Finding Nemo

New Finding Nemo Ride
Originally uploaded by greenbeangirl74

I finally stood in line to experience the new Finding Nemo ride at Disneyland.

When it first opened this summer the wait was over two hours. We only waited 40 minutes, not too shabby. But as a caveat the park was pretty empty yesterday.

I have to say the ride is MUCH better than it was, no longer do you have floating styrofoam fish. Instead you're swimming with Dorie and Nemo.

I think this is a must, if you like Nemo or want to see the next generation of the submarine ride.

Blue Bayou

Tina, Janine, Lisa and I took advantage of our Disneyland passes and headed into the park to lunch at the Blue Bayou, inside the Pirates of the Carribean attraction in New Orleans Square.

I was afraid we were going to be distracted by those screamers, music and general noise from the ride but honestly I didn't hear anything. The ambiance was great. Dimly lit with overhanging lanterns it is cozy.

They are famous for their Monte Cristo sandwiches and au gratin potatoes. So that's what Tina and I ordered. Janine had the Jambalaya. Lisa ordered the pork chops. Average entree price for lunch is $21 - 32 dollars. Although many told us the food was just okay.

I hated my entree. It a deep-fried sandwich that had little to no meat on it. It was all dough and very dry. I guess that's why you're supposed to use the jelly, but I don't like ham and jelly. It was odd.

Janine didn't like hers either. The jambalaya had undercooked rice and was too spicy for her, even though she asked if it was mild when she ordered it. We were going to suffer through it until our waitress came to the table and asked us how our meal was. We all looked down at our plates. Should I say something? Should I not? So I eeked out, "the potatoes are great."

Everyone laughed. Then she asked, "Do you want something else? We're happy to exchange it for you." So we did. I ordered the tesoro chicken and Janine had the Mahi Mahi. We were much happier with our second choices.

Desserts on the other hand were extraordinary. We figured we were already spending a ridiculous amount of money to eat there we might as well have dessert. Lisa and I shared a Flying Dutchman Cookie Boat. Tina and Janine had the creme brulee trio. Our waitress kindly pointed out that both the treasure chest for the creme brulee and the mast on our ship were edible. But as Tina point out, "Just because its edible it doesn't make it good." Stick to the chocolate for sure.

Overall a delightful experience with very fun people. The service was excellent. I don't think I feel the need to go again, but if I did I'd just have an appetizer and some dessert. And if you have an annual pass don't forget to show it - you get a discount.

Disney Annual Pass

After a two year break I decided it was time to have a Disney Annual Pass once again.

It's amazing how much prices have gone up. A one-day, park hopper ticket is now $91. WOW. A Southern California Annual Pass is $169. I only have to go twice to pay for the pass. How crazy is that.

So Lisa and I went and got a pass last week. Both of my roomies have a pass, as do a few of my co-workers. So there are lots of people to visit with. I've already been twice and paid for it. I remember in college (1993ish) they had southern california days and you could get in for like $36. I'm getting old, it's a sad day to remember when things were much cheaper.

But we've had a blast riding Tower of Terror, seeing the Halloween decorations, and people watching. I haven't had the energy to wait almost 2 hours for the new Nemo ride, but eventually I will.

Being there reminds me of how much fun I had last December with my nephews. I torture everyone with lots of stories about them at Disneyland, but I don't care, they're hilarious.

SeaWorld San Diego

My week with my brother's fam ended with a bang or should I say drop.

We went to San Diego on Saturday for our first sunny day. We basked in the warmth, shows, and a relative lack of people. The park was pretty empty, which was fine with us.

Our first show of the day was the dolphins. We were careful to sit out of the soak zone, figuring since it isn't the splash or sprinkle zone they must be serious. As we were leaving however, we noticed that we had instead been sitting in the poop zone. A seagull, we didn't know was part of the show, dropped a present in my hair and on Rocio's shirt.

Rocio had to wash part of my hair in the bathroom. Mike had to run and buy her a new shirt. At that point there is nothing you can do but laugh.

From there we saw the sharks, the reef, the manatees and the aquarium. We were disappointed the penguins and several other exhibits were closed. I think SeaWorld is best visited in the summer when its warmer. I've heard there are more shows and more things are open.

Regardless, the boys had a blast. Our final show of the day was a special 12 Days of Christmas with the Sea Lions. By this point we were freezing and $10 hot chocolate seemed like a bit much.

Seaword was a good way to end the trip. We then headed back to Ohio, for Christmas with my parents, on a redeye. I'm so glad they came. It was a fantastic week.

Bye Bye Disneyland

The City Pass was so worth it. Three days at Disneyland and California Adventure was perfect. We got to see and do everything there that we wanted to. It was a great pace and thanks to the rain the first day we rode every ride in record time.

I love Disneyland at Christmas the park looks so amazing.

Today was our last day. I think Mikey was right, we killed it. We got to see everything we wanted to in both parks. Well how many things are worth seeing California Adventure, only two - Soarin' over California and Tower of Terror.

I made the mistake of riding the Ferris Wheel with Mike and Mikey. Have I mentioned lately I'm terrified of heights. I thought I conquered most of it when I went hot air ballooning and didn't die or hyperventilate. Well one of the distinctions about this particular ferris wheels is that some of the baskets on it swing and slide along the spoke. Oh yea! Guess which one we were in? You got it, the swinging ones.

I was not a good example for Mikey. The panic started to overtake me when we started to swing. I gripped my seat, closed my eyes and started praying for mercy on my soul. It was not a pretty site. My brother was laughing hysterically and lamenting that the didn't bring the camera. Mikey soon forgot his fear because he was laughing so hard at me. I'm glad my pain, fear and trauma brought much joy to them.

I loved seeing Jordy with the characters. He had so much love for them and wanted to hug every one, then take his picture. At one point he saw Chip and Dale and got to do his hug and pic routine. When we walked away he said, "Aunt Marti, those aren't the real Chip and Dale" Curious about why he thought that he continued, "Those are just people in a suit." At little of the magic is beginning to die, either that or he felt a kneecap or something when he hugged them, who knows.

My two favorite moments with Mikey were when we walked through Tomorrowland and he said, "I didn't know you could use technology to do this" Then as we were standing in line for Space Mountain he said, "I can feel the sonic energy in my ears." That's hilarious. He went on to contribute his supersonicness to all of the tv he watches.

We had a fantastic time. Overall the boys favorite land was Toon Town. They loved all of the gags.Their least favorite rides were It's a Small World and Snow White. When we exited both their exact words were, "that was dumb." The highlights of their favorite rides, because its pretty much all the rest, were Mr. Toad's Wild Ride, Pirates of the Carribean, Tower of Terror, Space Mountain, and Astro Blasters.

Tomorrow we're off to Universal Studios or just "The Studios" as Jordy calls it.

Southern California City Pass

My nephews are here! WHI-HOO! I can't wait to take them to all of the theme parks. We opted to buy a Southern California City Pass.

For one lower price we get three days at both Disney Parks (Disneyland and California Adventure), SeaWorld San Diego, Universal Studios and the Wild Animal Park or the San Diego Zoo.

The price for kids 3-9 is $159 and $210 for adults. It would cost about that much just for the Disney tickets.