It was my first full day. The weather seemed to be ideal, according to the weather predictions, and I was ready to take it on. My first area to tackle was a place that was extremely easy to accomplish in the allotted two hours before I could transfer over to the other park. Most of the rides are easy to get on to in the morning, and I'm quite sure I didn't wait long for any of them. Because I knew there was no rush, I took a little time to eat, and tipped my water so that it got all over the table (fortunately, it only got my hat clothing-wise), but that was an easy clean-up.
While I was walking around, I noticed the line for Toy Story Midway Mania was super short compared to normal. That was one I never did. I don't enjoy gaming or anything to do with games (there's an explanation behind that, but that's not appropriate for right now), so I always assumed it wasn't for me, but seeing the line so short, I thought, Why not? So, I walked in. I'm now officially proven to be a terrible gamer (at least with this type of game) on the planet, but it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. As my grandpa would say, Let that be a lesson to you. Sometimes you just have to try things, and you'll realize they aren't as bad as your silly active imagination contrives. Now, if I can stop the overactive imagination on the Incredicoaster: I have always stayed away from things that have big drops and go upside down.
I was wandering around the pier area, and passed a CM standing at an umbrella. He bowed to me. It turned out that a few minutes later, when I got on the Pixar-Pal-Around (some refer to it fondly, or not-so-fondly, as the Wheel of Death--I avoid those swinging gondolas). He switch with the loading CM and was there to unload me, calling me, Your Highness. I thanked him, and went on my way, but there's always a part of me that always feels a little, well, unfit for that title. It brings to my mind something that happened several years ago when I was taking a bus in the city, and there happened to be a man there who did a similar thing, even though he was in no amusement park. This was out in public. He bowed to me, called me, My Lady, and offered his place on the bench, but my bus was coming, so I couldn't take it. It gave me that same feeling; It took a minute for me to realize that he wasn't being snarky, but was completely genuine in his gesture. As much as I like the idea of being called a lady, it was so out-of-the-ordinary, that it took me aback, and I was a little perplexed what it was about me that caused him to do that.
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| View from the wheel over-looking the new San Fransokyo Square. |
One other activity that I wanted to check out was the Coco themed area. I did a little bit of reading about Dia de los Muertos, and found that to be just as much, or more appealing to me than Halloween. I'm not into the skull thing, but I certainly love the other decorations, and I love the meaning behind it. I've thought in the past, after learning about it, that I'm going to celebrate with my friends down south instead of all this dark gloomy stuff people like to celebrate here. They have a wall for people to post their messages to their dead ones. It wasn't open quite yet when I first came around, but it was when I came later. I wanted to write a message to Mom; Trouble was, I started getting emotional while I started writing, so I ended up not writing as much as I would have liked. Spend the next five or ten minutes trying to deal with my upsurging emotions, but I really liked the idea of us all coming together to send messages to our dead. It's a reminder to us all that despite our backgrounds, we all have experienced a loss at some point in our lives; and how strengthening and unifying it is to come together to remember, grieve, and celebrate the lives of our loved ones.
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| I really like this quote. |
Over at Disneyland, I focused on the New Orleans and Critter Country area. I had to get on Pirates, because it was closed the last time I came. Jack Sparrow was wandering around. He was standing above while I was waiting in line, waving at the people. I was in my reserved mode, so for some reason, it often takes a lot of effort for me to un-restrain myself and wave, otherwise, I would have waived back--that was the same with a lot of characters who got close enough--for some reason, the majority of characters I saw were far enough in the distance that interaction wasn't possible.
The Haunted Mansion line was a little bit miserable. If I had purchased Genie+, I would have used it on that one. The switchbacks were tedious, and I was getting hot, and it wasn't supposed to be hot that day. I figure between the humidity level, the concrete, and the people packed together, it must have increased that heat significantly. I felt much better once I got in, but that outside wait was a real physical endurance test. This holiday inlay was better than I expected. I had seen it once before, but it seemed to me to be super busy visually; I didn't feel that way this time.
I had to go to the Winnie-the-Pooh ride before taking off to Main Street to spend some time there. I stayed in Main Street for a while, which was nice, because I got to see some things I kept missing on my last trips, namely, Disneyland Band performances. I also was really happy that they kept Magic Happens, because I wanted to see it. That was fun to watch, and I had a fellow guest next to me that kept drawing the characters over to her. I have a secret envy of people who seem to know how to work that magic; but then I'm a bit of a walking (or sitting in this case) paradox. I crave attention, yet at the same time, I hate it, then I like it, then I crave it, and then I hate it; the cycle goes on and on.
It was a fortunate thing that I got done the majority of what I wanted earlier in the day, because it was the first night of the Oogie Boogie Bash, so after 6 p.m. the crowds got bad. I was eating at Harbour Galley just as the sun was beginning to get dark, and I spent several minutes watching the flocks of crows flying between the trees of New Orleans Square and the island. It was a perfect way to experience the transition into night time.
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| Mark Twain Riverboat docked in front of Big Thunder Mountain. |
It seemed like a great time to stroll around Fantasyland to enjoy the lights there. There was no intention on getting on the rides, but some of those lines were so short, I had to grab them. I have always wanted to ride the backside of the Casey Jr. Train caboose, but during the past visits, someone had always beat me to it. Wonder of wonders, this time, I ended up being in the front of the line, and was able to grab it. I was so excited! Two goals achieved were achieved in that moment: I was able to ride the back of the caboose; and I was able to do it at night. Don't you love it when a goal gets accomplished?
In my meanderings around the area, I happened to glance over at the Peter Pan ride, and the line was at least half (if not more) the length it normally is, so I had to grab the opportunity. I'm thinking it was only a twenty minute wait. It was super fast! Go me! By the time I got out of there, it was nearing closing time, so I went and watched Mickey, Minnie, and Pluto waive goodnight to the crowd before I left, and it was a good time to go. I worried about not having enough evening time, but it ended up being a perfect time.
