Our August Vacation - Part 5
Thinking about how this was my favorite vacation, it's no wonder this is the fifth part of me writing about the experiences we had. And this will not be the last. There is a lot to say about these amazing experiences. And I'm glad to have the means to say what I need to.
After we both had our time of relaxation in our rooms, we met up once again in the lobby of the hotel. Our chariot took us back to the Disneyland parking structure. This time, it was Mickey and Friends. We were in one of the Donald Duck parking spots this time. We were once again whisked away by the Disneyland parking tram and off to an evening of magic. As we were walking to the esplanade from the tram drop off, I snapped a shadow selfie of myself for a possible featured photo of the day. Cherie was somewhat in the photo as well. When I'm at a special place like Disneyland, I try not to make my location obvious for the featured photo. When I post those, I don't need people figuring out where I am that day. I use to live post. But I do my special events and vacation posts after I get home now. Anyway, that was the photo I chose for the day. I'm glad Cherie was in the photo with me.
Instead of going left as we did in the morning, this time we went right for an adventure at Disney's California Adventure. Although we finished the first part of the day there, it was where we wanted to start our evening too. We were there just before we planned to eat. So I looked up the times for Animation Academy. But the next available time was too close to dinner. So, our first order of business was dinner. Before our trip, we discussed what we might do and decided on having a taco. Tacos are one of my favorite foods and she was excited to be trying their tacos too. We went to Cocina Cucamongo Mexican Grill in San Fransokyo. We shared the Pollo Asado, she had some Lime-Cilantro Rice, and I had the San Fransokyo-style Street Corn. It was all amazing. I really should have tried the rice too. But I filled up on the street corn and the Wheat Chicharrones that came with it...LOL We sat on the corner of the wharf with a great view of the Pier.
After we finished eating, we made our way over to Animation Academy to catch the next session after dinner. I've done Animation Academy a few times at WDW in DAK. But the Animation Academy at DCA is the way it should be...LOL It was like an art classroom and the instructor was front and center. We were towards the back and pretty close to center. The character we drew was Alberto from the film Luca. That was so much fun! I kept taking photos of our progress along the way. After we were finished, we took photos with our masterpieces...LOL I wanted to be sure to capture them before we had to fold them up...LOL Side note: I later tried to recreate Alberto on my Supernote Manta at home. It was fun! But the most fun was when Cherie and I did that together at Animation Academy. It was our first art project together!
We had a little bit of time before we needed to be at Cars Land for Sh-Boom, so we made our way over to The Little Mermaid ~ Ariel's Undersea Adventure. That is one of my favorite rides. This one is almost identical to the one at Magic Kingdom. Not many people I know care for it. So I'm glad we both enjoy it. After that, we walked around for a little bit as we made our way over to Cars Land. We got there a little early because we never want to miss the big event...LOL But for some reason, they didn't start it right at sunset this time. So they were late! But that was no matter, for once the music started, Sh-Boom was just as amazing as the first time we did it back in November. Cherie had the forethought to record our dancing this time. So we have this amazing moment on video. I love that.
Once all of the excitement of Sh-Boom came to an end, we decided to go over to the Pier and take on Toy Story Midway Mania! Once again, it was so much fun. We did it last time for Cherie's first time. And this time was just as amazing. That is an incredible attraction. It's the same as the one at Hollywood Studios. I'll never say no to that ride! Of course, unless the line is too long...LOL
After that, we walked up the Pier to enjoy the lights. Cherie snapped a photo. As we were walking, she told me the story of how Budford cloned himself into the amazing gift she gave me and how his name was Bingford. Up to that point, I was calling him mini Budford...LOL But from that moment on, I know him as Bingford! Later she told me of how she came up with that name. She thought about it on the train and named him after Bing Crosby...LOL
After the Pier, we made our way back to Disneyland. There was a night time light parade going on as we arrived. So, in order for us to get anywhere near an attraction, we were ushered through a somewhat backstage area of the park. I always love when I get to do that. It was a bit of a walk due to the parade, but we made our way over to Big Thunder Mountain Railroad once again. This time, we were going to get to ride it at night! While we were waiting in line, we were able to see the fireworks going off for the night show. That was a special moment. More on that later. I loved watching and hearing Cherie enjoy Big Thunder again. Here joy and laugh make my heart so happy.
Cherie hadn't yet seen Galaxy's Edge at night. That really is something to behold. So I'm glad we were able to do that next. We couldn't do any of the attractions. But it is always nice to see Black Spire Outpost on Batuu at night. Then we did Snow White's Enchanted Wish, Mr. Toad's Wild Ride, and Pinocchio's Daring Journey. Snow White is almost a must-do for me. I wish they still had it at Magic Kingdom. She's my favorite Disney Princess. I love Mr. Toad's and wish they had it at Magic Kingdom still too. But this was my first time on Pinocchio. So that was very special for me. I don't recall which one of those three it was, but someone complimented our dapper attire and we gave them one of our warm hug pins. When we got off the attraction, the same person was waiting for us to give us a pin of hers. It was such a beautiful pin. We are grateful for her kindness and how she is now a part of our journey.
We left Disneyland pretty close to closing around 11pm and had our final ride attraction with the tram back to the parking lot. While we were waiting for the tram, one of the Cast asked us for high fives...LOL But his part of the high five was a tiny little hand on one of his fingers...LOL We were back to the hotel by 11:30pm.
And thus concludes our Happiest Day on Earth at Disneyland and Disney's California Adventure...for Our August Vacation, that is. I didn't log who all we gave pins to for our warm hugs. That was never the point. But I called out that one because it was an extra special moment with a warm hug returned that we both get to share the experience of.
In the next part of Our August Vacation journal entries, I'll be talking about our day of cherendipity ❤️