Our second day at Disneyland focused more on California Adventure since we spent most of our time at the Magic Kingdom the day before.  For those of you not familiar with California Adventure, it opened in February 2001, directly across from the Magic Kingdom entrance.  It’s overall design and theme is on California’s culture and history.

Immediately upon walking into the park, you’re greeted by a smaller version of the Golden Gate Bridge, a fun backdrop for photos.

When we arrived, we were on a mission – to get FastPasses for the World of Color night show, ensuring us standing space along the water for the first show of the night at 8pm.  The FastPass area was next to the rapids so as the Husband got our tickets (only one per group was allowed in the ticket area), I admired the rapids ride from above (it was too chilly to ride!).

Since we were in the area, we headed next to Soarin’ Over California (also simply known as Soarin’ at Epcot at Disney World).  As our other experiences, it was a beautiful “flight” over the many gorgeous landscapes of California.

Next we headed down to Paradise Pier which is designed like an old time California boardwalk.  There’s a roller coaster, ferris wheel, food, games, and the Toy Story ride (one of our favorites but the wait is TOO long so we remembered our experiences at Disney World and saved our time for other rides).  First up was the roller coaster.  It looks like an old rickety wooden roller coaster but is super smooth.  It has Disney’s first upside down loop.

Next up was the Ferris Wheel.  This ride had two option – a stationary cage, similar to the traditional rides – and one that rocks on an individual track as the wheel turns.  I’m not big into heights and I was a bit nervous about the rocking one but the Husband convinced me to ride it (I figured Disney rides can’t be THAT scary – little kids do ride them and there was no harness on this so it must be “safe”).  It was a bit nerve wracking when it rocked a bit quicker (and a poor girl on the ride with us puked when we got off ) but it was a beautiful view and gave a bit more thrill to a usually calm ride.

Paradise Pier is where the World of Color showcase is each night and they were testing the fountains during the day.  A beautiful rainbow appeared as we walked by.

In the Pacific Wharf section is similar to Fisherman’s Wharf.  Being food people, I was super excited about this section as it had two food tours! First was the Mission Tortilla Factory where we got to learn about and see the creation of flour and corn tortillas.  Plus free samples at the end!

Across the way, there was a factory tour of the Boudin Sourdough Bread company.  We got samples on the way in on this one

After our fill of bread and tortillas, we headed across the park to one of my favorite rides – the Hollywood Tower of Terror!

In comparison to the one at Disney World, this one was the winner for me as it shoots you up as well as drops you.  Tons of fun!  Last but not least at California Adventure, we headed to a childhood favorite – Muppet Vision 3D.

After Muppet Vision, we headed across the way to the Magic Kingdom to get the rides we didn’t get to the day before.  First up, we rode the Matterhorn – my mom’s favorite ride.  We loved it!  The wait was a bit long but we enjoyed the ride once we were on it.

After the bobsleds, we headed to the future to Space Mountain.  The wait was SUPER LONG and we’re glad we rode it, but we liked the one at Disney World better.  This one was completely dark which seemed to take a way a bit from it compared to Disney World which has darkness, but you can see a bit of the ride and more stars.

One of the things that stood out to me was the difference in cars between the two Magic Kingdoms.  For example, Space Mountain at DL has two riders side by side while DW has single riders.

Although the Husband doesn’t love it, he agreed to go to It’s A Small World.  It continues to be a classic, loved by all (even if the song drives you crazy!).

One of the unique features of the Magic Kingdom at Disneyland is New Orleans Square.  Tucked away in this part of the park is the Mint Julep Bar, a place my mom has fond memories of as a kid.

To relive my mom’s memories, the Husband and I stopped for a snack here of Mickey Beignets and a Mint Julep (non-alcoholic).  The beignets were delish and the mint julep was minty.   A jazz band began playing which added to the whole experience.

Our last bit at the Magic Kingdom that day was a required stop in my book – Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln.  As a kid, I hated roller coasters and since my dad is not a fan, we spent a lot of time at calmer experiences while my mom, sister, and brother lived it up on the “exciting rides.” My dad and I always spent time at the Carousel of Time (sadly gone now) and we enjoyed the air conditioning and stories with President Lincoln.  As a kid, I believe the animatronic Lincoln remained seated.  In the growth of technology, he now sits, stands, and sits again, something that simply amazes me.  Additionally, there is a museum in this attraction and a video about the history of Disneyland.  A great place to stop along Main Street!

The Husband and I grabbed some food over in California Adventure and headed over to the World of Color showcase.  We didn’t get any photos of the show, but we thought it was amazing! A must see the next time you’re there.

After the show, we meandered through the park, trying to decide whether to head back to the hotel or not.  We wandered into a building we were unfamiliar with in the Hollywood Pictures Backlot.  Inside the building were four attractions (which we returned to the next day).  That night though, we headed over to the Animation Academy.  We had no idea what to expect and were pleasantly surprised when the program started.

Animation Academy is a program in which you learn to draw Disney characters! Each hourly running focuses on a different character and this time in we learned how to draw Goofy.  Although our two drawings were different from each other, they both looked quite like Goofy.  Lots of fun!

After we made our drawings, we rolled them up, threw my hairband around the tube, and walked back to the hotel and passed out We had one more day of Disney ahead of us and we couldn’t wait!