Saturday – June 3rd, 2023
Finally, we had saved the best to the (almost) last- we were back at Disneyland ready to celebrate 100 years of Magic! We had booked our first park Reservation for Disneyland of course, so that our 1st day at the park’s would open with the sight of Walt, Mickey, and Sleeping Beauty’s castle. 6 am alarm can only mean one thing: Rope Drop! Perhaps it was because we were at the end of a long trip but we didn’t exactly bound out of bed, however, 6 am wake-ups at Disney are always better than any other 6 am start so we threw on our Minnie ears and other Disney clothing and set out for the now very familiar walk to the security gate.
This was our first time visiting the Parks on a weekend so we expected the parks to be busier than we had ever seen. With that in mind, we had got ready quickly and we were approaching the security gates before it was even 7 am. To our surprise, the security gates had already opened (in our previous experience they usually opened around 7:15), this making us already feel like we were late! However, there was no queue to get through the body scanners and barely any queue at the park gates. This was literally the shortest queue we had ever seen at rope drop and on a Saturday! Perhaps the crowds of the previous Memorial Day Weekend had resulted in us picking a slightly less popular weekend we wondered as we waited literally at the rope, ready for a cast member to drop it!
Seasoned Disneyland Rope Drop experts, we were of course ready to WALK not RUN to Rise of Resistance. Our plan was once again foiled by a cast member announcing that Rise of Resistance was closed, along with most of Adventure Land, which was not accessible, and did not even have food outlets or restrooms open. With minutes to spare we, along with everyone around us, started to discuss what our Plan B was. We picked ToonTown so that we could ride Mickey and Minnies Runaway Railroad before it got too busy.
As well as getting a sense of deja vu (Rise of Resistance was also shut on our morning at Disneyland back in October), thanks to the confusion and questions around the Adventure Land closure, none of us could hear the special 100-year rope drop announcement which I had been so looking forward to hearing- no time to pout though, the rope was dropped and we were off to ToonTown!
Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railroad
We had been looking forward to riding Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railroad since it opened in January. Consistent high wait times meant that we either planned to ride at rope-drop or intended to pay the Individual Lightning Lane fee. As RotR was shut, the plan was made for us and as a result, we walked quickly through the unique queue area but still managed to admire some of the Mickey artifacts. We practically walked on the ride, which included a pre-show with Mickey, Minnie, and Goofy. Despite being aimed at a younger audience, we really enjoyed what is shockingly, the only Mickey and Minnie-themed ride at the parks! It’s fun and embodies the perfect Disney cartoon style that we all know and love!
The Ride employs the same trackless ride tech as the Rise Of The Resistance and the train breaks apart and each carriage goes about its own little adventure. The ride is not very thrilling, but takes you on a journey into the cartoon realms and the effects are really cool as you actually feel inside a Cartoon.
This is a real example of the length the Imagineers go to in order to bring you what is really a pretty basic kid’s ride. It’s top-of-the-line ride tech used in such a quaint and wholesome manner! It’s the purist-distilled Disney imaginable.
Roger Rabbit Cartoon Spin
Roger Rabbit’s Cartoon Spin was only showing a 5-minute wait so we literally walked onto the ride. This ride is definitely aimed at a younger audience, despite the film now being over 30 years old. It’s fun, quick and unfortunately for me, very spinney!! Even an innocent teacup ride makes me dizzy but Steve was determined to take the ride’s name very literally and spent the whole ride spinning our cart!
Meeting Mickey
Once we left Roger Rabbit’s Cartoon Spin, Toontown was still rather quiet so we headed over to check out Minnies House. Memories of visiting Mickey and Minnies house as a child are some of my favorite memories of Disneyland as a child so I enjoyed the nostalgia of being able to walk through their houses once again. Minnie’s house is bright purple and pink which I love and Mickey’s house is full of more artifacts from the years which again added to the nostalgic factor.
Minnies house is a self-guided walk-through that takes only a few minutes and leads you to Mickey’s house. Again, the tour of Mickey’s house only took a few minutes and then we reached the back of his house where the queue starts to meet Mickey. The wait time was only 10 minutes and we had actually not had a chance to meet the main mouse himself since Covid so we decided to join the queue. As you wait to meet Mickey you queue in Mickey’s Barn where old classic cartoons of Mickey and his friends play to keep you entertained. We probably only watched 4 of the cartoon shorts while we were waiting before a cast member lead us to the meeting area. Mickey was wearing his Fantasia finest this day and welcomed me in with a big hug. Finally, a hug from Mickey! He seemed as happy to see us as much as we were to see him and he especially seemed interested in my Tangled Minnie Ears.
After we met Mickey, ToonTown was starting to get busier and we secured a Genie+ for Nemo’s Under the Sea Adventure so we headed over to Tomorrowland.
Nemo’s Under Sea Adventure
The last 2 times we visited the parks, Nemo’s Under the Sea Adventure was undergoing refurbishment so this was on our must-do list for this visit! This was our first Lightening Lane of the trip and as we approached the scanners I simply tapped my Magic Band while Steve pulled his Lightening Lane up on his phone at the scanner next to me- alot quicker than us both using the app! Finding Nemo is one of our favorite Pixar movies and we love how the immersive submarine takes you down into the deep blue to see Nemo and all his friends. It’s also a great ride to sit down on and relax on for a few minutes, saving your poorly park feet!
Once we resurfaced, we headed over to Hyper Space Mountain armed once again with our Genie+ to skip to large lines. Steve was particularly excited to ride this as Hyper Space Mountain was back for Star Wars Day the month earlier and was due to change back to Space Mountain in just 2 days’ time. Sometimes our trip dates do fall to our advantage (or rather just Steve’s as he is the big Star Wars fan between the 2 of us!)
Hyper Space Mountain
Space Mountain is probably the most intense ride in Disneyland Park, but really it’s not exactly a terrifying white knuckle monster. Instead, it’s a fun and smooth rollercoaster in the dark. We love the way the effect of whizzing through space is really realized by the great lighting effects. However, we were just catching the end of the current run of the Hyper-Space Mountian Overlay. This is the regular Space Mountain with added Star Wars sprinkles.
Its not Starwars overload, but it adds a really nice flourish to the ride with StarWars music, laser battles, and the odd tie-fighter encounter.
Buzz Lightyear Space Ranger Spin
Once we got off Hyperspace Mountain I was looking for something less about speed and more about fun so we used our Genie + to get onto Buzz Lightyear. To be honest, I am historically rubbish at any of the rides that involve some sort of laser gun or pointing something at any sort of target but I love Toy Story so I just enjoyed the ride while Steve did his best to defeat Zurg. The ride has some technical issues and we got stopped right in front of Zurg for a couple of minutes but we were soon on our way and the brief pause did nothing to improve my score!
It was now 10 am and we had been up since 6 with no breakfast. We had some time before our next Genie+ So we headed back to Main Street and joined the biggest queue of our morning: Starbucks! We used our regular tactic of splitting up when the queue divides into 2 so that we had the best chance of being in the quickest-moving line. We do this alot in this particular Starbucks and it works well (or at least feels like we are being proactive anyway!)
Starbucks secured we had one more stop to take before we went off to get breakfast; the Emporium. After making many purchases in World of Disney last night, this shopping mission was all about one thing: to find a shoulder Hei- Hei from Moana! Since we had seen a guest with one in Downtown Disney yesterday, Steve would not rest until he has his cute animal sidekick rested safely on his shoulder (I also think he was jealous of my shoulder Pascal I had brought with me as part of my Rapunzel Disney bounding outfit). I spotted a large pile of Hei- Heis by the till almost as soon as we walked in and within minutes Hei- Hei was happily sat on Steve’s shoulder, matching his boat snack t-shirt perfectly.
With Pascal and Hei- Hei on our shoulders, we headed into Candy Palace as breakfast at Disneyland can only mean one thing: Treats! I chose the large Chocolate Chip Mickey Cookie that I had been dreaming about for months and Steve chose the brand new 4th July Smores Crispy Treat. We sat outside of Refreshment Corner and ate our not-so-healthy breakfast but hey, Disney calories don’t count, right?!
Castle Photo’s
After breakfast, we walked down Main Street to the castle to get the all-important castle selfies, with the castle decorated in all its 100-Year Celebration finery. Steve had already managed to get shots of the castle without the crowds at rope-drop so these were photos really just for us. We chose our location to the left of the castle near the entrance to Fantasy Faire, posed with our animal sidekicks, and wandered into Fantasy Faire.
Now, Tangled is one of my favorite Disney Princess movies. I love the soundtrack, I love Mandy Moore and I love my new Rapunzel Loungefly even more so it made sense that my Disneyland bounding outfit was based on Tangled and there was one place other than the castle, that I just HAD to get photos; Rapunzel’s Tower in the courtyard of Fantasy Faire. We took photos with the intention of coming back later that night (stay tuned to find out why!) and started to make our way to the Haunted Mansion for our next Genie+.
Haunted Mansion
We had been really lucky to get Oogie Boogie Bash tickets last year and visit during the Halloween season when The Haunted Mansion had its Nightmare Before Christmas overlay. Still, Haunted Mansion is an iconic Disneyland ride not to be missed so we wanted to make sure we rode it again. This may be an unpopular opinion but in my opinion, the Nightmare Before Christmas overlay is much better than the original! No hate on the classic version, I just found it rather dull in comparison to the fun and chaos that Jack and Oogie Boogie brought to the ride. The ride was also experiencing technical difficulties and stopped quite a few times while we were on it. A theme was starting to form during our day…
Jungle Cruise
As we left the Haunted Mansion we started to get wind that Adventureland was open, including Jungle Cruise. It was only showing a 20-minute wait on the app, not bad for Jungle cruise levels and as there is no Genie+ option for the ride, we joined the queue. We LOVE the Jungle Cruise ride, we love that Walt himself loved it and we love the Jungle Cruise movie with Dwayne Johnson. We talk about must-do rides here but actually, riding Jungle Cruise is non-negotiable and we have been really lucky it’s not been closed while we have visited. We got a Skipper who we had not sailed under before and even got a few new jokes, or new to us at least.
Park Hop: Disney California Adventure
It was way past 11 am now so we decided to go across to Disney California Adventure and completed our first park hop of the trip! When we approached the turnstiles at Disney California Adventure the cast member held her device on my Magic band and, we realized our photos were attached to the wrong tickets, but luckily, the cast member could see we were together when she scanned Steves’s app and let us in. Good job too as we had a little-known attraction to visit…
Beasts Secret Library!!!
Now come on, hands up, if you knew that you could visit Beast Library at Disney California? This little-known attraction is as secret as anything possibly could be within a Disney Park and therefore rarely visited and a hidden gem. Beast’s Library is hidden in the Sorcerers Workshop in the animation building which also houses Turtle Talk with Crush. There are no signs for the Library, and you simply have to know it’s there. Ask any cast member and they will point you in the right way. There is a walkway along the back of the Workshop, that drops you down to the hidden entrance.
Walking into Beasts Library was a Disney dream come true for me as Beauty and the Beast is my all-time favorite classic Disney movie. I often feel there is not enough Beauty and the Beast attractions at Disneyland so I was giddy to finally visit the library as like Belle, I am quite a bookworm myself too. The library is a replica of the movie Library with the portrait of the human Beast and the enchanted rose above the fireplace. We also enjoyed the immersive touchscreen book game with Lumiare, although the book declared Steve as Gaston!
At this point, our next Genie+ plan was thwarted when once again, Goofy’s Sky School was declared as temporarily closed (Deja Vu again, as this happened during our last visit) happy in the knowledge that at least we now had a multiple experience pass to use at our will, we booked another Genie+ for Soarin and headed over for our 10th ride of the day!
Soarin’ – Around the World
We really love Soaring and it once again showed how superior it is to the numerous “fly-over” style rides popping up in lots of locations. They are great but nothing beats Soarin’. The ride was playing the “Around the World” film which is amazing, but we do still prefer the “Over California” Version.
Avengers Campus
After Soarin’ we realized that our ‘breakfast’ was nearly 3 hours ago so we went off in search of more Disney food, this time ones that superheroes would approve of… On our way to the Avengers campus, we passed Grizzly Creek Falls and the Golden Vine WQinery, AKA Yosemite Valley and Nappa Vally, both very familiar to us at this point in our trip!
When we reached the campus, we headed right over to Shwarma Palace, where we ordered 1 New York’s Tastiest Chicken Shwarma wrap to share (we wanted to save room for dessert). We made our way over to the PYM Test Kitchen for us to eat our shwarma and order dessert. On our way, we spotted Black Widow, Ant-Man, The Black Pantha, and Shang- Chi all on the balcony of the campus.
We were both pleasantly surprised by the Chicken Shwarma. It was full of flavor and spices which we didn’t expect as we like our food with lots of spice which we do not tend to find in America. Do not worry if you are not a fan of hot spicey foods though, the spices were mild and created just the right amount of flavor! While we ate our shwarma, I put in an order of the Disneyland app for dessert- the celestial-sized Choco-Smash from the Pym Test Kitchen. This chocolate candy bar does not disappoint and is easily big enough to share between 2.
Nice and full once again, we had another Genie+ ready so turned left out of the Avengers Campus and headed up to Monster Inc: Mike and Sulley to the Rescue for our 9th ride of the day! Along with WALL-E, Nemo, and Toy Story, Monsters Inc is one of our top Pixar favorite movies and the ride had been closed the last time we visited so it was another Must- ride for this trip. The ride didn’t disappoint and Boo was back safe in through her door in no time at all.
WEB-SLINGERS: A Spider-Man Adventure
After Monsters Inc, we went back over to Avengers Campus as we had a Genie+ Lightning Lane for WEB_SLINGERS our 10th ride of the day. We love WEB-SLINGERS and were so happy when they added it to the Genie+ and didn’t have to pay individual lightning lane to skip the massive queues. Now, this was the 3rd time we were riding WEB-SLINGERS and as it stood the scores were Steve 1- 1 Kate. The first time we rode I had trouble with my contacts and could barely see. In October when we rode again my eyesight was fine but Steve beat me! Assuming my previous victory was due to beginners’ luck, the stakes were high on this ride. As we queued near the pods, my Magic Band lit up and vibrated to the Spider-Man theme music. I thought this was a nice touch and I hadn’t noticed it doing this on any of the other rides we had rode that day. We climbed into our pod and it was time to see which one of us was the Ultimate WEB-SLINGER. To Steve’s disappointment, this time the victory was mine! Making the WEB-SLINGER score currently Kate 2- 1 Steve. I was happy that blindness was not necessarily my superpower haha.
Magic Happens Parade
We left Disney California Adventure to go back to Disneyland for the 3 pm Magic Happens Parade. As we entered Disneyland Park, the cast member seemed very confused about our photo issue but after a bit of explanation, he let us in.
We found a spot on the curb outside of the Emporium at 2:45 pm. A cast member was walking the parade route informing everyone that those sitting on the curb must stay sitting down during the parade, which was fine by our tired feet. There were not many curb spots left 45 minutes before the show so if you want a front-row view and to be able to sit down we would recommend you start saving your spot not long after 2:30 pm. While Steve saved our spot I went over to Starbucks to get us more refreshments. While I was gone Mickey, Pluto, and Chip n Dale were walking up Main Street entertaining all the guests waiting for the Parade. Mickey spotted Hei- hei sat on Steve’s shoulder and was very excited to see him. I missed all the fun while I was waiting for my Dragon Drink (my Dragon Drink was so good though so it was worth it!)
The Parades were not back when we last visited in October with the exception of the Frightfully Fun Parade at Oogie Boogie Bash. So we were excited to see Magic Happens Parade after its 3-year break.
Mickey opened the parade with his magic Hat, all in the 100-year celebration colors. Moana follows Mickey with probably our favorite floats of the Parade with Maui (anatomic) on his own float behind her and Hei Hei clucking about in his basket. CoCo, Frozen, Cinderella, Sword of the Stone, and Princess and the Frog floats are also featured with Sleeping Beauty and the Good Fairies closing the Parade.
Pirates Of The Caribbean
After the Parade we decided to use our multiple experience pass from Goofy’s Sky School on Pirates of the Caribbean which does not have a Genie+ option usually but multiple experience passes are accepted. All we did was show the cast member our multiple experience pass on the app and they let us join a shorter queue. As Pirates is not on Genie+, we highly recommend if you end up with a Multiple experience pass then you use it on a ride that does not usually have a lightning lane.
After sailing around the Caribbean we decided to go back to our hotel for a well-earned rest before going back to Disney California Adventure for the World of Color: ONE Dessert Party.
Day 1 Evening at DCA and Disneyland
We booked the 8 PM Dessert party for the 9 PM showing of World of Color: ONE. Our research told us that we would need to check in for the 8 PM party no later than 7 PM to get a good seat. We left our hotel just after 6 PM and as we were good for time, we spoke to a cast member at the gates of Disney California Adventure about fixing the photo issue on our tickets. The last cast member seemed confused about the photo mix up and we thought it would be better for the rest of our trip if it could be fixed. The cast member called her manager to retake the photos on our tickets so they were correct.
We arrived at the Dessert Party Check-in (just adjacent to the restrooms opposite Ariels Under Sea Adventure) at about 6:50 and the cast member said that as our seats would be assigned to us at check-in, we did not have to return until nearly 8 PM as our seats were secured for us. We asked about the table we had been assigned and the cast member told us as we were early we had a good spot. We explained that as Steve wanted to take photos we were thinking a raised table top would be the best type of table and the cast member agreed. Again, as we had arrived early, the cast member was able to reassign us the better table.
Incredicoaster
With our table assigned for the party and over an hour to spare Steve used Genie+ to ride Incredicoaster. Incredicoaster is a little too fast for me so Steve used my lightning lane to ride Incredicoaster twice. Something best to do BEFORE the dessert party.
After Incredicoaster, Steve noticed that the Genie+ he had booked for Star Tours later that night had been canceled due to a ride breakdown. That meant we had another multiple experience to use on a ride of our choice later.
World of Color: ONE Dessert Party
One of the 100-year celebrations we were looking forward to the most was the new World of Color: ONE edition at DCA. Deciding that we wanted to experience this 100-year celebration in the best way possible, we booked the dessert party so we could eat even more Disney treats and enjoy the show in a perfect spot all while sitting down.
We arrived back at the dessert party meet point just before 8 PM and there was a long line. Not sure why guests chose to stand in a queue for a long time when the tables were all assigned and reserved in advance, especially as we were not bothered about being at the back of the queue because of this system in place. The line started moving around 8:10 PM and we were seated at our table with our desserts by 8:15. Groups of 2 are often sat with other guests and we were sharing our table with 2 lovely ladies who were on a girl’s trip celebrating a birthday. They were both regular Disneyland visitors so we loved chatting all about the parks.
Adults get a choice of 2 alcoholic drinks. One of the ladies who sat with us told us it was best to ask for both of your drinks when you sit down rather than have one and then ask for another. Following her advice, we asked for 2 drinks each. I chose the ONE-derful Vodka cocktail and the sparkling wine. They looked so good Steve ordered 2 of the cocktails. We also had bottled water on the table too.
The plates of food were bigger than they looked! As this was our dinner I started with the cheese and crackers and there is so much cheese the waiters come around offering more crackers. I then only had room for the birthday Macaron, Triple chocolate cheesecake, and Raspberry filled shortbread cookie. The waiters hand out take-out boxes before the show starts so we happily took our leftovers home for breakfast!
As it approached 9 PM we packed away our desserts and go ready for the show. This was our first nighttime show in a while and the opening of Walt himself talking about his dreams and vision for Disney had me welling up. The music, projections, and lights in front of Pixar Pier were breathtaking. Even though the dessert party is set just outside the ‘wet zone’ we could still feel the spray from the fountains. My magic band lit up and vibrated along to the music at different points of the show. This was a nice touch but I didn’t feel that it added anything special to the show: it was such a special tribute to the 100 years of Disney magic that not much else could have made it better. Our favorite parts of the show were Encanto, Moana, Star Wars, and Marvel moments. The show lasted only 22 minutes which we feel could have been longer, after all, it is almost impossible to celebrate the amazing Disney magic moments of 100 years in just 22 minutes.
When the show ended, we quickly left the dessert party to allow cast members to get it ready for the next party. We bravely went against the flow of the crowd and walked across Pixar pier for our 14th ride of the day (now very much night!)
Midway Mania
As most guests were leaving after the show, the other side of Pixar Pier was very quiet and we walked onto Midway Mania. We could hear the fireworks over in Disneyland as we boarded the ride.
After Midway Mania, Goofys Sky School was showing as open again so we walked around the Pier to the other side of Paradise Gardens. We arrived at Goofy’s Sky School just before 10 PM but we knew the Disney rule: if you are in a queue when the park closes, you get to ride. The queue was really short and we were on in minutes. There was a strong burning smell from the brakes of the ride and while I am certain that the ride would not be open if unsafe, I could tell why it is closed so often! Finally, after so many attempts, we rode Goofy’s Sky School one more time (our 15th ride of the day)
Cars Land
After Goofy’s Sky School, we headed out of the park towards Disneyland which had another 2 hours of opening. But not before a quick detour into Radiator Springs. Radiator Springs is our favorite part of Disney California Adventure and one of the main reasons we love Disneyland California more than any other Disney Park in the world. Racers was shut as it was after 10 PM but it was nice to get some photos of Radiator Springs in the dark with very few people in them.
We entered Disneyland again going very much against the crowd into the park. We headed for Galaxy’s Edge, shockingly our first visit this trip due to Rise of Resistance being shut all day. Still, it felt wrong to have not yet gone to Galaxy’s Edge on our first day and we had a Genie+ for Millennium Falcon.
Millenium Falcon Smugglers Run (16th ride of the day!)
As we queued for the ride we seemed to get mixed up with a family with small kids. When the Cast member came to assigning roles we got given the Pilots Seats, which are easily the best seats on the ride. We all want to fly the Millennium Falcon, right? However, the look in the little girl’s eyes when she was assigned the Back-Row Engineers seat, made us feel incredibly guilty, along with the fact we have ridden this multiple times, and actually not tried the Engineers seat yet! We decided to be good people and let the kid sit up front.
However, we really regretted that once the ride started as there is a reason 5-year-olds are not allowed to pilot Star ships. Our pilots actually managed to hit more things and crash more often than we know was possible on the ride. The Gunners decided they were just along for the ride and never once pressed the Fire buttons, and we diligently sat in the back repairing the ship. Oh well, it was an experience!
It’s not the best ride in the park but it’s still a lot of fun, and the hallway was displaying maximum damage as we got off and headed for the exit.
Rapunzel’s Tower
After Millenium Falcon, we went back to Rapunzel’s Tower. I mentioned earlier that we planned to come back when dark and here is why: When it is dark, Rapunzel’s hair that wraps around the tower LIGHTS UP!!! It does not light up for very long and only does it every 15 minutes so you have to be patient and quick! We got the perfect photos of my beloved Rapunzel Loungefly bag with Rapunzel and her magical glowing hair.
Jungle Cruise (in the dark)
Earlier that day we had realized that as big Jungle Cruise fans we were, we had actually never ridden it at night. We decided to use our multiple experience pass to ride it in the dark as Jungle Cruise is not normally included on Genie+. When we got to the queue though, the cast member said that as the ride was so quiet she was not going to scan our multiple experience pass so that we could use it on another ride. We happily got on the boat with a pass still to use and entered the Jungle at night.
At night the ride takes on a different personality. There is really very little lighting and the whole jungle is pitch black. The only real light comes from the Captain’s Spotlight and the jungle landscape is only revealed in the small come of light from the front. It’s a really different experience and one you should consider trying out.
Big Thunder Mountain- Ride Number 18
We still hadn’t ridden Big Thunder Mountain this day so we chose to use our multiple experience pass for our 18th and final ride of the day. Especially tomorrow was fast approaching and it would no longer be today! This was also our first time riding Big Thunder Mountain at night.
After the ride, with only 10 minutes before park closing and a new day arriving we began our walk back to the hotel, tired but very happy with our day: 17 hours, 4 park Hops, 1 parade, 1 show, and 18 rides.
Walking Total – 37,538 Steps – 17.7 Miles
Rope drop to Park closing is a huge amount of time on our feet and a colossal amount of Steps clocked up. This is probably one of the biggest days n our feel on any trip. Steve has done much longer days when running Utra Marathons or Ironman Triatlons, but being honest he moaned about his feet less at the end of those than he was after today!
