Monday, part 3 (our DCA day)
We decided we wanted more FPs for Tower of Terror (it's one of my friend's daughter's favorite rides and would also rank up there for the rest of us). We zigzagged back through Pacific Wharf and Bugs Land and got after-dark FPs for ToT. We were kind of undecided on what to do next -- ToT standby was an hour, we knew we wanted to wait until after dark for another spin on RSR, we'd ridden the Apostrophe Rides (Screamin' and Soarin') twice. Outside ToT, we noticed lots of people on curbs and suddenly realized the Pixar parade was going to begin right there in less than 10 minutes. So we found a spot in the shade right in front of the Aladdin line. Complete with backrests while we waited!
I had never actually seen more than a few minutes of this parade and it was a lot cuter than I thought it might be. Pixar is a favorite with big and little kids.
The girls were watching the dancers that accompanied the floats and deciding which costumes and shoes they would want to wear if they were Disney dancers.
Very sweet.
We sort of followed the parade down the street and thought we might duck into the Animation Building -- the girls wanted to check out the Beast's Library. At the entryway into the building, a CM stopped us and asked if we wanted to see Anna and Elsa. Thinking they were trying to redirect us to a FP machine partway down the street, we told them, no not if the line is long. She told us there was currently
no wait to see those uber-popular characters!! No Fast Pass needed!
We entered the room with one other family with a toddler boy and a preschooler girl. I could tell the little boy was absolutely in love and we told them to go first because our kiddos could probably wait just a little longer!!
Watching those kids with the princesses was almost more fun than meeting them ourselves.
Do you realize how many WDW people would hate me if I posted this on that side of the boards? To meet Anna and Elsa there, you have to reserve a FP 60 days in advance -- they run out in hours after the window opens. Even when you return it can be a 20-30 minute wait. And we waltzed in. I like to think of it as karma's way of making up for Sweatbox Sunday.
After our royal audience, we found the Beast's Library and everyone took turns finding out which character they were most like. I think the girls ended up being EVE (from Wall-E) and Alice in Wonderland. I decided to answer the final question as a villain and I turned out to be Ursula! I've always been partial to the Little Mermaid.
We were starting to get hungry and my friend and I wanted bread bowls from Pacific Wharf. Eating there was made possible by the absence of our picky eaters, my DD13 and her DS12. The girls had sandwiches, my friend had broccoli cheese soup, and I had the clam chowder. No photos, but chowder isn't particularly photogenic anyways. It was nice to relax while eating dinner at our leisure since we had done so much already.
Carsland was nearby so we took a spin with Mater. I would rate it more fun than our previous day's tow truck ride, but just as cramped. And we didn't really go anywhere. Our real-life tow trucker driver was kind of zany, but he had more teeth than Mater.
I was hoping to be in Carsland around dusk to see the neon come on (part of my Disney bucket list as yet unfulfilled). We asked a CM who looked more official than most, and he looked it up on a card and quoted us an exact time -- 8:07. Wow, I wasn't expecting down to the minute timing! We still had about 40 minutes before that magic minute, so we decided to see the Ant-Man preview in the Bugs Life theater nearby.
I haven't really paid much attention to the movie -- I'm not a big fan of watching movie trailers. I didn't know they were using many of the theater's effects capabilities, like the poke in the back and the bugs running under your legs!!
So that was a surprise!
We still had a few minutes after emerging from underground, so parked ourselves on a park bench just outside Carsland. The girls wandered off to take a few artsy photos, and so did I.
8:00 was here, so I went to stand near the middle of the street (I tried to stay out of the main traffic flow) just into Carsland. I was not the only one lingering with a camera. Right on the dot of 8:07 ...
It was really cool to finally see it happen. People stopped and watched, if only for a moment. I love that it's a little, unpublished detail. Disney could have gone two other ways -- just turn on the neon at a set time and
thereyago. Or they could have made it a Big Deal Show that would have been crowded and crazy and confusing, maybe a little like the short projection show on It's a Small World during Christmas. Instead, it's a tiny treat for those in the know. It would be even better if they could do it when it was a lot darker, but I imagine the lawyers would object to people tripping in the gloom while they waited for the big moment.
After that, we collected ourselves and got in the Single Rider Line for Radiator Springs Racers. It was about a 15 minute wait. I had done the ride in the dark before and I really like it at night.
Obviously with Single Rider, you get put with an unknown party. I was in a car with 5 members of a Hispanic family. (just for background, I speak some Spanish) The lady sitting next to me obviously had no idea what she was getting into. She just knew she was inside a race car and was a little apprehensive. She clutched the handles tight through the first few turns but seemed to relax a bit through the indoor town scenes. When we got to the race starting point, I thought it might be courteous to warn her what was coming, so I leaned over and told her "ahora muy rapido," which means, "now we're going to go really fast!" Her eyes got really big and she squealed through the whole race. After the finish line as we slowed down, she asked me if we were done and I assured her it was over. It was pretty funny to be on the ride with a first-timer.
By this time our FPs for Tower of Terror were almost ready, so we took our time walking through Bugs Land at night on our way. While we were waiting for each other after RSR, someone had given my daughter an extra FP for ToT. Obviously we didn't need it. We still had a few minutes before our ToT FPs were good, so I planted myself near the entrance to try to find a single rider who could use it. Finally, a man and his
scooter-bound wife walked up and he inquired about his wife going through the line with him if she wasn't riding. I passed off the FP and they ended up in line just ahead of us. I quickly realized the man was highly visually impaired. Luckily for him and his wife, we didn't get routed upstairs after the library.
We finally got to the loading platform and waited. And waited and waited. CM started poking their heads out from the doors and asking for help. We wondered if it was a "protein spill." My friend looked a little green at the idea, but I assured her it would be the cleanest ride all day!! The CMs finally emerged and I casually asked what was going on. No protein spill: someone took a cup of POPCORN on the Tower of Terror!!
Seriously, what did they think would happen?! We finally boarded our elevator and had the usual fun.
I wish I had seen the popcorned elevator photo
I will also note that the CMs were super-helpful to our visually impaired friend. They put him front row on the aisle right across from me, so he didn't have to climb over people. I was prepared after the ride stopped to assist him, but the CM was at his elbow before I could even stand up, and he guided him to where his wife was waiting. Bravo to the well-trained and compassionate CMs.
It was now time to go to the World of Color holding pen to wait. We had hoped to get snacks along the way. My friend's DD really wanted fresh popcorn (inspired by ToT?), but we couldn't find any carts open that had it. We finally settled for ice cream near the pier. Our waiting area was over the bridge back beyond Ariel's Grotto. We had just enough time to finish our ice cream bars/sandwiches before we got to our tired feet again and entered the WoC area.
Despite looking large in the holding pen, the crowd dispersed over the wide WoC area and we got a spot in the center behind a planter, most of the way back (no spray jets for us).
Bad selfie, good show spot
We all pulled out phones and caught up on texts, social media, etc. I happened to look at the app with the pedometer. Guess how many steps I had taken that day: 24,000!! 12.14 miles!!
(Spoiler alert #1: I checked it back at the PPH before bed and it was 25,700 and 12.75 miles) (Spoiler alert #2: I didn't get an exact count, but our next day was HIGHER!)
The show started and people of course pulled out their Go-Pros and selfie sticks. They were far enough away from us that it didn't really bother me, but ask me again after the next night's experiences!! My friend was startled and screamed when the air jet right in front of us fired off. I had no idea that was there.
My review of the show: Loved that Walt Disney was a big part of it, along with Mickey. Not as wild about their usage of Neil Patrick Harris. I think NPH is just fine, and I know he is a big Disney fan. But they had so many options with old video of Walt and having Mickey say whatever they wanted. By the time they started putting NPH into the video clips of the rides/movies, it was too much. Later in my mind, I tried out several other respected actors or celebrity Disney fans in his place and I didn't like any of them any better, so it wasn't just him. I would have been fine with him (or anyone) introducing the show and then getting out of the way or serving as voiceover. We all agreed we like the original show better overall. I know they have the ability to freshen and change the show -- like updating the Star Wars scenes or adding whatever new movies come out -- but the NPH stuff is pretty integral. Plus what happens if the unthinkable happened and he pulled a Bill Cosby or something else icky? Just my 2 cents.
Someone on the boards told me about the "Kiss Goodnight" for the show that happens after the closing music and most everyone exits. They play a sweet song called "Come to Disneyland" with just the colored water jets and it was wonderful. It was worth waiting for (along with about 10 percent of the people) and they should have used
that in the show! That was the part that stayed with me. If you go, stick around instead of being herded out like cattle.
With that final memory warm in our hearts, we staggered back to the PPH. The girls showered and washed their hair, and my friend and I pre-packed up so we could get going early the next morning. I took some ibuprofen to stave off the sore legs I knew would come, and fell into a tired sleep populated only by oversized mice, airborne popcorn, and cinnamon breakfast delights.
PHXscuba
We ended up in the sweet spot of Soarin, B-1, without even having to ask! I really didn't notice a big difference with the digital projections. That ride relaxes me so much.
<-- us
My DD is a big character fan so Olaf will be one of our many stops! We are down to 9 days before we are at DL. DD and I even went out and bought 50s inspired dresses so that we can dress up on the 17th. Luckily, we found cool and comfortable dresses that we can stay in all day. 
Funny story about the car rentals, my parents rented a Suburban to pick us up from the Long Beach airport since we needed the space for 7 people (3 in carseats) and all our luggage. That car was a BEAST, my Dad and DH took it back and got a Tahoe once we got our luggage to the hotel - no one wanted to drive it after that 
I was bummed the pools closed as early as they did at the PPH, there were a few nights I would've loved to sit in the hot tub or take a swim after we got back from the parks and put our girls to bed. We also had a lot of trouble staying connected to the WiFi there through the week, my Dad always has a small router when he travels so he set up a hot spot but even that had trouble keeping a connection. 
I love Christmas so I might have really like it. Some day ... 
). We got pretty wet on the ride overall, but late morning was the perfect time to ride. We were getting near our lunch reservation time and thought about riding Jungle Cruise, but the line was long and violated "PHXscuba's Rule of JC:" Thou shalt not get in line if they are using the upstairs portion of the queue. It's never failed me before.
