Disneyland! Part 2

June 21, Friday

We walked out of the hotel room at 7:35 AM. We got through security and into the park just after 7:50 AM. By the time we bought Genie Plus and reserved our first Lightning Lane for Guardians of the Galaxy, it was 7:54 AM. We got to Soarin’ by 7:59 AM. There was already a line built up but it wasn't bad at all. We had to wait in the standby line. Resort guests were already able to go in but we had to wait until 8 AM and then they started letting us in. It was awesome because we were able to sit in section B in the first row which is the perfect viewing spot because you're in the middle and nobody's feet are hanging down in front of you.

After that, we headed over to the Monsters Inc. ride. We walked around the backside of the park in the corner and spotted Mrs. Incredible/Elastigirl so we got a picture with her. 

I showed the kids the menu at Pym’s Test Lab that is a phone screen so that was cool. Then we went over to the checkerboard floor that's an optical illusion and we took a few pictures. The guy who was sweeping over there was excited to tell us some info and show me exactly where to stand for the best picture. 

Then we realized Doctor Strange was out so we got some video and pictures with him. 

Then we went and took a couple more pictures of the checkerboard. 

We thought about going to Web Slingers because the line was 25 minutes but we decided to head over to Pixar Pier instead. We got a picture in front of the Ferris wheel and Incredicoaster and then headed over to Silly Symphony Swings. 

Emily wanted to go to Bing Bong’s Sweet Shop so we went to the store and they had a bakery counter so we were all pretty excited about that. Andrew had wanted a Cookie Numb Num but he chose a double chocolate chip cookie instead. Jonny got a Mike Wazowski Rice Krispies crispy treat, Emily got a Rice Krispies treat, and I got a churro toffee and a peanut butter bar. We sat on a bench near the Ferris wheel and enjoyed our treats. We scheduled our next Lightning Lane for Web Slingers and then got in line for Incredicoaster since the standby wait was only 40 minutes but it actually only took us 30 minutes.

Andrew got some water from the Cookie Num Num counter and we headed over through San Fransokyo Square. I saw the line building for Baymax and it was short so we decided to wait. It was 10:50 AM and he was coming out at 11 AM so we waited for that. It was fun to hug him. 

Then, it was already time to go to Guardians so we headed there next. We got to sit in the front row this time. It was annoying because I didn't have a handle on the left side but there was a place you could grab but it wasn't the same. 

Andrew wanted a big pretzel so we got a pretzel for him and Jonny again and I got myself the Choco Smash cake and we all got some drinks and we sat and enjoyed it for a little bit and made our plan. Then we decided we should go wait in the Web Slingers line because the wait was relatively short at only 30 minutes. The wait time seemed to go up while we waited in line but we decided it was still the best use of our time. Nobody else had any better ideas and Jonny loves to be in California Adventure and he really wanted to ride Web Slingers so I said we should do what he wants because he doesn't ask for much. The wait was only 30 minutes for Web Slingers so that was nice. Jonny beat us on the score. 

Next, we headed over to Disneyland. I wanted to take the kids to lunch at Plaza Inn so that's what we did. Jonny ordered pasta with no sauce. We tried to convince him to get it on the side but he said no. Then he didn't finish the pasta. It was time to get the order I had made at Jolly Holiday for a Raspberry Rose macaron for Andrew, Jonny, and me and another cherry vanilla macaron so I went and picked that up and came back. We decided we would go back to the hotel and take a break and come back later. 

We even took an Uber to make it easier on ourselves. I stayed up long enough to make the next Lightning Lane selection and then I took a nap. Our plan was to leave the hotel room by 6:30 PM and we left by about 6:45 PM. The line at security was longer than it was this morning. It took us a little while to get over to Pirates. When we were almost to the point where they would load us, the ride stopped. They told us they were having some difficulties. Then we were glad that they started back up but they weren't loading anybody. Within about five minutes of the announcement, it was up and running again so that was good. Emily had switched one of our Lightning Lanes so we wouldn't miss it. After Pirates, we went straight to Indiana Jones and rode that. It was kind of cute because as we were leaving, there was a little boy in front of us complaining and he said, “That was the worst ride I've ever been on in my entire life!” We had a good laugh about that. They were setting up for Fantasmic so it was kind of hard to navigate but we made it over to Big Thunder Mountain in plenty of time. We rode it just as it was getting dark. 

They wanted to go ride Guardians again with our multi experience that we got from Web Slingers but I didn't want to ride it again so the three of them went over to ride it. 

I raced over to red Rose Tavern so I could get the gray stuff but they were sold out so I was pretty bummed about that. I still got a picture there.

I sat down and figured out what I wanted to eat. It's kind of hard to navigate and figure out what restaurants are open at a certain time. You have to just go into each individual thing and find out when it closes and that was annoying. (Update: I should have clicked the Dining tab in the Tip Board, which I found out after we got home.)I've always been curious about Bengal Barbecue so I did an order there and got a chicken and a beef skewer, a breadstick, and a pineapple spear. It was a little while before it was going to be available to pick up so I went by the Mint Julep Bar to try and get some beignets but that line was too long so I just went over to pick up my food and carry it over to Galactic Grill to meet the kids. They were already there. I had asked them to pick up a pineapple coconut churro from Willy’s Churro Cart in California Adventure so they had that waiting for me along with some water so that was nice. We sat and ate our food for a while. 

Andrew used my multi experience pass to ride Matterhorn. Emily and Jonny and I sat at the table and waited for him and relaxed a bit. Michael called and I got to talk to him and Daniel. I hadn't talked to Daniel yet. He ended up having his friends over tonight instead of tomorrow night. He was supposed to have an afternoon shift today but he gave it away and was glad about that and now he doesn't have to work tomorrow either. I stayed at the table and watched bags while the kids all went with our Lightning Lane on Autopia. Next, it was time to head over to Runaway Railway to use our Lightning Lane there. By the time we left that ride, it was 11:49 PM. We looked it up and it said that the railroad goes until midnight so we headed over to the Toon Town station. The sign said it comes every 20 minutes so once we had been waiting 20 minutes we almost gave up. Thankfully, we hadn't left the line yet and it came just after 20 minutes. We hopped on and took that to Main Street and walked back to the hotel.