"It's been 84 years..." (Finally returning to Disneyland after 16 months - end of July 2021)

[CandyMouse]

So fun! When are you going in November? My daughter and I are going the first weekend in November, but we got a good rate at the Grand Legacy almost next door for that trip! I had promised all my kiddos individual trips in 2020 instead of a family trip when I had my pass, but we all know how THAT went. Only one got that, and now they're all wanting me to pay up!

We're going to be in the parks Nov 18th- 23rd minus one day for Universal. I sure hope they get more night entertainment back by then. This will be my SIL and Nephew's first trip with my family of 4- all adults. They're not into disney as much as my family, but I think they'll still enjoy! Hope you and your daughter have a great trip!

 

[Jaina]

I always tell myself I'll get a pedicure for trips or my birthday but usually talk myself out of it because of the cost. When gel polish became a thing I actually invested in an L.E.D. lamp and polishes so I can do my own fingers which I'm hoping to do before my September trip. I'm hoping for cut toes to though.

Oh, I'm not any good at making time for/paying for/sitting through a nail appointment. Several of my friends sell Color Street (basically real nail polish that goes on like stickers, to over simplify it). Even that takes too long for me, but I'm usually happy with the results!

We're going to be in the parks Nov 18th- 23rd minus one day for Universal. I sure hope they get more night entertainment back by then. This will be my SIL and Nephew's first trip with my family of 4- all adults. They're not into disney as much as my family, but I think they'll still enjoy! Hope you and your daughter have a great trip!

The park is so beautiful in late November! I hope your trip is amazing and that entertainment is back!

 

[abbeyroad6282]

Thanks! Where do you come down from? Northern California? I have never stayed there, so I'm interested to check it out. We usually do super budget trips (so we can go more often, haha) so I don't often get to stay that close. It's addicting though... I just booked Desert Inn & Suites again for a hopefully-spring-break trip with my two littlest kids (they'll be 5.5 and 8). Can't beat that commute with little feet! I'm excited about trying the Grand Legacy though. I actually got 3 nights for less than $400, which I'm pretty excited about. That was one reservation I can't bear NOT to use. So someone and I will be there the first weekend of November! I think it will be my 11-year-old who was supposed to get to go for her 10th birthday in 2020.

I do the same, staying cheap to go more often! I come down from Reno, I usually take one of my kids (there are 4 total) we drive one day, are there one day, and then drive home. Occasionally, we do 1.5 or 2 days. We only fly once in awhile. Are you getting a Magic Key? I am thinking of getting the Believe. I would love to get the Enchant Key but need to go weekends and so many weekends are blocked out. I am hoping to do a, couple solo trips over the next year too!

 

[Jaina]

I do the same, staying cheap to go more often! I come down from Reno, I usually take one of my kids (there are 4 total) we drive one day, are there one day, and then drive home. Occasionally, we do 1.5 or 2 days. We only fly once in awhile. Are you getting a Magic Key? I am thinking of getting the Believe. I would love to get the Enchant Key but need to go weekends and so many weekends are blocked out. I am hoping to do a, couple solo trips over the next year too!

I think I’m going to get the Believe Key also. Same, with my schedule, I mostly need to go on weekends. :-/ I’ve flown a couple times, but it’s not much faster with all the time it takes before and after flights. The driving is tiring though. It was nice to have 3 adults and 3 drivers last time!

 

[Jaina]

Next we did something it always pains me a little to do: we waited 20 minutes to ride Winnie the Pooh (11:34). It SAID 10 minutes, but as soon as we got in the line, and it stopped moving outside the entrance, my spidey-sense kicked in, and I knew it would be more than 10 minutes! It's a great dark ride, and not scary for my littles, and I love Winnie the Pooh, but it's kind of like the Little Mermaid: I've walked on it so many times, I hate to wait for it! Did I mention yet how glad I was that I brought an umbrella for shade? It was so great for me. I don't think J had ever been on this one, and we enjoyed it.

Then we waited about 8 minutes at the Churro cart next to it. K got a churro and J and I split one. I didn't try any specialty churros this trip!

We had been watching Indian Jones queue go up and down between 35 and 55 minutes for the last hour or two, and decided to head over there when it said "55," hoping less people would jump in line. But for that level of line, we were quite happy to take advantage of the Single Rider line. We saw J's cast member "friend" from that morning that she had been teasing with, both in the IJ line when he was coming through, and when we were boarding the ride, and he remembered us and said hi to us. That was fun. Single rider took us about 15-18 minutes, and we boarded around 12:30.

To save walking all over, we decided to ride the Jungle Cruise next. We wanted to see the new additions to the ride. That line only took 25 minutes (1 PM), but in the heat/slight humidity, it FELT longer. I haven't waited upstairs for a while as far over as we went, and it was interesting to see some of the queue details I often miss. The new stuff was cute. It's nice to have a little variety and change it up here and there. I wasn't on the right side of the boat for many good pictures though.

When we got off the Jungle Cruise, it was time for our 1:20 reservation at Cafe Orleans. I had gone back and forth on canceling this so we could stay a little more flexible, but we were really glad I kept it. We got seated quickly, and inside and were super ready for a nice air conditioned break. We were tired already! All three of us ordered the Monte Cristo, and we all cleaned our plate, minus a few fries. It was fun to sit in a different area than I've sat in before, and I loved this picture of Walt in the restaurant. I love little things like that!

And of course a picture by this door. I don't expect I'll ever actually go in, but it's fun to think about, and I love seeing pics/reading reports here from people who dine there! I do still miss the Court of Angels. It's my background on my phone somewhat often.

Since we were right there, and since the line wasn't even stretching outside its gates like it had been earlier, we decided it was a great time to ride POTC. We waited a little over 20 minutes, and rode about 2:30 PM. POTC is actually not a favorite of mine, but I make sure to almost always ride it in the heat of the day, so I'll be sure to appreciate it for the break and the coolness. It's also one of my only memories from my first visit to Disneyland when I was 3, so there's that.

My battery backup had actually, somehow, fully discharged itself before our day, so I took this opportunity to go back to the hotel for a little break, and to get a different charger. K and J don't go as often as I've been able to, and they opted to skip the break and do some exploring. With the super short walk to the Desert Inn and Suites, and 45 minutes laying down, cooling off, it was a fantastic decision. When I was ready to head back, I felt refreshed, and decided to have some Coldstone ice cream instead of something in the park, since I had a gift card, and happen to love their guiltless (or whatever) vanilla with Heath bar mixed in. I had to cut sugar -somewhere- this trip!

 

[Jaina]

Apparently the last month has been a little busy, because I haven't had a chance to work on this. Or haven't remembered to, at least. I just got back from another trip, this time with my teenage son, and I need to get this trip report completed before I can work on that one! I'm taking my 11-year-old daughter in about 5 weeks, so I'd better stay on top of things if I don't want to get too behind and have stuff all get jumbled in my head in the meantime...

I headed back into the park just in time to catch the flag lowering (flag retreat?), which was kind of fun, because I don't think I've ever watched it. I always enjoy anything with the Disneyland band (since I was in band several years in high school and at my community college after that) so I was glad I got to see them.

We decided another ride on Space Mountain was called for, so we found the single rider line and jumped in. It was longer than we hoped or expected, and our feet were hurting, so we did some sitting while in line. There may have been some ridiculous inching along on our seats instead of standing up to walk 3 feet a few times. We are very dignified nearly-40-year-olds... My cousin and I actually got put in together, since they needed a last row filler on a DAS vehicle. That was fun! We waited a little over 20 minutes and rode just before 5:30.

Since we were close by, we got in line for Buzz Lightyear's Astro Blasters, and waited just under 15 minutes, riding about 5:50. That's not a repeat rider per trip (unless I'm there with certain kids of mine) but I have gotten decent at it over the years. Not good, just decent. I also visited the old rocket ride ride vehicle in the exit store, which I just found out about recently!

We waited just less than 10 minutes to ride Pinnochio at 6:10, then rode Snow White's Enchanted Wish at 6:40 after a 22 minute wait. They were both marked higher waits than that.

We just made it in time for our mobile order for dinner at the Red Rose Tavern, and enjoyed our food. I had the chicken cobb, K got the flat bread pizza, and I think J got the salad too. Then we all enjoyed the grey stuff that she ordered.

We got in line for Big Thunder at 7:35 and were in the back row by 7:45. It had been marked 25 min. Woohoo! That line flew! We jumped on for a second ride and waited a little less than 10 again. They had dropped the line time to 15. I know those last pictures are kind of out of focus, but I love them!

 

[Jaina]

That's crazy that it was 8 PM and it was just getting to my favorite time of night! So beautiful in Disney at dusk!!

We were ready for a treat, and couldn't mobile order at the Tropical Hideaway, so we got in one of the longer lines of the evening, haha. We got in line at 8:12 and didn't get our treats until nearly 8:40! Super tasty, though I'm always disappointed in the hole in the middle of my dole whips...

We headed over through Tomorrowland to ride Space Mountain again single rider. It was a little longer this time, and took us over 30 minutes to get on. Still a great ride though!

I think the park officially closed at 10 that night, because our last ride of the night was Splash Mountain at about 10:05. We were behind some very loud, very silly young teen girls. They were slighty annoying, but mostly just entertaining, and it was kind of fun to remember being that young and enthusiastic. They kept yelling random things at a boy and how hot he was, but we couldn't tell if they were talking about a cast member, or someone in one of the logs in front of us. Who knows. Since it was after closing when we got off, I had to go to the camera shop on the way out and get it added to our Photopass.

The park was kind of slow to clear out, and we spent another 20-40 minutes at World of Disney, where K and J bought me a pair of ears for my birthday to go with my birthday shirt the next day. Then K and I decided J needed her first pair of Minnie ears to celebrate her birthday two weeks later. She chose classic black sparkly with a red bow. Super cute. K decided she also needed a pair of ears, and chose some black and white ones that would match most things. We stumbled back to our hotel (Thank you Desert Inn & Suites for being so close) and didn't get to bed right away, which made for a short-ish night's sleep before our big day at California Adventure (and my 39th birthday!)

 

[CandyMouse]

Great and fun pictures! I want to try that dole whip when I go, is that the raspberry- pineapple one?

 

[Jaina]

Great and fun pictures! I want to try that dole whip when I go, is that the raspberry- pineapple one?

Yes it is, and I really liked it! You have to get it at the Tropical Hideaway. They only have regular Dole Whips and Dole Floats at the Tiki Hut(?) by the Tiki Room.

 

[CO2CA]

Ugh, how fun!!! I want to go back so bad.

 

[FeistyDisneyMom]

Loving the report! I love the dole whip too, and I also glare at the hole in the middle .

Those ears are so cute!

 

[Jaina]

Ugh, how fun!!! I want to go back so bad.

Do you have any trips planned?

Loving the report! I love the dole whip too, and I also glare at the hole in the middle .

Those ears are so cute!

Haha, I'm glad I'm not the only one! I am not the world's hugest pineapple fan, so haven't had years of Dole Whips to compare it to, but I was definitely surprised this time for some reason! I don't remember it having a hole in it at WDW!

 

[CO2CA]

Do you have any trips planned?

Yes, I'm just super impatient! Especially when reading these trip reports lol We have one coming up at the end of October and then mid-November

 

[Jaina]

Yes, I'm just super impatient! Especially when reading these trip reports lol We have one coming up at the end of October and then mid-November

Oh good! My 2nd daughter and I are going the first weekend in November, so I'm looking forward to that. It's between "holiday seasons," so hopefully crowds won't be bad. I can always hope!

 

[DnA2010]

Jumping on board loving the combo of pics, between attractions, food and fun!

Jealous of all your trips though, love the technique of taking your kid s individually!

 

[Jaina]

Jumping on board loving the combo of pics, between attractions, food and fun!

Jealous of all your trips though, love the technique of taking your kid s individually!

Thanks for the comment! It really does help me to keep coming back to try to finish these!

 

[Jaina]

Time for our second Disney Day!!

Saturday, July 29th (also my 39th birthday) and we were spending the day at California Adventure!
We had a harder time getting out of bed, but of course I was all set and waiting patiently by 7:20 AM. We had pulled Group 39 for Webslingers at 7 AM.

By the time we got over to the security lines, they were already open and letting us through, but we were in line (not too farm back at all) by 7:38. Love that short "commute" from Desert Inn & Suites... We were inside and waiting at the "Guardians" rope drop by Off the Page at 7:44 and on Guardians by 8:13. Such a great ride! My cousin had never been on it (and hadn't been to CA for 8-9 years). It was an instant re-ride, so we got back in line at 8:19 and rode again at 8:40. So glad we snuck in a day before they started enforcing masks inside again. I didn't get any of my Guardians pictures through Photopass last time because there was always at least one person without their masks on.

Our group was called, and it took us from 8:55 to 9:20 to get on Webslingers. It was both of their first time on this one, (and my second) and we had a fun time checking out the line and on the ride. I think I enjoy the pre-show just as much as the ride. Tom Holland is so fun.

I hadn't eaten at Pym's yet, so we had mobile ordered a couple of the French Toasts, and picked themup at 9:30. It was a lot of fun. Not amazingly delicious, but tasty, and entertaining. I wished there were two of the little fried eggs though. Wouldn't that have been cuter? Also, does anyone know how they do those eggs? Do they create them, or are they like quail's eggs? My guess is on engineering, haha.

On our way out of Avenger's Campus we got some Photopass pictures.

We took our time coming into Radiator Springs. My cousin had never seen this either! Lots of fun photo ops!

And a quick-ish single rider trip on Radiator Springs Racers. It would have been fun to ride together, but it was not worth that hour+ line when we waited from 10:10 - 10:20 to ride...

We waited even less the second time (about 7 minutes, on at 10:37) when we did a re-ride. J and I got to ride in the same car, which is always fun. The only sad thing is that K tried to leave her ears on for the ride like I do sometimes (but I hold onto them right until the picture, and for this ride I was wearing the Mickey birthday hat with a chin strap too that I promised to take some pictures in) and she had a big fail. If you look closely in her picture you can see her grabbing at her brand new ears, which had just flown off. Big sad face!!

We asked the ride operator, but of course they didn't really have answers for us. They said they can only collect stuff like that if there's a breakdown and they physically walk the track. Of course, I knew the lost and found procedure, since I lost my credit card (found!) last year, lost some homemade-ish ears (not found!) and my daughter's friend also lost her bag (found!).

 

[Jaina]

The lost ears were definitely a sad point. They were her first pair, and she had been pretty excited about them. I helped her find the lost and found form online, and we decided to check later, when there was a chance they might have made their way over there.

We headed for Pixar Pier and stopped to get some really fun Photopass pictures. It was TOASTY by then (just after 11 AM) and I was melting just a bit. My umbrella, my cooling cloth, and my neck fan were necessities! K borrowed my pink ears for those photos since I needed to get some with the cute-but-not-comfortable birthday ears.

K had her eye on this cute Loungefly, so she decided it was time to grab it so she didn't feel so sad about her ears.

We waited for Incredicoaster from 11:24 to 11:42. That one rarely disappoints, but riding it when it's warm (like this) is not my favorite way. I also grabbed a Jack Jack Num Num cookie to share after that.

We got in line for Toy Story Midway Mania at 11:52 and had one of our longer waits of the day since we didn't ride until 12:30.

We checked out the rest of Pixar Pier and took a few fun pictures. We had a reservation coming up at the Lamplight Lounge (yay!) but it looked like we had time to ride the Little Mermaid first, if everything went as it usually did. So, of course, it didn't.

 

[fivelittles]

Looks like so much fun!

 

[FeistyDisneyMom]

I love the pix! so sad about the missing ears - but that loungefly is super cute.