October 21, 2019
We got up at 6:15 AM as this was the big day we went to Disneyland! Holly didn’t want to go so she just dropped us off by the front gate while she had a bit of me time and did laundry. Olivia and I got through the gates just at the 8:00AM opening time and made a beeline to Fantasyland where went on a number of rides including the Carrousel, the Storybook Canals, Alice in Wonderland and Peter Pan’s Flight all of which had minimal lines except for Peter Pan’s flight which for some reason had a 20 minute wait. We used the Disney app extensively, which had a very useful wait time map showing the wait times for various rides. Of course for some reason my phone didn’t charge the night before so I started the day at 38% battery but with careful conservation I was able to make do.
Then it was off to Tomorrowland where we go on Finding Nemo’s Submarine Voyage and Autopia also with minimal wait. By this time lines were showing up at the popular attractions so we got the Fast pass for Star Tours before going to Toon Town where we went on Roger Rabbit and met Minnie Mouse. Unfortunately It’s A Small World was closed so killed a bit of time by riding the Disney Railroad around the park before we headed back to Tomorrowland to do Star Tours and Buzz LightYear.
The Haunted Mansion was going up to 120 minute wait times so we got a fast pass for later that evening before going on the Rivers of America then stopping to enjoy a turkey leg together. Finally, we braved the 40-minute wait for Pirates of the Caribbean and the Tiki room before calling Holly to pick us up. We spent 3 hours resting and having dinner before returning to Disney refreshed at 7:00 PM. It was a good thing we took the break, as we were to find out later that Southern California was having a heat wave and Disneyland was the hottest place in the entire country that day at 98 degrees.
In the cool of the evening, we used our FastPass at the Haunted house to bypass most of the line and enjoyed the Halloween before Christmas version of the Haunted House but I think I liked the original version better. Next we did the Jungle cruise, the Winnie the Poo. By then it was time for Phantasmic which was better than I expected with an excellent water and light show along with a real fire breathing dragon.
Finally it was time to go to Galaxy’s Edge. I was saving this for last as I had read that it was better in the evening and there was no fast pass for Smuggler’s Run, which had wait times consistently over an hour. By the time we got there though the wait was a more manageable 40 minutes. The building was impressively detailed with a life sized Millennium Falcon in front. Looking at it live it seemed smaller than I expected. It didn’t seem like it would be able to carry much cargo. The ride itself was good and Olivia and I got the gunner position. The activity for both the gunner and engineer positions seems to consist mostly of mashing on flashing buttons. As gunners, there was nothing to aim, just mash on the lighted buttons on command. Of course, this was perfect for a six year old like Olivia and she got a higher accuracy than I did.
Olga’s Cantina needed reservations in advance so we were unable to get into that but we had a snack at the Docking Bay 7 restaurant. We got the Moo juice which was basically POG and a pastry which Olivia did not like. By this time it was 10:30 and it was time to start heading out as the park closed at 11:00. On the way out we passed by Fantasyland one more time to ride Dumbo and Pinocchio. Olivia was finally exhausted and when I asked her if she wanted to go on one last ride or go home she said she was ready to go home.
We called Holly and she picked us up and Olivia was asleep before we got back to the RV Park.