Woke up at 6:30 on this morning and got ready to take the car to the rental return. We were there right after 7:30 and didn't have any problems (other than paying for another day and a late return fee, which we had already resigned ourselves to).
We walked the mile from Avis to the Disneyland/California Adventure entry plaza. The park didn't open until 9am, but since we stayed on property we had early entry available at 8. The lines were quite long, see below, but they went fairly quickly and we were in the park by 8:45. The cold wind was gone from the day before and the morning weather was brisk, but bearable and beautiful. The temperature for the rest of the trip would be high 50s/low 60s in the mornings and highs in the afternoon would be low/mid 70s.
"OMG" is right little red-haired girl, but don't worry, the lines are moving steadily
We thought we'd start off in Frontierland, but Disneyland had other plans for us. We tried a few different paths and were blocked each time from going west of the castle. We quickly learned that during early opening only the Tomorrowland and Fantasyland sections of the park are open - the rest is roped off until 9am. Since it was so close to 9 by this point, we just waited by this passage in the Fantasy Faire area. In the 2nd photo below you can see Figaro the cat from Pinocchio - while we waited his little bird friend pleasantly chirped on its perch and Figaro would occasionally raise his head from his nap, or playfully meow and reach toward the cage, or just fall back to sleep.
A passageway to Frontierland. On the other side is a narrow alley, restrooms, and the Mexican restaurant Rancho del Zocalo - good for breakfast, not for lunch.
At least it was an excellently themed holding pen. The Figaro animatronic can be seen on the right.
When 9am arrived they dropped the rope and we went through to Frontierland. First stop: Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. We were on either the 2nd or 3rd train of the day, and they put us in the front row. Still loving the new dynamite effects. After we rode, we got FastPasses with a return time of 9:40.
Dinosaur valley. Beyond those trees is where the new Star Wars area is being built
"She'll be coming 'round the mountain when she comes..."
As the train heads into the tunnel, you can see the large mound of dirt and earth-moving equipment in the background
Another look. Notice the fence blocking the path on the left. This path used to go to the Big Thunder Ranch and circle back around to Fantasyland - see map below. When it re-opens it will lead to Star Wars.
So what did they do with the river, you ask?
First they drained the river, storing the water for re-use, then they built two dams on both sides of Tom Sawyer island. Once the dams were completed they re-filled the front part of the river leaving the back area dry for construction. Painted screens block the view of the back area, and the island and boats are closed for the duration.
A zoomed view of the screen
After eyeballing the construction area for a while - which is really just a large area of dirt hills and earth moving equipment at this stage - we went to Rancho del Zocalo for where I had a chorizo and egg burrito for breakfast. It was really good.
Full disclosure: at this point I decided to stop taking notes for the most part and just enjoy the trip, so everything from here on out is drawn solely from photos and memory. As Bette Davis said in All About Eve: "Fasten your seatbelts, it's going to be a bumpy night."
After breakfast we used our FastPasses and rode Big Thunder Mountain Railroad again, then walked over to The Haunted Mansion. It had been closed for refurbishment the last time we were here, so this was our first time to ride it at Disneyland.
Beautiful grounds and building, but lacking on the creepy factor. Excellent effects inside though, including the recently re-installed Hatbox Ghost.
Splash Mountain, where we got completely soaked while going around the inside of the mountain. Luckily we brought plastic bags for phones and wallets just for this occasion.
After a Dole pineapple whip from the stand outside of the Tiki Room, we headed over to Tomorrowland. We picked up a FastPass for that evening to Space Mountain, the rode Star Tours.
As part of the "Season of the Force" event, Star Tours now includes an experience from Star Wars: The Force Awakens. The new scene is a terrific addition to what was already a great ride.
Oh C-3PO and RD-D2, will your wacky antics ever cease to amuse?
We'll ride this later. Also for the Season of the Force, Space Mountain has been transformed into "Hyperspace Mountain". They've added sounds visuals and lighting effects from the movie to to put you in the middle of a frantic battle in space. I'm not a huge Star Wars fan - I like (most of) the movies but don't really get into that universe further than that - but I've got to say that this was a welcome and fun temporary change to Space Mountain.
Next up was Indiana Jones and the Temple of the Forbidden Eye. Such a cool ride.
After Indy, we spent about an hour on Main Street looking through the shops. Todd picked up a windbreaker, zip-up hoodie, and pullover, as well as another mug, a glass, 4 coasters, and 2 salt and pepper shakers. Wow, in hindsight he made out like a bandit (which is perfectly ok, because...well, you'll see tomorrow). I'll also included pictures of all the stuff later.
Worn out and hungry, we headed back to the hotel. It was around 3pm. We dropped off the stuff in the room, then walked down to Trader Sam's for a late lunch/early supper - we'll call it lupper. There was a table available inside the bar, so we parked ourselves and ordered drinks and food.
One of my favorite places
It's a really small space inside - aside from the bar area you see in the picture above, there are a single row of tables around the walls - that's it. All other tables are outside on the patio.
The cool thing about sitting inside is that depending on certain specialty drinks that are ordered, there are special effects that take place; like the ship in the bottle you see above on the right side of the photo. When someone orders the Shipwreck on the Rocks" (get it?) drink, the lights in the bar dim, and a little fierce thunderstorm plays out inside the bottle with the boat pitching and keening in the waves before finally sinking. The bartenders get in on the act as well. It was pretty fun.
The remains of my HippopotoMai-Tai and Todd's Shrunken Zombie Head. For food I had a side of sweet potato fries and the Angus 1/3 lb Hawaiian Cheeseburger: "Ground Angus Burger with Teriyaki Sauce, fresh Caramelized Pineapple, Havarti Cheese, Bacon, Lettuce, and Tomato on a Multigrain Bun". So good and juicy.
Happiness is a shrunken skull full of booze. Todd kept (as in paid extra to keep) the glass as a souvenir because, how could you not?
After lupper, we went back up to the room for a nap and relaxation time - I know, I know, we're old. When we got up, I got ready and headed downstairs to the lobby to wait for Todd. This was one of the paintings in the lobby.
Here it is all cropped up as my new desktop wallpaper
The Disneyland Hotel gift shop
Rested now, we went back to the park around 7pm. We used our FastPass to ride (Hyper)Space Mountain, shortening the wait from 45 minutes to 5.
Station shot
Apparently we dressed for the wrong weather
Hood up mister if you want to fit in
After Space Mountain, we picked out a spot to watch the Paint the Night parade at 8pm, and the Disneyland Forever fireworks at 9. Based on a little pre-trip research I did, we found a curb spot in front of It's a Small World - the parade starts there, and the fireworks shoot off behind It's a Small World. Also, the images projected onto the castle are also projected onto the front of IaSW. The best spot for fireworks is still in front of the castle, but we didn't want to camp out for an hour or more beforehand (there are some people who will stake out a spot 3-4 hours before the fireworks start), or fight the crowds. Watching the fireworks in front of IaSW is a very strong next best position.
Watching the parade - transported back to the simple wonder of a child
After the parade; waiting for the fireworks to start
We actually didn't ride It's a Small World this time around
After the fireworks; walking back to the front of the park. The Mad Tea Party is done for the day.
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