California vacation - Day 1, Disneyland and California Adventure

We were at the park the moment it opened and didn't go back to the hotel until after the fireworks. We walked so much Aimee had blisters on her little toes and I collapsed on the couch in the hotel room and couldn't move for at least a half hour. Mom and the kids seemed to fare better.




We didn't realize how lucky we were to be able to walk down Main Street with so few people as we did here when we first entered the park. Later in the day the place was absolutely packed, and mind you this was on a weekday in January! Forget about going in Spring or Summer, or probably even in the Fall for that matter.








Strollers! Throughout Disneyland there are designated stroller parking areas. Aimee took this great photo for me after I told her the number of strollers parked boggled my mind.

Toontown





Aimee loved the "ONE WAY" sign.



I liked the writing on these windows.













The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror at California Adventure

So later in the day we headed over to California Adventure where we had been told to for sure ride on the Tower of Terror which we did. It quickly became Madison's favorite ride and I have to admit it was a rush. The idea behind it is you are in an abandoned hotel and you get stuck in the service elevator which then begins to drop you several floors and then takes you back to the top and then drops you again. The sensation of falling is exquisite. What we didn't realize at the time is that somewhere along the way there are cameras that take your picture as you're falling (there are a few other rides in the park where they do the same thing, don't ask Madison about how ugly I was in the California Screamer picture. Basically I became the Elephant Man.) These pictures are then on a television screen after you exit the ride and you can purchase copies at inflated prices if you wish. These days though people just take out their digital cameras or camera phones and snap a photo of the television screen and save themselves the 15 bucks. I had Aimee snap a picture of our photo, not because of how we turned out but because of the two dudes in the front who knew just when to pose and pop their collars. Classic!