Arriving really early at the park (or so I thought - earliest I’ve gotten here anyway) I decided on a quick trip into Disneyland to do a couple of rides before heading over and joining the queue to be amongst the first in DCA.
The beauty of having an annual pass is that I can park hop to my hearts content and as it turned out, I went backwards and forwards several times catching shows and rides and then switching parks for a while during the course of the day.
So in I went and true to form, I couldn’t go past the characters mostly because I was first in line to see Mickey and then couldn’t resist a couple more for good measure.
I got Chip and Dale again - this time getting autographs and also Cruella De Ville. She was funny. She warned me about the danger of rodent worship ( seeing as I had on a Mickey T shirt.) I told her I’d take it under consideration.
By that time it was time to scoot back to DCA and line up to be amongst the first in the park as they actually let you in half hour before its scheduled opening, only certain areas are roped off until opening. And I lucked out and headed the right way and Soaring Over California was open and I caught the first flight of the day.
Wow….
What an amazing ride.
I love love loved it. I smelled the orange groves and the pine trees and the ocean as I flew over the top of them …. This is just an amazing piece of entertainment.
No wonder the fast passes go by about mid morning and the lines remain over two hours long ( well, so far that I’ve seen) for the remainder of the day. I had intended to return and ride it again but that was another plan that went by the wayside.
So I better explain why.
After Soaring, I headed for Paradise Pier and was amongst the first at the rope drop and power walked my way to Screaming, where I caught the first round of that ride as well… seeing as I am a single rider, I often get on way before others in the line that are in groups.
Ok,…. Well, I loved this ride until right near the end and the coaster does these little hills and, despite my having a pretty cast iron stomach… I felt a little yuck when I stepped off. So I resolved to do a quite sedate ride till I felt quite alright again.
And that is where I made an almost catastrophic mistake.
I chose the Sun wheel… thinking a nice sedate Ferris wheel would be just the thing to sit quietly and take in the view while I recovered.
Hmmm…. Someone should have ( and in hindsight - probably did but I didn’t take as much notice as I should have) mentioned that these gondolas rock.
Quite violently - enough to have me doing panting like I was about to give birth in an effort to keep down the breakfast that I didn‘t actually have.
When it came around to the bottom I was thinking “oh thank the Lord” I can get off now… little did I know, that it goes around twice… and by the time I could actually get off, I had that motion sickness bag in my hand and was a probably as white a ghost.
I can’t remember feeling that sick in many many years.
I could hardly walk I was shaking so much and I found a shady spot and fell into the seat there, nodding off leaning against a pole several times…
It was an hour before I felt confident enough to move without hurling.
Can you believe that… A Ferris wheel.!
I was ready to go back to the room at that point but decided to just wander a bit and see what happens.
I felt a bit better when I had a churro…
Checking the time, I realised that the other reason I was in the park today was probably getting a pretty long line by now. So I headed around to the Theatre for the Aladdin stage show.
And the baking in the sun ( yep, I got a bit sunburned) was worth it.
This show was spectacular. All thoughts of having felt so hideous only a short time ago were gone as the razzle dazzle of the Aladdin show wowed the audience.
The guy who plays Genie was absolutely hilarious and really, I’d have paid actual money to go see this show, such was the professionalism and spectacle.
I’m so glad I stayed.. It is only shown on Wed/Thurs and had I missed it today the last chance I’d have gotten would be next Wed - my last day.
I caught up with Snow White for a photo and signature ( yes Keith, I was probably still feeling the effects of the Sun Wheel considering my feelings about princesses… but Snow White is one I kind of like so I made an exception) on my way out of the park and into Disneyland again, I headed back to the Adventureland areas to see if the rides I missed out on were going today. And Yay… they were … but Boo…. The fast passes were gone already for Indy and the line was two hours long… that one is going to have to wait… I’m not lining up for two hours for anyone…. Not even Indy.
So I headed up to Pirates and hoped it wasn’t as packed as Indy… and to my amazement, there was only a 5 minute wait… yep… 5 minute… I virtually walked straight onto a boat.
I got the back seat ( the only one to have - it doesn’t get wet) and thoroughly enjoyed seeing the changes with Jack Sparrow there.
Its really well done and doesn’t detract from the original in anyway I don’t think.
And because it was such a fast line, I rode it 2 more times in quick succession. Loved it when that happens.
I seemed to zig zag all over the place after that. I had lunch in tomorrow land and then another churro. Then shopped for pins - one of the best shops is the pin shop in Frontierland. I have found ones there that no one else has. As I do rides - and the proviso is that I enjoy them - I then buy a pin of that attraction to remind me.
I’ve bought lots of pins… actually I’m on my second lanyard… I probably won’t buy too many more.. Perhaps an opening day one for the new Toy Story ride (for which all sorts of signage is starting to appear) . About that ride… It irks me watching other AP holders enjoying that ride because they got some coupon off the internet a month ago… the ride is almost always full and its only those people with the special tickets/AP that are allowed on.
Plenty of people are wishing they could ride it now .. Including me.
I also did follow through on my Dole whip float thought and tried it, but really, the whip is the best.
After what seemed like a hundred mile trek from shop to shop on a wild goose chase for stamps for my postcards, I finally found the vending machine in the locker area which proceeded to dislike my $1 bills… it didn’t like the new ones… only the old crumpled ‘too hard to get in the machine’ ones but eventually it had to play and I sent off the first of the cards.. .better late than never guys.
I watched the lowering of the flag ceremony as suggested by Anthony… Interesting, but I couldn’t stick it out to the end… it got a little serious for me when everyone was standing hand on hearts and singing the national anthem. Only my own national anthem gives me that lump in my throat feeling…so I sidled away and resumed my Disney holiday.
I counted up last night that I had taken almost 2000 photos since I left Australia and I still have a week to go…and that doesn’t count the photo pass photos either…. that is going to take some scrapping.
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