Return to the Magic

[Pongo]

After about 10 years absence we finally went back to Disneyland on Saturday, September 14. The park opened at 9 and we were there at 9:15. The Halloween decorations looked great, but we were more concerned about getting on rides than taking in the scenery.

We walked right on to Space Mountain and we were in a half empty car. They had to shut down the ride and turn on the lights but that just made for a great photo op. From there we went to Buzz Lightyear and walked right on. Our scores were embarrassing but we had fun. We crossed the park for Holiday Haunted Mansion where we had our longest line of the day, 15 minutes. The ride looked great and we were just so happy to be back in the park. We headed over to Pirates which had a 10 minute wait. I was a little nervous as I had not been on the ride since the addition of Jack Sparrow and I thought it might take away from a classic, but it was done in a smart manner and this is still my favorite ride in the park. We wandered through the New Orleans Square shops while waiting for our reservation at Blue Bayou. We had a bit of a wait in line while waiting to check in, but we were taken right in and seated. We had a wonderful lunch - I started with the gumbo and had the salmon and DH started with the salad and had the short ribs. Both were delicious and the portions were so large that we could not finish. We lingered over the delicious coffee before heading back out to the crowds and heat.

Next,I wanted to see the changes to Fantasyland so we wandered around stopping only to walk on to Pinnochio. There were three people in line for Casey Jr but we decided to save it for next time. There were long lines for Dumbo and Peter Pan so we knew those could wait. We went on the Tea Cups (5 minute wait) which might not have been smart right after lunch. By now there were some long lines so we just wandered around checking out the Submarines before deciding to take a train ride around the park. While on the train my DH made the suggestion of leaving the park and heading to the Grand Californian for a cocktail so we went all around the park and then got off at Main Street Station, got our hands stamped and headed off.

We had a nice relaxing drink and then headed to the ticket booth to upgrade to annual passes. We had originally bought a one day one park pass, knowing it was a blackout day for the annual passes, so we were surprised that we were given a blackout ticket good for both parks. We had not planned on seeing California Adventure today but decided to just walk through and check out all the changes, not planning on riding anything.

Immediately upon entering you see the major differences in the park and it has more of a Disney feel to it. We headed toward Hollywood and stopped to ride Monsters, Inc. Cute ride, but not one I will have to do too often. I was happy to see that the Muppets were still there, but that would wait for another day. We walked around the back way and out of Hollywood and into Bugs Land where we saw rides we had never seen before. I don't know if they were new or our son was just too old for them last time we were here. Our main interest was checking out Cars Land, and it looks great. I can't wait to ride the cars here, but the wait was 40 minutes and we were already exhausted and ready to go home. We did walk all around the pier. Screamin' was down as was Toy Story but we did ride the Sun Wheel. They put us with a woman who looked like she was going to be sick as soon as the thing started to rock. She had her fingers latched on to the side of the car. I thought she was going to need one of the little bags that they have on the ride. From there we made it to Little Mermaid which was new for us and I really enjoyed this.

We were exhausted at this point so we just headed out, making plans for our next visit which will be in the next few weeks. We took our time wandering down Downtown Disney on our way back to the Simba parking lot.

We had a great day and loved being back in the parks.

[Melanie]

10 years, Lori? Really?

back!

[tinkwest]

Wow. That's a long time to stay away when you live so close! I must have met you just about the time you decided to take a break from DLR.

Thanks so much for sharing your experience with us here at INTERCOT. Hope you'll have a chance to make good use of those passes and visit often over the next year.

[Pongo]

I was wrong, it was 9 years but still a long time.