looking for a place to wash up, we found this fountain. Perfect!
Leah was much insulted that we wouldn't provide her with a proper place for washing her hands. She got over it before too long and even got more than her hands wet!
Poor Sarah missed out on the water fun. She got a nap instead. So cute!
Right by the fountain was the Little Mermaid ride, "Ariel's Grotto." Absolutely no line. I loved it! Caution: more forbidden (maybe) pictures.
Whew! That section was done (mostly) and we headed to the last section of the park. We found ourselves in "Redwood Creek Challenge Trail." This is a play area based on the scouts in the movie, "Up."
We unintentionally found ourselves in line to take pictures with this character. Remember the dog in the movie that can talk because of his collar? Anyway, I somehow got forced into the shot, too. Try to focus on the cute kids...you can if you put your mind to it. I love the way Joseph is looking up at the dog.
They were taking pictures here to add to their Disney stash of photos. They asked Chad and I to sign release forms in case they ever want to use the photos for anything. So if you ever get a Disney junk mailer and you see our yellow-shirted family, please save it for us! :)
There were many rope bridges to cross. It got to be a little tough on my old ankles. Sarah's tiny feet didn't like it, either!
This was something that the kids really liked. They rode the ropes with great abandon!
I think Sarah was getting tired of hanging out while we waited for the big kids to get through with their adventures. I didn't blame her.
Chad took the kids on a water ride. I like most rides. I do not like water rides. Maybe if I didn't have so many curves, I wouldn't mind having wet clothes clinging to me. Anyway, I was more than happy to be the one to wait with Joseph and Sarah this time.
Of course, when the kids got off the ride, they wanted to go again. The line was very short and Chad encouraged me to go. I tried to get out of it, but part of me was saying it's part of the Disneyland adventure. So I went. And I got wet. Then we headed back to the hotel room.
We were pooped, even though we ended the day a little early. We had dinner at the hotel again (hamburgers/hotdogs, chips and pop) and checked out a movie from the front desk.
We slept well again!
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