The Star: A New Family Christmas Tradition #TheStarMovie #FlyBy

Our family has a handful of movies that we enjoy watching together every year around Christmas time.  I am excited to be able to add The Star to that list of movies!  We had the opportunity to watch this movie in the theater last year.  I thought it did a wonderful job of telling the story of Jesus’ birth with humor, inspiration and music, all from the unexpected point of view of a donkey.  I am excited for the DVD release of this movie, along with the included bonus features.  Also, check out a live interactive and engaging guided Bible Study with Devon Franklin here.

This Tale of Faith and Friendship Includes Six Sing-Along Videos from Mariah Carey, Fifth Harmony, Kelsea Ballerini, A Great Big World, and Kirk Franklin

Includes a Dance Along, “How-to” Crafts Video and Much More

Available on Digital February 6 and On Blu-ray + DVD + Digital on February 20

AFFIRM Films and Sony Pictures Animation’s THE STAR arrives for the first time on Digital on February 6 and on Blu-ray + DVD + Digital February 20 from Sony Pictures Home Entertainment. The heartwarming animated comedy follows a small but brave donkey named Bo (voiced by Steven Yeun, “The Walking Dead”), who yearns for a life beyond his daily grind at the village mill. One day he finds the courage to break free and finally goes on the adventure of his dreams. On his journey, he teams up with Ruth (voiced by Aidy Bryant, “Saturday Night Live”), a lovable sheep who has lost her flock and Dave (voiced by Keegan-Michael Key, Friends From College), a dove with lofty aspirations, along with three wisecracking camels voiced by Tracy Morgan (“30 Rock”), Tyler Perry and Oprah Winfrey. Bo and his new friends follow the star and become accidental heroes in the greatest story ever told.

Rounding out the all-star voice cast including Gina Rodriguez (“Jane The Virgin”) as Mary, Zachary Levi (“Chuck”) as Joseph, Grammy® Award-Winner Kelly Clarkson as Leah the horse, Anthony Anderson (“Black-ish”) as Zach the goat, Ving Rhames  (Mission Impossible) as Thaddeus the dog, Gabriel Iglesias (Coco, Ferdinand) as Rufus the dog, Patricia Heaton (“The Middle”) as Edith the cow, Emmy® and Tony® Award-Winner Kristin Chenoweth as Abby the mouse, and Christopher Plummer (All the Money in the World) as King Herod.

THE STAR is filled with more than an hour of engaging bonus materials including the “Star-aoke: Sing Along with Bo & Friends,” a dance along to “Life Is Good” by A Great Big World, plus a collection of fun lyric videos that will have you singing along to the inspiring music from THE STAR.  Families can enjoy crafting and baking with “how-to” videos “Star Mason Jar Votives” and “Sweet and Sparkly Stars,” and they also can go behind-the-scenes to explore the amazing talent who bring these characters to life.  In “Faith All Year Round,” renowned pastor and motivational speaker, DeVon Franklin delivers a fun and engaging children’s sermon discussing the themes of the film and keeping the spirit of this inspiring story alive in us every day.

THE STAR is directed by Academy Award® nominated writer/director Timothy Reckart, screenplay by Carlos Kotkin, and story by Simon Moore and Carlos Kotkin. The film is executive produced by DeVon Franklin, Brian Henson and Lisa Henson, and produced by Jennifer Magee-Cook. The Star is presented by AFFIRM films and Sony Pictures Animation in association with Walden Media, Franklin Entertainment and The Jim Henson Company. The uplifting theme song, “The Star” by Mariah Carey and veteran songwriter Marc Shaiman was also nominated for a 2018 Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song. “The Star” song is now available on The Star: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack, which assembles new music from a bevy of powerhouse superstars.

Bonus Materials Include:

  • Star-aoke: Sing-Along with Bo & Friends: In this all new song, sing along with your favorite characters including Bo, Dave, Ruth and the unforgettable camels
  • Life Is Good” Dance-Along: Shake your tail feathers and move your hooves in this fun dance along
  • Lyric Sing-Along Videos: Enjoy the eclectic and inspiring music of THE STAR with these colorful lyric videos that allow you to sing along with your favorite recording artists
    • “The Star” by Mariah Carey
    • “Can You See” by Fifth Harmony
    • “Children Go Where I Send You” by Kelsea Ballerini
    • “We Three Kings” by Kirk Franklin
    • “Life Is Good” by A Great Big World
  • Sweet and Sparkly Stars: Create star-themed cookies to be enjoyed year round
  • Star Mason Jar Votives: Let the light of THE STAR shine with this simple yet stunning craft
  • Faith All Year Round with DeVon Franklin: A children’s sermon discussing the themes of the film and how to keep the spirit of this inspiring story alive in us every day
  • An All-Star Cast: Meet the stars of the film and explore the exciting voice cast who bring these amazing characters to life

THE STAR has a run time of approximately 86 minutes and is rated PG: for some thematic elements

Disclosure (in accordance with the FTC’s 16 CFR, Part 255:  “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising”): I did receive a sample of the product in exchange for this review and post.

 

 

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Visiting Disneyland on Lincoln’s Birthday

As I wrote about yesterday, we bought a MaxPass at Disneyland for our visit on Lincoln’s birthday.  We left at 7 a.m. to be ready for the 8 a.m. park opening.  Arriving early is key to maximizing your Disney visit!  Here are some pictures of our visit.

Our first ride of the day was the Matterhorn Bobsleds.  I liked this ride better when the seats were not separate for every rider.  It is still fun, though!

I still enjoy Space Mountain.  The FastPass totally spoiled us as we were able to ride two times with barely a wait.

We did the Mountain trifecta–Matterhorn, Space and Thunder.  Splash Mountain was closed, but the kids do not like big drops anyway.  After riding Thunder Mountain three times, D made the realization that it was this ride that he remembers being scared of as a kid, not the Mine Ride at Knott’s Berry Farm–ha!  The final time we rode it was at night and it had started to rain.  That added a whole new dimension to the ride!

 

We went on the Jungle Cruise.  Unlike last time, n knew that the animals were fake-haha!

We found a local Hawaiian restaurant that sells Dole Whip, but k says it tastes better at Disneyland!

D waited in this crazy Starbucks line at the Market House on Main Street to buy me the Disneyland Starbucks mug.

And oh yeah, he wanted to buy coffee for himself too.

“Hello?  Who’s there?”

Tarzan’s treehouse

It’s so cute when the dolls come out of the It’s a Small World clock.

Riding the Mark Twain riverboat.

We had a sneak peak of the new Star Wars Land.

This time we brought sandwiches from home for lunch.  We had a corn dog and some skewers from Bengal’s BBQ for our mid-afternoon snack.  Dinner was a hamburger and chicken sandwich from Tomorrowland; not impressed.

We waited for almost and hour for Fantasmic, with intermittent sprinkles.  Then, with twelve minutes until the 9 p.m. start time, it started to pour down on us!  We made a mad dash for the exit, along with hoards of the other unprepared tourists.  It was still coming down as we were on the tram and in the parking lot.  I was super sad to miss the show, but I guess it all worked out for the best since it was a school night and we were able to be in bed at a more decent time.

 

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Is Disney MaxPass Worth It?

We went to Disneyland for the second day of our two-day pass on Lincoln’s birthday.  We decided to try out the Disney MaxPass for $10 per person (so for our family of 4 = $40).  I know that for some people, spending $40 would be nothing, but you know that I had to do some research beforehand to see if it would be worth it.  I read a few online reviews and decided to go for it.

The official Disney description of the Disney MaxPass can be found here.  Download the Disney app and once you are inside the park, you can purchase the MaxPass through the app.

Disney MaxPass offers two main benefits: 1. PhotoPass and 2. What I call “Enhanced FastPass”.

MaxPass Benefit #1: PhotoPass

With the PhotoPass, you can have the official Disney photographers take pictures of your family.  You then have the photographer scan your phone and the pictures then “magically” appear on your phone a few minutes later.  The best part is that you can download these photos for up to 45 days after your visit so you do not have to do it while you are inside the park or even that day.  This perk was really appealing to me because it is rare that we take the time to have someone else take a picture of all four of us together.  Also, when we are in the parks we usually only use our iPhones since we do not want to lug around another camera.  However, I was disappointed in that we only saw photographers in the morning in front of the castle, mid-morning with Captain Jack Sparrow and at night in front of the castle again.  On the app, there were several photographers listed as being throughout the park, but we did not see them!  Our kids were not interested in taking a picture with Captain Jack, so we basically only took pictures in front of the castle.

How did they make it look like we were the only ones there in this picture?  The photographer took 5-6 shots each time, so that was nice.

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Another daytime castle pic, just to give you an idea of the different shots…

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The PhotoPass also includes ride photos.  However, the only ones we saw were the ones for Space Mountain.  Just take a picture of the code on your picture right after you ride, and you can enter the code later on the app at home to download the photos.

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Look at cute little n holding on for dear life!

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D hamming it up for the camera.

MaxPass Benefit #2: “Enhanced FastPass”

The main benefit of the MaxPass is that it allows you to schedule FastPasses through the Disneyland app on your phone.  FastPasses are a wonderful invention for Type A planner types like us.  For certain popular rides, you can grab a FastPass that gives you a return window where you can go through the FastPass line and bypass the “standby rider” line.  In our experience, we were able to go on rides within 5-10 minutes using FastPass while the standby riders were waiting for up to over an hour!  With regular FastPasses, you must physically go to the machine located near the ride to obtain a FastPass.  With MaxPass, you go to the app and click on the ride you want to schedule a FastPass.  With regular FastPass you cannot obtain another FastPass until you use your current FastPass, or until your return window starts.  With MaxPass, you can schedule your next FastPass as soon as you enter the turnstile of your current FastPass ride (or until your return window starts).  This was a huge timesaver, as we were basically able to have a FastPass at all times during the day without any gaps.

These were the rides we were able to experience during our day at Disneyland:

  • Big Thunder Mountain Railroad (3x); MaxPass
  • Space Mountain (2x); MaxPass
  • Matterhorn Bobsleds (2x); MaxPass
  • Star Tours; MaxPass
  • Jungle Cruise
  • Tiki Room
  • Star Wars Launch Bay
  • Buzz Light Year Astro Blasters; MaxPass
  • Mark Twain Riverboat
  • Winnie the Pooh
  • Pirates of the Caribbean (I wish they had MaxPass for this one.)
  • Haunted Mansion; MaxPass
  • Indiana Jones; MaxPass (We should have been able to go on this ride a second time, but it was experiencing technical difficulties during our scheduled FastPass time.)
  • Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride
  • Roger Rabbit’s Car Toon Spin; MaxPass
  • It’s A Small World
  • Autopia
  • Tarzan’s Treehouse (I do not really count this as an “attraction”, but included it since we had time to do it.
  • We also had a Fastpass for Fantasmic, but it started to rain so we did not stick around.

That is over twenty attractions!  I must confess, I do not know the average number of rides that is possible on a given day at Disneyland.  However, the day we went seemed pretty crowded.  Although we went on a Monday, it was Lincoln’s birthday, so a lot of kids did not have school.  My estimate is that we were able to ride about five more rides than we would have without MaxPass.  The following is my cost-benefit analysis for the MaxPass for our family:

$40 = $10 (pictures) + $6 x 5 “extra” FastPass rides

To me, the MaxPass was worth it in our situation.  We only go to Disneyland every few years, we stayed the entire day and wanted to maximize our time.  It was nice to be able to ride the roller coasters multiple times.  The MaxPass probably would not be worth it if you do not plan to ride the roller coasters or if you have an annual pass and only stay at the park for a few hours at a time.  Looking back, I would have been more diligent in my search for the park photographers so I could have had more photos taken.  One more tip would be to be sure to keep your phone on airplane mode most of the day and use your paper park entrance tickets to scan into the FastPass lines (instead of your phone) since the Disney App drains your battery pretty quickly.

I hope our experience helps you to decide whether the Disney MaxPass is worth it for you!

 

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WHOLE HEART by Passion Music Review + Giveaway #PassionWholeHeart #FlyBy

Happy Valentine’s Day!  I hope everyone has a fun day celebrating love, whether it be with your spouse, family, friends or significant other.

I thought posting a review and giveaway for the WHOLE HEART album by Passion Music would be appropriate for today given the cover art and theme!  WHOLE HEART is the new live album that was recorded at the Passion Conference 2018 in Atlanta, GA.  This album features some well-known Christian artists:

01. Whole Heart (feat. Kristian Stanfill)
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02. Almighty God (feat. Sean Curran)
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03. God, You’re So Good (feat. Kristian Stanfill & Melodie Malone)
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04. Reckless Love (feat. Melodie Malone)
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05. Heaven (feat. Sean Curran)
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06. More Like Jesus (feat. Kristian Stanfill)
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07. Hallelujah, Our God Reigns (feat. Brett Younker)
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08. Ghost (feat. Crowder)
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09. Ever Almighty (feat. Melodie Malone)
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10. Great Are You Lord (feat. Matt Redman)
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11. All My Hope (feat. Crowder & Tauren Wells)

I was able to listen to the album in its entirety, and really enjoyed the “live” aspect of the album.  It makes for an immersive music experience.  Kristian Stanfill is one of my favorite worship leaders; his songs are powerful and heart-felt.  I also really like Matt Redman’s rendition of “Great Are You Lord” on this album.

You can listen to Passion music at http://capcmg.me/PassionSpotify 

Starting on February 23, you can buy the digital album release here: http://capcmg.me/PassionWholeHeart 

Enter my giveaway to receive the WHOLE HEART album CD!

 

“Disclosure (in accordance with the FTC’s 16 CFR, Part 255:  “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising”):  Many thanks to Propeller Consulting, LLC for providing this prize for the giveaway.  Choice of winners and opinions are 100% my own and NOT influenced by monetary compensation.  I did receive a sample of the product in exchange for this review and post.

Only one entrant per mailing address, per giveaway.  If you have won a prize from our sponsor Propeller /FlyBy Promotions in the last 30 days on the same blog, you are not eligible to win.  Or if you have won the same prize on another blog, you are not eligible to win it again.  Winner is subject to eligibility verification.

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Korean Winter Olympics Viewing Party

D can be kind of obsessive about the Olympics.  He memorizes medal counts and has been vigilantly tracking how many medals Russia has had taken away.  To celebrate the start of each Olympics, we try to have the food of the host country.  For example, see our celebration for London 2012Sochi 2014 was a little more difficult!

Korea was a fun challenge.  We were having our small group over on Friday night, so I made it into a Korean potluck and viewing party.  Two of our friends are Korean American, so we felt the pressure to keep it real–ha!

Our main dish was an attempt at bibimbap.  I just went to Zion Market and bought a bunch of bulgogi meat ($4.99/lb).  I cooked it in a wok and then kept it warm in a crockpot, which worked really well.  I added a little of the juice so it would not dry out.  Other guests brought the various toppings, including carrots, spinach, lettuce, and zucchini.  D fried up some eggs right before for the final touch.  We also topped it off with sesame oil and gochujang.

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Yum!  We also had homemade japchae (noodles) and pa jeon (scallion pancakes) from Trader Joe’s.  The pa jeon passed the test of our Korean American friends, in case you were wondering!

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We went simple with our viewing setup.  I really like Soohorang, the white tiger mascot this year!

I also set up a seaweed tasting bar with a new snack I found at ShiftCon called Sea Snax.

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I like the Onion Chomperz and the Lime flavored Sea Snax!

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Getting in the spirit!  Let’s go, U*S*A*!!

 

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An Efficient Way to Wash: LG TwinWash System

The reviewer has been compensated in the form of a Best Buy Gift Card and/or received the product/service at a reduced price or for free

I find it amazing how much laundry our family must do every week.  I am looking forward to the day when my kids do their own laundry.  My mom gave me that responsibility between fifth and sixth grade, and I plan to do the same with our own kids.  For my daughter, that will be happening this year!

Recently, I gave my daughter a quick lesson on how to use our laundry machine and dryer.  One of the questions she asked was what to do with the knob that adjusts for load size.  I told her to just keep it at large or oversize.  In an effort to be energy efficient, we only do full loads of laundry in our house.

We inherited our washer and dryer with the house when we bought it in 2009 and it was several years old at that time.  I am sure we will be in the market for a new set in the near future!  There have been a lot of recent technological improvements to washers and dryers.  LG is at the forefront of such improvements.  For example, LG’s TwinWash system features a TurboWash 2.0 feature that saves up to 30 minutes on larger loads.  That in itself may be worth the investment!

The TwinWash system also allows you to wash smaller loads when necessary with the LG SideKick pedestal washer.  I can imagine that would be really handy when you just need to do a mini load.  For example, when my daughter or son has a basketball or soccer tournament, I just want to wash their uniform between games.  With LG’s TwinWash system, that would be easy to do without wasting energy!

From 1/11-4/25 receive up to $500 off a LG laundry solution for your home!

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ShiftCon Inspired Me To Make A Shift

Last week I had the privilege of attending ShiftCon 2018.  I volunteered during the conference in exchange for an Influencer ticket, and the experience was definitely worth it.  The conference itself took place Thursday morning to Saturday evening at Hotel Irvine.

I have passed by this hotel countless times, but had never been inside.  After spending three days here, it was starting to feel like my second home.  Attending this conference was so convenient since it is less than 15 minutes away.  However, other attendees came from Canada and the east coast, so it was a real getaway for them.

I am grateful to have been able to take off two days of work to attend, as well as have my parents watch the kids while I was away.  It felt good to have some individual time and just soak in a lot of information.  It would have been nice if I knew someone else there, as I was completely out of my comfort zone.  I am not good at small talk like D is, but I managed to make some connections.  Volunteering actually helped me in meeting people.

My first job was to hand out the swag bags on Thursday morning.  I was actually supposed to help stuff the swag bags earlier in the week, but they were already done by the time I arrived.  This was a fun job because who isn’t happy to receive swag?  I plan to do reviews of some of the products we received, so be on the lookout for that.

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Inspired to Live Greener

There were so many inspiring speakers during the mealtimes.  One highlight was Ed Begley Jr who gave a keynote address entitled “Heal the Planet”.

After listening to his speech, I concluded that he is a great example of a Hollywood actor who is also a true environmentalist.  It seems that these days, many celebrities tout environmentalist causes mainly for the attention it can provide.  This is not the case with Mr. Begley, who has been living “green” before it was trendy.  He was very encouraging in urging all of us to start small, by doing things such as changing to LED light bulbs.  He also is a confessed cheapskate, which resonated with me–ha!  Although there is some truth to the Whole Foods = Whole Paycheck joke, being green can actually save you a lot of money too.  This is something I always knew in the back of my head, but now I am intrigued and inspired.  I hope to share some of the tips I find in my journey to living greener in future blog posts as well!

Inspired to Eat Healthier

The food that was served at the meals was also inspiring.  In a room full of people with dietary restrictions, it was quite impressive that the food still tasted delicious.  The organizer of the event said that the kitchen staff felt quite challenged by all of the high standards that ShiftCon had regarding the food.  The food was organic, local wherever possible, humanely raised, non-GMO, gluten-free, you name it!  Part of me was wondering where are the dinner rolls, but I realized that I needed to “shift” that expectation too.

Loved these centerpieces!

Loved the presentation!

Inspired, I made this rice/quinoa/ground turkey bowl for dinner the other night with the help of Revolution Foods.  Surprisingly, n ate everything, including the quinoa and spinach.  This was proof to me that our family can eat healthier, and that I need to branch out more in our food choices.

This was a glimpse of the Expo time, where several brands introduced their products to the influencers.  I volunteered a little bit during this time too.

Inspired to Learn

I recently hung a children’s poster by our kids’ desks that says “Try Something Challenging Today”.  I really like this motto, as too often I become complacent because it is easier or I feel like I am too busy with other things.  Going to ShiftCon helped me realize some ways in which I can challenge myself.  During the speeches and workshops, I realized how much I have to learn about the environment, our health, the chemicals that surround us everyday and how they all interact.  (There was one workshop on curing children’s nut allergies that was really eye-opening!)  I loved hearing from brands that have challenged the way their products have traditionally been produced and have found a better way.  I was also impressed by the pro-bloggers and influencers who have built their own businesses and have used blogging as a platform for their message to the world.  I left challenged to continue to develop this blog, to overcome the learning curve and to not become discouraged by roadblocks.

Before I attended this conference, I was not really sure it would be for me.  I do not do yoga/meditation, nor am I vegan, dairy-free or gluten-free.  When another attendee mentioned thoracic chakra and tapping, I had no idea what she was talking about.  However, there was so much that did speak to me directly: the importance of living green for our own health, our children’s lives, and for the planet.

Thank you, ShiftCon, for letting me be a part of your community even though I have a long way to go in living green, and for inspiring me to take the next steps on my green journey.

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Book Review: Be The Hands And Feet

We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.

Before reading Be the Hands and Feet, I had heard about Nick Vujicic, but I did not know much about him.  Nick (after reading this book, you would feel comfortable calling him by his first name too, because he comes across as so personable!) was born without arms and legs.  However, he has not let his physical body limit him in any way.  He is an evangelist, motivational speaker, author, and the director of Life Without Limbs.   He travels around the world and has spoken to and touched the hearts of millions of people.  After reading his stories, and all that he has struggled through and accomplished, one would definitely call Nick “amazing”.  But, I bet that if you said that to him directly, he would quickly point to God as being the One who has allowed him to live such an amazing life.

This book is centered on a quote that is on the first page of the book: “If God can use a man without arms and legs to be His hands and feet, then He will certainly use any willing heart!” –Nick Vujicic.  This is so true.  We might think we have limitations that prevent us from sharing the Gospel with others, but God can empower anyone.  Nick’s unbridled love for God and others, as demonstrated throughout the stories in this book, is truly inspirational.  He lives in Southern California with his family now, so I am definitely going to be on the lookout for opportunities to hear him speak in person.

I was curious to learn more about Nick after reading this book, and discovered that he and his wife have twin girls that were born just last month (in addition to their older two sons)!  This was not mentioned in the book (probably due to the timing), but what an awesome blessing!

https://www.facebook.com/KanaeVujicic/posts/209695082925884

I received this book from Blogging for Books for this review.

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Our 16 Hour Day @ Disney CA Adventure

I had been holding onto a Disney gift certificate that I won from last year, waiting for a good opportunity to use it.  I was waiting for Disney to announce their “deal” for Southern California residents that usually happens in the beginning of the year.  Meanwhile, D has been wanting to go to Disney California Adventure for a while so he could check it off the kids’ list.  k went when she was two years old, and n had never been before.  How sad that we live so close, yet hardly get to go since it is so expensive!  So, at last, Saturday was the day!

How is it possible that we spent sixteen hours, door to door at Disney California Adventure?  Well, I will show you our itinerary!  Since it was supposed to open at 8 a.m., we left a little after 7 a.m. to make sure we had enough time to park, go through security, and take the tram.  At least we did not have to buy tickets there since I had purchased them online the day before.

In the morning, when you first arrive, everyone is in a good mood and excited for the day.  Even the tram ride seems fun!

I am glad we had a cast member take this picture.  It is our only family shot of the whole day!

In the morning, we attempted to follow a touring plan that I had found online.

  • First, we grabbed our Fast Pass tickets for Guardians of the Galaxy.
  • Then we rode Soarin’ Around the World.  The kids kind of knew what to expect since we did a similar ride last summer in Vancouver.

  • Next we grabbed our Fast Passes for the 9:45 showing of World of Color.
  • Then we went on ToyStory Mania!  After that we obtained Fast Passes for Radiator Springs Racers.

  • Then we rode the Guardians of the Galaxy, fka Tower of Terror.  After riding that one, I declared that “Once was enough for me!”, but D really liked it.  I think we had not really adequately prepared n and he was a little shell-shocked.

It does not look like we were having as much fun as everyone else–ha!

  • We went on Mater’s Junkyard Jamboree.  This was my first time seeing Cars Land, and it was pretty impressive!

  • Next we did Luigi’s Rollickin’ Roadsters.  I like the “dance” that the cars all do at the end.

I like noticing all of the Disney details, like the tire topiaries…

…and the Radiator Springs trash can.

  • We had a mid-morning snack at Cozy Cone Motel.

Bacon Mac & Cheese in a Bread Cone.  The bread was not that great; the concept was better than the execution.

  • We watched It’s Tough to be a Bug!
  • Finally it was time for our Fast Passes at Radiator Springs Racers.  This was my favorite ride of the day!  Definitely get a Fast Pass for this one, though.

The 3 + 3 rider configuration is a little awkward since you basically always end up sitting with single riders.  The cars are spacious though, so our personal bubbles stayed intact.

  • I really wanted to make the noon showing of Frozen at the Hyperion Theater.  I had to make a quick stop to grab more Fast Passes for Radiator Springs at night along the way.  We ended up power-walking and they almost shut the doors on D after the kids and I were already seated.  Luckily, they let him in and we were reunited.  The show was done really well and lasted longer than I thought–about an hour!  This was a good resting time for us.  It brought back memories of the theater production we saw onboard the Disney Wonder.
  • We ate lunch at Pacific Wharf Cafe.

Broccoli cheese soup and potato soup in a Boudin bread bowl and took it easy after our somewhat rushed morning.

  • We rode The Little Mermaid.
  • We went on Silly Symphony Swings.  This was n’s first time on a ride like this, and he liked it!
  • We watched Turtle Talk with Crush.
  • We waited in line for Monsters, Inc., but there were technical difficulties they stopped the ride and we left.

I know they are trying to make the park less California-specific, but I hope they keep this waterfall!

Both Grizzly River Run and California Screamin’ were closed that day.  We knew that beforehand, though, so it was not a major disappointment.  Check online before you go!

  • We went on Goofy’s Sky School.
  • We ate a corn dog from Corn Dog Castle.  Tip: ask to have the corndog by itself (it comes with apple slices or chips) and save $2!

  • We did a little window-shopping in Downtown Disney and ate at Earl of Sandwich.

  • We stopped by Starbucks for an Americano (mostly for D) and a Vanilla Steamer for k and n.  It is crazy how crowded all of the Starbucks locations are at Disneyland!
  • Cars Land takes on a whole new aura at night!

  • We used our second Fast Passes for Radiator Springs so we could ride it at night.  Our car ended up on the alternate track, so that was fun.

  • We rode on Heimlich’s Chew Chew Train just because we had time to kill before World of Color.
  • We went on Soarin’ Around the World One more time even though we did not have a Fast Pass.  The wait was about 35 minutes, which was our longest line of the day–not bad!
  • We queued up for World of Color around 8:45 even though the show was not set to start until 9:45.  I am not sure why there was not an earlier showing that night. At this point, D was wishing that he had brought a warmer jacket.  n was able to stay up and actually did not fall asleep.  We were able to find seats at the front of the first elevated section along the pier.

World of Color has been around for a while now, but this was our first time watching it.  The lights/water/fire effects were quite impressive, but I think Fantasmic! is still my favorite.

Of course, no amateur iphone pictures could do the show justice.  It is something that you just have to experience for yourself.  The show ended around 10:15.  By the time we left the park, took the tram, found our car and arrived home it was just after 11 p.m.  It was an exhausting, but fun day.  Now I need to plan our upcoming day at Disneyland!

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My Fantastic Glasstic Water Bottle + Giveaway

I received a Glasstic Water Bottle for free for review, but all opinions are my own.

Finding the perfect water bottle can be difficult.  In fact, I was just recently cleaning out my cupboards, and I found that I had over forty of them–no joke, k counted them!  We donated or threw out the vast majority of our water bottles because they were faulty in some way.  Some were not leak-proof, some were too wide, some were too heavy, some were too flimsy, etc.  Ironically, a few days later, I received a Glasstic water bottle in the mail to test out.  Well, I am happy to report that this one is a keeper and is now my favorite water bottle!

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The Glasstic water bottles are unique because they feature an inner glass wall and a protective outer shell made of plastic.  Get it, Glass + Plastic = Glasstic?  It has a lock to prevent spills, and the seal on the water bottle is truly leak-proof.  I once had a water bottle leak in my purse and ruin my camera, so I know the pain of a leaky water bottle.

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I like the size of this water bottle.  It fits nicely in our car cupholder.  The handle is also convenient.

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I brought it along to the gym and it fit perfectly in the elliptical machine cup holder.

One of my New Year resolutions is always to drink more water.  I have a feeling that my Glasstic water bottle will help me achieve my goal!

I am pleased to offer a giveaway for one of my readers to win a Glasstic water bottle in the color of your choice!

 

 

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