Let The Memories Live Again! – Day 4

This would be the fourth day of our vacation, and it would be the first day we would experience some Disney magic. We packed up some drinks into the car and headed to Disneyland Park in Anaheim. It wasn’t far from our hotel, so we woke up to the smell of free breakfast in our hotel. In many ways, Fairfield was similar to Drury from our previous trips. It was right off a highway, and it served free breakfast. The breakfast was decent, with sausages and scrambled eggs. After filling ourselves up, with decided to proceed to Disneyland Park.

It was a short drive to Disneyland park, and we soon arrived at the carpark, which was located inside a shopping mall called the Garden Walk. We wondered how Disney was able to get access to carparks outside their own property, perhaps they had some sort of agreement with other landowners in the area. We boarded the shuttle and were on our way to the main park. Today, we were only going to visit Disneyland, and not the California Adventure, we would be saving that for another day. Even though it was a weekday, the park was still pretty busy and we took some time to clear the bag checks. After entering though, we felt as if we were already in the East Coast. The park was a splitting image of the Magic Kingdom in Orlando (albeit with a smaller castle). We were back in the realm of Disney, and we soon got back into gear.

First, we went to take the Matterhorn, a bobsled styled ride in Disneyland. It wasn’t as intense as other rides, but it was a fun change in scenery from our other favorite, Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. Speaking of Big Thunder, we decided to head there to check out the queue, but it was unfortunately temporarily closed.

  

We then decided to head to get the fastpass for Indiana Jones and then headed for lunch at Plaza Inn, where the best fried chicken on Disney property resides. We only got three plates to share as we felt we couldn’t finish any more. It turned out to be the right decision to take as we felt satisfied after the meal. I still think the chicken from 50’s Prime Time might still be better, although that might be down to some bias.

After lunch, we decided to check out Big Thunder one more time, but it was still closed, so we headed to Indiana Jones for our fastpass return ride. Even with the fastpass, it was still a 10 minute wait to get to the ride, which was quite fun. It was a jeep ride with a bumpy ride and impressive visuals. I enjoyed this ride very much.

After that, we went to splash mountain, a ride that is also available in Orlando. It was pretty similar besides the fact that it was a Single Seater, and that we got a lot more wet in this version of Splash Mountain. I can testify that it lives up to it’s name.

We then decided to head to Winnie the Pooh, a ride that is usually very busy in Orlando, but was relatively quiet here. It was pretty similar besides some scenery changes and we took the time to dry off from Splash Mountain. After this, we headed to Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, which was finally open. We took some time as we did not acquire the fastpasses for it, but it was well worth it. This rendition of Big Thunder was actually more impressive than the one in Orlando, with more decor and faster speeds. Ashley liked this ride very much.

We also stopped by the Royal Theater to watch a play of Frozen, which was done very well. The actors were funny and very enjoyable to watch and listen too. The whole family enjoyed this short 20 minute play of Frozen, which although small, was highly enjoyable. I would watch this again if the opportunity arises.

We then proceeded to get some fastpasses for Hyperspace mountain, or Star Tours, but our dreams were crushed when we realised that the Hyperspace mountain fastpass return times has already passed, and the queue time for it was 70 minutes long. We took the fastpass for Star Tours instead and headed to Buzz Lightyear’s Astro Blaster. Although simplistic, we always enjoyed this ride, no matter how many times we have taken it. I came out with the top score this time.

Now, we headed to the Blue Bayou for our three course dinner. This was part of the Fantasmic package and we were looking forward to this. The restaurant was well decorated, but was dimly lit, with a candle light at each table. This made it hard to take photos of food, but it did make the place look much more cozy and comfortable. We ordered several dishes such as the Lamb steaks and Surf n Turf, and they were both well made, with good taste on all dishes. We enjoyed this meal, and they even provided some cushions for our Fantasmic watching experience, instead of sitting on hard concrete.

We then headed to the Submarine ride which was based on Finding Nemo. This was a well done ride with impressive visuals and very fitting ride vehicle (an actual submarine!). Ashley enjoyed this ride very much as well, and I felt they improved on it since the last time I came to Disneyland.

It was soon time to head to the area for viewing Fantasmic. Although we had some troubles entering, we were soon in the area and ready to wait for Fanasmic to begin. We sat there for close to an hour before the show started. Although people reported that it was better than the Orlando one, it was close enough identical in my opinion, only adding a single scene that wasn’t present in the Orlando renditions. It was enjoyable nevertheless. Right after the show, was the fireworks, called Disneyland forever 60th Anniversary special. It was a special show that was put up for the 60th Anniversary of Disneyland, and commemorated Walt Disney’s acheivements throughout his life. The show noted that the nightly fireworks continue today as a tradition in respect to Walt Disney, as he felt that the fireworks were like a Kiss Goodnight to the visitors vising Disneyland. I wonder what he would think today if he saw his company ever-growing.

We then headed towards It’s a Small World to wait for the Electrical Parade. It was similarly grand and fancy as the one in Orlando, adding some fun additions such as MACK from Cars and a Huge Frozen Castle at the end of the carnival. It was as dazzling as ever and we enjoyed it.

Finally, to end off the day, we headed to Star Tours for our fastpass return time. I didn’t enjoy the ride too much as I felt extremely giddy halfway through, but Ashley enjoyed it very much. The ride added some elements from the new film, but we’re sitll not sure what it means due to it not being released yet. After this, we exited Disneyland, boarded the shuttle and got back to our car after a long day out. We drove back to the hotel exhausted, and had to wake up early the next day for even more activities. There was really no rest in sight.