We rose early by alarm before 6 to be ready for the rope drop at Disneyland this morning. I had purchased our Tier 4 tickets for two with Lightning Lanes, but not park hopping. It was still a lot of $. We looked into VIP treatment, but Disney, never afraid of charging too much, sets a premium on those services of over $5,000. The hotel charges $7 each for its bus service to and fro, inclusive. The first bus leaves at 7:15, but we were ready and in line by 6:45, with Deborah getting a quick sandwich and coffee at the Starbucks in the hotel lobby. Everything went as planned, and we soon passed security and entered the long lines to get access. This involves scanning the bar code or watch and then accepting a picture. This can be a lot of moving parts, and some lines are stalled. We were able to pass by those challenged by technology and get scanned and photo’d without delay.
The first ride at Disneyland for us and about 35 minutes amount of more folks who got there before us was our first target: Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance. It was a separate $29.99 purchase for faster access (each)! Deborah was disappointed that we had to wait that long. But eventually we were arrested by the First Order, and we told them nothing. We escaped with the good guys, destroyed the ship we were on, and, after considerable work, found an escape pod. We would discover that the lines were short at one point in our visit and would return to escape again, but this time following a different path, and I would be called out by one of the First Order Officers to be watched, as a likely escape was on my mind.
It was still early, and we were in the Star Wars area, so we were engineers on Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run, and later returned to try at piloting. Piloting with Deborah going left/right and I trying up/down was great fun. The Haunted House was the usual fun, but our Lightning Lane failed for Space Mountain as the attraction stopped working. Later, we would get back to it, though there was a mistake in how we handled the pass, and they let us in anyway. I forgot how much I enjoyed Space Mountain. We learned that our passes are only good once per ride. The Hanted House was down to 13 minutes (notice the number) for the evening, and we would return, and I would buy an expensive shirt there (using Deborah’s magic credit card to get 10% off).
By chance, Deborah spotted and grabbed a lunch stop at Blue Bayou, which I have wanted to eat at for years. I had the 70th-anniversary prix fixe dinner: steak, salad, and dessert. Deborah had the market fish, and we both had the mint julep without booze, which they have served there forever.
The Pirate ride was down for updates. We did see the test runs for the Pirate Ride of empty boats and one filled with test dummies at Blue Bayou, and Deborah loved the falling-star simulations we could see while we ate lunch/dinner.
We did the bobsled ride, which, to my memory, has never been open during any of my visits, and it was an excellent ride, though I felt a bit pretzel’d getting in and out. We did silly rides like Mr. Toad, Dumbo, and Snow White just for memories. I outscored Deborah on Buzz Lightyear. The Enchanted Tiki Room was enjoyed with the required Dole whip (after having to order online while standing in front of the stand, with them walking me through the steps). The Mount Thunder railroad reopened, and our pass worked this time, and we got a short line for that.
Deborah’s magic credit card got us a bonus round with Star Wars’ Kylo Ren. He demanded that we join, and there was some unusual directness for Disneyland. We were neutral on our acceptance of the Dark Force and the First Order. We were, we learned, luck to survive.
Lunch at Ranco Zolcals was too much chicken, and we learned we could have shared soft drinks and coffee, since the portions were all beyond what each of us needed. Something to remember next time. At the Blue Bayou, we had dinner for lunch, and the portions were appropriate for dinner.
Somewhere we did Indiana Jones, which ends suddenly, Jungle Cruise, and others I have missed. We stopped by the magic shop, where there is a signed photo of Steve Martin; this is where he started his career. The magician was talking shop–various ways to move your hands for a disappearing trick, and I did not see anything I needed.
We found Starbucks as we started to walk out. We visited the last showing of Lincoln at the Opera House. It has been playing since the 1965 World Fair, where the animatronic Lincoln and film were a hit. And while it is not as good as a human actor, it is still surprising how accurate it appears and how wonderful the words are. With Lincoln’s strong warning words that the only thing that will destroy the US is internal dissent. In the current times, a near-overwhelming message.
We took the train all the way around the park, as I do not remember doing the whole of Disneyland before. It is a small park that you realize you have time for only because there is no time to get to the next section on the train. The time-worn images of a made-up Grand Canyon and poorly animated stuffed animals are now blocked off, and 2D paper cutouts cover some of the glass (now opaque). The same music and voice-over were kept.
We had fun and enjoyed each other’s company as we rode everything we wanted (between breakdowns) and skipped It’s A Small World. We skipped the California park this trip and focused on Disneyland, and that was fun.
We walked out of the park just as our bus pulled away, waited 30 minutes, then were back at our hotel and went to bed early. 18,000+ steps for me, plus standing, made my Apple Watch happy.
It was a good time!
Thanks for reading.
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