Mister and Lady: Rhiana, Elena, Malea Come to Visit

Day 3 dawns and we have PLANS!!! Just one little cute item as I slept in a bit and this is the scene is Mister's office when I wake. It appears that Grandpa has set her up wonderfully as he sits and works.

Breakfast is my first order of business. Poached eggs on toast and fruit, as requested. Yum.

After breakfast ---- both girls have taken up residency in the little cove. Headphones keep Grandpa able to do conference calls.

We have tickets to Candytopia with a certain arrival time and the clock tells us NOW. Here we go. I put just one day on this post as there was so much to see inside that I didn't want to leave anything out. Since it is a pop-up and leaving the city of Dallas soon, well, if it comes your way, you have a little insight.

The first stage is outside in a holding area. There's not much to it, but it does serve the purpose of containing those who have tickets for the next time slot. It does provide items for photo moments. (Psst, all the workers out here are dressed like Oompa Loompas, but I didn't photograph them.)

Okay --- THIS I love.

Our group is called to the door and the entry time has come. In we go - remember that Willy Wonka is a lot of the inspiration for this place. Through the vines we go.

We come to a Komodo dragon made entirely of candy. Ahhh, this is going to be cool. Construction took 98 hours and consists of 6.3k pieces of candy. Can you figure out the different kinds? I see Gummy Bears and Jelly Bellies right off the bat. We are also asked not to remove the candy and I am thinking, "Who would," but apparently some have already done so. Grrr.

Swinging in the jungle

More sculptures

Look close at the lion's mane. Cola gummies.

"Come with me, and you'll see . . . ""

Candy for the pockets and we are about to leave this room.

Down a hall we go and it's kind of another holding room. A few things to see but mostly just waiting for the next room to clear out.

Big Tex is here --- I love that they made things just for the location. "Howdy Folks!"

Dancing is required to move on --- well alrighty then.

Moving into a totally different themed room --- it's all about clocks and time and wonderful characters. Our hostess is telling a great story as we look around the room. (Yes, the bust is candy.)

Ooooh, just peek at what I see.

The ceiling is amazing.

More clocks -

Of course, the kids can't find the candy in this room, until it magically lowers from the ceiling. Wonderful.

Gotta say --- this is cool. The wings weigh 75 lbs. each, head and neck are 35 lbs., and the body is 250 lbs. It took 542 hours to construct and contains 125,000 pieces of candy. It's simply wonderful.

That was our last timed room and from here on out we can go at our own pace. Into Chocolate Land we go. They are set up for Instagram pictures and Rhiana has downloaded the app so in special areas, we can take cool pictures. Well, cool if they work right. This would have been awesome if the green screen didn't show up at all.

This tree is so full of little things that you have to take a few minutes to truly appreciate it. Most of the kids aren't doing that. Not just my girls, but all the kids -- they find the candy and are ready to move on. We slow the girls down to check it all out. (See the Oompa Loompa in the background?)

Details

Yes!

This mushroom has 56,000 pieces of candy and took 72 hours to complete. For those truly trivia buffs, it has 11,000 grams of sugar.

Around the corner, in the next room is a Dallas Cowboys helmet -- another city tribute.

Another Instagram set and this time it works --- fun. We just didn't know the outcome or would have acted like we were falling.

Candy, of course and GIANT balls to play with in here.

Getting a hold of one of the balls is challenging, but we finally manage to outmaneuver a couple of pre-teen boys and are able to take a fun pic. Just little old me posing this one -- no Instagram required. It is heavier than I think, and I gotta click quickly.

As we finish up here -- it's down to the deep blue sea. The stingray has 3,000 grams of sugar and contains 8,000 candy pieces, taking 78 hours to construct.

I think this room is pretty cool. The lighting is perfect and truly gives the feeling of a "museum," which is what Candytopia bills itself as.

The sour belt scuba sit took over 38 hours for the candy artist to weave onto his body. Eighteen thousand candies, 168 hours, and 7.4k grams of sugar are the result.

The shark face is being worked on and Elena stops to watch as repairs are made. Malea, just hops around and peeks out.

More sea life -

Ooooh,

The sea horses are pretty cool, and size wise --- well there's Malea.

Meet Bruce. The tag on this one is pretty funny -- It says, "Bruce contains a resolution-ruining 8,000 grams of sugar. Don't eat Bruce. If Bruce were made out of 'edible' gummy bears, we would probably be arrested. Don't smoke Bruce." Hahahaha --- 20k candy count and 137 hours of work.

Moving on --- we enter the gallery. I spot a place for a good picture and the girls help out.

Now, let's pay attention to the "art." Willy Wonka

Frieda Kahlo

The Emoticons

The Thinker

Mona Lisa

Scream by Van Gogh --

The Sphinx

Andy Warhol's Tomato Soup

And the girls --- just before the next room.

Flying pigs shooting confetti out the bums. Well, I gotta say, that takes imagination. The pastel tutus took 6 days to construct. "That is tu tu tu many days." Do you get it?

Instagram moment

More confetti spraying pigs. They get swept up and reloaded over and over again. I'm kind of glad I was late getting into this room. I missed the big spray.

The last room ---- a pit full of marshmallows. No, they are not real as that would get really sticky really fast. My daughter took a video of my jumping in, but I can't get it to play on the computer so can't upload it. Dang. At any rate ---- In I went.

And, smile everyone.

One last look back and we are into the gift shop.

AS I look up, this is on the wall. I think I started this post that way, forgetting that I had this picture.

A final tribute to Texas. I'm using both pictures as they both have their own good parts.

Towards the door

Our last attempt at the Instagram thingy. Not a real success.

And my picture without the app.

This fun elephant hangs out near the exit door.

Last facts -- 40 lbs. of sugar, 22.6k candy count, and 432 hours.

Our final piece of "art" is actually seen from outside looking in the window. Another Van Gogh, Starry Night takes the final bow. (Keep reading, our day is not over -- just Candytopia.)

Lunchtime and we are off to Shady's.

Okay, down time is required. We get home and I empty pockets and purses of everything that was shoved inside. This does not include what was bought at the gift shop. I'm pretty sure that a sugar shortage will not happen with these girls anytime soon.

Legos and tools --- quiet play time.

I've also moved the dishes to the dining room so we can play.

Grandpa does cocktail hour --- always a highlight.

Our evening entertainment is chasing lightning bugs at White Rock Lake. As soon as we park the car, Grandpa is off and running as he has spotted a baby turtle on the road. Making sure it is safe becomes paramount to all of us.