UPDATED February 4, 2022
This is part of a series of trip reports from a 2008 southern California trip. Changes since then are noted with "NOW".
This is the 8th of 11 posts (10 travel days plus final thoughts) adapted from e-mails I sent to friends and family. This was my 3rd trip there, the previous two being in the early 1980s and 1996. My dad came with me this trip.
I felt a lot better but my dad apparently got food poisoning at Mimi's (or maybe Wetzel's). My dad wanted to go shopping instead of Disneyland so because we hadn't used up Magic Morning (early admission), even before the food poisoning we had agreed that I would meet with him for that in the afternoon. Attractions are only described if they weren’t in previous trip reports, or if new details need to be added.
This was the fifth day of the five-day pass. During the Magic Morning period I used a bit of strategy that seemed to work: I knew not everyone would check which areas were open during Magic Morning (only Fantasyland and Tomorrowland) so I knew some people would try to head to Indiana Jones, but the greatest quantity of people would head to Tomorrowland, with the greatest quantity of "big ticket" items. Which left me with:
* Matterhorn twice (the only big ticket item in Fantasyland). I was the first person to pass out of Main Street and the first person on the Matterhorn. This proved interesting because even though I was the first one on, I still heard thrilled screams and thus realized that some of the screams you heard on that roller coaster are canned, not actual riders
* Buzz Lightyear thrice. I think it was the left side that I determined I scored more points with
* Space Mountain twice. All that during the extra hour provided by Magic Morning. Then:
* Indiana Jones Adventures
* Big Thunder Mountain Railroad thrice
* Splash Mountain twice (got really soaked the second time)
* The Many Adventures of Winnie-the-Pooh (first time; I think this replaced the Country Bear Jamboree); Okay minor ride not unlike Fantasyland's minor rides
* Raft (motorized) to Tom Sawyer Island (revisit, but now pirate-themed): The island is a recent walk-through with some nice photo opportunities. The raft is a short but pleasant enough ride.
* Big Thunder Mountain Railroad
I then met with my dad, now feeling a bit better, for shopping. A shopping area we wanted to see proved closed just before we were to arrange a shuttle; we spent an hour on a wild goose chase, and then took a cab to another shopping mall: Westlake. I found some memory cards a couple blocks away at Staples and my dad found some shirts across the street from the mall at Men's Wearhouse. I forgot my dad gave me the card with the number for the return trip but we made it back anyway. Returning to the park 3.5 hours later, back to solo:
* Big Thunder Mountain Railroad twice
* Matterhorn Bobsleds
* Space Mountain
* Star Tours
[NOW: This has been replaced with a newer version.]
* Buzz Lightyear twice
* Splash Mountain
* Pirates of the Caribbean
This brought me top the final attraction, at Disneyland, for this trip. It was... ... ... ... drum roll... ... ... ... ... The Enchanted Tiki Room! I thought it would be nice to end things on a slightly quiet note, and I hadn't had as much of a chance to visit Jose and friends as I'd like. I didn't want to regret leaving without one final look at Disney at its most bizarre. Unfortunately I had to leave before it ended to meet my dad for dinner (at Millie's) but the first half's the best anyway. I'm happy that my final memory the park is this quirky and delightful show. There was also a quick, apparently impromptu firework display as I was leaving the park. Coincidence?
[NOW: Millie's has closed.]
No comments:
Post a Comment