2021 DISNEY ADVENTURE – PART IV - FINALE

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!