It was finally great to see "The World's Largest Rubber Duck"! :) I went to this festival just to…read morecheck this out. This 40-foot duck was created by Dutch artist Florentjin Hofman in 2007. It has been traveling for almost 8 years! It's been to Hong Kong, Japan, Russia, Alaska, Washington, Maine, Hawaii, Scotland, England, Indonesia, South America, Australia, & the Arctic Ocean! Limited edition mini replicas are being sold from $10 unsigned, $20 with artist's signature & $50 that's both signed & numbered. There's also an arts & crafts section, rubber duck inspired accessories booth, etc. TIP: $8 parking (cash only) & $7 admission ticket to see the duck only. Bring your sunblock & wear comfortable shoes. TALL SHIPS: These are a mix of both private & public ownership. Some are used for blue water open racing, educational programs, sail training, marine schooling, fishing, etc. FOOD: I also saw several food trucks in this event - Wise Barbecue Co., Baby's Badass Burgers, The Sushi Pirate, Chowmein, Hungry Nomad, The Grilled Cheese Truck, Cousins Maine Lobster, Lobstatruck, etc. ENTERTAINMENT: I saw the UCLA Bruin Marching Band perform and some other bands as well. I didn't stay long, so wasn't able to see the rest of the performers. Here are some of them - Abrakadabra, Tom Kastle, The Blue Cherries, San Pedro Ballet, The Bella Donnas, Britain's Finest Beatles Tribute Band, Two Bit Circus, Diana Godin (Mermaid & Belly Dancer), etc. Overall, this event/festival is pretty good, but needs to be more organized. Good for all ages & pet-friendly also. The lines are fast, but somewhat confusing. I also wish there were more dining tables around. Not super crowded, except the for the giant rubber duck area. :)

Great family fun that is educational and informative. This is a great way to see the Battleship…read moreIowa and and the Victory Lane for $12.00. Lots of food trucks like Cousins Maine Lobster, Me So Hungry, Pie n Burger, shave ice trucks, etc. they have Rubber Duckie crafts, toys band ducks for sale, a beer garden, fire boats... A plethora of fun! The real star is the Giant Rubber Duck though!

A great ride to do if you have Younglings because it is air-conditioned and dark. If you're…read moreoverstimulation meter is going over 100. It's a great five minute cooldown. The effects just like the other older rides bring a sense of nostalgia and make you feel young again. When they decorate it for Halloween and have Jack and Oogie boogie, it is even better. Will definitely update with pictures. I just don't like posting pictures of my kids. But the Halloween themed nightmare before Christmas goes until December 29 I believe and it's well worth visiting. I don't think anything about this ride is too scary and I have brought my infant Your child may get scared when the room drops and the fake lightning goes off, but that only lasts a second or two. And the room does not drop fast. It slowly moves from the second story to the first story where the doom buggy is.

Just rode the Haunted Mansion and it still holds up as one of the best rides at Disneyland. The…read morevibe is perfect--creepy but not actually scary, so it's fun for pretty much everyone. The whole experience starts before you even get on the ride, especially with the stretching room, which never gets old no matter how many times you've done it. Once you're in the doom buggy, the ride really shines. The scenes are super detailed, and there's always something new to notice each time. The ballroom scene with all the ghosts is probably my favorite--it's just classic Disney storytelling. And of course, the hitchhiking ghosts at the end are always a fun touch. Wait time can get long, but it usually moves pretty steadily, and it's 100% worth it. Overall, it's one of those must-do rides every time you visit--timeless, creative, and just a really fun experience.

I know people have had mixed feelings on the Walt animatronic but I think it is pretty awesome and…read moreremarkable with the movement and all. The storyline is great, very inspirational (especially when you have two artists/musicians on your household). Never give up on your dreams! Great overlay for Disney's 70rh and a great way to get a break from the hustle and bustle (and heat) of the parks. Highly recommend next time you visit!!!

Really neat update and great show. Love the Walt animatronic and how smooth it is. Very magical…read more Before going into the theater, it's neat to see the vintage Mickey ears, the designs for the different lands, the other ride animatronics (love the It's a Small World geese and Tiki Room parrots), little statues, and so much more. Definitely worth exploring around a bit as well. There's a voiceover with Bob Iger and parts of Walt's recorded interview sound bits throughout his life. Perfect for the old heads and those who love Disney history. Not the greatest for children though, even at elementary school age. Many in front of me were getting bored and fussy. Great way to escape the heat to boot.

Knotts Berry Farm's Ghost Town Street is one of the original parts of the theme park. It was built…read morein the 1940s. The immersive area is designed to capture the spirit of an 1880s mining town. The wooden walkways, weathered storefronts, and authentic props make it feel like you're a part of the mining town! Other aspects of Ghost Town Streets include a blacksmith shops to saloons, every building tells a story inside this fantastic area. This themed area offers a glimpse into the life of pioneers, cowboys and others who roamed the American Frontier. One of the highlights of Ghost Town Street is the live entertainment and character interactions. Characters like sheriffs, bandits, shopkeepers and others roam around Ghost Town Streets. You can chat with them, solve mysteries and so much more! It's quite an interactive element to the theme park. Ghost Town Street does offer plenty of hands on experiences and attractions. You can watch craftsmen demonstration skills like blacksmithing, glassblowing, woodcarving and so much more! There are classic rides in this area like the Butterfield Stagecoach and the Calico Railroad. The shops in the area sell unique souvenirs like vintage candy, fresh baked cookies and boysenberry specialties. When my husband and I visited during the Disneyland Halloween Half Marathon, it was fairly empty. This allowed us to explore all of the shops and stores inside Ghost Town Streets! We also had a chance to ride the Calico Mine Ride! I think we spent most of our time in the theme park in Ghost Town Streets!

Ghost Town Streets is an outdoor scare zone at Knott's Scary Farm Halloween Haunt. This is my…read moreFAVORITE scare zone! You get to see the most costumes and the scares are really good going through Ghost Town! This is where you enter into the park when the gates open. It's just so much fun! Make sure you go through here first. The description: "Ghost Town Streets is the original - and still most territying - scare zone that started it all. Bands of half-human, half-animal monsters prowl the streets and inhabit the fog. Beware the notoriously startling Sliders who lunge from every fog-filled corner of the land." Don't miss this one!! The best scares happen here. :)

Last year's Pacific Airshow in Huntington Beach was a bust due to fog and the marine layer that…read morejust would not burn off. The weather today was near picture perfect. However, I think the show was overshadowed by the government shutdown and the absence of any U.S. military aircraft. I always park in the garage on Olive and Third Street. Last year, I arrived at 10am and all levels of the garage were full except for half of the roof. This year, I arrived around 9:45am and the second level was only about half full. It seems like attendance was down. It is always wild to see the Red Bull helicopter do loops and other crazy maneuvers. The flybys by the B-29, C-17, and Albatross were cool. There were quite a few different prop planes doing various maneuvers with smoke. But the U.S. military jets are the draw for me. We just saw the T-33 Shooting Star jet do its performance. There was one other Polish jet and the Canadian Showbirds later on, but we left early. Hopefully the third time's a charm next year, with good weather and appearances by the F-22, F-35, Thunderbirds, etc. 3.5 stars.

We attended this year's Pacific Airshow in Huntington Beach, and while we knew going in that the…read moreshow would be limited since the U.S. military aircraft and demonstrations were grounded due to the federal government shutdown, it was still a great day out by the beach! We decided to make a whole afternoon of it and had brunch at Jolie, which turned out to be a perfect choice. We were given an excellent table with a great view of the airshow, close enough to catch the action while enjoying good food and drinks. It definitely made up for the scaled-back aerial lineup. Even though the show wasn't as intense or loud as in previous years, the atmosphere was still lively, the crowd was in great spirits, and it's hard to beat that oceanfront backdrop. Overall, it was a more laid-back version of the airshow this year, but still worth it for the views, energy, and beach experience. Definitely planning to come back next year once everything's back in full swing!

We rescheduled this visit several times, but made sure to make the trek to Yorba Linda for the last…read moreweekend of Holiday Trains ( https://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/holiday-trains-at-the-nixon-library-yorba-linda?select=gGqSrB-dqEGcYOqKzyjFtw ) at the Nixon Library (after the holidays) and before our membership to the Presidential Foundation expires in March (not renewing). Some people might wonder why trains and the reason is President Nixon loved trains from his childhood in Yorba Linda. The following is a quote from his memoirs: "In the daytime, I could see the smoke from the steam engines. Sometimes at night, I was awakened by the whistle of a train and then I dreamed of the far-off places I wanted to visit someday." Rohlinism: If a train keeps waking you up in the middle of night, you need to stop dreaming about far-off places and move to one! The trains have been running during the holidays at the Nixon Library for over 10 years and the trains are set up in three different areas: ( https://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/holiday-trains-at-the-nixon-library-yorba-linda?select_video=Iy4DDDitOaV70agmdKVICg ) ( https://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/holiday-trains-at-the-nixon-library-yorba-linda?select_video=uYpqKJPBrm82K2DgQTwoSQ ) ( https://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/holiday-trains-at-the-nixon-library-yorba-linda?select_video=kW-0t9pDPlNwcumLVUR0og ) Holiday Scene With Snow: ( https://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/holiday-trains-at-the-nixon-library-yorba-linda?select=9AqM2fVAFDqAKxKhhaIrlg ) ( https://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/holiday-trains-at-the-nixon-library-yorba-linda?select=ivyFK3aGbraTxqv37D3xXQ ) Holiday Scene Without Snow (i.e. Southern California): ( https://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/holiday-trains-at-the-nixon-library-yorba-linda?select=nW4sHoHY0ikZgQIgDaRBYA ) Rural Scene: ( https://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/holiday-trains-at-the-nixon-library-yorba-linda?select=edV-7Est-Q5DrlnRHWLTyA ) City Scene Sans The Trains: ( https://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/holiday-trains-at-the-nixon-library-yorba-linda?select=DPoRSu9aOVd1R07c3QeXQw ) Being former collectors of Dept. 56, we immediately recognized miniatures from the Original Snow Village, North Pole, Dickens Village and Christmas in the City Core Village Collections. Holiday Trains employs several trains with different gauges including G, Standard, O, S, ON30 and HO. For those not familiar with the word gauge, it simply means the distance between the outside rails of the track. The smaller the gauge, the smaller the train. The larger gauge for model trains is a G (1:25 scale 1.75 inches) gauge and the smallest would be a Z (1:220 scale .25 inches) gauge. The scale is relative to the size of an actual train, so it would take 25 G gauge trains lined up to match the length of the real thing. I think I just created a new YouTube / podcast for Dr. Sheldon Cooper: "Time With Trains!" Bazinga! We started with the Holiday Scene with Snow and walked around to the other displays in a clockwise motion finishing with the Rural Scene. I am not sure which scene the better half liked best, but I couldn't decide between the two scenes I mentioned in the last sentence. All the train scenes had some good details, but the one without snow had a polar bear and Santa being pulled across some green landscape. Those miniatures belonged in the scene with snow. The Holiday Scene With Snow had miniatures doing various winter activities and looked like a cozy mountain village. The Rural Scene had farm lands, produce processing and a small carnival with a working Ferris wheel at the far end. I know from experience how time consuming setting up one of these dioramas can be, so I appreciate the effort put forth by the individuals that set these scenes up every year. Holiday Trains is a nice exhibit and is well worth the 20 to 30 minutes it will take you to see the scenes and not nearly as fatiguing as walking through the Genghis Khan exhibit at the Reagan Library last March which means you will have plenty of energy left over to explore the other parts of the library.

Need a virtual reservation in advance…read more We got there about 25 mins early, most people get there way earlier. Is it worth it ? I don't know. We had a good view from our area. I wouldn't wait longer. As for the performance, using lights and water - wow - it's impressive. As for getting wet. We were at the front, and barely got some a little bit of . Basically misty. No, you will not get soaked.

World of Color Happiness is a water, light, and projection show that occurs at Paradise Bay inside…read moreDisney California Adventure Park. We joined the virtual queue on the Disneyland app at 12pm for 9pm that night. They have a couple showings per night in case you are busy during the other times. After we joined the virtual queue we got a color that signified the line we were to join. We got there about 45 minutes before the show was to start and there was already a crowd forming. While I think you can pay for a better view and even maybe a chair, if you go early enough you can get a decent view. There are tons of cool scenes and displays including but not limited to fountains, lights, lasers, fire effects, and fireworks. The show highlighted the rainbow colors from Inside Out and even had some Mulan scenes due to the Lunar New Year celebration. The theme of the show is happiness and it's a nice way to end the night.

The Newport Beach Christmas Boat Parade is one of the most iconic traditions around the holidays in…read moreOrange County. I know the coastal cities in California all have their own variation of this experience, but the Newport Beach one is the closest one to me and the one that I have taken family who visit for Christmas. When you book boat tours during this season, keep in mind to pick a tour after sunset. You'll see that the 5-8pm times are slightly more affordable because those tours will see the decorated houses along the water but the best time to see the boat parade would be taking a 8pm or 8:30pm tour. You have to check in with your tour company an hour prior, and the lines form quickly so you might even want to come earlier than that. Whatever time your tour is I recommend arriving 2 hours earlier because it takes a while to find parking. We arrived 90 minutes prior to our tour time and barely made it, and we even split up. My niece and nephew went to get our wristbands and got in line while my cousin and I circled around for over an hour for parking. The line began to move to board as soon as we got there. In retrospect I would have driven down there even sooner to have dinner in the area so we wouldn't have to stress so much about being late. The tour boat we were on had snacks and beverages, both alcoholic and nonalcohilic, for purchase. We got a window seat and was able to see all of the beautifully decorated boats of all sizes. Some of these people get super creative. Some pick a theme. Some just put on a lot of lights. It's hard to describe but it's such a wonderful feeling of feeling the joys of the holidays. I uploaded a few pictures, but I promise my pictures don't do the experience justice. Great for family and spectators of all ages. Just be patient and come early to ensure your optimal experience. Being early also ensures you get a good window seat on the boat. This is definitely one of the unique attractions when spending Christmas time in California.

I've been to other boat parades in California and the Newport Beach one is my favorite (and one of…read morethe most renowned) While it's fun to be in a boat for the boat parade, I truly believe the best view is from the shore! We try to go every year and the best time I've had is getting one of the coveted restaurant reservations and being able to sit by the window of a restaurant and eat a great meal and watch the boat parade go by from the warmth and comfort of inside one of the many restaurants that line the harbor. Another option is just to bundle up (although this year it wasn't that cold on a few days) and find parking and then watch it from the shore. That is the free option and since the boat parade is really good at publishing their schedule you can time your visit to when the parade will pass by that location. I love seeing all the creatively (and some professionally!) decorated lit up boats! My kids really enjoy it too and we always take hot chocolate and make it a fun family holiday activity!