Disneyland 2024- Day 4: May 15

Mom Scouted Ahead Because The App Is Useless And BLINDED ME

After another marathon Park day, we caught our fourth wind. (Possibly fifth.) Using the secret entrance to California Adventure a third time, we arrived for the first time in this park for the Extra Magic Hour Half Hour. The desert based park was oddly wet. There had been some rain overnight and a light mist still hung in the air. Anabelle found a reason to fix her shoe to stay as far away from Rosa and I taking cute PhotoPass pictures.
 
The precipitation played havoc with many of the rides. The Incredicoaster was down for quite a while, as was pretty much everything in CarsLand. We saw several Cast Members losing their Relaxed and Groovy demeanor as they tried to deal with the unfamiliar hazard of puddles by using push brooms.
 

For non-rain related reasons (one would hope) Ariel’s ride was also shuttered. We worked our way into AvengersLand where Rosa went back to the Spidey ride. She scored an impressive 245,000 as the only one in the car. 

There was still no evidence of a single rider line.
 
Anabelle and I are both huge fans of the original Terror o’ Tower and decided to try the Guardians of the Galaxy overlay of it in this area. We were pleasantly surprised at how much fun it was. There was also a less pleasant surprise as part of the differences between coasts with this ride’s mechanics. 

There was no one there at the early time, meaning I was lagging behind Anabelle trying to see all the cool Marvel stuff the Collector had on display, while also trying to watch the big screen laying down the story of how the Guardians of the Galaxy were the prize of the collection. Baby Groot (another character who doesn’t line up with many of the ones we met…MULTIVERSE!) was part of the gang, pegging which movie came out when this was designed.
 

The library that used to feature Rod Serling’s TV introduction, now had the Collector’s trinkets and a larger and more modern screen where Benicio Del Toro’s character began his long-winded speech. This was interrupted by an impressive Rocket Racoon animatronic detailing how he’d be taking over our ride but needed us to wave our hands to use bio scans to open doors for him.
 
The “boiler room” looked about the same with a bit more sci-fi trimmings. Then, very shortly we were seated in the elevator. The initial opening of the doors allowed us to see Rocket’s shadow standing on our car as he took over the ride and connected the Walkman to play some tunes.
 
“Give Up the Funk” kicked on. Being used to the suspenseful Florida version of this ride, we were expecting a new Marvelized transition where the car previously weaved horizontally through the “Twilight Zone” before reaching the up and down shaft.
[“Who’s ‘we?’ You told me.”- Anabelle]
 
Well… about that.
 
It turns out the California version never had that transition. Anabelle raised her hands to start dancing and we plummeted! She may have screamed louder than everyone else in the car while grabbing my arm.

True to the Imagineers’ word, while there was just as much anti-gravity up and down, it was more fun and bouncier than the earlier version of the attraction. The scenes of the Guardians fighting their way through the collection were hilarious as well. YAAAY!
 
The line stayed short, though the minor increase allowed us to catch Stan Lee’s cameo in the video shown in the collection room this time. YAAY!
 

The song on our return was the arguably equally catchy “Free Ride.” We had fun again, but two in a row without any wait in between left us a bit shooken.

With the Spidey Single Rider Line still missing in action (most likely because we were all very tired) Rosa waited for us over the border in FakeMGMLand and visited with Mr. Incredible in his blue costume…

because he looked lonely.
 
Anabelle saw the Wasp in the Avengers meeting area. We called Rosa back and jumped on line. Anabelle was slightly concerned by the discovery that the Wasp was not alone but with Ant Man. They were both a lot of fun, however, such as when Ant Man proudly pointed out how he was once mistaken for Thor. As I personally loved Quantumania, I was thrilled that the film got a shout out. Anabelle stayed close to Wasp and insisted on remaining by her side for the group picture, making Hope very happy. They did introduce themselves as both their superhero identities, and as “Scott and Hope” which was really sweet. Rosa asked them to say hi to Luis as we left, because we really all get into it when we meet characters.
YAAAY!

The other day in this park we had been discussing how most characters we met were “that person” but in AvengersLand it felt more like people in a costume. (This may have been due to Shang-Chi being such a regular guy in the film.) That belief evaporated more and more on this day.
 
Back at the border (where Rosa saw Mr. Incredible) was a small shawarma stand which made it onto my menu list… because I know us. Anabelle hadn’t had success staving off CrazyHungryLand after choosing to not have any power bars in the room for her. Therefore, she stopped for a breakfast shawarma, wrap…thing.
 
The stand sold the Mjolnir drink holders, which did not tempt me at all, because I unsurprisingly have an impressive Mjolnir prop of my own at home. (Thanks, Jesse!) As much as I think the fancy popcorn buckets are kind of dopey, that Stark Infinity Gauntlet lit up AND was super shiny.
 

With all of us having some form of breakfast now, we joined the line of a nearby PhotoPass guy in front of the fake street background in PretendMGMLand. He was a great deal of fun, telling one of the people before us that their Croc was untied. He made us pose close together saying how much they like warm hugs here. Noticing Rosa’s E.T. hoodie he remarked that a sequel with the original cast was in the works. Honestly, we weren’t sure if he was being serious or using it as an extended intro to a shaggy dog story to make an “E.T. is older and looks all wrinkly now” joke. The bare minimum of research looks like both may have been true, as the rumor originated with a fake movie poster.
 

Over at this Park’s characterless Pixarfest, there was a large screen constantly running their shorts. Up until this point we had always seen Lava. This was fine as it allowed us to send annoying texts to Aurora. Today however, Anabelle’s favorite, Boundin’, was showing. We bounded ourselves into the car seating set up to look like a drive-in and enjoyed the show. 
 

The Monsters Inc ride had the level of impressiveness all the modern Disney dark rides do…
Which is why we went on it again when it had a short line.
YAAAY!
 

Speaking of short lines, we crossed the tiny park yet again to ride Ariel now that it was repaired.
YAAAY!
 

That put us near Toy Story Mania. Dodging the terrifying glare of Mr. Potatohead, we took another round on Uncle Jesse’s ride. Anabelle easily had best in car again. Rosa was just pleased that she got a working gun this time. YAAAY!

The Incredicoaster had minimal wait on the single rider line. While it worked out that Anabelle and I got to sit next to each other, getting to that seat was stressful. They sent us through a set of elevators while before and after shuttling us across platforms much like cattle. I'm sure my saying, "Moooooo!" repeatedly did not help the mood. Finally, they made us stand against a wall near the boarding area, randomly grabbing folks from our gang as seats opened up.
 

What started life as a more high-tech copy of a Coney Island type roller coaster got a full story added when the Pixar theme hit this Park section. Voice overs from the Incredibles cast indicated Edna had lost control of Jack Jack’s multiple powers again, and the ride implied running along with Dash while we passed the rest of the family here and there. The magnetic launch simulated Dash’s revving up on top of the water. It’s a heck of a ride! At about two and a half minutes it packs in an extended amount of fun for this type of coaster. YAAAAAAY! The single loop went fast enough that I never felt like I was upside down, just moving fast. There was one issue. The slight mist persisted this day. Walking around in it meant an occasional drop or two on one’s face. Strapped into an open car and hitting fifty-five miles an hour in four seconds, we were quite pelted. I mentioned some of the character sightings, like the multiple Jack Jacks on the hills. Anabelle, who removes her glasses for thrill rides, asked, “Oh, you mean those little red blurs?”
 
We met up with Rosa near where Jack Jack’s Cookie Num Nums had an excellent gluten free option and set out to cross the tiny park again, again. Clarabelle and Oswald were both supposed to be on “Not Main Street” Shortly.
 

On the way around Grizzly Peak, (another again) we ran into Dug with his speaking collar. This may have been the best character interaction I’ve ever had. There was no line, and there weren’t many people around. Dug goofed around with us, leaving and running back over several times, highlighting a benefit of the Relaxed and Groovy mentality.

Part of it was just talking to us and training us to “stay,” and part was saying he just met us, and he loved us. (Aww.)
The final time (of several) that he ran back up he kept gesturing to my phone saying, “I am great at taking pictures.” This is why I have a few photos of just his nose. YAAAAY!

 
Up near the entrance of the park, at the theoretical start time of Oswald and Clarabelle’s greeting time, Oswald was no where to be seen, and Anabelle was able to run up to Clarabelle very briefly as she left.

Following a bit of emotional recovery and venting about the App…
Freakin’ California!
We retraced our steps around Grizzly Peak.

Mei Mei and her Mom were at their meeting place.
They weren’t supposed to be, but they were.
Relaxed and Groovy.
 
We thought we found ourselves on line with several guests Disney Bounding as Mei Mei’s friends. I’m not sure having her meet along side her Mom was the best idea for this character, as she played trying to control herself very well, rather than being the unhinged version of the character that was a lot of fun in the film. Mrs. Mei, or whatever her name is, fought hard not to laugh at the friend’s antics.
 
It turned out we were not on line with Disney Bounders, we were on line with the cast members that play her friends and one of 4-Town from the parade, who decided to wait to see her as a goof.
YAAY!
 

On our turn, both complemented Rosa’s red E.T. hoodie shirt, and Anabelle’s red striped Giulia shirts as they matched most of their booth. Mrs. Mei did point out that the green of her dress was more calming. When we posed for the photo with them, Anabelle stood near Rosa and sent me to the other side. “Bye Dad… poo, poo.”
Parenthood, the gift that keeps on giving.

The Ariel ride was nearby, so that happened again.

 
While figuring out what was next, the Army Man Band came by. Catchy and fun. YAAY!

 
We heard the Lone Ranger song yet again in the distance. I stopped referencing my EPCOT shirt as I started to annoy even myself with that.
 
The App was vague (about pretty much everything, we were learning) about the Zootopia meeting. Nick came out on his own, and while we were on line Dug passed to return back stage. Nick gave him a ticket and Dug tore it up. Really, it was a whole little play in mime. YAAAY!

The Character Handler told us Nick normally gives Chip and Dale tickets as well…for not wearing clothes.
Nothing weird here at all.

We had a nice meeting with Nick. YAY!

 
The mist kept the Incredicoaster line relatively short, and our back-and-forth wanderings had placed us across one of the bridges from it…maybe. (Really never did get the hang of this place.) After being “herded” Anabelle wanted no part of the single rider line, but the main one went really quick. With a bit of extra concentration, Anabelle could make out some of the characters we whipped by this time. YAAAAY!  
 
We were planning lunch at the Pym Kitchen, with Rosa grabbing a shawarma. She went over there to do a deep dive on the menu while we rode. The problem was, she was holding Anabelle’s glasses with the bags. The other problem was, there wasn’t a gluten free option at the shawarma stand. I’m not really sure why we thought there was. Perhaps the Relaxed and Groovy was getting to us. She did pick me up the Stark Infinity Gauntlet drink holder.
YAY!!!
 

While waiting she saw an Avengers show up on the balcony where Captain America (Sam) and Black Widow (who did not exist in the MCU at the same time. MULTIVERSE!) fought…
some bad guys and their boss.
Once again, crack reporting from Rosa.
 
I led Anabelle through the park to AvengersLand. As we entered, I said, “Ooh look, the Spider-Man show is up on top of his ride.”
“You mean the red and blue blur?” asked Anabelle.
We did not stop.

We were planning to eat; however, we were distracted. Captain Marvel (unscheduled) walked out to the center of AvengersLand and set up a line. Keep in mind Anabelle’s (Christmas present from Grandma) jacket had Captain Marvel and Miss Marvel on the back and Rosa added Photon/ Monica Rambeau/ Used to be Captain Marvel on the front.

While we were on line Kamala Khan (Miss Marvel) walked up to talk to Carol. [“I almost threw up!” – Anabelle] She was not listed ANYWHERE on the App. (Freakin’ California) Anabelle pulled it together to go meet the Captain. It was a mix of excitement and awkwardness. This is because, while she is a fan of Carol in the movies, she’s a much bigger fan of Kelly Thompson’s run on Carol’s comic. Therefore, while Anabelle knows a lot about the character, it was hard to separate which version she should address in her head. Luckily, the jacket helped out a lot. Carol also liked her nails which she saw when Anabelle got her autograph. They discussed Cars a bit. Anabelle realized Captain Marvel was in space when it came out, however, Carol told her that Kamala had showed her the film.

It didn’t sink in until later that CarsLand, where it was all real and not a movie, was right next door.
 
Carol liked my every Avenger shirt, she asked if she was on it, and I had to point to her old Ms. Marvel costume. “Oh yes, I remember those days.” NIFTY!
 
We sprinted over to Kamala’s line, and she really embodied all the energy Ms. Marvel showed in her series and movie (and comics.) She was already excited about seeing Monica on Anabelle’s jacket. Anabelle told her to wait, and dramatically jumped and spun around.
Kamala screamed!

Then asked her to do the jump and spin again.

There was a great deal of bonding between the two of them and lots of bubbly excitement.
Anabelle asked her to sign on the same page Carol did, adding to the bubbly excitement.
Then as Kamala suggested many different heroic poses for pictures, Anabelle said, “Do you mind if I hold my… 

wallet with YOUR COSTUME ON IT!”

Much more bubbly excitement.
Ms. Marvel declared, “you’re like the Me…of ME!”
YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY!!!!

They talked about fandom of Carol and other things.

I stepped in for a picture, and Kamala was extremely proper and serious when talking to a theoretical adult, including doing a straight-faced fist bump with a “BshhhhhhhhT” explosion.
Hee Hee.

When we finished, I asked if Anabelle mentioned where we were from.
“Oh, I’m from New Jersey too.”
Kamala declared that they must be best friends, and that Anabelle should come over for dinner when we returned to New Jersey.”
 
Disney can still make a twenty-year-old feel like a giddy little girl.
YAAAAAAAAAAAY!!!
“THIS WAS THE BEST DAY EVER!!! Except for all the other days I said this.” – Anabelle
 
Slowly working our way towards food, we were interrupted again. Captain America (Sam) was out in the courtyard as well. Two little boys ahead of us to meet him wanted to know where Steve was and why Cap had Steve’s shield. (Rotten little turds.) Sam diplomatically stated that Steve was fine and also stated (perhaps with a slightly less diplomatic edge) “Steve GAVE me this shield.”
 

I had a quick talk with him. He saw the First Timer buttons and asked if we were enjoying it and what brought us here. (Because even the Avengers know they’re in Disneyland… weird.)
I told him we frequented the “other place” many times and wanted to try something new. He asked what was different and I said, “THIS! *waves hands around*” He said, “Ah yes, the “other place” does not have… THIS. *waves shield around*” During photos Anabelle kept the running gag alive by getting shots of our feet. He thanked me for congratulating him on his “Cap-ness” and we moved on.

 
Iron Man was leaving the official Avengers meeting area, and a highly accurate looking Doctor Strange was on the balcony above it. We waved a bit, until Carol came patrolling by.

Captain Marvel greeted the Master of the Mystic Arts, and they began engaging in small talk. Most folks who know them only from films had no problem with this. Anabelle, who as mentioned read Thompson’s Captain Marvel run which featured the two of them… um…
meeting,
said, “I’m sorry I have to go” and ran towards food.
 

Rosa crossed borders again to visit Award Wieners (hee hee) once more. She got to see the full-sized Groot by the Guardians’ ride on her return, adding further confusion to the time frame. (Also dead… MULITVERSE!)
 

Anabelle and I hit the Pym test kitchen and it was both our favorite Counter Service of both parks. First of all, the place was hilarious. There were “giant sized” soda cans, and condiment bottles with pipes leading down to the dispensers. The kiosks had oversized “Harbulary” batteries powering them, as another reference to the movie that inspired the Guardians’ Tower.

While waiting on line I figured out Mobile order. It probably took about as long, but I could sit at a table with Anabelle instead of weaving through the line alone.
 

I had a GIANT TACO! There’s really nothing else to say. Who wouldn’t love a Giant Taco? YAAAY! I also bought a Growing Disk and a container of Shrinking Pym Particles, because I am exactly as weak as I predicted when sizing up the menus. They look very nice lit up next to the Infinity Gauntlet thank you very much.

Anabelle had the meatless meatball (or “The Ball”) along with various over and undersized macaroni. It was served in a giant spoon, with a teeny fork.
So much fun!!!!
YAAAAAY!

She also mocked me over the fact that my Stark Infinity Gauntlet drink holder made drinking FAR more awkward that not using it would be. *Holds bottle at ridiculous angle that would spill all over if it was open*

“Oh, this is SO easy to use.”
Parenthood, the gift that keeps on giving.
 

Rosa brought her Award Wiener (hee hee) over to us. The Avengers show went on again up on the balcony while we ate. T’challa joined Cap and Black Widow in the fight. For anyone needing compete notes, the villain was Taskmaster. (Making it two heroes who died -fighting a villain who stopped being bad - all before one of the heroes changed to the costume he was wearing up there. MULTIVERSE!!!!)
 
Leaving lunch I entered the main Avengers store, which sold individual Infinity Stones for WAY more than my awkward drink holding Gauntlet.

Anabelle became obsessed with the Kree “Universal Weapon” or as she referred to it, ignoring my corrections, “Ronan’s Stick.” 

Parenthood, the gift that keeps on giving.

She came to the conclusion that in no version of reality could she justify $120 purchase only to say, “I have Ronan’s Stick.”  While she was performing these mental gymnastics, I walked up to the counter and proclaimed, “Hello, I went to buy a snack and accidentally bought a large shiny thing, can I please have a bag?”
The Cast Member was Awesome Happy and Understanding. “I have that problem five days a week from Eight to Five.” She gave me a good sized bag. YAAAY!
 

Doctor Strange was over in the Sanctum. We met him. That’s about all I can say. He looked the part, but for a high powered, egotistical wizard, he was extremely quiet and dull.
 
The complete lack of schedule (Freakin’ California) meant we engaged in a large amount of sprinting back and forth between visible characters in the courtyard and the equally unscheduled “official” Avengers meeting area which was hidden from view.

We came back to find Iron Man had returned. (In spite of the fact that he was also dead. MULTIVERSE!) Like most fully armored and encased characters, his lines were pre-recorded. However, even more than the rest of them, Tony’s self-centered yet heroic personality made the use of those lines work perfectly to convey the character. YAAAAY!

As we’re a Running Gag family, Anabelle captured some images of my and the founding Avenger’s feet.
yay.

 
Anabelle took a little breather and basked in AvengersLand a bit while Rosa escorted me over to the Main Campus Sign to take some PhotoPass pictures with my shiny new drink holder. This place was really a Comic Book Nerd’s Dream.
YAAAAAAAAY!!!!

 
We left AvengersLand to… probably wander around. I think we’d started embracing Relaxed and Groovy at this point a bit and gave up on checking the schedules.
[“I NEVER embraced it." – Anabelle]
 

Clarabelle was just coming out to meet people. Anabelle was thrilled and had a fun visit. I took pictures of their feet to keep the gag going.

 

Anabelle walked over to see Donald, grabbing a quick and unbalanced selfie as he left.

Then ran from his line because Oswald came out! That meant the only time Clarabelle and Oswald were on “Not Main Street” coincided with the only time the App said they wouldn’t be there.
Freakin’ California.
But still, YAAAAAY!
 
We saw evidence of how brief each character’s line was kept as Oswald’s Handler walked a short way with a clicker and ended the line right after setting it up. Oswald was in a much more playful mood this day, making superhero poses to go with Anabelle’s jacket. YAAAAAY!
She said she should have brought Tiny Oswald to show him this time. Alas.

 
Anabelle was interested in trying Grizzly Kali River or whatever it is called. But it was broken. Alas, once more.
 
Down around Grizzly Peak yet again, brought us a return to the Zootopia area. We asked about Judy Hopps coming out to play this time. The Handler’s answers were quite cryptic but with enough hints to indicate Ms. Hopps would not be joining us. A third alas.
 
Grizzly Kali River had been repaired, Anabelle gave us her bag and jacket and ran part way back on our frequent path to reach the short line. We tried following the raft to take pictures, resulting in Rosa and I running all the way around Grizzly Peak, playing Where’s Waldo with our striped shirted child any time the river revealed itself. Disney energy is a marvelous thing.

This was one of two “Grad Nights” where California Adventure closed at Nine instead of Ten for high school and college seniors. Luckily, Anabelle avoided being seated with a raft full of Frat Boys. (The lone straggler decided not to ride, giving Anabelle an empty seat next to her. This was vastly preferable to the alternative.) Who did ride with Anabelle was a young Latin boy and his mother. He and Anabelle were the only two who got completely saturated, and he was having none of it. He complained for the entire ride in Spanish that his clothes his shoes his socks and even his underwear were soaked through. Poor kid. 

As they exited, the complaining and soaked lad’s mother asked if he wanted to go again.
“SI!!!!!!”

 
Anabelle dried off as much as she could, and we returned to Not Main Street to find Parade viewing spaces.
We located our spot by a garbage can and a decent size family. One little girl was trying to film a Tik-Tok dance, while her siblings were coming up with near infinite excuses to get in the way of her phone. She was approaching the point where she was going to stuff them in the garbage can her phone leaned on. Like all parades in the “One Square Foot” parks, this one also reversed direction each time it ran. Because it ran twice a day every day, that was less apparent as we were targeting the first run of the day a second time. (I think that made sense.)
 

I squashed down to sit on the curb while Rosa and Anabelle found nearby dancing and waving spots. We were right across from where the characters went into BreakLand. Mickey shushed all the fans screaming for him, trying to maintain the Relaxed and Groovy atmosphere.

Goofy had a blink and you miss it line before the parade, Anabelle sprinted over for a selfie, and I pried myself off the curb, in theory, to get a picture of her while she did that. Instead, I blew the shot and also took a terrible selfie with Goofy. 

Anabelle was still recovering from Goofy going, “Hyuck” during their picture when he got to me. He noticed my First Timer button and mimed a beating heart. Awwwww.

Donald was back on the street, and Anabelle miraculously made it to his “flash line.” He held her hand and walked her to the meeting spot, where she was able to take a much more focused and planned selfie. YAAAY!

The “Five and Dime” old timey band did a set in the town square - or circle - before the parade. They played some Disney Dog songs. (I have no idea what that means. My notes were often Relaxed and Groovy as well.) They also played “I Wanna Be Like You!” YAAAAY!
 
Anabelle was amazed at overly Relaxed and Groovy guests wandering aimlessly in the street as cast members yelled at them.
“How do you not notice a freakin’ parade?!”
 

The Pixar Fest Parade was a lot of fun again. Anabelle, in her Giulia shirt, yelled extra loud at the Luca float and got the recognition she deserved. I enjoyed a new street level view of the festivities, taking in the dancers and some close up details on the lower end of the floats. Jesse from 4-Town on the Turning Red float was losing his mind, but he did focus long enough to greet Anabelle and high five her. That doesn’t seem possible. Someone high fived her. [No wait. I have been informed it was a dancer who was high fiving kids, then shrugged when he saw her hand out and gave her one as well. I was on the floor almost under a garbage can. It was hard to see and take notes.]

 
When the parade broke up, we rounded Grizzly Peak in another of many agains. We saw Pluto once more and continued the streak of always hearing someone say, “Look there’s Goofy,” when we saw Mickey’s pooch.
Doofuses. (Or is it “Doofi?”)

Anabelle had put in a Mobile Order for tacos in the place that I thought looked good in the menu review and then completely forgot about situated in that one Land I never remember the name of.
I am a font of information.
 
On the way there was the little house where Mirabel was listed as meeting people. She wasn’t there. Bruno, who appeared on none of the Apps, websites, or paper listings for the Park was meeting guests. Yes, WAS meeting them because he was leaving when we got there. Anabelle, who didn’t talk about Bruno because she was raving about the App, went to pick up her dinner. Rosa walked around to Jack Jack’s Cookie Num Nums (which I love typing) because she never actually got one earlier, and I watched Bruno leave the little house while desperately trying not to step on a crack.

 
We were basically doing a marathon circumnavigation of the entire park. (For yet another “again.”) Eventually we all ended up back in CarsLand at Flo’s. I ordered another veggie Ka-Cheeseburger. (Hee Hee) and learned that Relaxed and Groovy gluten free potatoes take just as long to acquire as the Florida versions. I also learned that, while the place was excellent, they had consistent toppings issues and forgot the grilled onions this time. Inside Flo’s was cool. (Everywhere was cool this day, none of us took our jackets off.) I brought my food and Rosa’s salad to where they were sitting near a mural covering one wall displaying Flo’s Show Car Days. NEAT!

 
We each got a different flavored shake. They were above excellent. Anabelle tried to describe them as Neapolitan and failed miserably, driving home the point of one of her dinner statements after several days of running back and forth across the two small but significant parks.
“I love it here…
But I need my bed.”

We were trying to plan the rest of the night, and the next day. Unfortunately, we were all tired, cranky, and insane hindering our planning abilities a tad.
 
We returned to AvengersLand and Loki was holding court. The surrealism of the “One Square Foot” Parks hit home as we were waiting on line in that superhero themed section, and Lightning McQueen drove by right behind us.

Loki (Either dead or at the end of time. MULTIVERSE!) had the longest line we’d seen for a Marvel character. I don't think he was the most popular, though. He was unquestionably, the most talkative. I’m pretty sure this time we did not meet a hopeful actor from L.A. but the actual Norse god of mischief!
 

Anabelle was initially only going to take pictures, but she figured Loki would be more likely than Captain Hook to drag her in and decided to only go in quickly at the end. He looked at my Every Avenger shirt and said, “Looks like I didn’t make the cut.” When I pointed out it was an old shirt he stated, “Well, I AM fifteen hundred years old.”
I countered with, “Yes, but this shirt was made was around the first comic book story I ever read with you in it, where you turned Thor into a frog, so there would have been resistance.”

Then Loki went into an easily ten-minute monologue, which started with remembering “That was a good one,” then regaled us with a new tale of how he had done it again recently, and put Thor in a jar, “I did put holes in the lid, you have to do that” and hid it behind a jeep which had to be moved, and so on and so on. YAAAAAY!
 
He suggested posing with our arms folded so it would cover up all the Avengers.

Rosa and Anabelle came in, and Anabelle nearly died of embarrassment when Rosa kept the conversation going by telling him she makes t-shirts, and she could add Loki on the back. The Prince of Asgard suggested putting himself on to cover all of the other characters on the front. 

Anabelle had mostly seized up for the entire encounter. He had us finish up with the “Glorious Purpose” pose, and then she panicked while shaking hands and blurted out, “Have a splendid evening,” before sprinting off, while he said, “Thank you, you as well.”
 
Gamora was wandering around, and occasionally tossing a death glare at the teenaged boys following her. Clearly, she was the replacement from 2012. (MULTIVERSE!) We reached the Avengers meeting place just in time to see Steve Rogers go back in.
Alas.
 
We found out why the Spider-Man ride didn’t have a single rider line…
It did.
It was right next to the main line. However, the umbrella that protected the cast member at the entrance from the sun had a flap that covered the sign. A well-timed breeze allowed us to see it.
Freakin’ California. 

Rosa and I got split up into two groups on the way in but somehow ended up back-to-back in the same car. Unlike the Star Wars single ride lines, we did not skip the fun pre-show. YAY!
Rosa won again. YAY!
My butt placement problems continued. Alas.
 
Anabelle saw Thor in full armor walk by and ran in the other direction. I tried to ask her to help me remember which film the costume he was wearing was from. Anabelle’s response- “If you think I paid any attention to what armor Thor was wearing, you think wrong.”
So much for that.
While she was sitting organizing her pins and folder, the Doctor Strange show began. She ignored it. Clearly, she was not the only one, as it closed shortly after we returned home.

[Looks like it closed to make room for Story Time with Deadpool (and Wolverine). That would have been hilarious. "Yes!"- Rosa, "I would have run out of the park." - Anabelle.]
 
When we all met up again, Black Widow strutted by and stopped where we had seen Loki. Anabelle did want to meet her. She asked about joining the Avengers and Anabelle said she was too accident prone. Natasha thought working with Loki would be a good idea because he might get injured.
“Why does everyone hate me?” -Anabelle (who claims Black Widow was walking by when we met the Asgardian and witnessed her discomfort.)

The Widow assumed Anabelle’s favorites based on her jacket and complemented the presence of pockets. (Nice call back to your movie Nat. Hey wait, aren’t you dead too? MULTIVERSE!)
 
When I joined for a picture, Natasha asked who my favorite was, given everyone including her was on my shirt. Anabelle said, “Oh this will take forever,” which added to my already panicked state as my brain was yelling. “DON’T SAY A DC CHARACTER!”
I had kept my sleeves uncharacteristically unfurled for any day we would enter AvengersLand to cover my DC Logos tattoo.
 
Knowing Black Widow shared a comic with one of my (if not the main) favorite Marvel characters, I panicked and yelled, “Daredevil!”
And got a blank stare because Movie Natasha and TV Matt have never met each other.
 
I quickly rebounded, “Or do you mean Avengers?”
 
“Yes, Avengers,” She said, adding, “You fool” with her expression.
 
Then I said, “Iron Man.”
I have no idea why.
“Bufoon” is likely.
 
Hawkeye has been my favorite Avenger since I started collecting comics.
After being obsessed with them since before I can remember, meeting superheroes can be stressful.
 
She pointed out no one said, “Black Widow.”
“OH CRAP!” Said my expression.
 

Luckily, the Handler pointed out I had Avengers colored shoes, with the black soles having red trim being for her, which helped a tad.
 
My panic apparently continued, as Anabelle was saying she didn’t agree with the guy as we left. Because the shoes, “Have no purple.” Thinking, for reasons likely tied to lack of sleep, that she meant Hulk’s pants, I said, “Hulk’s skin is green.”
 
Anabelle stared at me a long while, until I remembered Hawkeye existed and felt like the complete buffoon I was. Anabelle decided the assessment was acceptable when I pointed out that the sneakers did have a purple lining.
 
We went back to the Avengers meeting area, but no one was around. Alas.
 

Rosa walked up to meet Gamora for a bit, and Thor left with his own fanfare.

Anabelle was sitting on a bench near a woman with signatures all over a shirt. (Or some other signature item, hey we were tired.) Anabelle complemented it and the woman said something rude.
“Nice but not kind.”
Or neither in this case.
 
As we walked back and forth, Shuri had a minimal line, and we waved. With the unusual mix of superheroes, Rosa suggested that maybe we were in Valhalla.
 

Thor came out again for another stroll around, followed by a group of graduating frat boys who joined in raucous cheers with the thunder god. I pointed out he didn’t have a Handler to protect him.
Anabelle’s response- “He’s THOR!”
 
There were rumblings from the Avengers official PhotoPass guy that Steve was coming back out. We were going to catch the CarsLand lighting ceremony but decided to wait for the original Captain America and then Hop to see it the next night. The Handler who came out was a huge, blonde, bearded guy. We believed he was a back up Thor… a Thunderstudy if you will.
A reminder that I am hilarious.
 
The original (now old…MULTIVERSE!) Captain America came out, and he was very much the character from The First Avenger. YAAAAY!

He knew Monica on Anabelle’s jacket (somehow… MULTIVERSE!) and said she was lost in the multiverse, (see?) but he trusted her out there more than anyone else. Given her jacket Steve said he wouldn’t ask her favorite and bounced around between top five and other numbers. Anabelle decided to go with “top three” so she wouldn’t be embarrassed and easily fit Steve on that list. I went in for a picture and Cap said, “I see me on your shirt, and some I know. I was frozen for a long time.” 
(Hee Hee!)
 
Anabelle got to take a, “Hold the shield with me,” picture. YAAAY!
We took some together, and Rosa came in. Then Cap started to get in to a fighting pose and said, “Now a feisty one.” Anabelle burst out laughing and exclaimed, “Oh God!”
Steve patted her arm saying, “It’s all right, not that feisty.”

 
As Park closing approached, we walked over to see CarsLand all lit up. Anabelle pointed out the “One Square Foot” Park making things weird again.

“Ten feet from chatting with Captain America and we’re jigging to ‘Eh Cumpari’.”

We took in the pretty and lit up area, and Anabelle posed here and there, including with Filmore’s Organic gas pump. 

She and I also posed next to the Monsters Inc Cars poster with Anabelle smiling at the Sully Monster Truck she likes doing donuts in, and me frowning at the Mike Wazowski Guido Cart that is the bane of my existence.

The Park closed early for the Grad Night; therefore, we took advantage of it to go back to the hotel and be good and rested before our final, long, full Park day.
 
BWA HA HA HA HA!
Oh, that’s adorable.
 
No, them with their phones, and me with my old man paper ticket, crossed California Adventure one last time (on this day, anyway) and Park Hopped over to Disneyland to see the projection show.
 
There was a good sized crowd in front of the Castle. Due to weird traffic rules for parades, we asked a Cast Member where viewing locations were. She reminded us of the projections being shown not only on the Castle but also on Main Street and the small world.
 
Anabelle immediately chose the small world. We walked to the upper right of Fantasyland and (based on our parade crowd experiences) arrived at the small world a full hour before the Pixar Projection show.
 
There was absolutely no one else there.
 
Anabelle took a solo run on the small world, (duh) ‘cause it’s there. YAAY! In the front seat. YAAY! There were also various pit stops due to the proximity to the highly rated Pixar Dance Party rest rooms. Also, a YAAY!
 
Due to shadow effects, both Rosa and Anabelle thought the dolphin topiary was a boot.
Moving on.

 
To prepare for the show, the small world clock went completely silent. This traumatized Anabelle a great deal.
 
The show started and was filled with all the heartwarming, tense, and happy moments Pixar is famous for. The family behind us had two small children. One screamed as if they were being beaten that they couldn’t see until a family next to us allowed the kid in front of them. The mother picked up the other child who kicked me in the back for almost the whole show. He stopped when she couldn’t hold him anymore and he crawled between us and scratched our legs.
Freakin’ California.

Anabelle pointed out a lack of Bugs Life (one scene) and Ratatouille (no scenes but a lot of merchandise) representation but otherwise, even in the company we shared it with, the show was beautiful. YAAY!
 
The small world broke right after Anabelle rode, but was fixed again, and it was RIGHT THERE!
We rode!
YAAAAAAAAY!
 
The Alice in Wonderland dark ride wait finally went down a little meaning we got another ride on it. While on the line, I learned the Manly Fairy backpack had turned into the Infinity Backpack. For a cheaply made, awkward drink holder, those lights were excessively bright.

 
The Alice ride was an impressively awesome combination of effects. After we got home, I learned it’s hot in the Queen of Hearts room because space is tight enough in the “One Square Foot” Park that the bi-level effect means it sits directly above Hell on Mr. Toad. I did not need to know that.
 
Anabelle informed us that the Pinocchio ride looked very lonely and therefore we needed to go again.
I DON’T WANNA BE A DONKEY!!!!!
 

Since we’d only ridden it once, we walked across to the Snow White ride. I explained to Anabelle the original idea behind the dark rides that the rider was the main character, therefore Snow White didn’t even appear for the first many years the ride existed. 

Her response: “Bruh!”
 
While we were waiting the ride broke down, 

with people on it, 

and they had to be escorted off. 

Alas.
 
We decided it wasn’t worth gambling on repair that close to park closing.
 
We curved around the right side of the park into Tomorrowland and found the store near the Monorail entrance to get Rosa’s ornament. YAAAY!
Then we went to the Monorail to leave the park.
 
The Monorail was categorized there as an attraction, not transportation. Therefore, it closed when the park did and could not be used to exit, even though the stores were still open.
Freakin’ California.
 
We hiked back to Main Street and out the main entrance. There we saw trams taking people to the parking lots while there was ZERO transportation for people staying in Disney Hotels.
Rude, Freakin’ California… so rude.
 

We walked ALL THE WAY BACK to the hotel and settled in. Based on the limited selection and significant time it would take out of our day, we cancelled the Blue Bayou reservation we had for lunch. (Since I had been talking it up as soon as we started planning, Rosa and Anabelle were concerned I’d be disappointed. My only condition- we go somewhere, and I get a steak when we get home. [It was delicious.]) We tried to have a conversation to plan our counter service meals for the next day. Sadly, we were all delirious and not fully functional, therefore no conclusions were reached.
 
25744 steps
9.8 miles 
 

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