Saturday, 30 Jul 22: Disneyland & California Adventure Park
I thought the new Disney systems "Genie Plus" and "Lightning Lane" sounded really stupid and expensive, so we didn’t go to Disney World this year. But while we were in California on a Friday night, after a day at the beach with my friends Becca & Dan, we purchased tickets for Saturday morning. I'm not recommending that you cut it that close, but it worked for us. And "Genie Plus" and "Lightning Lane" are, indeed, stupid. Also, Disneyland breaks a lot.
To keep everything organized, we formed groups of three with small group leaders. They were: George, Bac Thuần, Eastlyn; Lan, Mom, Milli; Nathan, Dad, Drakeson; and Becca, Dan, Tadele. Drakeson broke out of his group to hang out with Tadele, and Bac Thuần sort of wandered around close by, so the only group that remained firmly in tact was mine. Milli named the three of us Pumpkin Blood, and we even had a cheer, "1, 2, 3, stay strong!" I think Mom, Milli, and I might be Pumpkin Blood forever now.
We began the day in California Adventure Park. After a quick stop at Guest Services, we were able to acquire a Disability Access Service (DAS) pass linked with Eastlyn, and it proved extremely useful. We rode the re-themed Tower of Terror ride, Guardians of the Galaxy - Mission: BREAKOUT!, and met up with my friends Becca, Dan, and Tadele right away. They had gotten another DAS pass, which was wonderful, but our lack of coordination necessitated a lengthy rearrangement of electronic records at a kiosk. While this was happening, a few people rode Jessie’s Critter Carousel while the line for Toy Story Midway Mania! started filling up. Once our ducks were in a row with DAS's in place for the Incredicoaster, we braved the regular line for Toy Story, which shut down as we started getting close. A situation like this with DAS kids can be pretty dramatic, but we made it through and enjoyed the rest of the rides:
Radiator Springs Racers, like Test Track, but our party got to race 6 against 6!!!
Soarin’ Around the World, one of the best rides ever; same as the one in Disney World
(Unfortunately, our cast member made us wait for no reason.)
Incredicoaster, the biggest, most exciting rollercoaster in the parks
(These are no Disney World cast members. Milli, hardly 48", strolled right by these people.)
WEBSLINGERS: A Spider-Man Adventure, a VR ride where we zapped spiders
(Hilariously, Bac Thuan treated this as a regular ride and just watched)
The Little Mermaid ~ Ariel’s Undersea Adventure, a ride Milli loves intensely. It broke twice.
By now it was the afternoon and everyone was hungry and tired, so we made a mobile order at Flo's V8 Cafe. There weren't any interesting restaurants around to get jealous about, and the decor of this one was kind of cute because it's from the movie Cars. Flo's was easy and fast, and we ended up getting some tables inside with air conditioning. All was going smoothly until I realized that I had forgotten to order for my kids! Luckily, we still had plenty of breakfast sandwiches packed by Bac Hương, and Mom and Dad were happy to share their orders with Drakeson and Milli as well. Sometimes I'm a bad mom, but Bac Hương is still a good enough mom to make up for it.
We tried to go on Grizzly River Run, but it was broken, so we parkhopped over to Disneyland for George's much anticipated Haunted Mansion. In fact, the entire reason this party of 12 got park hoppers at $60 extra a ticket (you do the math) in the first place was so stupid George could ride the stupid Haunted Mansion. We waited in line and it broke. Determined, we stayed. People behind us left. People in front of us left. Eventually we were at the front of the line, and we stayed there until the Disney cast members gave us a free lightning pass for our troubles and kicked us out. Our window for the Indiana Jones Adventure had opened by then, so onwards we headed, only to find that it was also broken. We headed to Splash Mountain to use our lightning pass, but it turned out to be completely useless because everyone and their mothers had vouchers from all their broken rides, and everyone wanted to use them there. This is what I meant when I said Disneyland breaks a lot. It's really a lot, right?
Backtracking, we successfully rode the Haunted Mansion (George loved it; Milli burrowed into me with her eyes closed until it was over) and the Indiana Jones Adventure. The latter is like Disney World's Dinosaur, but I like it much better as Indiana Jones! There was a giant skull with fire in one eye, and I was absolutely mesmerized. Before the nighttime show World of Color, we also had time for:
Matterhorn Bobsleds, a yeti rollercoaster like Expedition Everest but smaller
Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage, where we were submerged underwater in a boat ride
(I was truly frightened until I saw that the surface of the water was just above us)
Space Mountain, where going two by two is more fun than the singles at Disney World
This is the first year neither Milli nor Drakeson were scared afterwards!
Alice in Wonderland, a new favorite, similar the Winnie-the-Pooh
“it’s a small world”, the classic
Disneyland puts characters like the Three Caballeros in their small world!
About 10 mins after the ride, we watched the Encanto light show on the small world building. We barely got out of Disneyland before their electrical parade began, but we needed to return to California Adventure Park for The World of Color, which had the pyrotechnics, water fountains, projections, and lasers of the Disney World night time shows. Everything was on a smaller scale of course, but the biggest surprise was that there was no seating. My my my, it looks like we have grown spoiled. The Disneyland fireworks show, Disneyland Forever, got cancelled due to high winds. George pointed out, "that's what happens when you're right next to a city instead of a bunch of swamp lands you bought." Right. About half the party would have gladly gone back to Disneyland to catch Splash Mountain and maybe a few more rides before closing at midnight, but enough people were tired that we all decided to go home.
Everyone had fun. Eastlyn loved the rides and required nearly all of George's attention. Nathan was great with the kids and was game to stay until closing. Bac Thuần probably would have preferred a less intense Disney plan, but he was a great sport and rode the Incredicoaster even though he doesn't like rollercoasters. Becca, Dan, and Tadele had a full day and were definitely ready for a good night's rest. Becca hadn't been walking without crutches until very recently, and walking 10 miles is a huge deal for any of us! It was our first year without a stroller, and I was especially proud of the little pumpkin. All of the kids got along wonderfully. If we ever go again, we'd have to make sure to ride Splash Mountain, Grizzly River Run, and Pixar Pal-A-Round - Swinging. There's plenty more to explore as well, but those were the ones we probably would've hit up next. All in all, I think California Adventure Park is better, and if you've ever been to the Magic Kingdom, I'd recommend thoroughly exploring CA before DL. It's far less crowded and purposely more original. Once safely back in Claremont, we scarfed down pork & chả giò vermicelli bowls from Phở Ha Plus around midnight, and that is a tradition I insist on keeping.
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