This park, California Adventure, across from the Original Disneyland in Anaheim, is a more easy-going park and has a fun vibe. We rose at 5:45ish (with Deborah awake earlier as she is still running partially on East Coast time), and managed to get to Starbucks to get a small item before heading out at 7:15 on the first bus. I had made coffee in the room for us. The shuttle got us to Disney, and we headed into the park.
We headed to Soar’n, but it was out of order. We then turned around and headed to the Guardians of the Galaxy – Mission Breakout! Formerly the Hotel of Terror drop ride. We enjoyed the multiple drops and loss of gravity. However, while we waited for our pass, we enjoyed WEB SLINGERS: A Spider-Man Adventure. We got to shoot webs, and Deborah outscored me. Deborah’s secret was to stop trying to aim but to shoot often. But before all of that, we did Luigi’s Rollickin Roasters, which was a kick. It was an exciting morning.
We finally got Soar’n.
We decided on an early lunch, ordered, and realized it was a twenty-minute wait. We canceled and picked a place in the San Francisco-like area, Lucky Fortune Cookery. This was an excellent lunch, some of the best food we had in California. We took the Bakery Tour, which features an authentic, mechanized bakery located in the middle of the park, Boudin Sourdough! I asked if I could get a hat, but it is not available (I found that I could get an apron on Bourdin Sourdough’s website — but no hats). I got a piece of bread, well, two. It was excellent.
Aside: Although this is not typically something that sounds appealing, the sourness of the dough dates back to the 1800s. It is the same bread that has been around since the Gold Rush.
We tried the Incredicoaster and the giant Ferris Wheel with the sliding baskets, waiting for another pass to reach time, but the ride broke, and we instead headed for more Guardians of the Galaxy and did another drop. It was great to get two in!
The car ride at Radiator Springs Racing was always a long wait, and we were not paying $22 each for a pass. We never made it to it; it also shut down multiple times. We accomplished a lot today and did not feel we missed anything, except for the long line. Next time (if it is not too expensive for a pass).
We tried Ariel’s Adventure just because it had a five-minute line. It was a new version of the other rides with better technology. We think it is three minutes long.
We decided to take a break, get some rest, and spend a few hours away from the park. We took the shuttle back. At 5, we were cleaned up and ready for a brief night at the park. We walked around for a bit until it was time for dinner at Wine Country Trattoria, which was recommended by our Mousekeplanner (yes, we have one). Then, we waited about thirty minutes for a table. Our waiter and staff were excellent, and we had great drinks (I tried a flight of California wine and Deborah a Passion Fruit Mule; both were excellent). Deborah had, in her words, the best Sea Bass she has ever had. I had fantastic short ribs and homemade pasta. The pull-apart bread for the apiztzer was great. Dessert, Tiramisu Bread Pudding, was also near perfect. Dinner was the best I have had in California. Wow!
After dinner, we managed to do the roller coaster again. It was still excellent and more fun in dusk light.
The park was setting up for the night show, but we decided to head out. We did more shopping. Earlier in the day, I bought a cookbook-like notebook and a Ratatouille T-shirt. I was surprised that this IP is still being supported. We saw lots of rats on hats and shoulders for younger folks.
It was a good night. I then wrote this blog while Deborah rested. I did 21,700+ steps or 7.6 miles of walking today (Deborah’s watch and phone had a lower number–still, it was a lot).
Thanks for reading!
We did follow the assassination, Trump’s wet parade, and No King protests. It seemed a crazy day.
Alohawild (Michael Wild's) Website 