DISNEY!  (part 1 of 2)

Hi there, everyone.

Thursday August 2 we got up pretty early (we've adjusted to this time zone now, just in time for it to feel too early to get up) to get to the Disney parks by 7:30.  They are only 15 miles away but with the traffic around here, it took us probably 45 minutes to get to the parking lot, and then another 10 minutes to take the bus, then through the bag inspection lines and then the metal detectors....  Wow.  I had read about it and we were prepared, but boy, they are thorough.

We used a thing called RideMax, which is a service that charges $15 for 90 days, and allows you to put in the date, which rides you want to go on, how many times each, your time of first ride, your walking pace, and whether you will be using the FastPass system (choose digital or physical), and plugs all these factors into a giant Disneyland algorithm to figure out how to do the parks.  We tried it for California Adventure first (since that's the first park we did) and although we deviated slightly from the plan due to very short lines on some things, it worked pretty well.  We ended up getting the digital Maxpass, which allows you to order Fastpasses on your phone (you can get a new one every 55 minutes or something like that) as well as providing access to all the photos, included in the cost.  I was initially hesitant to add that, because it was $10/person/day, but I think it was wall worth it, in hind sight. I would definitely recommend the RideMax subscription as well, plus an e-book of "tips and tricks" (that was an extra $7) which served us well.

Thursday at Disney California Adventure (hereafter called DCA), we started with getting a Fastpass (FP) for a popular ride and headed for Pixar Pier.  The Incredicoaster (what they're calling the big roller coaster there now that it's Pixar Fest) was... not open yet.  So we did the Silly Symphony Swings (which were like the swings I enjoy at the fair, but on steroids), which had no line (so we thought it was closed as well, until we asked) and headed for Grizzly River Run, which was... also not open yet.  So we did Soarin' Around the World, which was SO COOL, but ended abruptly because a kid's hat fell out of the under seat storage (which I found out by eavesdropping on the cast member who was talking to the family to whom it happened).  I wanted to see how it really ended (I think we were close when they stopped it) and there was still no line so I asked the girls if we could do it again, and we did.  It was a virtual ride with some movement but had the breeze and the smells as well as the movement, visuals and sound.  I really liked it. 

After that we had a FP for Guardians of the Galaxy- MISSION BREAKOUT in the Hollywood section.  That was fun but mostly terrifying, being jerked up and down at speed with sudden stops.  I think I'm too old for this kind of thing.  The Guardians of the Galaxy visuals were fun but too short, and then the ride was over.  I wouldn't wait more than 20 minutes for it - wait, what am I saying?  I wouldn't wait for it at all, because I didn't like it that much.  The kids loved it, though.  The exits are very clever, funneling you out through the gift shop.  There was some Marvel stuff there - Captain America shirts and Avengers pins and books and stuff.  I bought a baby Groot because it was SO CUTE, but I didn't buy it until later (went back for it). 

After that we went on the Grizzly River Run, which is a water ride in a circular "car."  I got one of the seats next to the opening, and I was the destination for most of the water - the thing rotates as it travels, so we never knew which end would be down on the hills.  I was pretty much soaked by the end, but the day was already warm, and we had planned ahead, wearing our swim togs under our quick-dry clothes, and packing our important things in plastic zip bags.  Oh, the cleverness of us.

The Incredicoaster was open by then, with a 70-minute wait, and I knew I would not do well on that, so I let the girls wait in line and ride it while I walked around, shopped, let my clothes dry, and wandered over to the lockers to get our food so we could eat.  It was lunchtime by the time they got off the ride (11:40).  We found a shady table and ate the sandwiches we had brought.  The Disney parks are pretty good about water, having cups of ice water ready for the asking at pretty much any fast food joint, so we refilled our water bottles often. 

We had a FP for Radiator Springs Racers, which was a Cars-themed ride.  The Cars Land was pretty clever - I'll probably say it again, but Disney does environments/ambiance VERY well - and we got on to the ride in a very few minutes.  It was a really popular ride - the RideMax program was very good about letting us know which FP to get in which order, because the more popular rides had FP availability pushed out several hours.   We did some shopping in there as well. We got another Grizzly River Run pass for mid-afternoon (it was pretty hot by then) and my younger kid got the splash seat that time, though we all got wet.  We changed our clothes after that - bless the $10/day Disney locker - and wandered around some more, looking at all the increased ride times for things we had stood in line for mere minutes, and smirked to ourselves.  :) 

By 4:30 we were really tired so we packed it in, picked up our stuff from the locker and headed home, which took almost an hour.  We took a couple of wrong turns, partly because my navigator wasn't paying strictest attention in places, but mostly because the roads here are REALLY WEIRD.   For example, on the highways, they add two lanes on the right, then make all traffic merge left as they cut them off again, so one is constantly merging to the left.  I vaguely remember that from when I lived in San Diego in 1990, wondering as I headed toward LA whether I was going to drive into the Pacific from all the merging right.  We got home just before 7 and we were all so tired we didn't eat dinner, even though all we'd had to eat was a turkey sandwich, pretzels and some ice cream all day.  We were all in bed by 9 and sleeping deeply. 

And that's a good place to end for the time being.
cheers,
wb