Day 109: January 2023 Disneyland Trip!
February 22, 2023
Dear Disney,
We rope-dropped Disney California Adventure our first day and with Radiator Springs Racers closed for refurbishment, my personal favorite at DCA, we went straight to Goofy’s Sky School. Ugh. I am not a fan of stomach dropping roller coasters, but Lady and Jim Jr. love to hear my terrified babbling and high-pitched screams. If you have a sensitive stomach or are prone to motion sickness I wouldn’t recommend it for the first thing in the parks, but we were able to walk on and boy, did that wake us up more than a triple shot of espresso.
Jim Jr. and myself declined a second go around, so Jim Dear and Lady hopped on again after a minute or two of waiting. I found a quiet spot by the ride which featured another beautiful Lunar New Year arch and a place where you can write wishes for the New Year. When you rope drop the parks, especially in DCA in my experience, you can find a few deserted places for a peaceful moment of reflection.
What we learned from our first Disney trip, and what works for our family, is that each person gets to pick one or two things they would like to do at the park each day. It could be a ride, a meal, a snack, merchandise to buy, a character to meet. We make those choices the priority of the day and we plan our day around those choices accordingly. Anything else we do is icing on the cake. Lady wanted to ride The Incredicoaster, Jim Dear and I wanted to hang out at Avengers Campus to see the characters, and Jim Jr. wanted to ride Mater’s Junkyard Jamboree as many times as he could. He ended up riding it 3 times that day.
I knew Lady had a dance workshop on the first day and her performance the following day, but I still felt torn seeing her walk away with her ballet group and our quartet was down to a trio. (I’m channeling Timon here.) Seeing your children grow up to be their own person is the end goal as a parent and hope you raise them to be kind, thoughtful, independent, and hardworking, but it does hurt your heart a bit to see them leave you so easily. She did wave goodbye and sought us out the moment she was released, so it hurt less.
This Disney ballet tour included two-day park hopper tickets, which Jim Dear and I have never tried before. It was kind of fun being able to go back and forth from Disneyland and DCA. Park hoppers especially help if you find yourself with limited time to spend at the parks. I could tell that the novelty started to wear off for us all from all the walking though.
We ended our first night with the World of Color Dessert Party. We were treated to a pre-show story about a little lantern finding its way home. It was a really nice touch to add to the Lunar New Year celebrations. Jim Jr. was adamant we go to the World of Color show again because he fell asleep when we attended in July. It was really chilly and that may have aided in him and Lady staying awake. Depending on the size of the party and how much you are able to fit into your budget The World of Color Dessert Party is worth trying once. It does have a steep price, about $89 per person ages 2 and up. You have a choice of a high top or table to sit at with a pretty prime view, a bevy of non-alcoholic and adult beverages, a plate full of grapes, a few types of cheeses, crackers, and of course, desserts. You do have to queue up by the Eureka Watermill for a little bit prior to the show, so that does cut into some time you can spend doing other things at the park. After a full day of walking, sitting at that table with my family, snacks and drinks to nibble on and an awesome view of the show was worth every penny to me. Seeing the World of Color show reflected in the shiny eyes of our children was absolutely magical.
The second day we took it easy and got to the parks around 9 am. We hung out at Avengers campus and I hid my giddiness as we saw several Marvel characters including Captain Marvel, Iron Man, and The Falcon (who I guess is Captain America now) just walking around talking with guests! We watched the Dora Milaje teach park goers some fighting moves right below the quinjet. Jim Dear snagged a photo with Ant Man while he engaged us with introductions and small talk. Lady took a great picture leaping over the black and white tiled illusion picture spot and Jim Jr. got to high five Spiderman after his show on the rooftop. The Avengers campus is by far my favorite spot at DCA for character interactions. I haven’t been able to see my favorite character Loki yet, but hopefully we’ll bump into him soon.
We were also lucky enough to ride the Haunted Mansion with The Nightmare Before Christmas overlay! It was a bit disorienting boarding the ride since it wasn’t quite the same, but seeing Jack and Sally and the other characters in the movie right at home in the graveyard and dance hall was great to see. With all the new characters interacting with the old it felt like an entirely new ride. That could be a possible direction the Disneyland parks are going since the park property is so limited now. ‘Updating’ old rides with different overlays. It would take a lot of work, but an interesting new direction to give temporary new life to older rides.
I will be forever grateful to Jim Dear for indulging the children while I stood in line for Rise of the Resistance. This ride…this ride is so unbelievably good that the 75-minute wait was well worth it. This chance almost didn’t happen. Jim Dear was even going to spring to buy me a Lightning Lane for it, but the ride was down for most of the day and Lightning Lane was not available. I had seen walkthroughs on YouTube of the ride, so I knew what to expect, but seeing it in real life, and being in the thick of it, was an entirely new thing altogether! The queue had some fantastic elements while you waited. When you’re outside you hear some chatter and large footsteps rumbling about in the bushes. In the actual cave system, there are props and miscellaneous things shoved into corners, carved out seating areas in the stone caves, maps lit up on acrylic boards, even locker cages filled with resistance fighter pilot jumpsuits, helmets, and prop weaponry. On a few cargo boxes I saw QR codes, but I didn’t want to hold up the people behind me, so I hustled to keep my place in line. When we were captured and made to go into the Storm Trooper room, that area pulled a ‘Holy God’ from me. I am not one to swear in public, but that room is so impressive and awe inspiring.
I’ll keep the spoilers to a minimum, but the cast members operating the lines and the ride were outstanding! They stayed in character the whole time and just made that part of the ride that much more immersive. I was grinning from ear to ear the entire time. This ride with all the different elements captivated me in a way I think, Mr. Disney, you always had in mind. I was completely invested in the story. I was thrilled, excited, and totally wanted to line up for another chance to experience this ride!
Thank you for creating such a fabulous place for families and friends to find wonder and believe in magic. And thank you to all those people who work tirelessly for the Disney company and continue to elevate and reimagine Walt Disney’s dreams. Onto the next dreaming and planning of our next Disney trip!
Sincerely,
Darling
