Southern California Trip 2014 Day 7 Friday October 31 Disneyland Park on Halloween

UPDATED: February 11, 2021

This is the 7th of a series of posts dealing with my fourth trip to South California. I’ve made minor corrections to these reports. Also, I’ve added additional thoughts with the hindsight of a ¾ year later or to add further clarification.  These are indicated by “NOW”. After I booked the trip I unexpectedly had to move and during that had an Eastern Canada trip that didn’t go that great, so I was already pretty tired before the trip began.

NOTE: For capsule descriptions of rides I’d already been on this trip, see this post: 
http://saneinsanities.blogspot.com/2015/06/southern-california-trip-2014-day-3.html

Last night: got a rude bunk mate: he kept opening the door and letting the light it, touching a foot as he climbed up (did this twice) and played music (not too loud but kept adjusting the volume). Finally got back to sleep despite this and woke to my alarm. I took the 47 Orange County Transportation Authority (OCTA) bus to the Anaheim Resort area and ate breakfast at the McDonald's across the street from the resort. Even though their Monopoly promotion was supposed to be over I still won a medium fries.

[NOW: The hostel was Orange Mango Hostel in Santa Ana. I walked to Orange to catch the bus. Part of the next sentence somehow got deleted and hard to be rewritten from memory.]

Arriving at Disneyland Park, they again opened part of the park early so I waited at the entrance to Tomorrowland for the ropes to drop. Note: I'll only describe in detail rides I didn't go on  Monday.

I rode Space Mountain and Star Tours, then Indiana Jones Adventure in Adventureland, and Haunted Mansion in New Orleans Square; I wanted to get to this one early; I correctly guessed there would eventually be long lines due to Halloween; there were a few times that the ride stalled so I used those times to get more and better shots than I normally would. In Critter County I rode Splash Mountain, this time using the regular and not single rider line. In Frontierlandland I rode Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. In Fantasyland I finally did Mr. Toad's Wild Ride; mild track rides; I think you can steer somewhat.. While searching for the entrance to Mickey's Toontown a woman got catty at me for accidentally walking into her shot. Shrug, you're in the world's most famous park on Halloween. People are going to accidentally walk into shots all the time.

[NOW: I didn’t revisit Mr. Toad this trip.]

I finally made it into Mickey's Toontown. I rode Roger Rabbit's Car Toon Spin; another track ride with steering, though this one more elaborate. In both cases I didn't steer because I figured the default position would make for better photos. I went to Mickey's Mouse. This time Mickey was greeting people at the front door and not the usual back at of the house. I also went to Minnie's House, another walkthrough though this one is arguably a bit more sexist; I noticed a kid open the fridge door and confirmed there was stuff to photograph inside. Minnie was at the back.

 

[NOW: This was my only visit to Mickey’s Toontown this trip, though I saw a little of it riding the Disneyland Railroad later.]

I went on the Single Rider lane at the Matterhorn Bobsleds in Fantasyland, started to ride Buzz Lightyear’s Astro-Blasters but noticed the line wasn't moving much. I rode the Jungle Cruise at Adventureland and got a Fastpass for Indiana Jones Adventure (Fastpasses give you a shorter line at a ride should you return within an allotted time). I rode Pirates of the Caribbean in New Orleans Square. I rode Big Thunder Mountain Railroad in Frontierland twice. The first time I had a muscle spasm in my hand and dropped my pen onto a barrel below but then couldn't find the pen. Found the pen in the second go around. I returned to Indiana Jones Adventure but instead of using the Fastpass, opted for the Single Rider lane so I could keep the Fastpass as a souvenir. The ride broke down just before the end. It was a bit surreal seeing workers break the illusion and reach the jeep from a perspective that shouldn't be possible given this illusion. We were given a ladder to get down and let through a path not normally accessible by the general public. So a bit of a delay but got some photos I wouldn't normally get.

I got a corn dog deal from a stand near Main Street USA and then walked to the Main Street USA entrance to the Disneyland Railroad whose trains circle most of the park. Between Tomorrowland and Main Street USA there are dioramas of the Grand Canyon and the Primeval World. I wanted to ride a horse drawn carriage back in Main Street USA but it was just being taken out of commission for the day.

I walked to Tomorrowland and got a Fastpass for Space Mountain. I then rode the Monorail from the park to Downtown Disney and back.  I walked to Innoventions, which has various "science displays" including a house of the future downstairs, though upstairs stretches the concept somewhat with Marvel characters. There was an Iron Man section and a Thor section with a long wait, then you met and got photographed with Thor, who is hardly a character of science. The Captain America section wasn't yet open. After visiting the downstairs section, I rode Buzz Lightyear’s Astro-Blasters and then Star Tours twice, Despite the video sequences being chosen randomly from a number of possibilities, the second half was the same twice in a row.  

 

[NOW: Innoventions has cloised.]

Back in Fantasyland I rode the Matterhorn Bobsleds using the regular lane and then twice more using the single rider lane. I rode the Casey Jr,. Train, which covers much the same ground as the Storybook Land Canal Boats, only by smelly rail cars. Some cars are like chicken coups but there are also roofless cars with no bars. It's faster than the boats and not as relaxing but it does allow for more of an aerial view. If you only have time for one, got for the boats, but both are worth doing.

I then rode Big Thunder Mountain Railroad in Frontierland. Because two hours had passed without my Space Mountain Fastpass time being reached I could get another pass and got one for Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. I rode Pirates of the Caribbean in New Orleans Square and then Big Thunder in Frontierland again using the Fastpass. I got another Fastpass for it but never managed to use it; still, another souvenir. I returned to Innoventions in Tomorrowland and did the Captain America meet. Took way longer than expected and the queuing area doesn't move much so my back was in a lot of pain after that.

I finally used my Space Mountain Fastpass. I was going to use the Big Thunder Mountain Railroad Fastpass soon after but another go at Pirates in New Oerleans took me longer than expected to the end of the general day. I got some nice shots of the park as I left the park to the people who paid for the Halloween party. I had dinner at the McDonald's nearby and used the fries voucher. I walked to a 7-11 across from the bus stop back to the hostel and actually got IDed because the store guy thought I looked younger than 30. I took the bus back to the hostel. Mid way the driver disappeared, likely for a bathroom break.

[NOW: Thus bus ran from Anaheim to Orange to Garden Grove (I think it was there that the drivers take bathroom breaks – happened more than once) to Orange. It’s a short walk from Orange to the hostel in Santa Ana.]