So to start things out lets work with the recent past. On June 15th I traveled to Disneyland in Anaheim, CA for both my birthday and the Grand Re-opening of Disney California Adventure. Now, i need to add a few items to this. I did not arrive at the Disneyland resort area until after both parks had opened for the day. So i got a bit of a late start compared to some others. This trip had a batch of experiences I’ll never forget. Some I’ll never do again, some I’d do every day if I could.
Let’s start with what I’ll never do again.
Really simple, Wait more than 3 hours to ride anything. Now if I hadn’t waited 4 hours to ride Radiator Springs Racers in Carsland, I would not have had a chance to ride it during this trip. Now, saying that I’d never wait more than 3 hours for a ride does not mean that the ride is not worth a wait. Radiator Springs Racers is worth about a 2 hour standby wait. That said there were times during my trip where the wait exceeded 5 hours. It’s a great ride and well worth a wait.
Now on to the things that I’d do again every day if it was an option.
I got the chance during my trip to meet with Patrick (@pj_campbell) and to meet and hang out with Jessica (@ocswaynee). Couldn’t really hang out with Patrick because both times I saw him he was working. I look forward to October when I return to Disneyland and can try to hang out again.
Hanging out on Buena Vista Street. Disney California Adventure finally has an act 1. And boy is it an act 1. As I was staying at the Grand Californian my first glance at Buena Vista Street was coming in via Condor Flats. And I was floored. This is what should have been in the park from day 1. From the Red Car to the area entrainment Disney nailed it.
Then on to Carsland and the nightly “Sh-Boom”. This is the term for the nightly lighting of the neon. The best way to describe Carsland is to watch the Cars movies from Pixar and walk through your screen directly into Radiator Springs. Now technically I live in a city on Old Route 66. Albuquerque was fortunate enough to have an Air Force base resulting in the interstate remaining close to our little portion of Route 66. But even then I’ve seen my fair share of the neon that used to be all along Route 66 torn down after falling into disrepair. So it is an amazing feeling seeing the neon in Carsland.
Not much I can say about Carthay Circle. Great food, beautiful location, it’s like Napa Rose inside the park.
Beyond that Disneyland itself was awesome as usual. (Even though I spent less time there thanks to DCA finally being great.)
Ridden this trip:
DCA:
Radiator Springs Racers
Soarin’
Toy Story Midway Mania
California Screamin’
Twilight Zone Tower of Terror
Disneyland:
The World Famous Jungle Cruise
Indiana Jones and the Temple of the Forbidden Eye
Pirates of the Caribbean
Haunted Mansion
Big Thunder Mountain Railroad
Peter Pan’s Flight
Snow White’s Scary Adventure
Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride
Alice in Wonderland
Pinocchio’s Daring Journey
Matterhorn Bobsleds
Space Mountain
Star Tours
Horse-Drawn Trolley
Fire Truck
Disneyland Railroad
Walt Disney
