Completed 4/24 - I Don't Think We Got Enough Treats or Candy... - Sept 2021 Disneyland/Universal Trip Report

[Araminta18]

How Many Rides Can We Do Before Lunch?
Monday, September 13, 2021 (part 2)​

We finished breakfast at about 9:35 or so; they still hadn't called our boarding group (late open for Rise, I guess), so we decided to stay in Fantasyland and ride Mr. Toad's Wild Ride! it was starting to get a bit crowded, but not too bad yet. Over at Mr Toad's, the posted wait was 20 minutes, but the line didn't look too bad, so we hopped in. We ended up waiting 12 minutes, per my Touring Plans Lines App timer. I used the time to take pictures of all the fun things in the queue, even in the outdoor part.

I really like Mr. Toad's, though I'm sure most of that is nostalgia. It's such a weird little ride! And so short! Still, fun though.

We were off by 9:55am, and with still no call for our boarding group at Rise, we were just hitting nearby rides with short waits. Next up, the tea cups! It was a walk on, mostly 'cause we timed it right to get in line right as they were loading the next cycle. Sweeeeeeeeeeet. I really like how Disneyland's is open and outside -- it just feels a bit more...wild and Wonderland-y being nestled outdoors like it is. I got dizzy though -- I'm getting old! Trevor had fun taking a video of us on it: Tea Cups ride video

Fantasyland was getting pretty crowded at that point, so we moved towards a less-crowded area, which happened to be towards Small World. Once there, Small World was only posting a 5 minute wait, and the line was basically non-existent, so we hopped on. I got given the magic red card!

Normally Small World is not super high on our list to ride back at DisneyWorld, but Disneyland has fun Disney characters throughout the ride, and a way better facade/entrance. We loved the topiaries.

We waited 3 minutes, and got the second row. Trevor took a video of the beginning of the ride: Small World beginning

It was super cute! And fun to ride with the goal of looking for the Disney characters (that we don't have at DisneyWorld). I took a bunch of pictures but I'm only including a couple -- Alice on the chess board and then the Three Caballeros! It was like we were on Grand Fiesta Tour in Epcot.

Also they have such a fun, analog exit with the postcards!

While we were on Small World, they finally opened Rise and called our boarding group! So off we headed to Galaxy's Edge.

As we got off though, we saw Pinocchio and Geppetto coming out to do a meet and greet. I do think that's super neat about Disneyland - the characters are just right there and you can interact with them. Pinocchio and I were asking Gepetto to buy us candy and popcorn but he said no. Pinocchio was easily distracted though and pretended he was an airplane, zooming around with his arms out as wings. It was super cute.

It was a bit weird to get to Galaxy's Edge via Frontierland, since obviously at DisneyWorld Galaxy's Edge is not in Magic Kingdom and you get to it via Grand Avenue or Toy Story Land. But once inside it was very familiar, and off we headed to ride Rise. We went in through the regular queue and I started to take a video of all the neat things in the queue, and then I just....kept filming. So enjoy this queue walkthrough and ride POV video: Rise of the Resistance POV

Rise did not disappoint, as always. Such a neat ride! I was slightly disappointed to get the track that sends you to the side of the AT-ATs, and not in front of them -- I feel like that's usually what we got at DisneyWorld and while it's neat, the front view of the AT-AT is better in my opinion (though that may just be because it's less familiar ).

We were off Rise at 11 am, and we were a bit hungry, so we headed over to the newly re-opened Kat Saka's kettle for popcorn!

The flavor was a slightly odd banana chocolate. Odd, but good.

After the popcorn we were wandering through Galaxy's Edge and found Rey!

But we had rides to ride so shortly after we left Galaxy's Edge. We went by the Haunted Mansion and saw Jack and Sally out on the balcony of the mansion!

How fun! I love it.

We wanted to ride Splash Mountain but the line was super long. But then I remembered single rider was a thing, and it was open! So we did single rider and waited no more than 5 minutes or so.

We were split up but we were ok with that in exchange for not waiting in the crazy long line.

Trevor's in the back row of his log, covered by people's raised arms -- he missed the memo on posing, obviously!

We didn't notice a whole lot of differences between DisneyWorld's version and DisneyLand's version, though I'm sure there were some! It did seem to be a bit run-down? Like some things seemed to not be working, but *shrugs* Still fun. Trevor took a POV video of his ride: Splash Mountain POV

It was almost exactly noon when we got off the ride -- just in time for us (and yes, our friends back home) to try and get us a Web Slingers boarding pass. Luck was with us again! We got a boarding group that was about 4 or 5 hours out (estimated). No problem with us -- we were just excited to get it! I cannot emphasize that tip enough -- if you have a couple friends you trust who are willing to take a minute or so to try and get you a boarding group, it really really helps. So excited!

With the excitement of a Web Slingers boarding group in our steps, we headed over to the Blue Bayou for our lunch reservation. Our reservation was at 12:20, but I figured if we checked in early we could ask for a water-side table and have a slightly better chance of getting it. But before we got there, look who we saw!

Jack! He really gets around -- Haunted Mansion to right by Blue Bayou...

Anyways. We checked in at the Blue Bayou and they said they couldn't guarantee a water-side table but they'd do their best and they'd text us when our table was ready. So we passed the time browsing in the gift shop there. They had this awesome pillow shaped like Madame Leota's tombstone. Awesome.

Within about 5 minutes, we got the notification that our table was ready! So we made our way back over and were led to a table right on the water! YAY! This lovely view:

We hadn't yet ridden Pirates, so we had fun watching the boats go by and looking at and enjoying this scene and the ambiance.

Anyways, lunch at the Blue Bayou! We must have come right as a server went on break or something, because the service was very slow. Oh well. It was kind of nice to be sitting in the a/c, so not a huge deal. To start, we ordered drinks. I got the 31 Royal Julep (non-alcholic): a refreshing blend of Watermelon and Citrus, with a bouquet of Mint and Basil

This was good! A bit interesting and definitely a sipping drink, but good. Lots of mint.

Trevor got the Louisiana Lemonade (also non-alcholic): Minute Maid Lemonade, Sprite, Mango, Raspberry

We both liked this one slightly better, but then who doesn't love what is essentially berry lemonade?

Now for entrees. I (of course) had to get the quintessential Monte Cristo (Turkey, Ham, and Swiss, served with Crème Anglaise, Seasonal Preserve and Seasonal Fruit):

So, I really wanted to like this. But it was just too sweet. There wasn't enough savory to balance it out. That white thing on the bottom is the melted cheese. When I got a bite with just a little sweetness and enough savoury to balance it out, it was really good, but on balance it was just too sweet. And that's saying something for me with my epic sweet tooth! But like, both those side sauces were sweet -- one of them should have been savory. Oh well. That salad at the top of the plate/board though -- that was delicious. I don't know what it was, or what that dressing was, but it was definitely the standout of the dish. I loved it. And I did happen to overhear the gal at the next table who also got the Monte Cristo -- she agreed that the sandwich wasn't great but that the salad was delicious.

Trevor got the surf and turf: Petite Filet and Cold Water Lobster Tail with Country Mashed Potatoes, Wilted Greens, and Charred Onion-Bourbon Demi

Can you find the hidden mickey? This was really good. Trevor rarely gets seafood at home so he usually orders seafood when we eat out but he was in the mood for a steak so the surf and turf worked out. He said they were both good but he liked the steak slightly better.

And there's my picture limit! We'll end here with us eating happily away at the Blue Bayou, even if my Monte Cristo was a bit too sweet for me. Next post -- where do we go? I'll give you a hint, despite the large lunch it does involve more treats!

 

[Araminta18]

So glad breakfast was a hit! Especially after the food misses in DCA. Seems crazy how quickly the park fills up! I also love your outfits for the day

It is crazy how quickly it got busy! We were flabbergasted. Though I wonder how much of that is just feeling like it's busier 'cause the park is smaller and the strollers take up so much of the walkways, especially in Fantasyland.

Thank you! Had to rock the Star Wars since we were hoping to ride Rise of the Resistance, and even if we didn't manage to get a boarding group we'd be spending time in Galaxy's Edge anyways.

 

[noodle73]

I'm guessing beignets???

 

[FeistyDisneyMom]

Waterside at Blue Bayou! Fantastic! I'm glad you got to enjoy the ambiance and the ac, even if the service was slower and the monte cristo too sweet. Those drinks sound interesting and worth trying!

I'm also team beignets for up next!

 

[Araminta18]

I'm guessing beignets???

Not today but beignets were definitely one of the snacks on our list!

Waterside at Blue Bayou! Fantastic! I'm glad you got to enjoy the ambiance and the ac, even if the service was slower and the monte cristo too sweet. Those drinks sound interesting and worth trying!

I'm also team beignets for up next!

It really was a fun lunch. Highly recommend.

No beignets today but they were definitely a snack we did get to

 

[Araminta18]

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year everyone!

Just a quick note that I'm hoping to have a post up in the next few days...we went out to spend Christmas with my family in Las Vegas. It was lovely to see everyone again! I also took advantage of the fact that Vegas has one of the few remaining Disney stores in the US to do some shopping!

Among other things, I got a bunch of the Christmas ornaments!

I love the 101 Dalmations one especially, but they're all fun.

Of course they didn't have the one I actually wanted -- the Sleeping Beauty light-up dress ornament. I've been trying to get that one through Target, but I ordered it 4 times and EVERY time it arrived in pieces. Boo. I finally gave up on Target and ordered it directly from ShopDisney (boo full price + shipping)...hopefully this one comes packaged better!


The mall that had the Disney outlet also had a Dooney and Burke outlet -- I got this lovely Haunted Mansion purse for 30% off. Woot!

Not too bad!

I hope you all have wonderful holidays! Back to the regularly scheduled trip report in the next few days!

 

[Araminta18]

Web Slingers Here We Come!
Monday, September 13, 2021 (part 3)​

We finished our delicious lunch at Blue Bayou, and headed out. We passed the entrance to 21 Royal, and who did we see up on the balcony, but Jack Sparrow!

That was kind of fun. I really like how Disneyland just has characters all over the place.

We were flagging pretty hard at this point, so we were planning to head back to the hotel for a nap, but we had so many treats on our list we decided to swing by a quick service place to pick up some treats to take back to the room for later. (I know, I'm being so sneaky not saying where we were going right now even though you could literally scroll down just a bit and see what the treats were lol). So as we meandered to the hub, we passed the sadly-still-under-refurbishment Tarzan's Treehouse.

Trevor thought he was being funny making me take this picture. It is sadly a pretty accurate reflection of my feelings though!

We got some pictures in front of the castle as we crossed through the hub but the sun was right in our eyes so not including any of those! We saw the Snow White wishing well and the statues, and then got to see Eeyore out!

We finally made it to our destination: Galactic Grill for two of the treats on our list!

First, the Blood Orange Slush – Blood orange slush with a swirl of raspberry sauce and a glow cube. This was a little too tart for us, and I still think it's hilarious that there is indeed a lit-up glow cube in there but you can't see it AT ALL. But it was cold and since the day was hot, still calling it a win.

Next, the chocolate & Red Velvet Parfait – Layers of red velvet cake, ganache, cookies, dark chocolate mousse, and chocolate cake topped with chocolate flakes, a chocolate Darth Vader helmet, and a mini chocolate lightsaber. We were still very full from Blue Bayou so we didn't actually eat this one yet -- just took a picture and then packed it up to take back to the hotel. But when we did eat it, it was really good. We ate it a few days later and it was still really moist and the flavors all went together really well. Definitely a favorite!

While we were sitting there drinking our slush and enjoying the shade, we got to see Stitch! He came out on the balcony of the Star Wars Launch Bay, so that was fun.

We did try to get a selfie with Stitch but the angles just didn't work. Or I'm just bad at selfies. Both, maybe?

From there we headed out of the park, with one more character sighting on the way!

Goofy's Halloween costume is awesome. I'm sure Pluto has a costume on too but it's harder to tell.

We walked out of the park at 2 pm, and were back in the hotel by 2:10 (LOVE how close everything is in Disneyland!). The next picture I have is of us walking out of the hotel room, time-stamped at 5:03 pm. Naps are the BEST. Highly recommend.

Where were we heading? DCA, for our Web Slingers boarding group! We were walking into DCA at 5:16 pm and decided to walk into Avengers Campus the front way. There was a photographer there so of course -- photos in front of the sign during the day!

I like this picture, except for the part where the light through the trees makes it look like I've got a big old stain on my shirt right over my belly. Oh well.

When we walked in, Captain America was up on top of the Avengers building, so Trevor immediately ran over and took a picture and tried to get a selfie with him, but again...selfies with far away characters up high don't really work out that well.

We also saw the old faded Strategic Scientific Reserve sign, surrounded by and blocked by a BUNCH of strollers. Not a great picture, with it being blurry and you know, blocked by strollers, but still. If you're there, look around for it! I do love how well they themed Avengers Campus though, with all these Easter eggs harkening back to Howard Stark and Peggy and Jarvis. So cool!

Anyways! We got in line for Web Slingers -- there was a tiny bit of a line for them to scan/verify that we actually had a boarding group.

That moved pretty quickly though.

And then we found the real line:

The empty line on the left is the fastpass line. That backed up line on the right? That's for all of us with boarding groups. BONKERS. We were not at all expecting a huge line like this with a boarding group. And I still don't know why? Is it just a function of how many boarding groups they give out? Or did the ride go down? Who knows. But we settled in for a long wait. That picture is timestamped 5:38pm.

I did remember to look at the back of the "single rider entrance"/"stand-by entrance" sign, cause you never know what Easter Eggs are there. This one reminds us it's an open house.

At least the line was somewhat themed -- definitely some fun things to look at.

When we turned the corner around that blue wall in the picture above, we saw this:

We assumed that we just had to wind our way around this little courtyard. But as we kept looking, we realized that behind that tree were doors into the backstage area and they'd pulled the line out into backstage 'cause it was so long! Blergh. The pic above is timestamped 5:54 pm -- so 16 minutes to get to this point.

The backstage area:

Nice of them to put up the awnings, even if we didn't need them at 6pm. And it was kind of fun to be backstage, especially when we got a random character sighting!

Elsa and Oswald! I think they must have been coming from that fountain/stage in front of Carthay Circle. Nice of them to wave and stand for a few seconds for us in line.

Back to the actual part of the line -- I made Trevor take some pictures with Peter Parker's poster and the poster about the ride vehicle.

Finally, we made it to just outside the preshow!

Once inside, there was a holding room and then they let us inside the room with the actual preshow. Time stamp? 6:19. So 41 minutes. Which I guess isn't actually a long time but it felt like a long time .

The pre-show room was AWESOME. So many things to look at, and tons and tons of easter eggs.

I'm very curious about Dave's gecko tech, I must say.

We had watched several videos about the ride so we were a little bit familiar with the pre-show, but it was still really neat. Definitely a better pre-show than the Flight of Passage pre-show in Animal Kingdom in DisneyWorld! We of course took a video: Web Slingers Pre-Show

Then, after the pre-show, you're back in line to get onto the ride vehicles. Still some fun theming in that line though.

Miles's locker!

I did love this bulletin board and all the fun fliers on it.

This hallway line also has more of the old Stark touches/Easter eggs.

This one was one of Trevor's favorites.

I liked this map of the Stark compound before it became Avengers Campus.

So close!

At 6:34, we were on the ride! Selfie to commemorate

For those keeping track, that's a 56 minute wait. BLERGH.

We had a GREAT time though. I know Web Slingers has gotten mixed reviews, but we really liked it. My only complaint is that it felt like it went by so fast 'cause you were concentrating so hard on shooting webs to get your score up. It was really chaotic. But lots of fun. And it didn't hurt that we got a pretty good score.

I was red, with a score of 212,100. Trevor was blue, with a score of 139,200. We got the two best scores in the car, on our first ride! Woot!

At this point, it was 6:40 pm. Where were we heading next?! (Only one more part for today, I promise )

 

[Araminta18]

I'm still alive, I promise! We had our first snowfall of any magnitude in three years week before last, so that was exciting. Course, now it's all melty and brown and gross. We're supposed to get snow again tomorrow -- here's hoping! And now, back to your regularly scheduled trip report.

Quasi-VIP Halloween Screams!
Monday, September 13, 2021 (part 4)​

We'd just gotten off Web Slingers, and were riding pretty high on our high score. We had a dining reservation at Oga's Cantina, at 7:20, but we were heading over to Carsland. Why? To see the neon lights turn on at sunset! I was so excited to hear them do the "Sh-Boom" and see all the lights come on. So we headed that way. But we passed a photographer out in front of the Carsland sign, and I couldn't pass that up.

Also I literally just now realized that my ears are on backwards. Oops! At least it doesn't look too crazy...almost not backwards at all unless you know there are supposed to be lightsabers in front!

We meandered through Carsland, expecting the lights to start turning on at about 7 pm. We encountered another photographer in front of Flo's V8 Cafe, and took a bunch of pictures, but I'll only include one.

Beware the spider!

We got ourselves set up on a bench between Radiator Springs Racers and Flo's V8 Cafe and waited for the lights to come on. After a few minutes, it started! I didn't realize that they had a special Halloween song for turning on the lights -- they started by playing the normal "Sh-Boom" and then Oogie interrupted and they turned the lights on to "I Put a Spell on You". It was super neat! Trevor filmed it: Sunset Lighting Ceremony in Cars Land There were a couple Cast Members off to the left side in the video that were having a lot of fun with it -- pointing to the lights turning on in time to the music, as if they were conducting. It was lots of fun, though I admit to a teeny bit of disappointment to not get to hear the normal Sh-Boom, like in the movie. Also, Carsland all lit up is gorgeous!

Of course, at this point we had to book it back to Disneyland for our Oga's Cantina reservation. As we headed back, we couldn't resist taking a couple quick pics on Main Street and with the Castle.

As we headed through Fantasyland, we passed the Evil Queen out talking with people -- too bad we couldn't stay and meet with her!

We checked in at 7:27, and were seated at 7:35. We got a seat in a booth! That's never happened before, so we were both pretty excited. Also a nice comfortable seat after booking it over there from Cars Land was definitely welcome. There was another party in the booth but there was a big plexiglass divider between parties. It sounds horrible, but it wasn't too out of place, oddly enough. You can see it there behind Trevor in the bottom picture.

Notice that my ears are on right this time! We of course had to take a picture with DJ Rex, but for whatever reason he was off/the music wasn't playing for about half the time we were there, weirdly enough.

We were pretty hungry, and the other party at our booth had the charcuterie plate -- it looked really good! We'd avoided getting the charcuterie plate at Oga's in DisneyWorld because we'd seen the reviews and it just...didn't look good. But this one looked delicious! So we ordered it.

The charcuterie board had meats and cheeses and then the bowl with veggies was hummus. The red dots look like ketchup but they were some kind of sweet jam. It was really good. Then the blue drink was the Hyperdrive (Powerade Mountain Berry Blast, White Cranberry Juice, Black Cherry Purée, and Sprite); the red drink is the Blurrgfifre (Lemonade, Pomegranate Juice, and Habanero-Lime), and the yellow drink is the Jabba Juice (Simply Orange® with Pineapple, Kiwi, Cantaloupe, and Blueberry Flavor-filled Boba). They were all good, though I'm kind of over the whole boba ball craze. They have a weird texture to me. But yea, we had quite a fun time at Oga's -- that atmosphere is just fantastic. They need better food, but man, it's a lot of fun.

We left Oga's at 8:10. Our next plan was to see the Halloween light show/projections (even without the fireworks) but we needed some more food! I think our original plan was Docking Bay 7, but we decided to forgo that in favor of some of the Halloween savory snacks. We placed a mobile order for the Spicy Corn Dog from the Stage Door Cafe and then I wanted the Loaded Onion Rings from the Hungry Bear but they weren't available on mobile order, so I went to see if they were available maybe via standby. They were!! So I was able to get them and then Trevor and I went down to eat by the river. Such a pretty view and not many people nearby!

As for the food, it was a bit of a mixed bag.

I liked the onion rings but the sauce tasted a bit weird so I ended up not eating most of them. Trevor liked his corn dog though! It had the cheetos red hot dust on it to make it spicy. Too spicy for me!

We finished eating at about 8:40ish and headed over to the castle to see what kind of a spot we could get. I asked several cast members where they'd recommend we go to watch it for a good holistic view, it being our first time and everything, and they all said in front of the castle if we could. It's one nice thing about being just the two of us - we could kind of snake through and ease into gaps where bigger families or strollers wouldn't fit. We ended up with a lovely view, right in front of the castle, next to the VIP viewing area. There was a trash can right there and we kind of snuck in between it and the VIP viewing area. Sweet!

That's the view to my immediate left.

I promise I'm not in front of anyone, despite how it looks! I made sure of it.

Panorama!

We only had to wait a few minutes after we got settled for the show to start, thankfully. We did have one couple come over and just not pay attention and essentially shove Trevor in their quest to get a good spot -- people are just not paying attention at all! But thankfully it started pretty quickly. It was an interesting show -- I liked all the projections and the music, but the Jack Skellington head/projection bubble was a bit weird. Mostly we were excited to see the show again with fireworks later in the week! Trevor did film the show (the camera you can see on the right side is the guy who shoved Trevor -- he got irritated when Trevor wouldn't move after he shoved him. Weird dude): Disneyland Halloween Screams

After the show, it had been too long since we'd been on a ride so we ran over to Jungle Cruise! We got lucky - essentially no wait. Trevor had to swap out his hat so he was on theme.

I always enjoy a night Jungle Cruise but probably would have been better to have our first Jungle Cruise experience be during the day so we could, you know, actually see things! I did like the changes and additions to the story though.

After Jungle Cruise, we walked by Pirates and saw a short line so we hopped on that one too. Only a 2 or 3 minute wait. Sweet!

We really liked Pirates -- it's definitely way better at Disneyland! The whole grotto area with the skeletons is awesome. Super neat. Trevor filmed it: Pirates ride-through

We decided to keep going and knock out one more ride -- Winnie the Pooh! It was also a walk on (we walked on at 9:50 pm). That ride is such a trip. But honestly what I liked best was the adorable theming in the gift shop!

We got off at 10 pm and decided to head back into Galaxy's Edge to ride the Millennium Falcon! It was posting a 15 minute wait; we waited 9 minutes. Not too bad!

Someone was even kind enough to offer to take our picture in front of the chess board!

We ended up being gunners -- I shot 12 TIE fighters (or we both did? Not quite sure how the scoring works) and got a score of 7885 (though it still didn't register in the Play app ). Sweet!

We were off at about 10:25pm, and took some photopass pics in front of the Falcon, since there weren't very many people around.

So this was 10:30ish. And now I'm about to reveal just how much of a nerd we are -- we decided to play around (including in the "closed" portion of the line for the Falcon, with permission from the CMs), using the Datapad to scan crates! We are such nerds. It was really fun, actually. Also because being in the line we got to hear the exchanges between Gar and Malta, which are HILARIOUS. They're two workers in Ohnaka Transport Solutions and they are just hilarious over the intercom. So a double win. It was fun just to be there and hang out and scan the crates and enjoy the atmosphere.

Then at about 10:58 or so (right before the park closed at 11 pm), we jumped in line for one final ride on the Falcon -- they sent us through the fastpass line!

Lookit fancy us going up the fastpass line.

We ended up getting our own cockpit, and of course we were the pilots

Had to take a selfie to commemorate.

We got a score of 6818 this time...we are definitely not the best pilots but we had fun!

Then it was time to meander out of the park. I love staying til park close, walking out of a less crowded park, all lit up, enjoying the music...it's one of my favorite things to do at Disney. We took a ton of pictures, obviously.

I did stop in Jolly Holiday (since it was still open) in an attempt to get some of the Halloween treats that are only available at Jolly Holiday, but I should have realized that them not being available for mobile order on the app meant they were out. Instead I stood in line for like 15 minutes only to realize they were sold out. Oh well!

We had to take a picture at the sign on the street -- the end of our first full day at Disneyland!

This picture is timestamped 11:44 pm. We made it back to the hotel at 11:52 pm. 8 minute walk! Not too bad, though honestly with tired feet late at night it still feels too long!

Also, I totally forgot to mention that earlier in the day, as we were heading back to the hotel for our nap, we stopped in at the Candy Palace and got some treats to take back to the hotel! So now, back at the hotel, I couldn't resist and we broke into them.

Delicious! Any day that ends with a Mickey rice krispie is a good day, and this was a fantastic day even without that!

So that's our first full day (I know - it took a while to get here!) We had a great time, though still adjusting to the unfamiliarity of Disneyland. Some of the lines were too long for our liking, and some of the food was a miss, but overall, a great time. Tomorrow, we start at DCA!

Fun with Metrics:
Steps walked: 28, 473 steps (12.7 miles)
Ride count: 15 (Space Mountain, Matterhorn, Indiana Jones, Haunted Mansion Holiday, Mr Toad, Tea Cups, Small World, Rise of the Resistance, Splash Mountain as Single Riders, Web Slingers, Jungle Cruise, Pirates, Winnie the Pooh, Millennium Falcon x2)

 

[Araminta18]

Ropedropping DCA!
Tuesday, September 14th, 2021 (part 1)​

Full day #2 at Disneyland! We woke up at 6:30 and got ready all quickly, cause we were planning to rope drop again (spoiler, we rope dropped basically every day), but today we were rope dropping DCA, instead of Disneyland. We figured our timing on Monday worked pretty well, so we were aiming for that (being there at 7 am) but we were a bit slower than yesterday. This picture is time-stamped 7:01 am -- the big grin is for our Web Slingers boarding group! Our friends back home were helping us again, and we got a single digit boarding group! I didn't take a screenshot, but I think it was 7 or 8? Yay!

When we made it down to the security line, we were a bit further back than yesterday, but nothing too bad.

Matterhorn and Space Mountain!

The timeline went about the same as Monday. They opened security at 7:15 and by 7:20 we were standing in front of a turnstile at DCA.

DCA was definitely the less popular rope drop choice! We were ok with that.

They opened DCA and let us in at 7:30ish. We were heading over to Guardians, which was also the less-popular rope drop choice, as most people were heading to Cars Land and Radiator Springs.

See, we were essentially all by ourselves heading to Guardians! No one behind us.

They held us at a rope right by the "Off the Page" store.

You can't see the rope here cause it's at our waists, but we're at the rope.

There weren't very many people here at first, though slowly people started to trickle in. Do you remember the bald gentleman from yesterday's rope drop at Tomorrowland in Disneyland? He showed up again today! He and the lady he was with were at this rope drop too! Small world. This would not be the last time we saw them.....

Anyways, they were waiting to let us in til 8 am. At 7:57, this was the rope drop crowd.

It's not that bad -- only about 4 or 5 people deep and then you can see the street. Nothing like Tomorrowland yesterday!

At 8 am they dropped the rope and had those of us going to Guardians slowly funnel into a single file line around the corner and into the Guardians queue.

Follow the cast member with the lightsaber/flashlight thing! We were off to the right and they had those of us going to Guardians head to the left to get in line behind the cast member so....pro tip for next time. If you're rope-dropping Guardians, stay to the left. It wasn't a big deal though, as you can see we were still among the first.

They had us wind through the outdoor queue and before we even knew it, we were inside.

The one downside of rope-dropping is you don't get any time to look around at all the cool theming in the queue! We did take a bunch of pictures as quickly as we could though. That theming is fantastic.

Of course I had to make Trevor take a picture with Loki's armor.

Trevor even managed to grab a quick video of some of the pre-show in the line. Guardians Line Video

We saw the pre-show and then we were on our elevator by 8:12 am

It was so much fun! The song we got was "Hit Me with Your Best Shot". I love Tower of Terror, but this was a great re-theme. Trevor I think liked it even a bit better than Tower of Terror, if only 'cause this one never opens to the outside or shows you how high up you are (Trevor's afraid of heights).

At least you can see Trevor in this pic (right, back)...I got Mike Wazowski'ed!

The line was still super slow when we got off, so we got back in line for one more ride! I made Trevor take a picture with the Collector's statue.

And we took a picture of this picture in the line:

I think that's the Collector and the crazy boss guy from Thor: Ragnarok?

By 8:18am we were waving our hands in front of the office door trying to get in.

I do have to say, the Collector's office is pretty sweet. There's more to look at there than you possibly have time for!

And by 8:27am we were on the ride! This time we got "I Want You Back" by the Jackson 5.

No Mike Wazowski effect for me this time!

We were off the ride by 8:32am and decided to head into Avengers Campus. Really, our plan for today was to hit Avengers Campus hard, seeing the shows and meeting the characters, so off we went. And who did we see right off the bat? Black Panther!

No photopass photographer here, so you get my bad selfie skills. I did try and make sure we got a good shot of Trevor with each character though. For those of you keeping track at home, this was our third Avenger/Marvel character siting, and the second we got a picture with (at Oogie Boogie Bash on the 12th we saw Thor but didn't get a picture, and we got a picture with Captain Marvel). Who will be the next Avenger/Marvel character we meet?

We figured now was as good a time as any to head to Web Slingers! They'd already called our boarding group, and that early in the morning we were hoping the line wouldn't be too bad. And we were right! This time of the morning, they sent us through the fastpass line directly into the preshow area.

Commemorative selfie with no line behind us!

Trevor wanted a selfie in the pre-show room...his skills are about on par with mine.

By 8:44 am we were about ready to get on the ride!

Luckily we still had a full car (this is the only ride I actually want a full car, 'cause without a full car it's really hard to get a good score!).

And how did we do? Really well!

I was read with the high score in the car, and Trevor was blue. We did so well we got the #5 top score that hour! I mean, it was still the first hour of the day, but still Yay!

That #5? That's us!!

8:52 am...not even a full hour of park time, and we'd ridden 3 rides and met a character. Not too shabby! We were getting a bit hungry though...where to go for breakfast? You'll have to find out next time!

 

[Araminta18]

How Many Avengers Shows Can We See in One Morning?
Tuesday, Sept 14, 2021 (part 2)​

Ok, so it was a little bit before 9, and we were hungry! So we started to head towards Pym's Test Kitchen, but we got sidetracked. First, because there was a doggie out!

I don't know if you can read the vest, but if you can't, it says "Service Avenger". So cute!!!

The other thing that distracted us was the Avenger who was out meeting and greeting --

Iron Man!

I even got a partial video of their interaction...I was a bit slow but still got a good amount of it. Trevor meeting Iron Man

Selfie!

For those keeping track, this is #4 of Avengers/Marvel characters total, and the third we got a picture with. How many will we meet?

Ok, food for real this time. Though we happened to look up, and who did we see?

Captain Marvel!

Ok, food for actual real this time. We looked at the menu a bit on the giant phone and then placed our mobile order.

Also, isn't that neat? The menu board is a giant smartphone? So neat.

They were really pushing mobile order, and we were ok with that. I like being able to customize things with no pressure at the register. Anyways. We ended up getting the "Ever-expanding Cinna-Pym Toast" (Baked Pym Particle Bread and Egg Custard with Cinnamon-Sugar Topping, a Fried Egg, Smoked Bacon and Maple Syrup) with some of the "exploding Pym particle" glow cubes and some milk. We got our food at about 9:25, and we decided to take it outside and eat, since we wanted to make sure we caught the Dora Milaje show and that was scheduled for 9:30.

This was a little dry, but overall pretty good! And a big portion! We were totally fine sharing it. I just wish there were more eggs to balance out the french toast. But overall, quite good. Definitely recommend.

We ate pretty fast (probably faster than we should have) but thankfully the Dora Milaje were a bit late so it worked out perfectly -- we finished up right as the CMs cleared the walkway for them.

They were great! The main lady especially. If you can catch this show, definitely make time for it. I of course filmed it: Dora Milaje show

The show was done by 9:45, and we were back to wandering and exploring Avengers Campus. I literally had timers/alarms on my phone to remind me of the various shows and things, just to make sure we caught everything! Our next plan was originally the Dr Strange show, which was at 10:05, but after the Dora Milaje the line to get into the Sanctum was very long so we decided to catch a later show and stick around for the Avengers Assemble show at 9:55 am

So while we were waiting for Avengers Assemble, guess who we saw!

Ant-man!!

Ant-man was actually out with Black Widow wandering around up there before their show--Trevor took a video: Ant-man and Black Widow

And then it was time for Avengers Assemble! That was really fun to watch as well. Trevor filmed it: Avengers Assemble It's a bit of a bummer it's all up there and sometimes it can be kind of hard to see, but still - lots of fun.

After the show we looked over at the Sanctum and realized the line had gone down significantly! So we ran to get in line, which took us by the path that leads to Cars Land which has more of that Avengers Campus backstory theming, which I LOVE.

I really do love this theming, that Avengers Campus is built on what used to be the SSR and Howard Stark's complex and all. Super neat. Especially for a fan of Agent Carter, which I am. They should have her out meeting and greeting!

So this was the end of the line -- just around that corner there is the entrance to the Sanctum. We made it in! Though we were in the way back, but that was actually nice cause we got to sit on the rock half-walls back there, versus on the ground.

But.

We were all there, all excited, and there was a puff of smoke, dramatic music, and then....nothing. You can see the video here: Aborted Dr Strange show

That was a bummer, but there were options to catch it later in the day, and hopefully it would be working then. And we had just enough time to run over to the Spiderman area to catch the 10:20 Spiderman show! We joined the crowd in front of where he flies, and of course Trevor filmed it: The Amazing Spider Man show

That flying animatronic is AWESOME. The rest of the show is just "meh" -- some somersaults and such. But I like the script, and it's fun. And I really do like how for most of the shows in Avengers Campus you can just catch them as you're walking by - you don't have to sit in a theatre somewhere and line up way in advance. I mean, take out the Dr Strange attempt and we were able to do Dora Milaje at 9:30, Avengers Assemble at 9:55, and Spiderman at 10:20, with great views for all of them. Not too shabby!

And after the Spiderman show, we got to meet him!

The selfie actually turned out decently well considering the sun was full in our eyes and I couldn't see the phone screen AT ALL.

We finished with Spiderman at 10:35am and our next plan was the 11:15 am Dr Strange show (we were really really hoping it would work). So free time for exploring! We went over and looked around in the Sanctum:

And Black Panther was out on the balcony of the Avengers building. We tried taking another picture with him with him up there but the sun glare was making it...not work. Oh well.

We were kind of hungry so we figured now was as good a time as any for an Avengers Campus snack! We headed over to the Terran Treats cart, and while there wasn't mobile order, luckily the line was short. First we got the Sweet Spiral Ration (Pineapple churro)

This was nice and warm, and pretty good. Waaaaaaaay too green, and the flavor was a bit weird (more like froot loops than pineapple), but not bad. I don't think I'd get it again though.

Then we got the Cosmic Cream Orb: crisp cream puff with whipped raspberry cheesecake.

This one was very chilled, but only ok. There was too much filling to the amount of pastry, and I would have like it better if it were just whipped raspberry cream vs cheesecake (I don't like cheesecake). But mostly the problem was too much filling. But not bad.

I don't think we'd get either one of these again, but I'd be tempted try another churro, if they had an different flavor.

At this point it was about 10:50, and so we were just hanging around, waiting for the Dr Strange show. We ended up starting the line so we'd be first in the Sanctum, but while we were waiting the 11 am Avengers Assemble show was getting ready to go too. I got another (better) picture of Trevor with Ant-man.

Trevor even video'ed part of Avengers Assemble from the side angle by the Sanctum: Partial Avengers Assemble video.

Then before we knew it they let us inside and we got all nice and comfy on the ground up at the front, right at the rope.

This time, the show went off without a hitch! It was really fun to watch. We filmed it (are you sensing a theme): Dr Strange show

We were out of the show by 11:34am, and who did we see out meeting and greeting? LOKI!

Sadly, I was too late to get in line for him. Didn't stop me from taking pics as he left!

At this point, we'd done most of what we wanted to in Avengers Campus, and the next thing on our list was the Guardians of the Galaxy dance party but that wasn't til 12 noon (so 20 more minutes). Monsters Inc was posting a short wait so I was like, dude, we can sneak on that one while we wait, and then we'll be essentially there, ready for the dance party!

So off we went. The line was definitely longer than I wanted - I was hoping it would be a walk-on but per my Touring Plans lines timer, we waited 9 minutes. I did like the queue though.

Trevor took a selfie once we got on the ride:

We got front row!

The ride was cute -- nothing groundbreaking, but definitely cute. I enjoyed it. At the end I was hoping Roz would say something to us so I filmed it: Roz at the end of Monsters Inc She was funny, but nothing super specific.

As we got off the ride, who did we see but Mickey bounding as Captain America!

Super cute!! But no time to actually meet him (he was heading backstage anyways) because it was 11:57 and we had a Guardians of the Galaxy dance off to attend! Would we make it? Tune in next time!!

 

[Araminta18]

Backstage in a Galaxy Far Far Away...
Tuesday, Sept 14, 2021 (part 3) ​

We left off last time heading for the Guardians of the Galaxy Dance Off! It was scheduled to start in just three minutes but as we headed off, there was a photopass photographer by the "Falcon and Winter Soldier" photo op, with no line! So.......we jumped in line.

I think the photographer must have been having an off day -- this off-center photo was the best of the lot. But still a fun photo op. And no line, which is always a bonus.

So despite the detour, we made it over to the Guardians of the Galaxy Mission Breakout exactly on time. There weren't a ton of people there, though we did see one CM hanging about so we figured we were in the right spot.

The show didn't actually start until 12:05, when Starlord came out and put out his (funny-looking ) boombox and started the party! And I was ok with it starting late -- that gave us time to try and get a Rise of the Resistance Boarding group, which we were successful at! Woot! Group #117 with a several hour wait, but that worked for me. Anyways, back to the party!

It's not really a show so much as a dance party -- and it was surprisingly fun. I really liked it! And it even ended with "Hooked on a Feeling". Woot! We filmed it: Guardians of the Galaxy Dance Off

Riding high off the dance party, the line for the ride was pretty short so we decided to go for it. We only waited 11 minutes!

This time the song we got was Burning Love -- so three different songs so far! Calling that one a win. Though the picture wasn't as good -- they won't give you the photo automatically if people were taking their masks off in the picture, and a lot of people took their mask off in this picture. So when I submitted a missing picture report, they had me call in and they asked if I'd be ok with a very cropped version. I said yes -- I didn't realize it would be this cropped! Oh well -- at least no one got Mike Wazowskied.

So we were off the ride at 12:30, and getting hungry. Our plan for lunch was the Shawarma cart (gotta try the shawarma, right?) but as we were heading over there, we got distracted by the characters up on the balcony.

Loki! Not the best picture but I tried.

Then we saw Thor was up there too, and Loki had meandered over to Captain America!

This was actually really fun -- they were up there by each other and then a cheer fight for each of them broke out. I honestly don't remember who started it (it may have been me...) but people (including me) were cheering for Captain America, and Loki was looking disgusted, and then there were Loki fans cheering for Loki, and Loki was all "yes, cheer for me" with the Evita arm motions, and it was awesome. Captain America won, 'cause he's the best. I declare that win in a completely unbiased manner. I did get a video of Captain America before the cheer fight, but sadly no video of the cheer fight: Captain America

And yes, took a selfie.

Then we saw Thor walking around! So had to take some pictures.

Ok, really shawarma now. We got our shawarma, and then went to grab a seat (in the Pym's Kitchen outdoor space -- it's really the only seating available!). Actually Trevor grabbed a seat while I got us some cups of water. And while I was getting them, I saw the power source for the kitchen!

Ha ha ha. I'm so funny.

I also took a video of the fun machine that shrinks and makes giant the pretzels. Pym's Pretzel Machine

We got the chicken shawarma (Chicken Shawarma Wrap, Garlic Spread and Coconut Yogurt-Tahini Sauce with Pickled Vegetables) to split.

It doesn't look like much, but it was actually really good! And quite filling. I really liked the dip too. Next time we'll each get our own.

While we were eating, we had a pretty good view of the 12:50 pm Avengers Assemble show! Video here: Avengers Assemble (again)

After lunch we wanted to look in on the Avengers/Marvel store they have in one of the big buildings, so we headed that way. We found a fun sign on the way though

Yay Stan Lee!

We also saw Captain America Mickey out actively meeting and greeting, so I took another picture.

He meets on the same stage Cruella De Ville did Oogie Boogie Bash.

Anyways, the store. The store was really neat, and though while they had a wide variety of things and clothing, they didn't have a wide variety of sizes for the clothing, which was a bit of a bummer. Some cool photo ops though.

Trevor really likes pretzels. In case you couldn't tell.

We ended up buying several things (a mug, a blanket, a hat) but the jacket Trevor liked they didn't have in his size. The inventory system showed one available in the Web Slingers gift shop, so I ran over there to check. As I was going, the Spiderman Show was starting so I got to see the beginning part of it that we kind of missed before! I took a video: Opening of SpiderMan Show

They didn't actually have it, but we did see Captain America actually out meeting and greeting, so I called Trevor and he ran over and we got to meet Captain America!

I even filmed it (of course): Meeting Captain America

Now we were really heading out, but I saw the opportunity to grab some Halloween snacks (well, drinks) on our way out of the park. At the Hollywood Lounge, we got the My Bugs! My Bugs! (Limeade with grenadine float and gummy worms) and the Orange Cream Fanta-sy (Fanta Orange infused with vanilla topped with whipped cream and black sprinkles).

These were surprisingly good. I liked the gummi worms in the limeade most, oddly enough. And keeping the orange whipped cream off my face and shirt was quite the challenge! Trevor thought these were mostly too sweet for him, but I have more of a sweet tooth so I liked them ok.

Drinks in hand, we headed back to the front of the park and back to our hotel for a nap before Oogie Boogie Bash. However, we ran into Donald and Daisy meeting in their Halloween costumes in front of Carthay, so of course we had to stop and take a picture.

I don't normally love the "free for all" aspect of these character meetings - it can be hard to get a picture with the character's attention and making sure you're not cutting someone else or anything. But it worked out for us this time -- quick picture with no real line and then out of the park.

We made it back to the hotel around 2:10ish and fell into bed for our naps. Having fun is exhausting! After 2 hours or so we got up and got into our costumes for Oogie Boogie Bash! But first, we had our Rise of the Resistance boarding group to use! So in costume we headed to Disneyland. There was a bit of a line to get in, which kind of surprised me at 5:05 pm. But I took some fun photos of the Mickey pumpkins.

We powerwalked our way back to Galaxy's Edge and scanned in at 5:22 pm.

Oh hey, our costumes -- bounding as Jolly Holiday Mary and Bert!

The line was fairly backed up, so we got to enjoy the theming of the queue (and playing with our datapad apps, scanning crates and such). After 25 minutes we were in the room with Rey and BB-8. Not too bad? Definitely didn't feel as bad as Web Slingers -- in Rise the queue is so twisty and you can't see the end of the line at all, so you have no sense of how much you have to go and there are things to look at. Web Slingers you can see the end from the beginning so you're just watching and waiting the whole time, with very little to distract you.

We got captured by the First Order and were waiting to be sent to our interrogation chambers at 6:00 when the ride broke. They evacuated everyone and we got to see a little bit of backstage.

We were grateful we'd already ridden it, but what a bummer if that were your first ride! They were scanning everyone's ticket and giving you a "fastpass" to ride it again anytime that day (until like 8 or 9 pm), but we had Oogie Boogie Bash and weren't planning to be back over in Disneyland, so we asked them and they said we'd have to talk to Guest Services, cause they couldn't give us anything that would be good for the next day. I wasn't super happy with having to waste some Oogie Boogie party time on going to Guest Services, but *shrugs*.

So we headed to Guest Services where the CM took down our information and told us to come back tomorrow and they'd give us a fastpass for Rise. Again, not super happy about having to come back again the next day, but whatever. It is what it is.

Finally, at 6:26 pm we were entering DCA and Oogie Boogie Bash! We just went in the normal front entrance -- no huge line or anything by now. My main goal for tonight was to meet Meg and Hades, so we were heading to Carthay! But I wanted to get one of the Halloween treats, so we ducked into Starbucks for the Oogie Boogie Macaron. Sadly, even though it was only 6:30, they were already sold out. Boo.

It was okay though -- as we left Starbucks, we saw Chip and Dale in their costumes heading to their meet and greet so we waved and yelled hello. We took a video -- dunno why: Chip and Dale

Anyways, like I said, Meg and Hades were our goal, so the plan was just to hang out around Carthay Circle til they came out. No one was there as we walked in, but pretty soon, guess who emerged?

The Stepmother, the Stepsisters, and Cinderella!

We'd already met them the other night, but who can resist the hilarity that is the stepsisters? So we grabbed some pictures.

Not the best lighting, but what can you do. I kind of wished they'd had photopass photographers and actual lines to meet them, but I guess the tradeoff there is you have to wait in line. *shrugs* Still fun.

And there's my picture limit! It was 6:38, Cinderella and her family had just come out, our main goal for the night was to meet Meg and Hades (who also meet at Carthay) so...what were we to do while we waited? If you guessed pictures and snacks, you're right...what Halloween snack do you think we got? Tune in next time!

 

[Araminta18]

Zero to Hero!
Tuesday, September 14, 2021 (part 4)​

Food! Our plan was to head to Award Weiners for the Halloween Funnel Cake fries, but as we headed that direction, we saw a photopass photographer out in front of the Headless Horseman statue, and you know me and photopass photographers...we stopped to get some pictures.

I love all the magic shots -- so fun!

We'd placed a mobile order for the funnel cake fries so while we were waiting for it to be ready we looked around in the "On the Page" gift shop. I love looking at the art--I bought like 5 or 6 postcard sized prints. We also got an extra shopping bag for extra candy later cause we forgot to bring our backpack. Oops!

Then the funnel cake fries were ready!

We took them up to a table outside Starbucks, right by the characters meeting and greeting outside Carthay, to eat them. SO sweet. Culinary excellence it was not, but it was definitely delicious if you like sugar. Which I do. So I thought it was a good snack. Yes, those are gummy worms and m&ms and candy corn on top of the fries.

We got the fries at 6:55 and right at 7, guess who showed up to meet and greet? Meg and Hades and Pain and Panic! Yay!!! I'm a true child of the 90s - I love Hercules. The music, the jokes, Meg being an awesome feminist heroine...it's great. So I couldn't wait to meet them. We spent...kind of a long time taking pictures and watching them interact with others and meeting them. It was great.

Pain and Panic were hilarious especially -- Panic was blocking Pain for a bit, causing trouble like the minion he is.

https://imgur.com/RgQJiY0

You can kind of see the progression here of Pain blocking Panic. I also took a video of them -- lots of dancing, who knew? Pain also called Panic fat...a bit of a low blow: Pain and Panic at Oogie Boogie Bash

https://imgur.com/CAUQ4KM

We also took a video of them, though Pain and Panic were probably more entertaining to watch. I think at the beginning I'd asked Meg where Hercules was or why she was meeting with Hades if they were supposed to be enemies. Something like that: Meg and Hades at Oogie Boogie Bash

Probably more pics than you wanted but hey...my trip report!

Anyways.

After hanging out and meeting them and being all excited about that, we decided to head over to Soarin' and ride that with a hopefully short line. And we were in luck -- there was essentially no wait!

I really like the theming of the Soarin' queue here at DCA -- it's a lot more involved and way more interesting than the bland theming of Soarin' at Epcot. So even though the ride itself is the same, I think the overall experience is better here at DCA.

We asked to wait for B1 (no feet in our faces!) and grabbed a selfie while waiting.

And then 2 minutes later, we were getting on the ride! Soarin' is always a fun ride, what else can I say.

We were off at 7:35 and since we were right there by Villain's Grove, and it had just gotten dark, we figured we'd hop in line and hope the large line moved quickly. But to our surprise, they hadn't started letting people in yet! They didn't let people in until 7:47, and then we got in at 8:07. So a 20 minute wait from when they opened, 32 minute wait total. About the same as the wait at our first party. I mean, Villain's Grove is worth it but man, 20 minutes is still a proportionally long amount of time to wait for something during a party.

Anyways. We took pictures while waiting in line, cause of course we did.

I do love how even in line you can see a bit of the Hunchback area and hear the music...so neat!

Villain's Grove was amazing again.

Maleficent in lights!

The Evil Queen (as the old hag) in lights! I actually missed this the first night -- I guess I was just looking in the wrong spot, but this part is such a cool rainstorm that I just didn't see the Queen as I was watching the rainstorm.

Love Villains Grove -- I wish Disneyworld had something like this!

We finished Villains Grove around 8:20ish, and so we headed towards Carsland. But as we headed through Pixar Pier or whatever that area in front of the pier/lake is and through the Wharf area, we saw Robin Hood meeting and greeting! There wasn't really a line so we decided to get a picture.

Turned out a little dark, but not too bad.

We continued on to Carsland through the path through the Wharf area. It's so pretty at night, especially with all the Halloween decorations up.

Our plan was to grab dinner from some of the cones, but we saw Mater out so we had to get a picture with him.

Then food! It took a little bit for the mobile order to be ready, but it was worth the wait! We got the Spicy Mac 'n' Cheese Cone and the Chili Cone Queso.

The sign vs what we got. I think ours looks more appetizing than the picture, which almost never happens! Trevor really liked this -- good spice and yummy mac and cheese.

The Chili con Queso was for me.

Delicious! Spicy but not too spicy, just filling enough. The cones definitely hit the spot.

And picture limit! We finished the cones at 9 pm -- 2 more hours left of Oogie Boogie Bash...what would we do?

 

[Araminta18]

Trick or Treat!
Tuesday, September 14, 2021 (part 5)​

9 pm, our bellies pleasantly full with chili and mac & cheese, in Carsland, what to do? We headed to Radiator Springs Racers of course!

Seriously look at those decorations. Adorable.

We did single rider line again, and waited only 2 minutes. We even got in the same car again, me in the front and Trevor in the back.

Aw, Trevor got Mike Wazowskied.

What we noticed in the single rider line was that the regular line wasn't very long at all! So we got back in line - the regular line this time. We only waited 6 minutes!

I want to stay in the Comfy Caverns! Also, I think it's hilarious that even in the front row, Trevor Mike Wazowski'ed himself.

We were done at about 9:35 and were just kind of wandering, heading towards Avengers Campus to maybe see Agatha or ride Guardians or something. No real plans -- we'd met Meg and Hades and done Villains Grove which were our two big things. The whole Oogie Boogie Bash was our oyster.

As we passed Flo's V8 Cafe we got some pictures taken.

And look at the cool "billboards" as you walk from Carsland into Avengers Campus!

As we walked through Avengers Campus, the line for Web Slingers seemed kind of short, and without any other real plans, Trevor decided he wanted to ride it so we hopped in line. We got in line at 9:41 pm.

The line was...not short. We made it into the first pre-show room 30 minutes later at 10:10 pm. Then we made it onto the vehicle 11 minutes later at 10:21 pm. So a total wait time of 41 minutes...not our best move, but hey, we still had fun.

Trevor was red (171,300) and I was blue (270,000) -- I am still the queen!

After Web Slingers we were just wandering around Avengers Campus for a bit. They had a photographer out in front of the Quinjet, so of course we got a picture.

After that (at 10:35), we figured it was time to do some trick or treating! The fact that we were right there by Agatha played into that a little bit too.

She was just as hilarious tonight. Love it.

We kept going and went over to Cruella. There was a little bit of a line but it was moving pretty quickly.

We took some video of this meet: Cruella Treat Trail Part 1 Cruella Treat Trail Part 2 (I really should combine these - but recommend watching them. Cruella is hilarious!!)

Next, Dr Facilier! Though actually we stopped a bit to watch the projections on Carthay Circle before getting in line -- they're so fun. Carthay Circle Projections Though, looking at that video now and the sky, we may have taken this video earlier in the night. Meh, the projections are the same all night - they cycle through several things all night long.

Anyways, at Dr Facilier, we were hoping they'd be generous here with the candy, since it was 15 minutes to closing but no luck. They were out of most of the candy actually -- only one or two stations still had candy.

I will say this is one thing I really didn't like about Oogie Boogie Bash (I'm sure I mentioned it last time too) -- they ran out of candy before the night ended. At the Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween parties we attended, they didn't run out of candy before the party ended and were even restocking 5/10 minutes before the party ended. It just seems a little chintzy when you're paying so much for the party.

Anyways. It was 10:50 -- what to do with out last ten minutes? We decided to book it back to Guardians of the Galaxy and get a ride in. We made it with 2 minutes to spare!

We had a fun ride, but the couple in front of us (especially the lady in front of Trevor with the Catwoman mask that you can only sort of see) were totally drunk. They wouldn't keep their masks on (hence the cropping them out) and were just loud and obnoxious. *sigh* Still a fun ride though.

We were off the ride at 11:10 and made our way slowly out of the park. Had to take a picture with Oogie Boogie as we left - it's like, the law.

We made it back to the hotel around 11:30, and then of course we had to investigate our candy haul!

Not too shabby!

Fun with Metrics:
Steps walked: 26,304 steps (11.6 miles)
Ride count: 10 (Guardians of the Galaxy x4, Web Slingers x2, Monsters Inc, Soarin, Radiator Springs Racers x2)

 

[Araminta18]

Disneyland Crime and Fantasyland Ride Marathon
Wednesday, September 15, 2021 (part 1)​

Today we slept in...just kidding! We rope-dropped again - only way to get on the rides! Our plan this morning was to tackle Fantasyland, cause those lines get long in the middle of the day and I'm not willing to wait that long for the dark rides, despite how cute I think the theming is.

We did leave a little bit later this morning -- left the hotel room at about 7:05. A bit of an off-morning, though it was kind of nice to not be walking or waiting in line while trying to get our Rise boarding group (we got #10 this morning -- yay!).

Getting to the security lines at 7:15ish put us here:

The line had gone all the way to the end of the sidewalk and then wrapped around into the bus area. I was ok with it though -- I figured most people who'd be running or walking really fast would be heading to Space Mountain or Indy, and since we were going to Fantasyland I figured we'd be ok.

The other benefit of getting here just before 7:15 is we only had to wait a minute or two before they opened the security lines. We got through pretty quick, and headed over to the Disneyland side to wait in line in front of a gate. We found one gate that had a CM at one turnstile and about two groups in line on that side, and no CM at the other turnstile and no one waiting. So we decided to take a gamble and wait in front of the turnstile with no CM. We figured worst case, we'd just have to join the end of the other line. And then thankfully about 3 minutes later a CM came to the turnstile that we were at. Sweet!

And this is where it gets weird. I noticed that the couple first in line at the other turnstile was 1. the same couple we'd seen at rope drop yesterday at DCA and at the Tomorrowland rope drop on our first ropedrop, and 2. that they seemed to be glaring at us a bit. I assumed I was imagining the glare - it was early, you know, whatever. Spoiler: I was not imagining it.

When the CM opened the gates a minute or two later, that couple in the front of other line immediately went to the turnstile we were in front of, to go in front of us, rather than staying in the front of the line they were in. We were confused but before we could even say anything, the man started yelling and lecturing us about how there was only one line at the gate, even though there were two turnstiles, and we had cut “all those people”, and how dare we, and we should get out of line and stop cutting everyone, and that they purposefully jumped over to our line so we wouldn’t be first because that’s not how they do things here. Seriously, like 3 mins of raised-voice lecturing to us, because he had decided in his head to do one line for both turnstiles (even though they were lined up to one side in front of the the turnstile, not in the middle of the gate, and every other gate was doing one line for each turnstile) and we didn’t follow that rule.

We were flabbergasted. Even if we had done something wrong, why wouldn’t you say to us right when we got in line “excuse me, we’re doing one line here”, rather than wait and glare and then decide to lecture us? We responded a bit to his lecture (with the same points above—every other line was one line per turnstile, we didn’t cut anyone, we were taking a chance on a turnstile with no CM, etc) but he kept getting louder and louder so we just stopped listening/responding.

It was the weirdest thing, and such a weird start to our day. The CM at the turnstile was just not engaging at all (which I do not blame her for at all—it was so weird!). I just couldn’t get over having the audacity to lecture, in a raised voice, strangers in public over something you made up, but not enough boldness to address it in the first place. And the whole “I’m going to punish you guys by leaving my front of the line spot to go in the front of the line spot in front of you so you can’t be front of the line” was just so weird. It's not a big deal anyways!

Yes, that's them. Such a weird weird experience.

But anyways, they let us in to the park at 7:30, and unlike Monday morning, they had a photographer out in front of the train station! We'd only see them out later in the day and they usually had long lines, so I figured now would be a perfect time to get pictures with no line. Sweeeeet! I mean they took pictures of the family who opened Disneyland first, but then it was us. And we got some great pictures, I thought.

I really like the magic shots here - Peter Pan one is so fun.

Then off we went to the Fantasyland rope. There weren't very many people there at all, so even being second through the turnstiles (*eyeroll*) and taking pictures we were exactly where we wanted to be.

And yes, I totally sat down on the ground. I'm old. If I stand too long without walking my back hurts.

Ground selfie!

We talked a bit with the CMs at the rope which was fun, and we got to be entertained by the local wildlife.

Disney ducks!

By 8 am the crowd had filled in a bit--

We took one last selfie with nobody behind us on the street, and then got prepped for walking (fast) towards Fantasyland.

And what ride were we rope-dropping?

Peter Pan, of course! We were maybe 20 people back in line, which was effectively no wait, which we were excited about. Especially when we looked behind us at how quickly the line had gotten big:

I'm sure there have to be some differences between Peter Pan in Disneyland and Peter Pan in DisneyWorld, but I think they were about the same. I always like riding Peter Pan.

I did like how you start by flying over the rooftops here at Disneyland though -- like you're flying into the nursery whereas at Disneyworld you start "flying" in the nursery. Anyways

2 minutes later we were getting off the ride and heading to the next Fantasyland dark ride:

This ride was so cute! I loved all the theming, though this room doesn't look all that cool with all the coins all over it.

We waited about 10 minutes in line and then we were on. Obviously I have no experience with it pre-refurbishment, but I thought it looked great. I really liked it.

This was the view of the Peter Pan line from Snow White. Woof. Pro tip - never wait in a line that long in the first hour or two of the park opening. You're wasting prime touring time! Go ride something else - several somethings else.

Next ride? Alice's Adventures in Wonderland! I had really vague memories of riding this when I was a kid, and a second story dark ride is just super cool, so I was excited. And we only waited 4 minutes!

The storyline made basically no sense to me, but it was still a lot of fun.

Next up we were gonna do another one of the dark rides, but the Matterhorn was *right there* and we could see that there was basically no line, so we called an audible and injected some thrill into our morning.

This time we decided to ride the opposite side from the one we rode Monday, so I think the Fantasyland side this time. 3 minute wait, lots of fun, spines got realigned...all good things

Next up?

Dumbo!

Another two minute wait -- we just had to wait for the ride that was going to end and then we were on. Not bad! I like the views from the spinning rides -- I always make the car go as high as it will go and keep it there the whole time.

Next? Pinocchio's Daring Adventure!

Pinocchio is a trip of a movie, and a trip of a ride. I did like the effect with the Blue Fairy at the end though. And we only waited a minute or two in line, so that ups the enjoyment factor.

With that, it was 8:48am and we'd done all the rides we'd wanted to do in Fantasyland that morning (6 rides - that's 8 minutes a ride!), so we decided to head over to ride the Jungle Cruise before that line got too bad. We headed over there by going through the castle and they had photographers out, so we stopped, of course.

There was a tiny bit of a line and Trevor took a picture of me being silly...

Let's be real, this is fairly representative of my true personality.

The light was a bit weird, so the pictures turned out a bit odd, but not too bad.

v

At least there's not a ton of people in the background?

And there's my picture limit! Next time, the Jungle Cruise and the healthiest breakfast in the park...any guesses?

 

[dizneedoll]

Mickey waffles? Thats pretty healthy right?

 

[Araminta18]

Mickey waffles? Thats pretty healthy right?

Oooh good guess! But no Mickey waffles today. I was being semi-sarcastic with the healthy crack though, in case that helps... Part of breakfast was definitely some of the Halloween snacks...

 

[dizneedoll]

Oooh good guess! But no Mickey waffles today. I was being semi-sarcastic with the healthy crack though, in case that helps... Part of breakfast was definitely some of the Halloween snacks...

Haha, I was being sarcastic too but I should have guessed all that Halloween candy and or treats!

 

[Araminta18]

How Long Until We Can Become Part of the Resistance?
Wednesday, September 15, 2021 (part 2)​

It was 9 am, and we were heading to Jungle Cruise! Trevor was wearing his hat, so we were all prepped.

I have to say, I do like the queue here better than the queue at DisneyWorld. I loved all the fun posters. And there's an upstairs! That was pretty cool. Trevor filmed it: Upstairs in the Jungle Cruise Queue

Luckily, despite getting to go upstairs in the queue, we only waited 6 minutes.

Once on the ride, we had a great time. We had a great skipper and that definitely makes or breaks the ride. Trevor filmed it, of course: Jungle Cruise Ridethrough Now that we were riding during the day, we could see some of the additions to the ride, which I thought were all really fun.

Though I'm easy -- as long as there are still dumb jokes, I'm fine with updates and such to the ride itself.

We were off the ride at 9:15ish, and we decided to jump in line for Indiana Jones since it was posting only 20 minutes. However, we ran into a line pretty far back -- it started even before this big chamber with the drawing of Mara.

Turns out the ride had gone down fairly soon after we got in line, but we decided to wait, since they weren't kicking us out and people were leaving every couple of minutes. We figured if enough people left, when it came back online we'd be near the front. The ride came back up at one point, but after 30 minutes in line they kicked us out of line. Bummer. We saved all that time earlier and then wasted it. That's the problem with hope as it relates to theme park rides!

It was about 9:50 at that point and we were hungry. Where to? Ronto Roasters! Those breakfast ronto wraps are quite good, and we were kind of hoping that they'd call our Rise boarding group while we were back there. We'd gotten group 10 but at 9:50 am they still hadn't called it. I guess Rise was having a rough day. Anyways!

We mobile ordered and by 9:56 we had our food: breakfast ronto wraps and Meiloorun juice (Pineapple Juice, Lemonade, with Blueberry, Cranberry Juice, Lemon Juice, and Desert Pear).

The ronto wraps were delicious as expected, but the juice was really good! Highly recommend. And just so you can get the full experience at home, Trevor took a video of the inside of Ronto Roasters so you can enjoy the ambiance: Ronto Roasters

After Ronto Roasters, I had the bright idea that Trevor could hang around and enjoy Galaxy's Edge and I'd go and get some of the Halloween treats I'd tried to get at Jolly Holiday on Monday night -- I figured this early (10 am) they wouldn't be sold out. So I placed my mobile order and off I went, while Trevor went off to explore Galaxy's Edge. He found Kylo Ren while I was gone and took a picture and a video: Kylo Ren

They must have been a bit busy because even though I placed the order at 10 and got there pretty soon after, I didn't get the food until 10:20. Not a big deal, just a data point. They did have a good setup for the mobile order -- a table outside, clearly marked and no need to crowd up inside with people placing their orders in person.

Anyways, food in hand, I headed back to Galaxy's Edge and Trevor to eat our treats! What did we get?

Mummy mickey macaron shell with a cookies and cream filling; Raspberry-Rose Macaron with Raspberry-Rose Almond filling and fresh Raspberries; Chocolate brownie with black and white chocolate mousse.

I also got a thing of milk 'cause all those sweets and chocolate...we were gonna need milk. But these were all really good! The Mummy Mickey Macaron was a bit too sweet for me, and the black frosting on the Cruella brownie was good at staining all the things, but these were all really good. The raspberry macaron was my favorite though -- I'm a sucker for raspberries anyways, and then raspberries in a sweet macaron...delicious. I approve. (and yes, this was what I was referring to when I said healthy breakfast...if I could have macarons like this for every breakfast, I'd be a happy woman. A large(r) woman, but a happy woman. )

We took our time eating on a ledge in the shade and then just wandering around Galaxy's Edge, looking in the shops and hacking things. Trevor even spent some time learning how to play djarik in the marketplace with one of the CMs. I liked looking around at all the fun details in the market.

I kind of wish they'd sell these wood carvings -- they're pretty neat! Also notice the R2 unit under the burn hood or whatever that is.


We were really hoping they'd call our boarding group, but as time went on, it looked increasingly less likely they'd call it before noon, which meant we wouldn't be able to get a Web Slingers boarding group for today. We thought about dropping our Rise boarding group to try and get Web Slingers, but we figured sticking with the Rise boarding group was probably safest, and Rise is a cooler ride anyways.

Once noon hit and Rise still wasn't open, we decided to head over to Toontown, since the lines over there looked pretty short. By the time we actually got over there, the line for Roger Rabbit's Car Toon Spin was at 35. We decided it probably wasn't that long and hopped in line. We only waited 15 minutes! Not too bad, and it was just enough time to be entertained by the queue - lots of fun easter eggs and details.

I definitely want to hang around for this set!

And the baby with the cigar!

Ok, hard to see here in the picture but Trevor took a video to show it: Cigar-smoking baby

I just really liked the whole cartoon aesthetic.

The ride made very little sense, but I'm ok with that. If we'd had more time, or fastpasses were a thing, we'd probably ride it again and see if we could get a better idea of the story. As it was, I spent the whole time making the car turn and trying to make Trevor dizzy.

We got off Roger Rabbit at 12:40, and we headed over to Gadget's Go Coaster, 'cause it was posted at 10 minutes. We should have checked Lines -- it was saying the line would be around 18 minutes, and we ended up waiting 19 minutes. In the full sun. Do not recommend! It's a cute little teeny coaster, but not worth a 20 minute wait in an extremely boring queue.

We got off right after 1 pm, and who did we see out? Mickey Mouse!!

The sun was in our eyes (hence the squinting) but Mickey!

Even better, they called our Rise boarding group right then -- yay!! We made our way over there super quick before it broke down again or something, just in case. There was no line when we got there (unsurprisingly) and we were in the transport ship after only 2 or 3 minutes.

And by 1:28, we had escaped our cell and were trying to escape the star destroyer!

We had a great ride -- nothing was noticeably down or anything, and we didn't get evacuated off the ride before we got on, so a good ride all around.

We got off the ride at 1:35ish, and we were hungry (sweet bombs from 10am notwithstanding). Time for lunch! We decided we needed a dole whip, as well as our planned lunch at Bengal Barbecue. So we mobile ordered from Bengal Barbecue, and Trevor went and picked that up while I waited in line at Tropical Hideaway to get the Dole whip. I was reminded immediately why I don't like placing orders in person. I got in line, and then about 15 seconds later a whole group of people got in line behind me (multiple adults, kids, including a stroller). Then as we worked our way through the line, the group of 10 or so of them behind me and then group of 5 or so of them ahead of me indicated that they were all one group (even though they were all separated and not together when I got in line) and so all 10 of the people behind me just pushed past me to go in front of me. Rude, especially 'cause I was getting 1 dole whip and they ordered literally 10. I'm not bitter (ok, I'm a little bitter). If you get separated (and it was a big separation -- I didn't push into them or a crowd or anything, there was a large large gap as if they weren't together, which is why I entered the line), probably nicer to let the single person go first, versus 10 people pushing ahead.

Ok, better now (I know, I need to work on my grudges. ). It worked out - Trevor was able to grab a table and we were able to relax a bit.

Raspberry swirl dole whip!

From Bengal Barbecue we got the Banyan Beef Skewer, the Bengal Beef Skewer, and a Tiger Tail Breadstick.

The breadstick was a little dry, which was a bummer. I love breadsticks but I wouldn't get this again. The skewers though - DELICIOUS! Highly recommend.

We were pleasantly surprised at how good they were. I almost thought about getting another one or two but we had a big dinner planned (any guesses? )

We were going to go back to the hotel for a nap after lunch (it was about 2 pm), but we noticed that Indiana Jones was back up so we decided to head over there instead. The wait was posted pretty long so we decided to try the single rider line!

I'm still super confused about the single rider line though -- you go in through the exit, but the CM had us join the main line with everybody else in that room with the well and the drawing of Mara on the ceiling -- the main line ended before that point so we just joined at the end of the regular line. And they didn't take our card or anything so we just...kept it? We figured if we were joining the regular line, at the end, we might as well ride together. So we did!

We ended up waiting about 15 minutes, which isn't bad at all! And it didn't go down, so definitely a win.

And there's the picture limit! Next up, we needed a nap, but we didn't want to go back to the hotel! Where to go for a nice nap spot at Disneyland?

 

[Araminta18]

Dinner and Shopping and Rides, oh my!
Wednesday, September 15, 2021 (part 3)​

Alright, we were on the prowl for a nap spot! Our favorite nap spot in Disneyworld is on Tom Sawyer's island, in the rocking chairs there. So we figured we ought to check out Tom Sawyer island in Disneyland. But remember last night when we Rise broke down and we were going over to Oogie Boogie Bash so we couldn't stay and ride it when it opened back up later? We needed to go to Guest Services too to get our replacement fastpass. So what to do? Divide and conquer! Trevor headed over to Tom Sawyer island to scout out a place, and I headed to Guest Services at the front of the park.

One of the things that we weren't prepared for at Disneyland was the teeny pathways, once they got crowded with strollers. Trevor especially was flabbergasted by just how little space was left for walking, and he took some pics on the way over to Tom Sawyer island. This is 2:30ish on a Wednesday.

I get that Disneyland is small but man there's not much space with all the strollers!

Anyways. While I was waiting in line at Guest Services and getting us two fastpasses for Rise, Trevor was enjoying the scenery.

And the wildlife.

He scouted the whole island, and when I got over there at about 3 pm he showed me what he found. We ended up on the smooth rocks on the far side of the island, near the fort and the treasure chest. They were surprisingly comfortable and mostly (mostly ) quiet! And being tired helped too. We definitely conked out for a little over an hour. It was kind of nice to just slow down and rest and nap with the gentle noise of the park and everything. The bed at the hotel was probably more comfortable but this was definitely fun.

My view when I woke up. Gorgeous!

We decided to head off the island and back into the park (I mean I guess Tom Sawyer island isn't out of the park, but it kind of felt like that). It was about 4:45 pm, and we had a dinner reservation at 6, so we figured we should use our Rise fastpasses! Over to Galaxy's Edge we headed.

I love the regular queue, but it was kind of nice to go through the fastpass queue (waterfall selfie!) and not have to wait in line at all. We literally walked right in to the pre-show room. Sweet!

We had another great ride escaping the First Order--I love Rise. Never gets old. We were off at 5:35 pm, so we decided to head towards our dinner reservation.

Where were we headed? California Adventure and a reservation at Carthay Circle! We were so excited -- I'd heard such good things about the food (even though it was a new menu), and I was excited to see the inside of it and all the photos of Walt and movie history. We were tapping in to DCA at 5:50, and checked in at the restaurant just a few minutes later. We waited in the lounge for a few minutes before they called us to our table.

We only ended up waiting 5 minutes or so and then we got called to our table.

So nice! We were near the entrance hallway (I was facing the hallway). I really liked how it was busy but not overly loud or anything. And our waitress was fantastic -- super nice and responsive and just great. We started with our drinks -

I got a Shirley Temple, cause I'm a child. Trevor got the Wildberry Lemonade. I thought about getting the Rose Petal Soda but rose is too flowery/perfumey for me to eat, so I stuck with my tried-and-true Shirley Temple.

For appetizers, we had to get the Parker House rolls!

It came with a sauce/butter of "Calabrian Chili-Pinenut Romesco". I didn't really like the sauce, but the rolls were delicious. Soft and warm and just *chef's kiss*. Loved it.

I also love me a weird salad, so I also got the Local Peach Salad with prosciutto, almonds, ricotta, golden balsamic vinagrette.

This was really delicious -- I loved it. Flavorful and light and just a great meld of all the flavors. Loved it.

Then for entrees, Trevor and I both decided to get the Strip steak, with creamed corn, hushpuppies, and raspberry chimichurri.

These were bigger than we expected; we definitely should have gotten just one to share. It would have been just the right size. As it was we ate too much and had to leave a good amount of it! But it was really good. Neither of us cared for the creamed corn much, but I liked the hushpuppies and the raspberry chimichurri was really interesting. I don't think it was my favorite chimichurri, but it was delicious.

We had a great meal -- we ate too much, but it was delicious. Next time we'll split the entree and be less unpleasantly full! And we even were able to pick up the purple poison apple glow cube which I'd kind of been looking for, so a definite win!

After dinner (at around 7ish), we decided (well, me ) to do a little bit of shopping in Downtown Disney, and then finish out the night in DCA. Tangaroa Terrace (by Trader Sams) had the Jungle Cruise boat (that you get if you buy the dole whip sundae) available to buy, and I had decided that I wanted it. So we headed through Downtown Disney and Trevor decided to stop and look around at the Star Wars Trading Post while I continued on to Tangaroa Terrace to buy the Jungle Cruise boat. I was a little nervous they'd be sold out, but they weren't and I was able to get my boat and a nice little dole whip in a cup! I mean, I wasn't hungry, but it's a dole whip. It melts. And fills in the cracks, right? And then I went back to find Trevor at the Trading Post.

I eventually talked him in to several purchases ("talked him in to" ha) - I'll do a haul at the end, but he got a a cool shirt and pin and stuff. We also looked in the Dress Shop and the Wonderground Gallery and I got some things for myself too... And then had to buy a reusable bag to carry it all around in!

So, wallets empty, we headed back into DCA, specifically Pixar Pier! We decided to do all the little kiddie rides around that area and knock them off our list and enjoy the pretty of Pixar Pier all lit up at night. First up, Jumpin Jellyfish!

It was a walk-on, so that was nice. Especially since the ride is so short. But it was cute, and we enjoyed looking around at everything.

Next up, Goofy's Sky School! But first, look at this view - gorgeous!

Anyways. Goofy's Sky School had a bit of a line, but not too bad -- we waited 13 minutes. I did love some of the posters and things in the line --

This ride was fun, but yea -- I agree with everyone else who says it jerks you around quite a bit. I wouldn't mind riding it again, but gotta be careful you don't break your back!

Next, Emotional Whirlwind! We timed this badly, and ended up having to wait 15 minutes, which feels like a LONG time in that line - nothing to distract you. We did think the commentary from the characters was really funny though.

I did like how the Incredicoaster goes so close to it - and bonus Anger!

Next, we decided to ride the Pixar Pal Around and enjoy the views - we only waited 8 minutes for a swinging gondola! It was so gorgeous to look at that park all lit up and from that height. Highly recommend.

Hard to get a good picture through the bars of the gondola, but gorgeous.

Next up, Toy Story Mania! I knew it was the same as at DisneyWorld but we still had to try. The line wasn't bad -- we waited 17 minutes. I did enjoy seeing the talking Mr Potato Head - that's not something we really get to see very often at DisneyWorld (or at least, I don't remember it working very often).

Also look at these adorable trash cans!

I'm sad to say it, but Trevor won - 124,000 to my 109,400. Booooooooo. I even started out ahead but Trevor quickly caught up and beat me. Curses!

We got off the ride at 9:50 -- just enough time for one more ride! We decided to head over to Incredicoaster to close out the night.

The line wasn't very long -- about the length when we rode it on our first day. We ended up waiting 14 minutes, and were one of the last people on the train.

You can't tell but Trevor is screaming his heart out behind his mask.

We got off the ride at 10:13 (13 minutes after the park closed) and Pixar Pier had cleared out. It was really nice to be walking through it with practically no people (and no strollers. ). I love these billboards!

And of course we had to take a picture with Pixar Pier -

And one last photo of Pixar Pier

I know most people seem to like Disneyland better, but I think I prefer DCA. Is that blasphemy? It may be. I don't care.

We were back in the hotel at 10:35ish - not too bad! I'd forgotten that earlier Trevor bought a red kyber crystal in Galaxy's Edge, so I filmed him opening it just in case he got a rare black one. Did he get it? You'll have to see the video: Did Trevor get a black kyber crystal?

So yea, that was our day! I'm pretty surprised I managed to fit this in only 3 posts -- I know you all are shocked too.

Fun with Metrics:
Steps walked: 26,521 steps (11.7 miles)
Ride count: 18 (Peter Pan, Snow White, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, Matterhorn, Dumbo, Pinocchio, Jungle Cruise, Roger Rabbit, Gadget's Go Coaster, Rise of the Resistance x2, Indiana Jones, Jumpin Jellyfish, Goofy's Sky School, Emotional Whirlwind, Pixar Pal Around (Swinging), Toy Story Mania, Incredicoaster)

 

[Araminta18]

Disneyland Rope Drop and Snacks!
Thursday, September 16, 2021 (part 1)​

Thursday dawned beautifully! We were up at our normal time, bright eyed and bushy tailed and ready for rope drop. We made it down to the security line at 7:05, and were at about the same point in the line as we had been all week. We were through security pretty quickly and were lined up in front of the Disneyland gates at 7:20 -- yes, rope dropping Disneyland again this morning. But no sign of the couple who'd yelled at us yesterday, so calling that one a win.

This morning everyone was actually doing one line per gate, instead of one line per turnstile, but they were lined up in the middle of the gate (as opposed to yesterday when they were lined up in front of one turnstile). But anyways.

They opened and let us in at 7:30, and we headed over to rope drop Tomorrowland again. Space Mountain was calling our names!

We were right at the rope, but 'cause we're old and tired we decided to sit and save our feet. Best decision!

By 8 am it was just as crowded as it had been, but they dropped the rope and we all speed-walked over to Space Mountain.

Love that ride! And the queue is crazy long but it seems more interesting to me than the queue at Disneyworld, though that may just be lack of familiarity. Trevor filmed the last bit of the walk-through, cause that ending room is just so cool. Space Mountain Queue Walk Through

After Space, we headed over to Adventureland and our new love, Indiana Jones! I do love how close everything is in Disneyland - going from Tomorrowland to Adventureland is no biggie, which is super nice.

It was a walk on, which was great.

And I got to be the driver! Bwahahahahaha

Next up, Haunted Mansion! It was posting a 13 minute wait, so of course we had to go over there and ride it.

The wait time was 100% accurate (since 13 minutes is their fun way of saying "no wait"). Such a fun ride, and the Nightmare Before Christmas touches and details are great. We'll have to come back and ride it when there isn't an overlay though, so we can compare.

We were off the ride at about 8:50am, and they called our Rise of the Resistance boarding group, so off we headed to Galaxy's Edge! We wanted to ride as soon as we could so hopefully there wouldn't be a line. And there wasn't, yay! We were in the room with Rey and BB8 at 9:12 am. Then when we got in the escape pods and on the ride, we got the track where you're facing the AT-AT head-on instead of off to the side, which is our favorite track and one we hadn't gotten this trip. Yay!

To celebrate getting the track we wanted, and because we were hungry, when we got off the ride at about 9:30, we headed over to get snacks/breakfast. And where to? Mint Julep Bar for beignets!!

We got the Strawberry Mint Julep, and then got 3 regular Mickey beignets and then 3 strawberry chocolate beignets with strawberry chocolate powdered sugar.

We mobile ordered, and didn't realize we had to order the chocolate dipping sauce separately, which was a bit of a bummer. But the beignets were delicious! I think we liked the regular beignets best, but they were both delicious. I kind of wanted to get another order! And the strawberry mint julep was delicious too. A+ breakfast. Highly recommend. I guess it helped that because they were busy all the beignets were hot and fresh.

After beignets, we decided to head over to Tomorrowland and ride Buzz Lightyear! But passing through the hub we found a photopass photographer and of course we had to stop.

Over at Buzz Lightyears, this was the line:

But we only waited 4 minutes, which was awesome. I did like looking at the theming in the queue -- it's really fun. And Buzz talking to you was of course fun: Buzz in the Astro Blasters Queue

We didn't do super well scorewise, but I liked it better than Disneyworld -- the guns move and it felt easier to keep track of what you were shooting. If it had been less crowded we may have tried riding again! I still won though -- I got 52,300 and Trevor got 24,700. Clearly, we need more practice.

Next up we went across the way to Star Tours. It was posted at 15 minutes and that didn't seem too bad, but the line was outside the building.

It felt like it took longer than 15 minutes, but my timer said it was only 15 minutes, so there you go. We got stuck for about 3 minutes by the security droid, which was actually nice, cause that droid was HILARIOUS. We filmed it: Droids in the Star Tours Queue

Neither of us were the rebel spy, but we had a good ride that included a stop in Coruscant, so that was neat. It wasn't Naboo, so I call that a win, cause at DisneyWorld it's ALWAYS Naboo.

We got off the ride at 10:45 and we were hungry (again), and near Pizza Planet, so we decided to get one of the Halloween snacks on our list! We mobile ordered the Halloween Alien Macaron, and then 'cause it looked good - the Garlic breadstick. I was hoping this one would be better than the one from Bengal Barbecue.

Also guys, the theming of this quick service is awesome. I approve.

We got our food pretty quickly -

They were great! The Macaron was adorable, as you can see - it was filled with blackberry buttercream and lemon curd. It wasn't like my favorite flavor, but it was nice and refreshing. The breadstick however was my absolute favorite, hence the picture -- nice and soft and buttery and hot and garlicky...I seriously thought about getting another one. DELICIOUS.

Had to include this -- I thought the package for the breadstick was funny.

We finished eating around 11 am, and were going to head over to Fantasyland to knock out some of the kiddie rides we hadn't ridden yet. We figured the lines would be kind of long now, but so would everything else and we'd rather use the rope drop time for the headliners. As we were heading to Fantasyland, we saw Stitch out on the balcony in Tomorrowland!

Had to take a selfie.

Anyways. Over in Tomorrowland we were going to do the Storybook Canal boats, but the line looked craaaaaazy.

So despite my plan, we bailed. Well, not so much bailed as didn't really want to wait that long and we happened to notice certain characters were out on the stage/rise area between Fantasyland and Small World. We decided to head over there and meet the characters instead.

So fun! Captain Hook was hilarious, but it was neat to see Wendy out and meeting. I've only seen her in parades in the past.

And there's our picture limit...next up, we bite the bullet for a kiddie ride, but which one?