September 16, 2021
We slept pretty well, especially since we had gotten little
sleep the night before. We didn’t intend to wake early, but we’re not in the
habit of sleeping in.
One of Larry’s goals for this trip was to get to see the new
Star Wars ride: Rise of the Resistance. In order to get onto the ride, it was
necessary to get into the virtual queue. This required checking in through the
Disneyland App at precisely 7:00 a.m.
We were awake at 6:45 so, although he was still quite sore, Larry
wanted to try to get into the queue. He set up his phone so all he had to do
was click at 7:00. We both watched the minutes tick by. At precisely seven,
Larry clicked the button.
He received a message that all of the reservations for the
day were already assigned.
We could have gone to the park and then tried again at one
o’clock, hoping there would be some openings for the afternoon/evening.
We got up, showered, and ate breakfast. Since our passes
were good for one more day and we had a reservation, we decided to go to
Disneyland and try to get on the ride later in the day, even though any
queueing we might be able to get could be as late as ten at night. (We were
still tired and had hoped to get home early in the day.)
However, when we got to the entrance, about half an hour
after park opening, the lines to get in were quite long. (On our first day, the
park was uncrowded and enjoyable.)
We discussed standing in line but decided to go back to the
hotel after I looked at my ticket and saw that it was good through the end of
the month. Larry was still quite sore, so he didn’t want to go on any of the
other rides.
We approached the concierge and explained his injury. Of
course, they asked why we hadn’t reported it and were quite concerned. (It was
not the hotel’s responsibility in any way.) We assured them that we had no
plans to hold the hotel accountable. We just wanted to cancel our Disneyland reservation
for that day and change it to another day near the end of the month.
They were quick to make the necessary changes, and to change
our reservation to the twenty-eighth. No hassle, no issues, just efficient
service. This alone made the addition of the concierge service worth it.
We went back to the room, rested for a short while, packed, called
to have our luggage picked up, and left the hotel after a wonderful stay.
We got home early in the afternoon, unpacked, did our laundry,
and got to bed early. Our own bed felt wonderful.
Tuesday, September 28, 2021
We got on the road early, determined to try to get into the
virtual queue for Rise of the Resistance. We left the house about six-thirty.
Larry handed me his phone to log into the Disneyland app. I got to the right
page and prepared to click the button at seven, o’clock.
Success!
We were in group number fifty-five. They gave us an estimate
of how long it took for each group, and it appeared we would be called between
eleven and eleven-thirty.
We were surprised that we were able to get into the parking
structure as they hadn’t been using it for a few years. We were even more
surprised when we discovered that they had added a third six-level section to
the parking structure: the Pixar Pals section.
We were directed to the third level: the Cars floor. We were
delighted to be parked indoors rather than outside.
We followed the signs (and the crowds) back into the first
floor of the old structure, There, strollers and powered scooters were
available to rent. (By the end of the day, we questioned our decision not to
rent a scooter!)
The security check was located as we exited the structure.
Much to our surprise—and dismay—we discovered that the trams were not in use.
This meant a long walk from the structure to the park entrance.
Along the way, we stopped to talk to Michael, a security
guard. He said the trams would return when park occupancy was increased. At that
moment, occupancy was limited to fifty percent.
After the long, tiring walk, we finally reached the park.
The lines were shorter than they had been on the sixteenth, and we entered the
park at about eight-thirty.
Rather than walk, we decided to take a double-decker bus to the other end of Main Street. (Besides, it was there, and the idea of riding sounded good.) These were A tickets in the old days.
As we approached the stop, the driver mentioned Guest
Relations could take care of restaurant reservations and could answer other
questions.
We decided to see if we could get into the Blue Bayou Restaurant
later in the day. We have gone there for special occasions many times in the
past. We walked through Adventureland and over the bridge to New Orleans Square
and the restaurant entrance. (This is the restaurant riders see when on the
Pirates of the Caribbean ride.)
No one was at the front of the restaurant where we used to
make reservations.
Since we were already there, we decided to go on the ride
itself. We always enjoy it.
As we passed the restaurant, we saw a couple of people
inside lighting candles and clearly preparing for service soon. However, as we
exited, no one appeared at the entrance.
Larry wanted to go to Guest Relations to check on
reservations there and also to see where the queue for Rise of the Resistance
was. After looking around, we finally found them in front of the Plaza
Pavilion. We asked about reservations for the Blue Bayou, and she told us we
would have to go back to the restaurant after they opened. At this time, Rise
of the Resistance was loading groups 22 through 38. We reconfirmed that our
group would probably be called around eleven o’clock.
Since we had started our day early, we decided to get
something to eat. The Jolly Holiday Bakery was right across the street, so we
went there. We had a short wait. Disneyland now has a restaurant app where you
can preorder your food, but we decided to wait our turn. We each ordered a
sweet roll and cappuccino. Larry waited for our food while I went outside to locate
a table with an umbrella.
The food took longer than I had expected, but eventually he
brought it out. This didn’t seem to make sense since all the baked goods were
in the cases and required no preparation.
The coffee and food tasted good, and the rest was also welcome.
We decided to head back to Star Wars Land with another stop
at the Blue Bayou. This time, someone was at the entrance. He said they were
fully booked for the whole day and told us reservations could be made prior to
entering the park. Wish we had known.
It was quite a long walk from Adventureland back to Star Wars Land. By the time we got to the ride, they told us they could board our group. (You have an hour from the time they start allowing your group to enter.)
The queueing seemed overly long and quite boring to me.
Perhaps if we hadn’t walked nearly 8,000 steps already, it might not have
seemed as far. We finally got to the first part of the ride. I was surprised it
was also standing—no seats. I was so tired I had trouble following the
storyline.
At last, they loaded the actual ride vehicles. This part of the attraction was much more enjoyable and exciting. And we got to sit down to ride!
Larry was delighted. This was his major goal for coming to
Disneyland in the first place. It was a long attraction, and the final section
was worth it.
We exited the area and decided to cross Fantasyland to
Tomorrowland to get some lunch. We went to what used to be the Pizza Port, now
re-themed as Alien Pizza Planet, featuring the minions. We shared a chicken
Caesar salad and an order of garlic bread. (This has changed. It used to be
actual garlic toast, but now consists of two Olive Garden-style bread sticks.
They are still served with a container of pasta sauce.)
Again, being able to sit down in the air-conditioned dining
area for a while felt good. We got our second wind.
After a restroom stop, we went on Star Tours. About halfway
through the queue, everything came to a complete stop. We probably stood not
moving for about half an hour before the ride started up again. No explanation.
We checked to see if the monorail was running, but although
we saw the vehicles, the ride itself was still closed. So were the submarines.
By this time, we had walked over 18,000 steps and were tired
out, and we still had the long hike back to the parking structure.
We decided to stop by the Grand Californian Hotel once more
to enjoy a few minutes sitting in the lobby listening to the piano. (This is
one of my favorite things to do whenever we spend the day in the parks.) We
crossed over to DCA (Disney’s California Adventure) and entered the hotel
through the park. We spent a few minutes in the comfortable lobby enjoying the
ambiance and the piano music.
Finally, we were ready to face the LOOONG hike back to the
car. We stopped at a couple of benches along the way to cool off and rest.
We finally made it back to the car, tired but happy to have enjoyed
the last day of our tickets. Larry finally got to go on the one ride he had
wanted to try ever since it opened, and I always enjoy just being in the parks.
Our Disney adventure was now over, and what a wonderful
memory it is!
