We Begin To Practice The Hippie Art of Manifesting Characters Because The App Is Useless
Our initial plan to start the first full day with an Extra Magic Hour Half Hour in California Adventure hit a jet lag and buffetitis sized snag. Rosa was up with energy levels allowing for working on some stuff for home on the couch. Anabelle was mostly immobile, and I napped for a bit after getting dressed.
Like the lines and most everything else where things are Relaxed and Groovy, Mr. Potato head was outside the ride and scared the pants off us as we approached. The sneak entry to the rear of the park, even without the early access, continued to be a boon and it was the shortest wait we ever had for Toy Story Mania.
As
stated, the line (like nearly all lines) was outside (likely because rain is less
frequent than earthquakes in Anaheim), therefore, there was no simulation of
being under Andy’s bed. Alas.
Having both my knowledge of higher point tricks and much younger and faster reflexes, Anabelle easily outscored both of us, netting her highest level (“Cat”) in the game. YAAAY!
Having both my knowledge of higher point tricks and much younger and faster reflexes, Anabelle easily outscored both of us, netting her highest level (“Cat”) in the game. YAAAY!
A cool little touch on the way out was passing through a period
room with a scale “Actual Size” of the shooting gallery game we’d just ridden.
NEAT!
Next
door was Jessie’s Critter Carrousel! YEE HAW! The animals were all the cartoony
looking ones from the side scrolling section of Toy Story Mania. Anabelle chose
to ride on a backwards facing skunk. FUN! I had a wonderful, and laughter filled, time watching her,
because while it was named after Jessie, the announcements and song were all by
Stinky Pete himself!
YAAY!
We crossed through the weird No Man’s Land that was still traditional amusement park themed, but not Pixar. As should be obvious, I had navigation issues with this park for most of the trip. We took some photos by the postcard posters from various Pixar films on the way.
The Coco one obviously took place after the movie as Mama Coco was clearly visible in skeleton form. Um…yayish?
It’s
a shame we entered CarsLand in the direction we did. While it was impressive
seeing the Cadillac Range and the fun RustEeze “Burma Shave” like signs, there
was an issue. Rosa took one look at the banked curve the vehicles speed through
during the race part of Radiator Springs Racers and there was no way she was
trying the ride. Granted, she likely wouldn’t have liked that part much, but it
was over quickly, and the rest of the experience was a great deal of fun she’d
have probably enjoyed. [“No.”- Rosa]
Anabelle (in her specifically selected Cruz Ramirez shirt for this occasion) and I jumped on the single rider line and buzzed through looking at the cool stuff along the way with minimal wait. The one place the Relaxed and Groovy Cast Members were always spot on about wait times was that single rider line. The Spanish announcements done by Ramone were a nice touch. Luck was with us, and we ended up in the same car! YAAAY!
We
had so much fun, and the line held at minimal. Therefore, we went again. YAAAY!
This time, Anabelle was placed next to a fun kid who yelled in delight the whole way, and I was with a Spanish speaking family having a great time and filming the ride and each other.
Also, YAAAY!
The ride was remarkably smooth, even during the “race” fast part. It used the Test Track car vehicle technology, but since it wasn’t going through the stress based “testing” it was much more comfortable. The starting section was an oversized Dark Ride through Radiator Springs with all the characters from the first film, including Cow Tipping with Mater ending with an appearance by frighteningly full-sized Frank. When preparing for “the race” the ride went one of two ways. One was Luigi’s with him and Guido putting on tires. This one was more fun because the car bumped up and down… plus Luigi. I saw the other option on my second pass through. It was Ramone’s for a paint job (misting water spray) with him and Flo. That was the only place to see Flo, who Anabelle really liked in the movie and the game. However, Anabelle’s role as the Luigi Whisperer played into her encounters.
Because of that role, Anabelle needed to enter Luigi’s Casa Della Tires, which served as the line for his ride. We thought it might be like the Alien Swirling Saucers, but that was the Mater ride. This one had trackless cars of Luigi’s family that did an ethnic Car Square dance to various Italian songs. The fact that the cars' eyes were only visible from the outside when facing the vehicle, but not when seated in them, was a wild and cool effect. While she was on line, Mater and Lightning drove by.
YAAAAY!
Rosa and I were going to take photos, but they
parked much further from us then we first thought. It was a good thing we returned.
We almost missed “Eh Cumpari.” Luigi did much of the singing, but Guido did the
Spanish announcements… in an Italian accent.
Whatever.
Anabelle
got “Funiculi Funiccula,” and had a hoot filled ride, wheeling around throughout
the dance and the final spin. There was always a final spin. The trackless ride
should have made it possible to have a mix of different dances, but we were still
jet lagged enough to prevent identifying if that really happened.
“Did you watch a single car this time to compare?”
NEAT!
YAAY!
The Coco one obviously took place after the movie as Mama Coco was clearly visible in skeleton form. Um…yayish?
To
get to CarsLand we passed San Fransokyo Square. It looked straight out of Big
Hero Six and even without any characters and before the restaurants were open,
Anabelle described it as “the most awesome place ever!” This is likely because
she hadn’t been to CarsLand yet.
Anabelle (in her specifically selected Cruz Ramirez shirt for this occasion) and I jumped on the single rider line and buzzed through looking at the cool stuff along the way with minimal wait. The one place the Relaxed and Groovy Cast Members were always spot on about wait times was that single rider line. The Spanish announcements done by Ramone were a nice touch. Luck was with us, and we ended up in the same car! YAAAY!
This time, Anabelle was placed next to a fun kid who yelled in delight the whole way, and I was with a Spanish speaking family having a great time and filming the ride and each other.
Also, YAAAY!
The ride was remarkably smooth, even during the “race” fast part. It used the Test Track car vehicle technology, but since it wasn’t going through the stress based “testing” it was much more comfortable. The starting section was an oversized Dark Ride through Radiator Springs with all the characters from the first film, including Cow Tipping with Mater ending with an appearance by frighteningly full-sized Frank. When preparing for “the race” the ride went one of two ways. One was Luigi’s with him and Guido putting on tires. This one was more fun because the car bumped up and down… plus Luigi. I saw the other option on my second pass through. It was Ramone’s for a paint job (misting water spray) with him and Flo. That was the only place to see Flo, who Anabelle really liked in the movie and the game. However, Anabelle’s role as the Luigi Whisperer played into her encounters.
Because of that role, Anabelle needed to enter Luigi’s Casa Della Tires, which served as the line for his ride. We thought it might be like the Alien Swirling Saucers, but that was the Mater ride. This one had trackless cars of Luigi’s family that did an ethnic Car Square dance to various Italian songs. The fact that the cars' eyes were only visible from the outside when facing the vehicle, but not when seated in them, was a wild and cool effect. While she was on line, Mater and Lightning drove by.
YAAAAY!
Whatever.
“Did you watch a single car this time to compare?”
“No, I forgot.”
The time had come to visit the other Relaxed and Groovy Exclusive area- AvengersLand. (Avengers Campus technically, but really, they’re all “Lands” aren’t they? Also, for legal reasons, it can’t be MarvelLand. Universal is sooooo annoying.) It was a great music transition from the twangs of CarsLand to impressive and Superhero-ey tunes.
We
entered to find a crowd gathered to watch a Dora Milaje show. They called on
the audience to find their inner warriors and copy their dance like battle moves. T’challa
(who is dead) looked down approvingly from the balcony over the store. Rosa
caught his attention, by waving, and did “The Wakanda Thing” which he returned.
YAAAAY!
The Relaxed and Groovy attitude towards which characters appeared made it impossible to figure out the chronological setting of this area. Anabelle told me to blame the Multiverse. and shut up about it.
The time had come to visit the other Relaxed and Groovy Exclusive area- AvengersLand. (Avengers Campus technically, but really, they’re all “Lands” aren’t they? Also, for legal reasons, it can’t be MarvelLand. Universal is sooooo annoying.) It was a great music transition from the twangs of CarsLand to impressive and Superhero-ey tunes.
The Relaxed and Groovy attitude towards which characters appeared made it impossible to figure out the chronological setting of this area. Anabelle told me to blame the Multiverse. and shut up about it.
Parenthood, the gift that keeps on giving.
We
tried Uncle Jesse’s other ride, the Spider-Man themed Webshootin’ Arcade Thingy.
On line were a bunch of posters introducing the team, all of which were
references to characters from the comics (Squirrel Girl and Moon Girl – also a
cartoon) or movies (Harley from Iron Man 3) Peter Parker’s welcome intro
that descended into chaos with the Spider-Bots multiplying themselves without
stopping was cool. Tom Holland is always hilarious when playing being in an
embarrassing, out of control situation.
Peter- “NO! DON’T CALL MR STARK!!!”
A.I.- “OK, I will call Spider-Man.”
*Peter’s phone rings*
Peter- “NO! DON’T CALL MR STARK!!!”
A.I.- “OK, I will call Spider-Man.”
*Peter’s phone rings*
Peter- “Oh… hey, that’s weird.”
Instead
of two seaters with guns, eight guests sat back-to-back in two sets of four on
enclosed benches with a large open space facing out. Our vehicle serial number
was a Gwen Stacy reference…
Not a great sign.
The
ride concept was very cool. Making arm motions simulating web slinging shot webs
at the myriad bots all over the place. Pulling your arm back rapidly allowed the
“web and yank” move to happen. (I was good at this, having practiced it since
the age of about five.) Webs were color coded for each of the four guests in
each seat. The action on the screen in each section made it look like the ride was
really going under and around AvengersLand.
There
were an INSANE number of Spider-Bots. Spidey swung around and talked quickly,
while the areas “moved” by at high speed on the screen. That coupled with concern
over colliding arms with Rosa overwhelmed Anabelle completely. Since I have been
shooting webs since my childhood, I had decent accuracy from the get-go. Unfortunately,
“butt location” was a large problem for me. Regularly, though I was flailing as
fast as everyone else seated with me, my color webs would vanish, and I would
have to readjust my seating position. Rosa did the best and was the most comfortable
on the ride out of all three of us…
Because we are a superhero family.
YAAAY!
Often the superheroes (and the other Relaxed and Groovy characters we would eventually learn) didn’t have a set meeting spot but would “patrol.” While Anabelle recovered, I went over to see Spider-Man himself patrolling the outside of his ride. (Wearing his first Stark supplied movie costume…and everyone clearly remembered him. MULTIVERSE!)
Watching
little kids meet superheroes can be cooler than seeing them meet other characters.
The tiny ones were in AWE of standing next to Spidey. Then he’d get into a cool
web slinging pose and tell them to do it too.
And then…
They would completely forget they were standing next to their hero and focus all of their concentration on using one hand to maneuver the other in to the proper “thwipp” formation.
I
requested a photo telling him I’d been a fan for a VERY long time. He thanked
me as we got into position. I had no problem “thwipping” my fingers. Again- years
of practice. YAAY!
I was wise enough not to mention to Spidey (or anyone else) that he was on my underwear both days we visited AvengersLand.
On
the other side of AvengersLand another patrolling hero popped up behind us, startling
everyone a great deal.
Freakin’ California.
After
catching our breath, we chatted with Shang-Chi for a bit. He commented on my Buzz
Lightyear shirt and suggested asking Captain Marvel about space. That would
have to wait for another day. (Foreshadowing!!!) Shang-Chi was a Venn diagram of characters Anabelle
didn’t want to meet to begin with (male face characters she had no connection
to) and meeting style (randomly wandering instead of a controlled line, aka “patrolling.”)
Therefore, I went alone for the picture. He took a fighting stance and I …
Took a stance.
While stating, “I have no training… in anything.”
Technically, I did take taekwondo for six weeks through the town in grammar school. But it only met once a week, and I was sick and missed one class.
Not a great sign.
Because we are a superhero family.
YAAAY!
Often the superheroes (and the other Relaxed and Groovy characters we would eventually learn) didn’t have a set meeting spot but would “patrol.” While Anabelle recovered, I went over to see Spider-Man himself patrolling the outside of his ride. (Wearing his first Stark supplied movie costume…and everyone clearly remembered him. MULTIVERSE!)
And then…
They would completely forget they were standing next to their hero and focus all of their concentration on using one hand to maneuver the other in to the proper “thwipp” formation.
I was wise enough not to mention to Spidey (or anyone else) that he was on my underwear both days we visited AvengersLand.
Freakin’ California.
Took a stance.
While stating, “I have no training… in anything.”
Technically, I did take taekwondo for six weeks through the town in grammar school. But it only met once a week, and I was sick and missed one class.
All I learned was:
Stretching
Standing Side Kick
How to scare the heck out of your classmate pretending to attack you and standing way too close during Standing Side Kick practice.
This is why I stuck with, “no training.”
Passing
the Terror o’ Guardians Tower we left AvengersLand and entered MGMWestLand, or
whatever the “classic era of Hollywood” section was called.
We
looked around a little, then paused and posed by the Storytellers Statue, showing
Mickey with Walt when he first arrived in California. Awwwww.
The
Carthay Circle restaurant was a pseudo-icon of this park. (As was the Big
Mickey Ferris Wheel…the Icons were less obvious with things being Relaxed and Groovy.)
I didn’t find out why (it is based on a famous Hollywood Theater) until well
after we got home.
We
were ready for our first in Park table service lunch, in the lounge of that
restaurant which every single cast member we talked to told us to eat at. It
set the tone for the remainder of our in park Table Service lunches…
In that we cancelled all of them.
The
description stated the lounge had seating “outside” the restaurant, and we
thought we’d be in the still chilly and cloudy air for our meal. However, it
just meant “outside the main restaurant, in the bar.” The problem with the limited
menus and Freakin’ California stating “ask for allergen free items” when you
get to any food service place, was the meal Rosa had planned to have could not be
made gluten free. (A side problem was we had passed “Award Wieners” on the way,
and it inspired a hot dog craving, making her immune to the waiter asking her
to suggest items the kitchen was willing to try to adjust.)
Anabelle
greatly enjoyed her berry lemonade [“It was delicious.”- Anabelle] and Bao bun
appetizer.My chicken with a suspicious but tasty smear on the plate was
enjoyable. The waiter was, as most Awesome Happy Disney People are, helpful and
a traveling party. However, overall, the place was far more in the snooty column
than we usually go for, whether or not we’re in Disney.
Once
Anabelle and I finished, Rosa had a quick chat with the “Award Wieners” chef
and got a gluten free hot dog and sweet potato fries for her lunch. Anabelle
got a frozen banana, across from where we sat, which was terrifyingly frozen. It thawed enough while Rosa
finished her lunch as we rested a bit near the Filmore’s Magic entrance. Another
difference from Florida, far from Relaxed and Groovy, was that a group of military
helicopters flew over the park.
Stretching
Standing Side Kick
How to scare the heck out of your classmate pretending to attack you and standing way too close during Standing Side Kick practice.
This is why I stuck with, “no training.”
In that we cancelled all of them.
Rosa wanted a Mickey ice cream bar for dessert, which made me very happy. This is because the part of the sign that said they had Mickey ice cream sandwiches was covered when we got Anabelle her banana.
Mouse shaped ice cream party! YAAAAAAY!
Wheezy!
The Binoculars!
That creepy phone from the day care center!
YAAAAAY!!!
Freakin’ California.
“Oh, I guess not.” It was a weirdly specific call back to a Colorado conversation.
He was allowed in the picture, however.
Buzz, being an action figure, is made of hard somewhat pointy plastic. It was not the most comfortable of hugs.
Before he started suggesting various and exciting Space Ranger poses…
He shooed Bo Peep away completely. She was near me in none of the pictures.
(Nice but not kind, Kind but not nice…)
Freakin’ California.
Anger was announced to be joining them a couple weeks after we left, but I’ll bet he wasn’t there either.
Before leaving the “old timey amusement park” section, Anabelle wanted to go on the spinning swings. Rosa and I are neither fans of spinning or swinging (or heights) and we remained on the ground to watch our daughter fly high in the air to the Lone Ranger song. (OOOH, that’s where it came from!) YAAAAY!
That meant that the movie couldn’t begin at the size it did in Florida and then expand across the walls. Instead, it began with the illusion of being on a smaller screen further away, then expanding to the full-size screen and finally projected onto individual side panels on the wall. It was fun but lacked a bit of the magic we were used to.
Still, Filmore! Yay!
A choice.
and they had scaly pants on.
Woody
tipped his hat to us, for a nice acknowledgment. YAAAAY!!
We noticed the Pizza Planet truck riding in the back of the oversized toy dump truck with him. This is as good a point as any to indicate we found many little Pizza Planet Trucks all over the place. I figured, given there was a Pixar Themed Park section, they were a normal item. This ignores the fact that we saw them in all lands of California Adventure AND ALSO Disneyland. They were for Pixar Fest, and fifty (or fifty-one depending on which influencer reported it) of them were hidden around the Parks. We found a boatload, but since I didn’t know it was a “Fest” thing, I didn’t keep track or notations of them. Another reason Disney World cannot do short term things like this is the sheer scale of the place. Fifty hidden items would appear too infrequently to make a dent there. Just imagine how many of the little toy vehicles they would need to hide in all the Disney World Parks to make them seem like regular occurrences.
Next
up we wanted to try the Monsters Inc, dark ride that uses higher tech
animatronics and stuff. It had a ten-minute wait.
No wait… it’s a thirty-minute wait.
WOW! Look at that lighting lane mob, its fifty minutes!
Then it broke.
Freakin California.
Seriously,
why- whenever we are stuck on a line that is WAY longer than it is supposed to
be, regardless of Park or coast- are we always in an unshaded concrete area
with metal zigzag chains. They don’t even use those lines that often anymore.
When
they were making the “Not sure when we’re gonna fix this” announcement, the guy
ahead of us said, “Everyone in the front please step out of line.”
Excellent plan.
The
Disney gods smiled on us, and multiple groups ahead of us did leave. It was fixed
in about ten minutes.
The
sun may have gotten to Anabelle. As we moved, she shouted,
“I can almost TASTE Mike Wazowski…
I’m going to lick him.”
We
started counting- seventeen normal folks to twenty-three FastPass. Then twelve
normal to thirty-two FastPass. (We were number seventeen for that one.) But
shortly, we went in. YAY!
There
was a huge guy in front of us, we were worried he was going to pick up Sully.
Due
to the drink machine from Monsters at Work, I was talking aimlessly
about trying to figure out when the ride took place, since there was that later
bit, but also earlier stuff, and scream power.
Anabelle
listened to me blather for a bit and said, “Maybe it’s just the story of the first
movie.”
It was.
It
was also a fantastic ride. The doors room looked like it went on forever. The
animatronics were top notch and projections were used as fantastic
enhancements, like for Randall changing colors. YAAAAY!
We noticed the Pizza Planet truck riding in the back of the oversized toy dump truck with him. This is as good a point as any to indicate we found many little Pizza Planet Trucks all over the place. I figured, given there was a Pixar Themed Park section, they were a normal item. This ignores the fact that we saw them in all lands of California Adventure AND ALSO Disneyland. They were for Pixar Fest, and fifty (or fifty-one depending on which influencer reported it) of them were hidden around the Parks. We found a boatload, but since I didn’t know it was a “Fest” thing, I didn’t keep track or notations of them. Another reason Disney World cannot do short term things like this is the sheer scale of the place. Fifty hidden items would appear too infrequently to make a dent there. Just imagine how many of the little toy vehicles they would need to hide in all the Disney World Parks to make them seem like regular occurrences.
No wait… it’s a thirty-minute wait.
WOW! Look at that lighting lane mob, its fifty minutes!
Then it broke.
Freakin California.
Excellent plan.
“I can almost TASTE Mike Wazowski…
I’m going to lick him.”
It was.
Afterwards, the "Lou" box was accessible! YAAAAAY!
We
returned to Park Enterin’ Street to see Dale per the App…
He was leaving.
Freakin’ California.
We
sat on a bench to regroup and honestly, I think all of us nodded off. We were
startled by a silly Streetmosphere (Don’t Care) messenger lady, who was poking
fun at us about how draining the parks are. We pointed out we’d arrived only yesterday
with a three-hour time difference after no sleep. She wished us much luck
before pedaling off.
We
got back to AvengersLand just in time to see Starlord and Gamora leave after their
dance off.
Alas.
Besides
randomly roving heroes, there was a large sliding door by an Avengers logo that
characters came out of to do normal people’s meet and greets with lines and a photographer.
Well
almost normal. The Relaxed and Groovy ways meant we never knew who was coming
out or for how long, but the PhotoPass guy said someone was coming soon.
Loki passed by while we were waiting, and Anabelle made sure not to go in that direction.
The
doors opened revealing Shuri in full Black Panther regalia…which didn’t jibe at
all with seeing T’challa earlier, but MULTIVERSE! We talked with her, posed, and
Rosa asked to do the “Wakanda Thing” which was a hoot as well. [“Not for me” –
Anabelle]
YAAY!
Anabelle
wasn’t prepared to be overwhelmed again on the Spidey ride. She went off to
CarsLand for two single rider trips on Radiator Springs Racers. Due to her role as “The Luigi Whisperer” on none of her four trips on that ride did she get to
see Flo. Alas.
He was leaving.
Freakin’ California.
Alas.
YAAY!
[“It was OK, because… Luigi.” -Anabelle]
Rosa
and I went on the regular line again. Jesse said there was a single rider line,
but it wasn’t in operation when we were there.
Or, alternatively, as we would discover later, I am a buffoon.
A
woman on line yelled “Hi Buzz!” for reasons I did not know.
Because I forgot what shirt I had on, once more.
Because I am a buffoon.
We
sat with another couple, and Rosa and the wife of that duo (who clearly had no
idea what she was doing) creamed her husband and I on the scoreboard. YAAAY!
(for them) I don’t know what his issue was. I still had “butt placement”
problems.
We
had been thinking the Spider-Bots themed to various heroes would be cool, low-cost
souvenirs at only ten bucks a pop. This is because, yet again, I am a buffoon.
The different hero themed ones were flimsy plastic shells and modifier
attachments that went on the actual eighty-dollar, remote control Spider-Bots.
Alas.
We
met Anabelle at Flo’s V8 Café for dinner in CarsLand and our high expectations
were rewarded. Rosa and Anabelle were both thrilled with the shakes. The food
was excellent as well. They left off the lettuce and tomato of Anabelle and my Impossible
Burgers. They were happy to supply it when asked, completing our enforced vegan
version of “THE KA-CHEESEBURGER” Bwa ha ha!
We
discussed future meals, including dropping the other table service lounge in
this park and when a return visit to Flo’s would be viable. Anabelle pointed
out that whatever we did, I needed to eat regularly, stating, “He says he’ll be
fine, and he was all calm and sweet like Smeagol going into the Café, but as
soon as there was a minor delay he turned into Gollum.” *Gollum Voice* “WE MUST
HAVE FOOD, PRECIOUS!”
While
eating she pointed out she NEEDED the shake souvenir cup, not because of the Lightning
and Mater on one side, but because of the diner’s owner on the other. This is
because when she beats me at “Point to Point One” on Cars Race-O-Rama, she
could show me the cup, the same way she shows me the meme she made, and say, “You
just got Flo’d.”
Parenthood, the gift that keeps on giving.
We
gathered ourselves together, made some pit stops (Car joke! HA!) and donned our
hoodies and jackets as we were now ready for the cool desert night air.
The
music in CarsLand was always excellent Fifties Rock N Roll. Suddenly however,
it was much louder. It took a bit to figure it out. They were playing “Sh-Boom”
like in the movie as they lit up all the neon in the amazing recreation of Radiator
Springs we were standing in. It was gorgeously awesome. Anabelle took a near
infinite number of pictures every time we encountered it. (Which would obviously
be more than once after our initial exciting but confused exposure.) This was
above and beyond the near infinite number of pictures she took of Radiator Springs
in the day time.
YAAAAAAAAAAY!
We
hung around the Cars store for a bit, looking at the tiny model of Radiator
Springs which matched the neon lighting up we saw outside. Anabelle got a Cruz
Ramirez hoodie, which led to some confusion as both CarsLand (represented by
her new outer covering) and AvengersLand (represented by the outer covering she
brought) were both in the same park.
Rosa
wanted to try the Luigi ride, and initially it was going to be a romantic ride for two.
Then Anabelle decided instead of going off alone again, because even the single
rider Radiator Springs Racers line was too long, she’d join us. Then she also
decided they didn’t need me in their vehicle on the ride.
Again- Parenthood the gift that keeps on giving.
The
line was cute and had a boatload of Easter Eggs. (Including, surprise! A Pizza
Planet Truck.) It was also slightly longer than listed because of low throughput
and the Relaxed and Groovy attitude towards any information provided. Luigi announcing
a “Tire-an-tella” made me laugh out loud, as I will appreciate a terrible pun
in any language.
By
this early junction in the trip, I had already magically managed to pull that
one muscle that goes over the rib cage meaning certain movements (which are
annoyingly common on amusement park rides) caused it to squeeze all the wind
out of me.
Therefore,
while Anabelle and Rosa sat together and danced in their vehicle to Rosemary
Clooney singing “Mambo Italiano,” I had other things on my mind. Alone in the
car, I sat in the center and ineffectually tried to lock my arms to hold myself
in place and not vacate my body of oxygen.
I
survived and we walked off to other fun Italian songs. Because “they can tell”
a random little girl started dancing with me as we exited. YAAY!
We
rode Ariel’s ride again because it was there. YAAAY!
It may have been there. It was kind of centrally located, I think. As frequently stated, I never did get the hang of California Adventure’s layout.
I
do know it was time for another of our all-around Grizzly Peak walks, to try
out this version of Soarin.’ The outside lines were the weirdest on rides we
were the most familiar with. After going back and forth for a bit we entered
the building… and there it was down a small hill. For reasons I cannot fathom
the theme to Patton played as we walked down that hill. (Soarin’ was in
the “Generic California Wilderness” part of the park rather than the “mini-MGM”
part.)
Soarin’
is always fun. They had switched back to the “Around the World” version, but there
they keep the original “Over California” ending that flies over Disneyland. The
woman next to the empty seat beside me talked during the ENTIRE attraction. Fortunately,
after a lifetime of large and loud Italian family dinner conversations, I filter
very well.
YAAAY!
Still
reeling from the lack of sleep the day before and having spent close to thirteen
hours in the park that was getting ready to shut down we did the sensible thing…
We
Park Hopped across the tiny “no man’s land” between them and entered
Disneyland! YAAAAY!
For us, “sensible” has a highly variable definition when Disney is involved.
While
Anabelle and Rosa had taught me well to use the ticket on the App, along with
having a screen shot saved in favorites for easy access, my “old man mind” to
go with my “old man bones” was much happier pulling the paper ticket out of the
same pocket I kept my trusty printed Grid in. Well, semi-trusty Grid. Between
park hopping, meal cancelling and the general indifference the place had to
schedules, its main function was stating which park we should start in.
In the compressed land of Relaxed and Groovy, Tomorrowland was even closer to the entrance than we were accustomed to. Anabelle and Rosa were all excited about going on the Buzz Lightyear ride, but I wasn’t sure why.
Because I forgot what shirt I had on, twice more.
Because I am a buffoon.
[“But we love you anyway, pat pat.” *Pats my head* - Anabelle]
The
ride visuals were different than Florida but had the same types of things.
Anabelle liked this version far better because the lasers were removable, allowing
for better aiming. My aim was still pretty terrible, but I had my appropriate shirt
on, and everything looked cool, meaning I had fun anyway, because Disney!
YAAAAY!
We
had to enter our e-mail on screens at the end, marking this as one of the
earliest “Photo On the Ride” attractions Disney has. Neat!
Or, alternatively, as we would discover later, I am a buffoon.
Because I forgot what shirt I had on, once more.
Because I am a buffoon.
Alas.
Parenthood, the gift that keeps on giving.
Again- Parenthood the gift that keeps on giving.
It may have been there. It was kind of centrally located, I think. As frequently stated, I never did get the hang of California Adventure’s layout.
YAAAY!
For us, “sensible” has a highly variable definition when Disney is involved.
In the compressed land of Relaxed and Groovy, Tomorrowland was even closer to the entrance than we were accustomed to. Anabelle and Rosa were all excited about going on the Buzz Lightyear ride, but I wasn’t sure why.
Because I forgot what shirt I had on, twice more.
Because I am a buffoon.
[“But we love you anyway, pat pat.” *Pats my head* - Anabelle]
YAAAAY!
Shortly after we left, they updated it to the modern fancy version. Less neat.
My
nostalgia for the 20,000 Leagues ride led us to their Nemo based submarine
adventure. Without that nostalgia, the rest of my family were not fans given
that it had the same visuals as the EPCOT Living Seas ride, without the final
song. Also, Rosa’s back did not tolerate the squashed crouch required down in the
guts of the submarine, and Anabelle was freaked out sitting next to the feet of
the Cast Member driving the boat.
“What if he kicks me?!”
But I had fun. (yay!)
However, while I appreciated the use of red lights to turn the old arctic part into an underwater volcano, (SHARK BAIT, OOH AAH AAH!!!) I did miss the giant squid and sea serpent. (Alas.)
We
planned to try the Roger Rabbit ride, however the App (which we were beginning to
learn was questionable, or, as Anabelle would say, "useless.") showed a spike in the wait time. The giant, fancy small
world was conveniently on the way to Toontown, and off we went.
YAAAAAAAAAY!
Honestly,
with the reduced scale of the park and Rosa and Anabelle’s delight over this
version of her favorite, the small world was often on the way wherever we went.
Roger’s
ride reduced, and the immersivness of Toon Town increased at night the way the Awesome
Happy Disney Lighting works. That ride had one of the earliest of the “fun
stuff to do while you wait” lines. We did catch the peeking gorilla at the Ink
and Paint Club… much to Anabelle’s horror. I’d forgotten how much “oomph” was
taken to get the cab spinning, but Anabelle and I did it and had a wild and fun
adventure. Rosa’s was a tad less wild (and spinny) but still fun.
YAAAY!
We
goofed around with the various props and doors in Toontown. I electrocuted myself,
for funsies! Anabelle visited the jail like Dog Pound. She was going to take a
picture “rattling the bars.” Sadly, she didn’t realize the extent the Toontown designers
spread gags around the Land. The other thing she didn’t realize could spread
were the rubber bars and she fell clean through them.
“What if he kicks me?!”
But I had fun. (yay!)
However, while I appreciated the use of red lights to turn the old arctic part into an underwater volcano, (SHARK BAIT, OOH AAH AAH!!!) I did miss the giant squid and sea serpent. (Alas.)
YAAAAAAAAAY!
YAAAY!
Mickey’s house was next with another fun line through his home. The “pre-Mickey” room showed the new Mickey shorts. Even Relaxed and Groovy Disney displayed they know people movement like no one else. We saw the complete cartoon loop while in that room minus a minute or so.
Because she is hilarious.
BECAUSE IT WAS ELEVEN PM!
Chip and Dale manifested right next to us.
Rosa ran down to see them, showing off her shirt and earrings with them on it once again.
[“Those earrings are really mine!” – Anabelle]
She got many hugs, poses, and kisses before returning to our line.
YAAAAAAAY!
YAAY!
Because the Park had almost no time left open.
Remember kids, short wait times can be found if you’re persistent… or crazy.
Anabelle and I ran on for an almost private viewing of the pre-show film, while Rosa stayed outside watching Chip and Dale. The one other person, who did not pass our levels of Disneyness requirements, asked the cast member if she really had to talk to on screen Goofy with only us there and no kids.
“Yes, she does!” we said.
“And
that’s why I wear pants and Pluto doesn’t.”
Um…yayish?
With
the Park about ready to hit us in the can on the way out, we went “next door”
to the Tomorrowland Monorail station. There was an enormously long line space
to hold the usual transportation seeking crowds. There were, however, no people
as Midnight approached and we weaved alone over the pungent smells of the far
larger than it really needs to be Autopia.
This
was the trip I learned taking notes is a significant phone battery drain as I
was at 1% before we got home. Anabelle used her bit of charge left to cancel
the Lamplight Lounge the day after the one that had already started because we
are insane and refused to leave an open Park if there was a smidgen of sleep in
us.
We
had family input into Anabelle’s upcoming Minnie ear selection plans for the remainder
of the trip while washing up and passing out. It was exciting for her to have a
chance to take the “Disneyland” sign set she had off the wall at home and wear
them in the appropriate Park. She also sadly realized that the handmade Donald
ears were on their last round up and would join the Belle ones on her wall in
the “Retired” section.
Um…yayish?
Alas.
22921
steps.
8.6 miles
8.6 miles
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