In Transit...

We don't have to check out until midday so we have a leisurely morning, breakfast, check out, leave our bags and then head to Downtown Disney - where the Disney hotels are and there are souvenir shops, cafes, a cinema and various other bits and pieces.

LEgo Beauty and the Beast at the Lego shop.

Raff and Brett are going to see the movie - it's not one either Shaun or I want to see. Shaun is also conscious of the fact that we'll be on a plane for 14 hours with nothing else to do but watch movies. There's time for coffee so we go down to a restaurant. I have been on Dr Google this morning and I have all the symptoms of deep vein thrombosis and it's worrying me. My leg is hurting still and then I'm just not feeling well.

So I go down to the Disney hotel to see if they have a medical centre. They have a nurse, who comes - she won't diagnose but suggests I go to the medical centre to get it seen to. I don't really want to but think I should - coz we are flying tonight and that could be disastrous. 

Into a cab and down to the medical centre. Fill in forms, wait, wait, go into the blood pressure, details room, wait. They don't have wifi and I got a bit weepy coz I couldn't contact Shaun to let him know what was happening, so they gave me their access code to their wifi. Wait. Into another room, wait. Doctor comes in, looks, it's definitely swollen and red and warm and she wants me to have an ultrasound - just to rule it out.

Wait, go to the ultrasound room and it takes quite a while. My leg is infected and it's hard for them to see the veins. Then she started with things like, "this is DVT. You're not going anywhere for quite a while." And so my mind is racing with what to do - tell work, ask my Maggie minder to stay longer, ask Tiffany, if she can't. Can I fly to Vegas so I can stay with Leigh Anne - don't want to be in a hotel by myself in Los Angeles. Can't fly there, okay, I'll get a bus. This was quite a possibility for a good 15 minutes and it was a horrible 15 mintues!!

Then they keep looking and checking and it becomes, "the veins are contracting, it's fine." So I start hoping it is okay. It takes a long time but finally they're done. They think it's okay but have to get the all-clear from the doctor, which I do. Thank goodness!! Call a cab and back to the hotel to wait for the boys - no point going back to Downtown Disney. Got a great cab driver, he was very chatty and lovely and I am in a good and relieved mood coz I can go home! I have drugs for the infection and hopefully it's all okay.

The boys arrive and we get our shuttle out to the airport. These Los Angeles are huge and so busy. To the airport, check in, get something to eat coz we haven't eaten since breakfast, and on we go. It's good it's a 22:20 flight as we manage to get some sleep.

A few random notes - 

In the toilets of Harry Potter land at Universal Studios, they have audio playing of Moaning Mrytle, saying hello and stuff, it's very cool and appropriate.

You can buy Mickey Mouse ears with a veil on it, to show you are a bride, I guess.

To show that Disney will sell anything, they actually sell ornaments of the different rubbish bin types that you see throughout the park!

There are large groups of people who all buy the same t-shirt - and wear them. Saw a number of groups with 'mom', 'big sister', 'birthday boy' and so on...

There are a lot of political ads on at the moment - as you'd expect with the election imminent.

In California, there are lots of ads encouraging people to vote for proposition 50 or whatever number it is. I think they have to vote separately for different issues - death penalty, legalise marijuana, school stuff and so on.

There are still the ads for medications - with disclaimers like, "may cause blindness, liver failure and death!"

I finally watch Frozen while on the plane - great movie! Landing and then Brett's sister Vicky picks us up. Back to the boys' house, where there are three very happ hounds.

Time for a quick decent coffee - yum! - and then home to a happy cat. 

Amazing holiday, a non-stop feast of theatres and theme parks with amazing people!

Anaheim - Disneyland!

Day three of the theme park part of the trip and we're off to Disneyland! Raff is having a bit of a lie-in but Brett, Shaun and I want to see the opening number so we have early breakfast and then down we go - there are so many people here! And there is no opening number anyway! 

Through security and in we go. Brett does a run to get fast passes for Space Mountain and Shaun and I head towards the Haunted House. This is closed and so is Space Mountain! So we decide to do Indiana Jones first as there's only 5-minute wait (it's actually a bit longer but still short). 

We get the front seat and off we go - much as I remember from last time, great fun, parts in the dark and the boulder comes rolling down.

Next, to get the fast passes for Space Mountain, where Raff joins us. They have a bit of time so we go through the castle and go on Mr Toad's Wild Ride - hilarious - it's definitely a kids' ride. It was one of the one Raff went on as a 10-year-old so it's a memory one for him.

The rollercoaster boys were not impressed.

The queue to the Matterhorn is not too bad so the boys hop into that line - it's a rollercoaster so I'm not doing it, I get us drinks instead and have a sit.

There are so many people here today. Apparently twice a year they have Dapper Day, where you come dressed in your finest - lots of period clothing, mainly '40s, some '20s, and all sorts. There are, sadly, quite a few who should have looked in the mirror before going out! But there are lots of fantastic costumes - no photos of them, couldn't decide which to take.

The boys have convinced me that the train ride is a gentle rollercoaster and I should be fine with it - particularly after the rides I did yesterday - so we go to that next - it has a short wait time. And it's exactly the type of ride I don't like! Rollercoaster screaming around a track - and that's the gentle ride?? At least I know I really don't like this type of ride now.

We break apart after this - Brett to the gift shop, Shaun to the smoking bay, Raff to Indiana Jones and I wander towards the castle, not sure what to do with half an hour, maybe wander through the castle. But as I'm walking, out comes the Disney marching band. 

They stand in front of the castle and play a Beauty and the Beast medley, theme songs from the rides, and others - a 20-minute set that was fabulous and entertaining. They have moved and dances and great music.

Our next stop is Peter Pan - this has a 45-minute queue and is one of the few we have to actually queue for as there are no fast passes. I'm worried about this one for two reasons - the actual ride might not live up to my memory of it, and I have raved about it to the boys and they might not like it. But it is great and magical, flying over the stars and out to Neverland.

There's a group of characters going into the castle as we head over to Tomorrowland - always great to see them.

Our next fast pass is for Star Wars or Star Trek - I think Wars, so it's a short wait and in we go. Great virtual reality ride zooming through space in hyperdrive, dodging the bad guys and asteroids and all that stuff.

As we leave, there are a couple of Storm Troopers to take pictures with people and there was the cutest little tyke dressed as one. Brett is a big fan and had a photo too.

Time for a sit and lunch - and a sit, we have been on the go forever! It takes a while to find somewhere that doesn't require a reservation and doesn't have a massive queue.

Next stop - Toon Town, so cute, where Mickey, Minnie and all the rest live.

This is Goofy's house.

While we're here, we go onto the Roger Rabbit Spinning ride - bit of fun.

On one of our times past the castle...

We peeked in to the theatre showing the 15-minute version of Beauty and the Beast - crazy! This guy was playing Lumiere, Cogsworth and Mrs Potts.

Our fast pass for the Haunted House is ready so we head up there and straight in. This is an amazing building.

The ride is great. When I was here before, it was all set up for Halloween so this was totally new. There was a section with dining, for Halloween and thanksgiving and they pumped out the smell of pumpkin. Great ride.

Brett had run up and got us a fast pass for Splash Mountain before we went into the Haunted House so that's next. We just have to wait a couple of minutes and then we load in. And we get very wet - particularly Shaun and Brett. When the log goes down the runs, the water cascades in!

And as we came down - our faces are hilarious! This is a photo of the photo.

Brett is saturated so he heads home to get changed, Shaun goes shopping, Raff goes to a ride, I go for coffee. We all meet up at our designated spot and the parade is running through. I'm a little way back...

When we're all back together, Brett is planning to propose to Shaun, I have had the ring in my bag all day and have checked it's there a hundred times - after every ride. So he's trying to work out the best spot and is hoping to incorporate Goofy or Pluto, if possible. So we head up to Toon Town but they have left that area for the day - it's a bit dark. Then up to Main Street where we find one of them (I'm not sure which...) but he's finishing up this section. I ask the helper (they all have helpers, to look after them and help them escape) and she says they will take a congratulatory photo but not be 'involved'. So we leave that be for a while and head to the New Orleans section to get dinner - got an amazing corn chowder in a bread roll...

It's been nice to sit but we're off again - Brett and Shaun to the Star Wars exhibit and Raff and I to Tarzan's Treehouse, which it very cool - too dark for photos but you climb up and explore the treehouse. Raff got a scare when he didn't notice the fake tiger at first and then it roared at him.

We met back at our spot and then started a stroll up Main Street to look at the shops. I had a look in the first - lovely stuff - then walked up to the top so I could sit and wait for the boys - my legs are sore! We all sat for a bit when they made it up to en had a look in the amazing windows at the emporium - better than the Myer Windows. They don't photograph well.

Down to the castle - beautiful when it's all lit up and it's here that Brett proposes. They actually manage to have a beautiful, almost private moment in the middle of such a space. Shaun does say yes!

Such an honour and so wonderful to have been part of such a moment for these two amazing people.

Up to the smoking area to recover and post the news - I predict 50 likes by the time the fireworks start and 200 by the time we get back to the hotel.

Our last ride, we decide to do the Teacups and we think we can all fit in one. There's a short queue then we all pile into one teacup - there is room to sit but nowhere for all our legs to go so we're sitting on top of each other, Brett is sitting on his legs, Shaun and I are squished into one corner and poor Raff, with his long legs - too funny. The ride takes off and it is the funniest thing ever - I got a sore stomach from laughing so much...

Squished... 

All that's left to do after this ridiculously silly ride is to go and wait for the fireworks over the castle, which are amazing - they weren't on when I was here before so very happy to see them.

Then we all limped home - so much walking, so much hilarity and fun!

Anaheim - California Adventure

Leisurely breakfast this morning as today's park doesn't open until 10:00. We head down around 11:00 - thankfully we realise that we don't have the tickets before we get too far!

Waiting for Brett to find the tickets...

Beautiful hibiscus in the motel gardens.

As we're heading down, Shaun realises that it is hot and decides to stop and buy some shorts froma little souvenir shop. This requires getting socks too and trying them on in the next door hotel bathroom as this little shop doesn't have a change room.

Then it's across the road and into California Adventure. I didn't go here last time (besides a quick walk through first thing when I went in there by mistake instead of Disneyland). 

It's a great park, divided into a few sections. We walk through Buena Vista to Cars Land.

Brett and I went on Mater's Junkyard Jambouree - hilarious ride that swings you around, quite rapidly at times. As we were walking onto it, there were a few littlies in tears coming off from their ride. We had a hoot, though.

Through A Bug's Land - very cute, everything is oversized so you feel the size of bugs - the toilet block is a tissue box.

We had noticed as we drove by yesterday that Brett and Shaun's favourite ride - Tower of Terror - was covered in scaffolding and hessian and they were worried it was closed. Then our waitress yesterday told us it had closed down and was being replaced, so they were pretty disappointed. Today, they rounded the corner and it was open and the waitress was wrong and they were so excited and happy!

The queue is pretty long and we are meeting Richard, Virginia and Alex soon so we can't wait in line yet, instead we head down to Paradise Pier and the boys hop onto California Screamin' - an extremely fast rollercoaster that I am NOT going to do.

Here they are, ready for takeoff. It was funny watching people while waiting for their carriage to come through. Lots of people screaming.

We've still got time so Brett and Raff go in the Ferris wheel while Shaun and I play some sideshow games. I won the mouse from Dumbo!

Now to the section of the day where we spend a lot of time standing in queues and a short amount of time on actual rides - but they were fantastic and so worth it! Richard, Virginia and Alex join us and we head to the Tower of Terror to get a fast pass (ticket that gives you a set time to return so you don't have to wait in line. Today there are no fast passes so we have to queue. And we queue for just over an hour. It's set as an old hotel, you enter the dusty old foyer...

..they tell the story of a night when people were in the lift and something went wrong. When you eventually get into the lift, you strap in, then the lift rises up, doors open, more of the story and then the lift rises, drops a long way, up and down, sometimes going right up and it's open so you can see how high up you are, then drops and so on. It's very quick and very scary and very fun!

Time for lunch and we all head for the hotdog stand. There are a few characters roaming around - all with minders to monitor and protect them. I saw Sully in the distance and the Incredibles. There were also trams that cruised around, this one had guys in there singing Disney songs.

They had portobello cheese dogs for those of us who don't eat hotdogs...

Delicious - mushrooms, peppers and cheese.

Our next stop was to Grizzly Peak for the Grizzly River Run - this was fabulous too - we all hopped in, it swung around and raced down the Rapids, there were a couple of drops, water splashed in and we all got wet - I think I copped the most. Thankfully it's a hot day so it's okay.

Next is Soarin' Around the World - another long queue, but and we chat and it's not too bad. And there's things to read and look at once you get inside. 

This ride is amazing - we are strapped into seats in a row and the row lifts so it's like you're flying and there's a massive screen that projects scenes and it's like you're flying over the Pyramids, Great Wall, Greenland, elephants in Africa (and you can smell the dirt), Taj Mahal, iconic places all over the world - the Harbour Bridge, fantastic.

All the boys want to do the California Screamin' again some we go down there - they ride, Virginia and I sit and chat and wait. Richard, Virginia and Alex head off after that, they have to get the shuttle to the car park and then drive an hour to get home. It was great having them with us, great fun.

Next it's a wander around, it's starting to get dark. Raff and Shaun get corn dogs and I get a corn on the cob and we sit for a bit.

Our last ride is Radiator Springs Racers. This is another very long queue - an hour - we have spent a lot of time in queues and we are getting a bit over it and are hoping it's worth it - none of us have been on this ride so we don't know. Finally, we get to the little car and we're off. 

It starts off gently, riding around through the world of Cars, with some of the cars talking to us, riding through, into a garage and so on, they're getting us ready for the race. Then we line up with a car with other riders and then the two cars take off. The race itself is brilliant - it's so fast and the cars swerve up and down on tracks. Hilarious and so much fun.

We had thought about having an earlish night tonight but by the time we come off this ride, it's time for the World of Color light show so we decide we may as well go and have a look. It's pretty speccy - projections on water and fire on the lake, projections of snippets of many Disney stories. It's great and a perfect finish to the day.

Time to pop into the gift shop for a browse before we leave the park, walk ten minutes down the road and home.