When You Wish Upon a Star...or Win a Radio Contest

 We have a neighbor who wins contest after contest on the radio- mostly Disneyland trips, often concerts and cash.  She is certain people can win with positive attitudes if they never give up and keep trying.  So, I thought it couldn't hurt to make a few attempts.  I entered contests, tried calling in, put in keywords for a good 5 months.  One morning I was driving Grant to school (when he still had his neck brace and wasn't driving himself yet) when I decided to tune in to the station to see what name they drew.    The announcer said the winner is 'Kata McArthur.'

Now, I know my name is not Kata, but I kept entering and it would auto correct from Kara to Kata for some reason.  So, I yelled out (to no one in the car) "That's Me!"  My friend, radio contest mentor, Kristen, immediately called me and told me she was pretty sure they drew my name.  I let her know I heard, and I had to hurry and call because they only gave 10 minutes before they would draw another winner.  You better believe I frantically called and heard myself pleading my case to the radio hosts.  They were laughing on-air telling me they were sure no one else would come up with that story and they changed my name in the system from Kata to Kara and badda bing badda boom- the McArthur family won 4 tickets to Disneyland for 2 days.  Dave and Grant didn't have any desire to go, so the rest of us planned a trip and when November rolled around, it was upon us! 

We flew out on a Sunday night with our new swag that our Disney master gifted us and arrived to our hotel across the street from the park in time to see the fireworks going off!  We set our alarms and hit the sack super excited! 

Our tickets were one park per day, so we decided to do California Adventure first.  

We woke up super early, made sure to include ponchos in our bags cuz it was drizzly and made our way over to stand at the rope for the opening.  

We had a whole plan in place, run to Radiator Springs Racers so we didn't have to pay extra for the fast line, but just before the rope dropped, the employees informed everyone that the racers wouldn't be open until it was dry, and it was closed at the moment.  We were all sorts of in a tizzy.  I mean, you map out your day for ultimate ride experience to minimize wait time and maximize ride opportunities!  Plus we were new to the genie plus reservations, so we ran one way, then one of the kids wanted to run somewhere else and we stupidly used our Genie Plus for Guardians right away before heading to 

the new Spider-Man Web slinger ride.  

That was mostly the only mishap of day 1.  We had a few irritable moments, and we stood in line for the racers when it shut down and had to get out of line-the rain kept teasing us all day.  So, that was our longest wait for 40 minutes or so.  But, magically, we walked by later when they were re-opening the ride and got to nearly walk right in and ended up riding it 3 times!  

We rode Guardians a whole bunch because it's the greatest ride of all time, the kids suckered me into riding the Grizzly River ride (since we were "already wet" from the rain, why did it matter).  

There were a couple rides that never opened with the on and off again rain, but we got to do all the rides we wanted-lots of times.  

It was our first time doing the pin trading, which we all really loved!

The Christmas decorations were up in a lot of the park, and it was just adorable!

It was such a fun day!  We decided we could handle the rain because the crowds were light, and we could roll with the rides closing alright if we timed the opening perfectly like we did a few times. 

We could handle rain, right?  Well, little did we know the flooding/deluge ahead of us for day 2.  

It started pouring at rope drop the next morning, even with our ponchos and umbrellas we noticed we were getting soggy.  But, we had a plan and had worked out our kinks yesterday, so were ready to run right to Star Wars land for the ride we had never been on.  We had good placement, right near the front, but when that rope dropped- the horde of people started racing and the rain was pouring and the flooded Disney streets were filling and the ponchos were starting to cover our faces.  Katelee took off like a marathon runner, I had hold of Harrison's hand as his poncho was twisting, he started yelling, "Mom I can't see."  I was so caught up in the mob I just replied while tugging, "It doesn't matter!!"  hahahaha.  We were absolutely soaked by the time we got to the line, but hey, we did it.  

And thus began our day with pruney feet and soggy britches on the bottom.    Star Wars was super fun though.

We definitely had more of a challenge in keeping spirits up with the downpour.  We had to talk Harrison down after someone told him he wasn't the best gunner on the ride, 

he and I had to head back to the hotel after I lost my credit card and he had to change socks/shoes because he was squeaking out water with every step.  The struggle was real, there were no parades or outdoor shows due to weather...but there were plenty of indoor escape opportunities...

lots of good food 

which we felt we had to indulge in...

so that kept the smiles coming

Again, the lines were short, so we tried to just be so glad we got to ride 

so many attractions so many times...except Harrison was not ok with how many times we "MADE" him ride Indiana Jones because it was too loud and spooky.  

It was not an exaggeration when I say we were pooped by the end of the night.  We stayed til a few minutes to close looking like drown rats but with bellies full!

 We all talked about our favorite parts and Harrison said some of his favorite moments were how the workers were so nice and "care so much for your safety, like how they always have you pull on those yellow tabs.  They are are kind of like parents or just good friends- just knowing you being ok matters to them." Haha!  It was not the response I was expecting, but trust Harrison to teach us a valuable life lesson at the end of an amusement park vacation.  

I need to start looking for ways to win again.  This may have been a one and done radio win experience, and boy was it worth it.  Loved making the memories with my best people.