Trip Report The Endless Adventures of a Disneyland Local

Where? Disneyland Resort, California
When? Usually every 2 to 3 weeks, perpetually
Who? Me, and whoever else happens to join up

Welcome to a new type of Trip Report. Think of it more as an ongoing Day Trip Journal.

You see, I'm a Disneyland local and a passholder. Walt's original Disneyland is 40 minutes from my home (or 3 hours when L.A. traffic is nasty). I grew up with Disneyland, I go regularly, and typically these visits aren't even planned out the morning of. If business takes me to Orange County and gets off early, or if I wake up with nothing better to do, I'll go! Spontaneous, sporadic, habitual, with no great compulsion to do everything, but with a local's familiarity with touring efficiently.

So whenever I make it down to DLR (or heck, even Knott's), expect some lightweight recapping here. I invite any other local passholders, from either coast, to share their adventures if they like. Just thought this would be a fun new TR twist!

First specific report coming later tonight, but for now a preview:

 

[D Hulk]

1.28.18 (Part 1)
​

Woke up Sunday morning with nothing better to do, so I spontaneously decided to go to Disneyland. The decision happened while in the shower, with water already boiling in the kitchen for coffee, as I realized that if I rushed, I just might beat the crowds! (A Sunday in late January is calm by current DLR standards, and I wanted to take full advantage.)

So forgetting the house coffee, I instead just rushed out the door (fully clothed) and grabbed some coffee and a danish at the local bakery on the way out of town. Traffic around 8 AM on a Sunday is nearly nonexistent, thankfully, so I made near record time and reached DLR in 30 minutes. Rope drop was at 8 - I never make those unless I plan on visiting Disneyland - but still the crowds aren't here yet nearing 9. Consider the security checkpoint plaza outside of Mickey & Friends. Frequently, this same view will have people covering every foot.

Nearly nonexistent crowds can be a curse too, however. They weren't yet running nearly enough trams, apparently, meaning the tram boarding area was shoulder-to-shoulder with no vehicles in sight. Riding these things to the Esplanade is my least favorite thing about DLR, so instead I chose to simply walk to the entrance (for reference, parking is behind Galaxy's Edge).

This 1/4 mile trek sends you through Downtown Disney, where I then opted to enter Disneyland the unconventional way via the Monorail. So instead of Main Street and the castle, upon entering Disneyland the first thing I see is the Matterhorn and the subs.

No crowds yet, so my first objective is Fantasyland. For efficiency, I detour slightly through Tomorrowland to grab a Star Tours FastPass (return time - 30 minutes from now), then pause to admire our adorable miniature castle before heading back towards the Matterhorn.

Peter Pan's wait is already at 35 minutes, I won't do that, but the other 4 dark rides are all basically walk-ons. That was today's main goal, honestly, to do those without the standard half hour wait. So I quickly march from Alice to Mr. Toad to Snow White to Pinocchio with incredible speed (some lines had no people in them), and I even have time for a leisurely cruise aboard the Storybook Land Canal Boats before the FastPass is active.

I'm gonna enjoy my FastPass momentum for another hour or so, then relax for the day's remainder. Already I've accomplished more than sometimes you could in 4 hours at the park.

My trip back to Star Tours is roundabout, in order to snag an easy Single Rider trip upon the Matterhorn, which was literally a walk-on and I didn't even have to break stride. (Standby though was already at 40 minutes.) This is like my 268th time in Disneyland, so I'm not really even paying attention; rather I'm focusing on weird stuff like looking for electrical outlets in the fake mountain cliffs and listening to the riders behind me make bizarre screams and complain about the roughness.

Back to Star Tours, grabbing a Buzz Lightyear FastPass along the way because why not. Got entirely Sequel Trilogy ride films. From the Star Tours exit you're dropped off near the Space Mountain exit, which as of this month is now home to a new Single Rider line. This changes everything! Single Rider Space Mountain...okay, when crowds are heavy that can still mean 40 minutes, but now before 11 on a Sunday it's below 5 minutes for Disneyland's biggest headliner. Hooray!

Then I did Buzz.

During downtime in queues (what little there has been) I've been messing with the Disneyland app trying to find a lunchtime table service reservation. Carthay Circle Restaurant was totally full, which is a bummer. I finally settled on 3:30 at Cafe Orleans, setting the day's remaining schedule. Time to relax until then. The plan is to do the Carthay Circle Lounge in DCA. No rush to get there, so I head towards Main Street via the Disneyland Railroad. From Tomorrowland it's my favorite leg because of the Primeval World dino-rama.

Park hop! Carthay Circle Lounge opens at 11:30, and I'm slightly early. This is among my favorite relaxing spots at the resort, and many of the bartenders inside know me by name now. I grab a light snack and a strange cocktail (a pisco sour) while resting for a good hour or so and chatting with the gals who sit next to me. They're out-of-towners, not Californians, yet they're achieving the Valley Girl stereotype with ease. Kind of vapid.

So before going into the Lounge I'd grabbed a Soarin' FastPass. That's ready now, but instead first I wander up through Cars Land to do Radiator Springs Racers via Single Rider. That took about 5 minutes to get onto, while on weekdays when more locals are around it takes more like 20 minutes. Secret rule for visiting Disneyland: Avoid times when the locals are there.

TO BE CONTINUED...

 

[D Hulk]

1.28.18 (Part 2)
​

Okay, that's enough DCA. Back I go into Disneyland. I figure there's just enough time before my 3:30 lunch to casually see a lot of the west side. Rush-rush is long over. It's relaxation mode now, and I don't even bother with any more FastPasses. The morning was fast enough, and it's unseasonably warm at 89 F, so I'm actually slightly exhausted. So my next stop is the Tiki Room, a chance to sit in AC for 25 minutes or so and enjoy some charming nostalgia.

Then what? Ah yes, randomly I climbed up Tarzan's Tree House, earning some neat views of the Star Wars crane and the distant Angeles National Forest.

Then another laid back attraction, the Mark Twain, where I soaked up the sun and enjoyed this simultaneous view of the train, the new rockwork for the shortened Rivers of America, and some Galaxy's Edge construction in the background.

Then Haunted Mansion, which just came back from its Holiday overlay. I didn't bother seeing that overlay last year, at least not in Anaheim. Did manage to see the Holiday overlay in Tokyo, which was neat. Today, the ride broke down temporarily just as we were all exiting the stretching room, so I stayed back in there for around 10 minutes lying on the floor and staring at the creepy portraits overhead.

After Haunted Mansion I did Pirates, which I have to do every single time I go to DLR.

That was perfect timing to reach my seating at Cafe Orleans. It's uncommon that I plan table dining in Disneyland, but this was today's tone. Felt like doing a rushed morning and a slower afternoon...training for Walt Disney World! Cafe Orleans is...okay, I'm not over-the-moon about it (or really any one restaurant inside Disneyland), but it's worthwhile every few years. The food is big, the flavors are OK. Got the Monte Cristo sandwich (a powdered beignet with cheese, ham and turkey inside) and the garlic fries. The photo makes them look smaller than they are.

I'd eaten very little so far...just a danish and some tortilla chips. Even so, I couldn't finish this, and I severely overate. The plan now was to simply go home, but while lurching through Frontierland the Disneyland Marching Band arrived. With nothing on my agenda, I paused and enjoyed their entire 20 minute set. I've gotta do these smaller things more often. An annual pass makes the parks more leisurely, and the random streetmosphere and such really adds depth. Best memory of the day!

Once the band finished, I continued walking down Main Street towards home when...another band began. The Hook & Ladder Band, I think they're called, firefighter musicians performing in front of the Fire Department near City Hall. So why not, I paused for another 20 minutes and watched their entire set too.

It's taking a long time to escape Disneyland. Finally I reach the Esplanade and then the tram loading area. It's around 5 now...and incidentally the park has indeed become crowded since my morning free-for-all, once the locals have all recovered from their Saturdays. Anyway, so the nighttime crowd is arriving, and much of the daytime crowd is leaving. Too much, and again the tram crowds are simply unacceptable. I estimate a 20 minute wait for something which shouldn't take more than 5. I detest that, so instead I again choose to just walk back to my car all the way through Downtown Disney.

Along the way, once again I postpone everything and instead detour over to Trader Sam's Enchanted Tiki Bar at the Disneyland Hotel. This is ideal hotel guest downtime - the best WDW trip reports always discuss midday breaks at the hotel pools and bars. I'm in training for WDW, so I stop for a single pint and to catch my breath (today has been surprisingly demanding physically).

Thus recovered, I finish the hike over to Mickey & Friends. Then I drive home. Unlike your average Trip Report, this one ends (for now) with me back in my own house, sleeping in my own bed. And without that usual melancholy which accompanies leaving Disney, since I'll probably go back there in a few weeks or so.

Until then...

 

[Suchomimus]

One question, Hindley. If Disney wasn’t adding Galaxy’s Edge, what would you want to see in its place? A Frontierland expansion or something else like Discovery Bay?

 

[D Hulk]

One question, Hindley. If Disney wasn’t adding Galaxy’s Edge, what would you want to see in its place? A Frontierland expansion or something else like Discovery Bay?

I’ve always been partial to the Discovery Bay concept, which as San Francisco really is the logical continuation of Frontierland’s westward expansion layout. Galaxy’s Edge looks really good so far, including in person, and in many ways it does make logical thematic sense where it is (Star Wars combines elements of fantasy and westerns). The other ideas for that area that’ve been rumored in the past were mostly weird, though something like Beastly Kingdom I could see maaaybe working in that spot.