When we bought two days at the parks in California, we got the third day for free as a bonus. Today was our bonus day at Disneyland. We were still up early and caught the first shuttle to the park, arriving soon to be in line for the rope drop. The lines were interesting, as the ones closest to the security were the most crowded. We walked to the shorter lines in the center. It seems to me the lines were ordered by most FOMO.
We waited twenty minutes for the ropes to be dropped. We were headed to the uninteresting Peter Pan and Alice in Wonderland rides, as we had never seen a ride wait shorter than thirty minutes on Friday. There was a sign that read, “Made it to the Rope Drop,” which you could hold and take a picture.
We headed out with the crowd, which ran to the Castle, and some jumped around us. And then they stopped in the castle. It was the line for Peter Pan! Why it was a thing, I don’t know. We then headed to Alice in Wonderland, but it broke down before we could get on. Dumbo also failed. Smugglers Run was still up, and we caught that. We were the gunners with a family that took pilot and engineer slots — I think this is my favorite ride. We were surprised that the Star Wars area was nearly empty, but we did draw the attention of the Storm Troopers and were harassed. We had meant to return to the area later, but my back started to hurt in the afternoon, and we left the park in mid-afternoon. We had seen everything, and it was hot, and two days of endless walking were taking a toll.
We did the famous Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance as the wait was less, and we finished it even faster. Deborah had started to time things as we were wondering about the times. It seemed that Star Wars rides were shorter than reported, but the more basic rides were often underestimated in length.
Storm Trooper: “If there is one Jedi left, IT IS NOT YOU!”
BTW: The same colors as Air VW, the Gray. I suspect that is CarPlay on the screen.
We headed to Space Mountain to find it broken down. We decided on the Astro Grill for an early lunch and enjoyed some decent food. We both googled older pictures of Tomorrowland to see what was still here and what it initially looked like while we enjoyed the interestingly priced chow.
Space Mountain returned to function, and I could hear Deborah laughing the whole ride. It is still one of the best rides in Disneyland. We got a good picture this time.
While it said it was only 82°F (28°C), the cement and the reflections seemed to increase the temperature. We started to flag. We did finally find the Poah ride and did that one. Today was our bonus day, and we didn’t have a careful plan. The crowds were larger, and breakdowns were non-stop at the park today.
Here is a little music while we tried to find a comfortable place to sit (they were all taken).
Somewhere in the ride, we got to do another chance at Buzz Lightyear, and somehow my 100K+ score was zeroed in the picture. The ride kept stopping, and I just kept shooting.
We did some shopping, but Deborah was unable to find the Star Wars-themed bottle opener she was looking for. I found a New Order red colored umbrella that I now needed to carry all the time and even carry through security at the airport (at first I went to return it as it would not be welcome on a plane and then realized I cannot be the first to be at the airport with one of these!). I still got it.
We tried the Nemo ride, and it’s not for those who wonder what could happen when many people are crammed into a small boat/sub and the hatch is closed. However, it was fun and featured a little Nemo story, which was much longer than most of the themed rides.
We got a pass for the Haunted House as our last ride. When we got in the Doom Buggy. The umbrella was nearly lost as it slid to one side and began to protrude from the car. I just managed to save it with my feet (my arms were locked in by the bar at this time). Once that was done, I enjoyed our last ride at Disneyland.
The walkout is long and hot. We shopped a few times, but Disney Downtown sells all the stuff, and hopefully, the desired bottle opener will be located and acquired. Monday, we promised ourselves would be a restful and quiet day with minimal walking! Deborah has a late breakfast with characters planned for Wednesday. One of the things we did not get done was taking pictures with the characters. We missed getting back to the meeting with Darth Vader — I am sure that would have gone well (see Empire HR Discussion on this here).
We rested the rest of the day and had industrial pizza and Deborah’s good salmon nearby for dinner. We then went to bed, sore and tired, and slept soundly through the night.
My dreams included walking through fields of plants on a personal tour at Disney, where I would learn about the sources of their lovely plantings, while getting increasingly sunburned.
Thanks for reading!
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