New Beginnings Day 3. California Adventure.

I was awake earlier than everyone else, probably due to the fact that I was still used to east coast time. I was quietly killing time on Facebook when I got a text from my oldest son asking if I wanted to go do a character meal with him. Who in their right mind would say no to that??? My son + Disney characters + food = amazing. :)
I looked to see if there were any reservations available for any character dining on my phone. Nothing showed up, so I snuck into the bathroom and called the reservation line. They didn't have any times available either, but she told me to just go check in at the desk of any restaurant. My son asked me which one I preferred to try, and I opted for Storyteller's Cafe. I had been wanting to try it for a while.
When we arrived, there wasn't any wait and most of the tables were empty - just like intercotees had told me before. :). The buffet was different than I had expect (fancy foods like salmon), but we found enough regular food to fill our plates. The service was excellent, and the character interaction was amazing. Chip, Dale, Meeko and one of the brother bears was there.
Now for some reason, my son had decided to dye his hair blue. (There are pictures on my home page link of you would like to see it.). The bear just thought his hair was amazing. Every time he came by, he rubbed his whole body against my son. I told him to stand up with the bear, so that I could take a picture. When my son did, he commented that he was taller than a bear. The bear the proceeded to "take out" my son's knee so that he was kneeling on the ground. I even got a picture of the bear swinging his leg at my son's leg. It was hilarious.
Near the end of breakfast, Kayla (my son's girlfriend shows up). We even got a couple of pics of her with the characters even though she didn't eat.
Soon we were heading to DCA, except my son got stopped at the bag check. I had forgotten to tell him that they didn't allow selfie sticks. We ran back, dropped it off at the hotel, and headed through the gate. Our first stop was to get my guest assistance card. Our second stop was to get our picture with a character using Kayla's Chase Disney card. The Monsters Inc ride was down, so we headed to Tower of Terror. I can't ride that ride, but I went through the line with them to offer Kayla moral support. I could tell that she was still pretty nervous and upset about what had happened the previous day. (I will go into the negative stuff in a separate post at the end. I am trying to keep these posts enjoyable.). When we reached the end of the line, my daughter texted me to let me know that they had arrived in the park. Kyle and Kayla took their numbered spot and I took the chicken exit. Danielle, Darren, Lillian and I got in line to take the character picture using my Chase Disney card. Lillian was dressed in a Minnie Mouse outfit, but we just missed Minnie. We were not sad though when we saw Stitch. :).
We met up with Kyle and Kayla to get a time for Radiator Springs Racers. They ride was shut down though. Instead, we opted for Soarin'. I was glad to see the California film one last time. Kyle, Kayla and I went first. Then we watched Lillian while Danielle and Darren went. I have to say that the cast members did a remarkable job of juggling my guest assistance card, our fastpasses, and the baby swap all together.
I took the opportunity while mommy wasn't around to introduce Lillian to Mickey bars. (Have no fear. I had already found out from mommy that Lillian was already eating ice cream and chocolate desperately.). The outcome was hilarious. She chomped onto an ear and wouldn't let go. Kyle took a video of it. Then we tried to clean up the evidence. We weren't fast enough though and got caught red handed. >:).
Radiator Springs Racers were still down, so we headed to Toy Story Midway Mania. Kyle beat us all - hands down. They wanted to ride the roller coaster. I can't ride it, so Lillian and I went on the carousel. Then we got our picture taken pretending to ride the Rollercoaster. After a diaper change, we headed to Wine Country Trattoria for our World of Color dining package dinner. I had been on the fence about doing the dining package, but I am glad I did. The food was yummy. We all tasted the wine flight and decided that most of them were gross. The service was excellent, and we were seated in the patio with a perfect view of the parade as it went by.
After dinner, I was exhausted, so Lillian and I went back to the hotel for a nap. When I returned to the park, Radiator Springs Racers still weren't up, so we did Toy Story Midway Mania again. After that, we went to get our spot for World of Color. We were right at the fence. I still love all the colors in this show.
We returned to our hotel rooms after the show to find notices that the air conditioning was being shut off that night. It was a long night to say the least.