"I" Love Mother's Day

On Mother's Day (May 13), Walt and I went to Disneyland and were joined later in the day by both of our sons. What a great way to spend the day.

Indiana Jones Adventure - I've only ridden this ride once or twice before, and it's been a couple of years. I was very pleased - it was better than I remember it. I think they must have made some changes. I remembered it being a very herky-jerky ride, but this time it was much smoother. The sights throughout the ride are reminiscent of Indiana Jones' journey, complete with wild turns, drops, etc. Just getting to the ride is an adventure as well. We enter the pyramid and traverse through a maze of underground tunnels before hopping into our "Jeep."


Innoventions - When I was a little girl, I remember going into the building where Innoventions is now and seeing something totally different, but with the same idea. Back then, an audience was seated theater style facing a stage. On stage, was the house of the future! We'd see a room full of automated machines and gizmos and it was all so amazing. Then, the stage curtain would close and the stage would actually move. The stage was a large circle that rotated to reveal multiple rooms, one at a time.

Today, the attraction is still all about the future, but it's set up quite differently. There are two floors of interactive exhibits. We also attended a demonstration of a household robot that walks and talks and helps you around the house. This is a great attraction for all ages. Take your time here, because there's a lot to see. The video above shows Wyatt dancing to an XBox game. Unfortunately, you can't hear Michael Jackson singing Thriller as Wyatt imitates moves he sees overhead. Look at the screen behind him, there's a shadow image of him dancing in the video.

My next post will be about It's a Small World - one of the best attractions ever!

Grizzly Ghosts? and Hello Students!

Before we get back on the ride, so to speak, I have to send a shout out to my wonderful students. Today was the last day of class, and my last day teaching. What a great send-off my students gave me. Cards and gifts and food and, most importantly, affection. A number of students signed the board, as you'll see in the picture.  Students, I miss you already!

Another side trip...
Do you know what tomorrow is??  It's the opening of Cars Land and the Grand Re-Opening of Disney's California Adventure.  But, we won't be there. As season passholders, we entered a lottery to see it early, but no luck. And I'm guessing tomorrow there will be a million and one people. (Usually there are only a million people. Adding one more just tips the scales!)  But, do you know what this means?  A number of new attractions and I have to update my attraction list. What do I do about the attractions that start with a letter we've already done? Give my your opinion as a comment below.

And now, back to the park for our final "G".  Grizzly River Run at California Adventure. This is much like other water rides. Six passengers get in a round boat and float merrily along the river. But, oh my! There are rapids up ahead. The boat jostles about, the water splashes, and just when it gets calm again, watch out! We drop down thousands of feet to the pool below. (Well, maybe not thousands.)

Ask anyone who's ever ridden a water ride with me and they will tell you I'm a water magnet. I always get soaked, even if other riders in the boat barely get wet. This day was no exception. It's a fun ride, though, and a good way to cool off on a warm day.

Back at Disneyland we had a great stroke of luck. We were walking by the Haunted Mansion just as they took the rope down from across the line entry. It had been closed and just reopened. We were the first ones in! I love the Haunted Mansion! It hasn't changed much since I was a kid. My favorite parts: "There are no windows and no doors!"; the fortune teller with her crystal ball; and the hitchhiking ghosts. (I didn't know until I was an adult that the first room you go in is actually an elevator, and the walls don't stretch up as I thought, but the room goes down.)

Next time: We spent the day at the parks on Mother's Day and finished the I's, J's, K's, and L's. Come back soon and read all about it!