Disneyland Spring 2012 Trip Report Pt 3

After a few minutes of doing this, and another ride on Silly Symphony Swings, we met up with Henry and Kate at Boardwalk Pizza & Pasta. Sarah and I each had flat breads, which were pretty decent, but I still stand by my position that Boardwalk Pizza & Pasta is a bit overrated. It’s not bad by any means, but I don’t think it’s the best counter service restaurant at Disneyland Resort, as some have suggested.

We headed back to Disneyland following dinner, as it was our last chance to see Remember… Dreams Come True of the trip. Unfortunately, RDCT was once again cancelled. Much like the Golden Zephyr, it seems that Disneyland’s fireworks are cancelled in even a slight breeze. It’s a good thing (and was probably a conscious decision) that World of Color doesn’t have any fireworks.

Instead, we went over to Pixie Hollow and watched “mini World of Color,” as Henry calls it. If I ever take a first time visitor to Disneyland, I’ll take them to this fountain show before they see World of Color, and describe the show as a “mini” World of Color. It’s not quite as impressive after you’ve seen World of Color, but is still a fun diversion.

After “mini” World of Color, we crossed back over to Disney California Adventure to see the real thing.

With the criss-crossing of Harbor and Katella Avenue earlier that day and the constant back and forth between Disneyland and Disney California that day, it was probably the most we had walked in a day of touring in a long time. Since World of Color started shortly, we had to book it back over to Disney California Adventure to make it to World of Color before it started.

The seating area was full, but there were still some great spots on the Paradise Pier bridge, so we headed over there to grab our spots.

Disney California Adventure was closing after World of Color, so it was time to cross the Esplanade once again to finish out the night with a few attractions. Disneyland had extended its operating hours to 1 am to compensate for the delayed opening. While I’m not one to complain about an extra hour in Disneyland, I think by about the point that I fell asleep on ‘it’s a small world,’ I realized that I was still really tired from “One More Disney Day.” The time zone difference and my body’s internal clock made it difficult to sleep in, and that coupled with our continued late hours (1 am was actually 4 am to my body) made it tough to catch up on sleep.

As always, though, I got a second (or perhaps third or fourth by that point) wind as it became night photo time. I think the constant active stimulation of moving around, setting up the camera, thinking about composition, etc., wakes me up in a way that not even an attraction like the Matterhorn can. You could say that ‘photography is my rollercoaster’ from the perspective of excitement. If that’s not a telltale sign that I’m a geek, I don’t know what is!

The great blue sky that night was just too much to resist, and we ended up staying until the very end, closing down the park. I probably could have stayed a couple more hours at that point, I was so invigorated. In fact, I almost headed over to Grand Californian Hotel for some more photography, but my better judgment (read: Sarah) reminded me that the next day was our last, and it would probably be a good idea to make rope drop to experience as much as possible.

With that, we went back to Alpine Inn to enjoy the many luxuries of our resort. In other words, the TV while we got ready for bed.

For previous installments in this Disney trip report, visit its index.

PLUG: If you like Disney photos, I strongly encourage you to check out the eBook I wrote (and more importantly, photographed), Disneyland: Sunrise to Sunrise, by clicking here.

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