California Adventure

On October 13, we went to Disney's California Adventure.  The lines at any Disney park are always really long and it is best to fast pass many rides.  When we first got in, it was already crowded.  Even though we were there before the door opened.  My dad went to stand in the fast pass line for Cars:Radiator Springs Racers.

Radiator Springs Racers

We went on Radiator Springs Racers first.  There was a line, but it wasn't too long.  Inside, it has different scenes from the cars movie.  The cars actually had eyes that moved and looked very realistic.  After, you go outside and you race another car.  They go really fast and actually race.  That ride is so popular that the normal line is always over an hour.

After, we went on Soarin'.  Another one of my favorite rides.   We always wait to get in the middle on the top.  It always gives you the best experience.  You sit in seats and get buckled in.  Then you are ready for takeoff.  The rides lifts you up and forward.  There is a screen in front of you that surrounds you.  They play the video and you are soaring over California.  It takes you different places across the state and ends with Disneyland at night with fireworks.  It is such a cool ride.     

 The Disney parades are always so fun to watch.  At California Adventure, they had a Pixar parade.  A lot of the characters from Pixar movies were in the parade.  Toy Story, the Incredibles, Finding Nemo, Bug's life, and so many more participated in the parade.  There were dancers, people on stilts, and amazing floats that sprayed water and had flames.  The parades happen at certain times during the day.  The Pixar parade was in the afternoon.

The Pixar parade had lots of amazing floats and special effects.

The California Screamin' in a very popular ride.  I went on it six times with my brother.  The Screamin' is located on Paradise Pier.  That is where all my favorite rides are.  You go around a bend after you pull out of the station.  It then keeps you waiting for a few seconds.  It is very suspenseful.  Then you shoot off.  That is the scariest part of the whole ride.  You go so fast and shoot up the first hill.  The ride goes so fast the whole way and has really fun drops and twists.  It only has one loop right in the middle of the ride.  It isn't a very big loop though.      

I really liked Toy Story Mania on Paradise Pier.  It is a 3D ride that you shoot at targets.  It uses Toy Story characters to present the targets.  I got the highest score in my family.  The line for this is also very long and you can't fastpass it.  When my dad first stood in line for it, it broke right when he got to the front.  They let us cut in line later in the afternoon when it was working again.  

At the very end of the day, they had the world of color show.  We stayed to watch it a little bit, but we decided to leave part way through so we could catch the shuttle back to the hotel.  The part that we watched was really cool.  They showed Walt Disney and how he originally made disney characters.  It was all projected on water and they used cool lights and bursts of water.

Disneyland

On Wednesday, October 14, we went to Disneyland.  They opened at 8:00 am and closed at 6:00 pm.  We got there at 9:00 and it was already starting to get crowded.

At Disneyland, the have something called fast pass.  With your entry ticket, you could fast pass certain rides and bypass most of the line.  You can only get a certain amount per hour and only some of the rides had it.  The moment we got to Disneyland, my dad went to fast pass some of the rides and we went on the matterhorn first.

The Matterhorn Bobsleds goes through and around the mountain.  Inside, there are abominable snowmen that you go racing past.

Among the most crowded rides was Splash Mountain.  It was really hot so I could see why.  Sometimes the line was at 50 minutes, but other times it was over 80 minutes.  You could fast pass it, but it was still quite a wait.  The inside was based on the movie "Song of the South".  It had a bunch of scenes and music from the movie.  There were about four drops into the water.  The biggest was a 50-foot drop.  It was such a cool ride.

Splash Mountain

Autopia is a really cool ride that you drive a car around.  There is a track built into the ground that you steer over.  If you turn to hard, you will hit the middle track and get jerked around a lot.  The cars are really old fashioned and you smell the gas it uses.  I used to be really bad at it and would jerk the car around a lot.  This time though, I was actually okay.  I bumped the middle railing a few times, but it wasn't that jerky.  Those are definitely harder to drive than a real car.  Except for you don't have to worry about other cars.

One of my personal favorites is It's a Small World.  It has dolls from all countries.  Clothing and props match the culture and also many of the dances.  Throughout the course of the ride, it changes the theme song of it's a small to many different languages.  The two languages I was able to understand were Korean and English.

Inside of the ride

It's a small world

We went during the halloween party time, and my dad bought us tickets to the Halloween party.  The halloween party went from 6:00 pm to 11:00 pm.  We got to wear our costumes around the park and trick or treat.  I dressed up as little red riding hood.  All over the park, there were treat lines.  You would go through the line and people would put candy in your bag.  You could also get some healthy snacks too.  Apples. carrots, pretzels, apple crisps, and yogurt covered cranberries were all part of the healthier treats.

Mickey's Halloween Party

Since the halloween party required an extra ticket, there weren't as many people in line for the rides.  A lot of the more crowded rides were less crowded and we went on a lot more rides during the party.

Disneyland Map

Magic Mountain-Six Flags

We went to Magic Mountain on October 12.  It was the first time I had ever been there.  I wouldn't recommend taking little kids there, though.  They do have a section of the park with little kids rides, but there isn't that much for them to do.  Magic Mountain is a park with gigantic rollercoasters that hold records.

Full Throttle is the tallest looping coaster.  I got to sit in the front seat with a stranger because my dad and my brother didn't want to go on it.  You get strapped in, and then you shoot up.  You start with the biggest loop at a really fast speed.  There is one really  

Full Throttle: The tallest looping coaster.

We went on Tatsu first thing in the morning.  They opened at 9:00 am and we got there right as it opened.  Tatsu has the track above you and you hang with your feet dangling.  The catch is that they tilt you so your face is almost parallel to the ground.  You really feel like you are flying.  I think that the scariest part was when you go on the loop.  Since the seats are suspended and tilted, you are going on the loop headfirst and you can't really see where you are going.  There is also so much g-force created that it feels like your face is peeling off. 

One of the newer rides in the park was Twisted Colossus.  We went on it twice because it was so cool.  My dad said it was around when he was a kid, but not really the same.  It used to be an old wooden rollercoaster.  Since the remade it, it is a rollercoaster "where wood meets steel."  There are two tracks, a blue and a green.  You go on the blue one first, and then switch over to the green.  It makes it a really long rollercoaster.  Some people who went on it didn't realize it had two tracks and wanted to get off after going on the blue track.  They couldn't do that though so they had to hang on through the green track as well.  One of my favorite parts was the zero g-roll.  You went upside down and felt like you were floating for a split second.  

One of the most popular rides at Magic Mountain was Goliath.  I couldn't get my dad or my brother to come with me, so I went by myself.  You get in the train, and it takes you up for a really long time.  It doesn't go up very fast, and it goes really high up.  The very first drop is 255 feet and very steep.  That wasn't really scary though.  It goes so fast on the rest of the ride.  At one point, I started to see black spots and then I couldn't see.  It was so cool but it did hurt your eyes.  Now I can say I went on Goliath.  

My brother's favorite ride was called Ninja.  This ride also had a lot of g-force, but it wasn't very big.  You are in a car that has a track above you.  It had springs so that you can swing back and forth as the ride turns.  

Overall, we had an amazing trip.  I was so worn out, but it was a totally fun vacation.  I really want to go there again, but I would take my friends to go on some of the really big rides.    

56th Annual Salute to Youth

On September 22, 2015, there was the 56th annual Salute to Youth concert.  With a total of thirteen performers, it was quite a fun concert to attend.  Salute to Youth is a concerto competition for kids ages 8-22.  Anywhere from five to ten performers are chosen to play with the Utah Symphony and can play any instrument.  

In order to make it to the live audition, you have to send in a CD recording of your piece and then the judges decide if they want to hear your piece live.  There are always many competitors and it is a very tough competition to win.  The live audition is behind a screen and there a about five judges who give you comments on your playing.  The screen is to make the competition as fair as possible and the judges know your age.    

I competed in Salute to Youth for four years before I was finally picked in 2014 for the 55th Annual Salute to Youth.  I was so excited to finally be able to play Chopin piano concerto no. 2 with the Utah Symphony.  It was one of the greatest moments in my life.  It took many hours of practicing each day and multiple lessons a week to be prepared enough to compete, then be picked.  There were only seven performers the year that I played.  55th Annual Salute to Youth Performace.   

Me playing in 2014
55th Annual Salute to Youth

This year, I couldn't compete since I won last year.  Instead I went to go support some of my friends who were chosen to play this year.  I had seven friends who performed amazingly.  There were two ensemble groups.  One was a violin quartet consisting of McCall Anderson, Will Yavornitzky, Erika Hubbard, and Jeremy Lewis.  They played Vivaldi's four violin concerto and sounded amazing.  The second group played Mozart's Sinfonia Concertante for violin and viola.  Rachel Call played violin and Madison Marshall played viola.  56th Annual Salute to Youth Performance

56th Annual Salute to Youth

The Vivaldi Four Violin Quartet, left to right: Jeremy Lewis, McCall Anderson, Erika Hubbard, and Will Yavornitzky.

Soonyoung Kwon
56th Annual Salute to Youth Performance

Rachel Call and Madison Marshall
56th Annual Salute to Youth Performance

I always find it really fun to go and support your friends performing in a concert.  I know it’s nice to have all of your friends to come watch you play.  I know all of the handwork that was put into being able to play at that level with the Utah Symphony.  I heard them rehearsing all the time, and usually there was always something they could fix.  The finally result was really amazing though.  

There is usually a reception after the performance that people can attend.  All the performers were given gigantic posters with their face on it, presented by people from the Deseret News.  Deseret news also sponsored the reception, took pictures, and wrote an article about the performers and their performances.    

This year, the Utah Symphony got a new assistant conductor who made her debut with the Utah Symphony conducting the 2015 Salute to Youth performance.  I didn’t actually get to meet her, but everybody says that she is really nice.

If I choose to compete next year and get picked, I know I will be really happy because big performances like this are so much fun to play in.  Being with your friends and other performers backstage was one of the most fun parts.  The dressing and practice rooms had those fancy mirrors with lightbulbs all around them so you could check your make-up and hair.  I would love to be able to perform again sometime with the Utah Symphony in Salute to Youth.