We’re off to see the Magic! TR

[GBRforWDW]

Sunday August 8

It’s fly away day. We had a ride scheduled with Karmel to take us back to the airport at 7:25. Being the worrier about things, I was up at 5:30 trying to get ready while my wife got her things prepared the night before and wanted to get up at 7. Whoops.

I took one last pic of the beautiful view before heading out:


I hadn’t heard from the driver by 7:25, so I called dispatch, but just as I did, the driver called and was out front. This time, we were picked up in a Lexus suv. The driver was very talkative, a little too much on a early Sunday morning, but it was a good drive. I think it took around 30 minutes to get to the airport, then once there, 30 minutes to get to the terminal.

The Delta check in lines were busy:


Probably took about 20 minutes to get through there. I told my daughter it was a shorter wait than Peter Pan.

Security was interesting. They walk you through an area with a police dog. Not sure what all it is sniffing for, but guessing bombs and or drugs at least. After that, you head up an escalator to the x-ray scanners, but it's only for people leaving from specific gates, rather than everyone in the terminal, so the lines really aren't bad.



You just do one loop down and back, and you're ready to go through the machines.

After security, I grabbed a breakfast sandwich from Slapfish Grill. It was really good. Bacon egg and cheese on brioche bread made fresh to order.

The flight out was on time and we had no major issues getting boarded, but it was a completely full plane with 40 rows and 6 in each row. The flight to Minneapolis was about 3 and a half hours. Didn't have much turbulence at all, so I was able to get a little sleep, then watched Toy Story on the seat back screen. Delta also provided an extra snack out of LAX to celebrate the coming remodel:



This was a delicious cookie, though a little bit dry, it was still better than their normal cookies.

When we landed in Minneapolis, we had a 4 and a half hour layover. It was very long, but gave us time to move around, eat and charge our phones. They have a neat kids play area dedicated to Charles Schultz with a giant Snoopy statue and a fun airplane, luggage cart and runway tower for kids to play in. We let our kid play for 20-30 minutes, which was good after being cooped up on the long flight.

We then had dinner at the Twins Grill & Bar. Was a nice little restaurant that wasn't too expensive, basically a Disney quick service meal cost. I got a burger and fries and a delicious Harmon Killebrew root beer.



Our flight home left around 9:30pm and got in around 10:30. I was put in the Delta Comfort section and had a ton of leg room. It was nice, especially for paying for a Basic ticket. After collecting the luggage and getting to our car, we had an hour drive home that got us in right at midnight. Our original flight was supposed to take us to Atlanta and get us to our home airport at 9pm, which would have been nice, though we wouldn't have had the chance to relax before the next flight.

This was our third trip by plane this year and this was definitely the busiest we've seen so far. Though our home airport was empty when we got in. They don't have late night flights. Delta has usually been pretty relaxed on mask wearing once off the ground and people are eating. I don't know if anyone sits around without a mask, but I don't feel rushed to put it back on while eating and drinking.

 

[GBRforWDW]

This was our third Disney trip and second of the pandemic, but first trip to Disneyland. We really enjoyed our time in Southern California. It was hot, but typically only when we were in Anaheim.

Having never been to Disneyland, I can tell that it is different but exciting during this time. Some want to stay away and others can't get back soon enough. For us, we've enjoyed the lower crowds, lower wait times in the parks the reservation system is easy to use and navigate, no fast passes seemed to make getting around easier, especially if you utilize rope drop and prioritize rides.

We liked the two hotels we stayed at. The best Western right across the street was so convenient to get back and forth between the parks. It has an old motel vibe, but they've kept it clean and updated, so it's not a terrible choice. The pool was small, but fun for kids and the take a sack breakfast was odd, but works well for park days. Just grab some food at 630, head over to the park and wait closer to the front for shorter lines at opening.

The Cambria was a higher quality hotel, but the distance to the parks is a bit of an annoyance. The pool area is awesome, just make sure you book a room with pool access. Also, plan to use it multiple times throughout your stay.

Overall, we look forward to coming back to Anaheim to do Disneyland again and see some other areas of socal.

Thank you to everyone who has read this trip report and liked the posts and asked questions. It was fun to provide updates throughout the trip. We'll see you real soon!

 

[deejdigsdis]

I hope they still have that cupcake when I go. Even though I don't like their cupcakes. But it's so cute.

Very fun to get Boarding Group 1! I have only ridden ROTR one time, back in Jan 2020, and I also got BG 1.

A fun little side note about Harmon Killebrew. My dad competed against Harmon in sports during high school. They went to rival schools. My dad enjoyed telling us about the time he outran Harmon down the basketball court on a fast break and scored with Harmon close behind. My dad was a few years older than him, so had a little more experience under his belt at the time. Such fun memories for my "played all sports" dad, though!

 

[deejdigsdis]

Sad to see this one come to an end! Thanks for doing a report, and I'm glad your family enjoyed the trip!

 

[GBRforWDW]

I hope they still have that cupcake when I go. Even though I don't like their cupcakes. But it's so cute.

Yeah, you would think with the amazing baking staff they have that someone could make a cupcake worth eating! Lol. It was just an mediocre cupcake until I hit the cookies and cream, which lifted it up some.

Very fun to get Boarding Group 1! I have only ridden ROTR one time, back in Jan 2020, and I also got BG 1.

After group 97 on Monday, I didn't think I'd get a low number, so I was definitely shocked when it came back as 1. Had they started calling numbers right away, I would not have changed when I rode, other than it would have been easier to go there before Millennium Falcon. I like that they don't care when you go back, makes it easier to get other rides done in the morning.

A fun little side note about Harmon Killebrew. My dad competed against Harmon in sports during high school. They went to rival schools.

That is an awesome story. Always good memories. Your story reminded me of my dad talking about a mlb player growing up that he played against. Wasn't anyone quite as good as Harmon though.

ETA: as for the root beer, it was a really good flavor. I've tried lots of different root beers. Some I like and some that are awful. I'd definitely grab a 6pack of this if I saw it in a store.

Sad to see this one come to an end! Thanks for doing a report, and I'm glad your family enjoyed the trip!

Thanks for following along! It was a great trip. If I had to do it again, I may have skipped a baseball game, especially on our hotel switch day. I don't regret it because it was such a great game to be at, just caused extra stress and anxiety along the way, and we could have spent more time at the pool at the new hotel.

 

[Tasscrapper]

Thanks for taking us along on the ride! I enjoyed all the details and pictures and what a great way to be able to look back and remember your trip.

 

[disneyfan95]

Off to a good start this morning. Up at 4am pst! Lol. I brought my computer so I worked a couple hours so I didn't fall back asleep. Got the family up and out of the hotel room at 6:35, grabbed our sack breakfast and walked over to the entrance.

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This is the line at 6:45 when we arrived. Not terrible as they held everyone at the white tents which were at bus 1 sign. We were near bus 2 sign.

At 7am, we got BG 97 with a 320 minute wait time. Phone kept spinning loading the party, but everyone was selected and we got in, so that's all that matters.

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The line right after getting a boarding group is now back to bus 5

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They opened security at 7:15 and we're now waiting to scan tickets

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Thank you so much for sharing these photos of the security lines. I’m going to show this to my family. During our family Disney planning discussions my brother has called me crazy for wanting to get in line so early. LOL

 

[disneyfan95]

We returned to Disneyland around 5pm. We had a dinner reservation at Blue Bayou at 5:40, so we just looked around the shops, trying to find the perfect hat for everyone, but keep thinking maybe a different shop has something better.

We arrived at BB and had a short wait for our table to be ready. We loved the atmosphere. The starlit night on the river with the Pirate boats floating by. My wife had the cauliflower steak and I had the jambalaya. That was a bit spicier than I prefer, but still really good.

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After dinner, we rode the many adventures of Winnie the Pooh

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I finally used our boarding pass for Rise of the Resistance. We were called just as we were headed to lunch at 1130. I got to the ride at almost 730, the only question they asked was if it was just me, since we had 3 passes total. The other 2 didn't want to ride it today.

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We were, however, able to finally convince our daughter to fly the Millennium Falcon with us. She was nervous but did a good job.

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After that, we had a reservation at Oga's Cantina. We tried the Hyperdrive Punch It, Oga's obsession and Batuu Bits. Our server let us know the Obsession was more of a Jello and not a drink, but we were ok with trying it.

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My wife and I enjoyed all 3 offerings. The obsession had some pop rocks on it and the flavor combination was so good. The Batuu Bits were a mix of items similar to chips as well as dried bananas. Definitely a fun snack to try. I'd get them again. The Hyperdrive was a blue raspberry powerade mixed with Sprite and a couple other things. Tasted pretty much like Powerade. Overall, the Cantina was a fun place to sit down and relax for a few minutes.

My kid doesn't like loud noises, so we couldn't convince her to watch fireworks, so we went in and out of shops on Main Street before finding some delicious rice krispie treats.

Then on the way out, got to finally see the Stars! My daughter was wearing her Minnie ears and dress and she got Minnie's attention. Minnie told her through character sign language that she loved her ears and dress and blew a kiss. So definitely a fun way to end the night!

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The characters were on the main street side of the train station immediately after fireworks were done. Not sure how long they stayed but probably at least through the initial surge of people leaving. Fireworks are done 45 minutes before the park actually closes, but tons of people left afterwards. We did too, but guessing if you stay, ride wait times are really short.

Sounds like a great day! Thanks for sharing what time you did things. It’s a great snapshot of what can be accomplished in a day.

 

[GBRforWDW]

Thank you so much for sharing these photos of the security lines. I’m going to show this to my family. During our family Disney planning discussions my brother has called me crazy for wanting to get in line so early. LOL

I know the feeling, lol. My wife says the same about me, which is why she only did rope drop once. . She appreciates knowing what it takes to get to the front of the line, but sleep... Lol

 

[GBRforWDW]

Thank you so much for sharing these photos of the security lines. I’m going to show this to my family. During our family Disney planning discussions my brother has called me crazy for wanting to get in line so early. LOL

I realized I didn't include a rope drop photo for Saturday, so here it is:

 

[GBRforWDW]

Hi all, not sure if anyone still follows this thread, but wanted to let you know I've started a new trip report for our trip coming up in July! Would love to have you all follow along again

https://www.disboards.com/threads/o...-california-ptr-7-3-11.3885387/#post-64055560