June 15, 2021
Dear Adventure Avenue,
Our day started early with us getting up early to try for a boarding pass for one of my favorite rides: Rise of the Resistance. Unfortunately (and despite having 4 people trying), we did not get a boarding group. However, it proved a blessing in disguise later in the day.
We should have left right after we tried for the boarding pass, but instead left around 7:30 and got to the park around 8 and proceeded to wait in the first line of the day: Mickey and Friends Parking structure line.
Preferred Parking
In order to speed up the process, we opted for the Preferred Parking option. We think that it did help us get a spot faster, and when we left, we didn’t have to circle around the structure a bunch of times to exit.
My dad, brother, and I met my uncle at the escalator before we went through security. The lines for security were not very long. With that said, there were definitely more people then than when we went to Touch of Disney, both the first and second time.
My brother and I then walked very fast – (There’s no running in Disneyland). We wanted to get a good spot so we could go to Space Mountain at rope drop. (Rope drop is basically when they drop the rope to enter Tomorrowland).
The Best Laid Plans
We got into the park a few minutes before it opened (at 9am) and could already see the effect of the dropping of covid-19 regulations. There were a lot of people and many seemed to have the same idea as us: Space Mountain.
Space Mountain
We realized throughout the day that there were two things we missed from pre-covid Disneyland: Single Rider and Fastpasses. Everyone funneled into Space Mountain and our expected “walk-on” rope drop line time turned into a 45 minute wait. At one point we considered abandoning the line, but at that point we were committed. Plus, everyone loves Space Mountain.
It was such a great experience to finally be able to ride a rollercoaster again. The last time we went was right before Covid when my dad and I went to Disneyland. Then before that we were in Disney World.
Star Tours
Star Tours is another favorite of mine due in part because of my love of Star Wars. We basically walked on that ride which was great after the long line in Space Mountain.
Big Thunder Mountain
After Star Tours, we saw that Big Thunder Mountain had a 30 minute wait which turned out to be only 15 if that. We knew the day was only going to get hotter, so we wanted to get that outdoor queue out of the way. This ride is another favorite – though we agreed that the version in Disney World’s Magic Kingdom is better.
We got to sit in the front.
Turns out the front is not as fast as say the back because you have to wait for the rest of the train to catch up with you before it releases you down a drop.
Galaxy’s Edge
Smuggler’s run was next, and I was excited to enter the best themed land in the park. My Star Wars loving heart enjoys this land so much!
While we were standing in line we mobile ordered our lunch at Plaza Inn – 2 orders of fried chicken for the 4 of us. Then my uncle ordered 2 mint juleps and some beignets in the French Quarter to enjoy with our lunch.
We got to see our good (smuggling) friend, Hondo before we got our flight mission. My uncle and I were the pilots and my brother and dad were the gunners. Unfortunately, our engineers were not good at pressing the button needed to get the coaxium. Alas, we were not as successful as we had been at other attempts, but it was still fun to fly the ship!
Lunch at Plaza Inn
After Smuggler’s Run, we were able to get a great table in the shade outside Plaza Inn. Surprisingly, there were not many people there at 11:45. We needed to be in a place with a decent cell signal and not very crowded at 12 because that was when we needed to try to get the boarding group for the new Spiderman Ride in California Adventure.
I grabbed our food from inside the Plaza and enjoyed a few minutes of cool AC on my face. We started eating as I watched the time crawl by. Were we going to get a boarding group?
At 12, we were all on our phones trying to get the pass! My phone reported an error message and my heart sank. No boarding groups at all today?!
Then my brother said ever so casually, “I got the boarding group.”
I jumped up and went and looked at his phone, and sure enough he had secured us a boarding group for Spiderman!
In the end it turned out for the best that we didn’t get a Rise of the Resistance boarding pass because the ride broke down and was closed for much of the day. If we hadn’t been on Rise before 12, we wouldn’t have been able to get the Spiderman pass and go on the brand new ride.
After Lunch
When we finished our delicious fried chicken, beignets, and Mint Juleps (so refreshing on a hot day), we decided to go on Indiana Jones before heading over to California Adventure at 1 (the time when park hoppers can enter the other park). The Indiana Jones line moved fairly quickly once we were inside. The AC also kicked in once we got to the room with the movie.
After that bumpy but fun ride, we headed over to California Adventure.
To be continued,
A
A Return to Disney: A June 2021 California Adventure Part 2 (coming soon)
A Return to Disney: A June 2021 Disneyland Adventure Part 3 (coming soon)
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