Day 8 Sunday 30 January
Disneyland Main Park
Park opening 8am to park close 11pm
Today finally in Disneyland.
Breakfast started with the parfait in my room and then coffee from The Cove Cafe at Tropicana as I walked across the street to the park entrance. I got a small latte which cost $4.04.
I had refilled my water bottles before I had left The Hilton at Universal, so I didn't need to buy water.
I was scanned through the Main Gates at about 7.30am
Once through into the park, I sat at the benches in the hub and tried to buy Genie Plus with my prepaid card. I also tried using The Spira giftcard but that wouldnt work either. I ended up buying it with the credit card I had stored on my Disney account.
Once that was done, it was time to breathe, I was finally here. There were huge crowds streaming down Main Street so I decided to take a less crowded way, through the shops on the right side of Main Street.
I stopped on the way to check out some merchandise and take a few photos and I ended up coming out of the shops near the Plaza Restaurant just when the opening announcement was played.
I watched the crowds stream into the lands, then walked up to the Castle. All the Fantasyland rope drop people had cleared so I was able to get the coveted photo of The Castle with no people in the background
While I was taking my photos, I saw the Disney Photographer and remembered that Photopass is included with
Genie+ at Disneyland.
So not only did I get a no people photo of The Castle, I also got professional photos of me at The Castle with no people in the background.
When I eventually got into Fantasyland, I saw that Peter Pan was closed. This is always my first ride at Disneyland.
But then I saw another Disney photographer at The Sword In The Stone beside the Carousel.
So again I got some great photos with no people in the background.
Just as I was finished with the photographer, I looked up and Peter Pan was just opening, so I walked with purpose and managed to get within the first 20 people.
After Peter Pan I did
Mr Toads Wild Ride
Alice In Wonderland
Tea Cups
Pinocchio
Snow White
Snow White has been updated since my last visit in June 2019. I purposely stayed away from spoilers and did not watch any YouTube videos. All I will say is, its magical and made me emotional.
All of the rides in Fantasyland were either walk on or less than 10 minutes wait.
By now it was 10am and I was ready for some food at Red Rose Tavern in Fantasyland.
I had the Garden Mozzarella Flatbread which is
Seasoned Tomatoes, fresh Mozzarella, Basil, Balsamic Glaze, and Tomato Sauce. It came with BBQ sauce and Ranch Dressing. I didn't use the Ranch and kept it for later.
and
The Grey Stuff
Red Shortbread Cookie, Red Velvet Cake, Raspberry, Cookies & Cream Mousse and Heart Sprinkles
The pizza / flatbread was really good, and I love The Grey Stuff. I've had it before, so it was one of my few repeats from previous years.
After refreshing at Red Rose Tavern I decided to go to the Princess Meet and Greet called Fantasy Faire which is located just outside The Castle at The Hub. This is something I have never done, but this year I wanted to meet some characters and get them to send a video birthday message to my niece.
Aurora and Flynn Rider were out, so I went to talk to Aurora.
I then decided to go to Adventureland and see if I could find a cm I used to know. She works in the Custodial department and Adventureland is her main area. I was delighted to find her and had a good catch up, well as best as we could as she was working. It was great to see that she is back in Disneyland and has managed to stay Covid free.
I didnt want to take up too much of her time , so after speaking to her I continued to New Orleans Square and to Haunted Mansion.
I checked Genie+ and saw that Lightning Lane was almost an immediate return so I booked it and scanned in.
After Haunted Mansion I did Pirates as it was a walk on.
After Pirates I checked Genie+ for Indiana Jones and again it was an immediate return so I booked it.
After Indiana Jones I checked the time. It was 12.30pm and Big Thunder Mountain had a return time between 1.15pm and 2.115pm so I booked it.
As I was near Tropical Hideaway I got a Raspberry Mango Dole whip. This is a new quick serve restaurant beside Jungle Cruise in Adventureland. Most people just get the traditional Pineapple Dole Whip at The Tikki Room. I've had that so many times that I wanted to try something different. You can get the different flavours on their own or you can do what I did and mix them. It cost $6.45
I had checked on the Disneyland App and saw that Mark Twain would be closed after today for refurb so I wanted to make sure I did it today. I brought my Dole whip to the Mark Twain. I timed it right and it was loading and I managed to get a seat at the front.
After the Mark Twain I went to the nearby Rancho del Zocalo Restaurante to refill my water bottle. I do this throughout the day when ever I need to. At this restaurant, they have a filtered water tap station and ice and anyone can walk in and refill their water. Its in the outdoor seating area, and you need to go in through the exit to find it.
I then went over to Big Thunder Mountain and scanned my Lightning Lane.
After Big Thunder Mountain I walked around Rivers of America and found a new seating area in the old Fantasmic viewing area. There are now metal table with bench chairs in this area.
I still had some time before my lunch at Cafe Orleans, so I continued around Rivers of America and found the dock where the Sailing Ship Columbia is tied up.
This area around where Sailing Ship Columbia is tied up is where Harbour Grill quick service food is and if you continue walking through the dock area there is a quiet seating area hidden at the back. If you keep walking through this seating area you come out on the path / walkway at Critter County.
By now it was nearly 2pm, I went back to New Orleans Square area and checked in for my lunch reservation using the App.
I did the reservation when it opened , 60 days in advance and at 3am / LA time which is 11am UK/ Ireland time. I was so glad I did, as the restaurant was very busy and I don't think they were doing walkups.
I requested a table outside when I was checking in.
I ordered coffee and water to start. The coffee is Joffreys and again was served with a little jug of cream
For my main I ordered the famous Monti Cristo.
Its served a little different that Blue Bayou. At Cafe Orleans they have Pommes Frites, which are twisted Parmesan cheese fries.
The fries were really good and I love the Monti Cristo. I've had it before at Blue Bayou. This one came with an orange jam and a cajan spiced Remoulade sauce. The orange jam was good but not something I would eat with the sandwich. The Remoulade sauce was really good and went well with the fries.
The meal cost $26.94 and I gave a $5 tip
At the end of the meal I asked for a cup of water to go and refilled my water bottle.
After lunch I started walking in the direction of Haunted Mansion and found that the river raft over to Tom Sayer Island was loading so I decided to get on.
Again this is something I had never done, as there is always a long wait time in June.
The island is really well themed and is a great place for kids to run around and burn off that energy. There are all sorts of caves and places to explore, and theres a mix of Tom Sayer and Pirates of The Caribbean theming in various places.
I also found the Fantasmic stage area and it was really cool to get a photo looking over to New Orleans Square.
After walking around the top part of the island I had had enough and got the ferry / raft back to Critter Country.
My afternoon snack was a Mickey Cake Pop at Pooh Corner in Critter Country. I have never had any of the snacks from this shop so I decided to try something small. It cost $5.92 and was really good.
The outside is hard chocolate with strawberry sugar and the inside is a chocolate brownie, which was really good. It was a soft ,cake and the chocolate was really good. I don't normally eat American chocolate as I find it not nice compared to European chocolate but this was good, no after taste like with Herseys!
Finally into Galaxys Edge.
Yes I will admit I am a big Star Wars fan and I just love everything about Galaxys Edge.
I purposely chose this way to enter as I wanted to do Rise of The Resistance as my first ride.
After checking the App, I found it had an almost immediate return time so I bought the Lightning Lane.
I didnt want to go too far, so I sat on some rocks and played the Galaxys Edge Datapad game on Disneys Play App. This is a game that you can only do when you are in Disneyland. You can do various things on the App once in Galaxys Edge, such as scan the writing on the walls, or hack various objects and gain points.
Once my Lightning Lane window opened I scanned in.
Even though this ride opened in 2019, I have managed to stay spoiler free. I have been very careful not to watch any videos or read any reviews, as I wanted to experience it in real life.
OH MY GOODNESS, just wow. I didnt even take photos or videos, I just wanted to experience everything without distraction.
It was so worth the $20 I paid. Its such an unreliable ride and theres so many breakdowns, that paying for the almost immediate return time really maximized my chance of being able to go on it.
After Rise of The Resistance I walked around The Black Spire shops to The Millennium Falcon.
The standby line was not long so I decided to go standby and do the interactive game on play Disney App.
Again this is a game that you can only do when you are in the standby line, as you have to scan various objects located long the way.
As it was my first time I wasnt that good , and decided just to continue walking and go on the ride. I somehow managed to be pilot as the group I was put in were first timers and had no clue and they offered it to me.
One interesting change since Covid is that they are not handing out the role cards any more. I'm glad I got photos of them on my last trip in June 2019.
When I came out I went straight back in using single rider line. There was no one using single rider so I walked straight up the stairs to the group assignment area and was put straight into a group. This time I got engineer.
When I came out this time, I checked lightning lane and it was immediate return time so I decided to book it. I went straight in and again like with single rider I went straight to the group assignment area and again was put straight into a group as engineer.
When I came out this time, I saw A Disney photographer in front of The Millennium Falcon so I decided to use my photopass option and get some professional photos at night.
It was now after 7pm so time for some food.
I got a Ronto Wrap which cost $14 and then from Docking Bay 7 I got a Batuu Bon which cost $7.53
I took both of them to the seating area outside.
The Ronto wrap is Roasted Pork, Grilled Pork Sausage, Peppercorn Sauce, tangy Slaw, wrapped in Pita
The Batuu Bon is Chocolate Cake, White Chocolate Mousse, Coffee Custard
I asked for a To Go box for the Batuu Bon but took a photo before I squished it too much getting it off the plate.
Before I left Galaxys Edge I refilled my water bottle at the water refill station. Again, like at Rancho del Zocalo Restaurante it is a filtered water tap.
After my food I walked back to Rivers of America and found an empty table and chair.
The fireworks were at 9pm and instead of the being part of the sea of people in front of The Castle, I wanted to watch them from the far less crowded area at Rivers of America.
I knew from previous years that they play the music and and you can see the higher up fireworks from this area.
When Fantasmic is on, thy use the water fountains for the projections, but as there is no Fantasmic right now, there was no projections.
It was really cool to watch the fireworks over the water and The Mark Twain. (screencap from my video)
After the fireworks I went on Pirates as it was a walk on. The whole New Orleans Square was almost empty, as most people were At The Castle or Main Street for the fireworks.
After Pirates I went through Frontierland and then into Fantasyland by the far side of The Castle. The main drawbridge entrance to Fantasyland was still closed as they were just finishing the last of the checks after the fireworks.
Fantasyland was very busy so I just sat at the carousel for a while and people watched.
I came out in front of castle and sat on bench and waited for the closing announcement at 11pm.
As I started to walk away from The Castle I saw a Disney photogrpaher at The Hub at The Partners Statue and got some final night time photos at The Castle.
I walked up Main Street through shops on the Jolly Holiday side of Main Street.
Before I finally left I took some photos of the light in Walts Apartment above the fire station.
With aching feet I walked out of Disney property and across the street to my hotel. I was so glad I didnt have far to go.
This is my Fitbit summery for my day at Disneyland
