Disney Magic at California Adventure

Last weekend we got to party like pirates at Disney's California Adventure Park! This was the perfect way to celebrate Pinga's birthday, as she had just turned one year old the day before. First up, was a special concert by the Never Land Pirate Band from the Disney Channel show "Jake and the Never Land Pirates." Sharkey and Bones put on a great show, and Jake, Captain Hook and Mr.Smee also joined the band onstage.


Bean was in awe of the pirate decor and the treasures!



Then it was time to hit the rest of the park. California Adventure has always been fun, but this was one of the best days we've spent at ANY Disney park! For starters, there's the incredible Mickey's Fun Wheel, a dream come true for Bean. I think the ferris wheel is his all time favorite ride, and this one did not disappoint! Both kids went on King Triton's Carousel and the new Ariel's Undersea Adventure, which was awesome. The best ride you'll find at any theme park is hands down, Soarin' Over California which had Bean absolutely giddy with excitement. We were tempted to scale the wall and check out the development of the new Cars Land , but decided it was probably better to wait until this summer when it opens. Here's a random pic of Pinga soaking in the magic:

All this excitement made us hungry and so we wandered into Ariel's Grotto in search of some yummy food. This was seriously THE best meal we've had in a long, long time. Both kids behaved themselves, and we got to sit outside right next to the water. Check out this amazing appetizer plate:

After scarfing down fresh mozzarella cheese, asparagus, yellow tomatoes, seafood, apricots, olives and much more, we ate up our delicious entrees. Bean opted for the seashell macaroni and cheese. When it came out, it was topped with goldfish crackers which I thought was adorable. Of course, he ate them before I could get a picture.

Pinga couldn't get enough of the Boudin Bakery sourdough bread. Soft on the inside, crispy on the outside. Delightful.

We finished the meal with this fabulous dessert plate. We were then informed that the meal included reserved viewing to the World of Color show - an added bonus to an already amazing experience.

We rocked it out at ElecTRONica before going to World of Color, which was the perfect way to end the night. The sequence of animation clips shown on the water "screen" were inspiring and almost had me in tears. The water fountains are absolutely breathtaking. This picture was taken right after the show ended.

We didn't get to check out the Aladdin musical or the Disney Junior - Live on Stage, but next time for sure! Right now, Disney has an awesome 2 day 1 Park per day for $99 deal for Southern California residents. If I were you, I'd buy it before it ends on June 5th and experience all that California Adventure has to offer!

*Thank you to Disney, who provided us with complimentary tickets to California Adventure.