The Rest of Our Disneyland Adventures - Halloween 2022

After the Oogie Boogie Bash, we spent 3 more days at Disneyland and California Adventure. On Friday we visited California Adventure. 

Rather than give a play-by-play of each day I want to focus on some highlights and lowlights from the day:

Highlights:

The biggest highlight of any Disney trip is the opportunity it provides to spend time together in a fun and magical place. As I reflect on some of the lowlights, this trip may not have been as magical as many past trips, but it was still a really fun trip with plenty of magical moments. 

Alison was pretty freaking excited when she beat me at Web Slingers on Friday morning. We both can be competitive. I took an early lead and thought I had it in the bag, but Alison came from behind for a satisfying win. Alison would also like everyone to know she got a higher score than me on Midway Mania. She was on a roll on Friday.

At Halloween time Disney runs two versions of the Guardians of the Galaxy ride. In the morning they run Guardians of the Galaxy – Mission: BREAKOUT! Which is rocking and so much fun. Then in the afternoon, they switch over to Guardians of the Galaxy - Monsters After Dark. This is a great overlay. the premise is that the monsters in the Collector's collection have escaped and Rocket uses the guests as bait to help him rescue baby Groot. It gives the ride a low-key horror theme. It also has a special song for the overlay. We managed to get a Genie+ pass to ride the normal ride in the morning, which I love, and we got passes to ride later in the afternoon. I actually rode Monsters After Dark twice. First, Dan, Skylee, Alison, and I rode it together while Kristin spent time with Anna Holly. Then I rode it with Kristin. Alison and Dan didn't want to ride it again because it can make them a little motion sick. We were all surprised Skylee didn't want to ride it again, but she really wanted to Sorcerer's Workshop. I could ride Guardians all day long so I was happy to go with Kristin. We had a great time - I love that ride. 

Lunch was another highlight. We used to have a neighbor who moonlights as a Disney food influencer. A few months ago she recommended the QuesaBirria Street Tacos from Cocina Cucamonga Mexican Grill. She gave them 10/10 Yums. I have wanted to try them ever since. This trip was our first opportunity. They did not disappoint. They were incredibly delicious. 

Another yummy treat we ate was this Minnie Witch Shake. I would give it an 8/10.

We were on our way to ride Midway Mania when Alison, Skylee, and Kristin needed a quick bathroom break. While they ran over to the bathroom Dan and I parked the stroller and were making our way toward the ride with Anna Holly. We saw Jessie right outside the ride. Anna Holly was excited and wanted to meet Jessie. We jumped into line. It was so cute. Anna Holly met Jessie and got a huge hug. Then Jessie pointed to Anna Holly's cowboy boot and showed Anna Holly the cowboy boots she was wearing. It was great and Anna Holly was happy. 

On this trip, Alison and I did something we haven't ever done before we took a drawing lesson at the Animation Academy. This is a fun activity where a Disney illustrator teaches you how to draw a Disney character. We drew Eeyore. It was easier than I expected. Both of our Eeyores came out really well. I was just a little bummed when they told us the next class would have been Baby Yoda - that would have been awesome.

The day before our Disney trip Anna Holly was doing the no more monkeys jumping on the bed thing and broke her foot. Poor girl. She got to wear a nice orange boot throughout the trip. Her parents got her a cowboy boot for the other foot to help even her out so she could kind of walk, but the rocker boot made walking a bit difficult. We had the stroller and plenty of people to carry her in line. The broken foot really didn't hamper our trip at all. It did help with one ride. It added a few inches to Anna Holly's height so she was able to ride Soarin' Around the World with all of us. This was a special ride this trip because this is the first time Alison and I have gone on Soarin' Around the World since we finished visiting all of the sites showcased in the ride. It was so fun to sit next to Alison and point out some of the special memories we have of each of these locations. I couldn't help but think back to our first time seeing this ride 5+ years ago and being inspired to travel and see amazing places. We did it and that feels really good. One of my favorite things about Disney is its ability to inspire. 

Lowlights:

Rope drop is fundamentally different than it used to be. This is because Disney now provides hotel guests access to both parks 30 minutes before other guests. This means even if you are at the front of the regular line there will be a pretty long line for Radiator Springs Racers (DCA) or Peter Pan (Disneyland). On Friday Dan and Anna Holly slept in and skipped rope drop so we decided to head to Radiator Springs Racers first. We were able to ride it with only a ~30-minute wait, which is the shortest wait of the day, but it wasn't a great rope drop. 

We saw more issues with attractions than we have ever seen before on a Disney trip. I don't know if Disney has cut down on maintenance, or what, but it was noticeably bad. More rides broke down while we were riding them or waiting in line than didn't. Radiator Springs Racer's stopped shortly after we were in the ride vehicle. Dan and Kristin got stuck on the Emotional Whirl. Midway Mania broke down while we were in line. Goofy's Sky School stopped while we were partway through the ride. The issues were consistent. It was frustrating. We also saw numerous other issues with ride elements that had issues or were not working - the Rocket Raccoon animatronic was not functioning in one of the pre-show rooms, whole rows were roped off on Soarin' because of seatbelt issues, the sound on some seats of the Incredicoaster was out of whack. All of this detracted from the experience and didn't meet the high standards you expect from Disneyland, especially at a time when they are raising prices and charging a premium. 

Alison, Skylee, and I had a terrible experience at Goofy's Sky School. We were at Pixar Pier and Anna Holly wanted to ride Mickey's Fun Wheel. We didn't really want to ride it so we decided to take Skylee to Goofy's Sky School. When we got in line it said it would be 40 minutes. Not a great wait time, but most of the lines were long at this point. 70 minutes later we got onto the ride (and then of course it broke down partway through). There weren't even very many people in the standby line, but the way they managed the Genie+ line made it so we didn't even move. In the last 25ish minutes, we were probably 10 or so people back in the line. If you don't buy and use Genie+ the standby lines at the park this day can be infuriating. 

Our biggest disappointment was that Anna Holly didn't get to ride on WEB SLINGERS: A Spider-Man Adventure. Dan and Anna Holly came to the park a little later in the morning. Before they arrived Alison, Kristin, Sklyee, and I stood in line and rode it. The line at that point wasn't too long. Shortly after they arrived the ride went down. We wanted to ride it a few times throughout the day, but each time it was down or the line was incredibly long. We eventually got a Genie+ reservation, but of course, the ride was down. This meant our pass changed into a multi-experience pass, but by the time it came up again in the evening Anna Holly was asleep. So Kristin and Skylee took her back to the hotel and Dan, Alison, and I rode Web Slingers. It is one of Anna Holly's favorite rides, but she didn't get to go on it this trip. 

On Saturday we visited Disneyland. It was kind of strange that this was the 3rd day of our trip and our first day in Disneyland. Here are highlights and lowlights from the day:

Highlights:

While rope drop might not be quite what it used to be, we still had an excellent rope drop today. Kristin and Dan really wanted to get Anna Holly on a lot of the Fantasyland rides. That was our first stop and we knocked pretty much everything out in the first 90ish minutes of the day. Anna Holly was in heaven and we all had a fun time following her around and riding all of the classic Disney rides. 

The look of happiness on Anna Holly's face is so great. She kept telling me to spin it faster!

The Haunted Mansion Holiday overlay is one of the best things about coming to Disneyland at Halloween or Christmas time. It was extra special because Anna Holly LOVES the Nightmare before Christmas. We used our first Genie+ pass to ride it (the line gets incredibly long). I shared a doom buggy with Skylee and we kept our eyes peeled for hidden Mickeys - we spotted a couple. 

Another highlight was Pirates of the Caribbean. This ride was down for maintenance when we came in April. I was more excited than usual to ride this trip. It is definitely a top 3 attraction for me. It was a busy day (more on that below), but between Genie+ and some fast-moving lines, we really did get to do most of the rides we wanted. It was a good day at the park. I was pretty happy because I got to ride Space Mountain a couple of times - that is my #1 favorite attraction in Disneyland. 

In the evening Dan, Kristin, and Skylee were riding Indiana Jones so Alison and I took Anna Holly to ride Astro Blasters. It was so much fun. Anna Holly was excited when we entered the room with the Buzz Lightyear animatronic. She whispered in my ear, "that's the real Buzz Lightyear!" Everything is so magical for her at this age. I taught her how to use the blaster, and then Alison taught her how to make the ride vehicle spin. It was a blast. When we were done we went to meet her parents and Skylee to ride Haunted Mansion again. Anna Holly told me we didn't need to ride the Haunted Mansion because we had already done that one this morning. I told her Jack Skellington was asking where Anna Holly has been, and she was excited to go see him. 

Another highlight was Fantasmic. We bought the Fantasmic dining package on this trip. It was a little pricey, but include a delicious meal at the Hungry Bear (they have a special menu for this package). The food was high quality, tasted good, and was good portion sizes. The meal came with a pass for a reserved spot to watch Fantasmic. I really like the Fantasmic show, but I hate having to spend a lot of time securing a spot and cramming in with piles of other people. The spot we had was excellent and we weren't all crowded into a small space. Skylee even found a fence to sit on. Fantasmic was a great way to end our day. 

Lowlights:

Disneyland was really busy on Saturday. Here is the thing - Disneyland is always busy. Every day a lot of people go to the parks. Saturday was busy enough that it was uncomfortable and too many people. Because it was so busy Genie+ didn't work as well as it normally might. Passes for the best rides went fast and we got fewer passes than we otherwise would have. Lines were often very long. At one point I stood in line for ~15 or maybe 20 minutes to get a toffee pretzel (I was hoping it would be great, but it was like a 6/10), but the thing was lines were long for everything. It put a real damper on the day. 

Since Anna Holly got a boost from her boot we thought there was a chance she would be able to ride on Splash Mountain (it has the same height requirement as Soarin'). We used a Genie+ pass and got to the front of the line where they checked Anna Holly's height. Unfortunately, she did not measure up. We took Skylee and then Dan and Kristin took Skylee. So Skylee lucked out because she got to ride it twice. We used rider swap quite a bit on this trip, and while it is nice we all get to ride, and usually, someone gets to ride twice, everything takes twice as long. Which makes it feel like you don't get to do as much. 

Dan really wanted to ride Rise of the Resistance, but it just didn't happen. We had a plan and we were going to ride it. We did not really want to pay $25 per person for an individual lightning lane pass. We were prepared to stand in line. We actually went over there three different times and all three times it went down between the time we started heading that way and when we arrived. Rise of the Resistance had a really rough day - which didn't help since it was already such a crowded day. 

We were surprised when it started raining in the evening. The weather forecast was clear, but it was gently sprinkling for a while. Anna Holly got pretty wet and we talked to a few cast members and they told us if it kept raining Fantasmic would be canceled. That seemed like a pretty realistic possibility. The rain was miserable so we were heading out of the park. Alison and I stopped with Skylee at a gift shop to buy her a Minnie mouse sweater while Dan and Kristin took Anna Holly back to the hotel (it was a cold wet night). When we came out of the gift shop the rain had stopped so we took Skylee back to see Fantasmic. Dan, Kristin, and Anna Holly didn't make it. You can't control the weather so that was just plain bad luck. 

On our last day, it was just Alison and me at Disneyland. Dan, Kristin, and the girls slept in and did some other activities in LA. 

Highlights:

Today was much less busy, which Alison and I don't understand. The reservations for Disneyland were sold out today. So unless Disney releases way fewer reservations on Sunday it doesn't make sense why it would be noticeably less busy than Saturday. Either way, I was not sad about it, and don't get me wrong it was still plenty busy, it just felt much more reasonable and Alison and I were able to do so much more because lines were shorter and we used more Genie+ passes. 

Sometimes things just break in your favor. To have a really great day at Disneyland things have to line up the right way and today things were really going our way. We had a great rope drop and rode a few rides. As a considered what to do next we decided we would stand in line for Rise of the Resistance. The Disneyland app showed the line was about 65 minutes, which seemed like it would be on the lower end of the line time for the day. We walked over and joined the queue. It was moving quickly and even though it showed 65 minutes it was actually only a 20-minute line. We were thrilled and we love that ride. 

There were 3 treats on our list to try today. 1. Mickey Mummy Macaron 2. Pumpkin Spice Churro 3. Cookie Butter Churro Sundae. We tried all three. All three were delicious. I would give the Macaron and Churro both 10/10. They were fabulous and I would have had another one in a heartbeat. The Sundae was more of an 8/10, it was good, but not as special as the other two. 

We rode on Splash Mountain today. We weren't sure if we would today. It was kind of a cold day and neither of us really wanted to get wet, but they are retheming Splash Mountain so this was likely our last ride before they change it. We love Splash Mountain and we are also excited about the change. It was good to have one last go-round today. 

Lowlights:

Surprisingly there were very few lowlights today. The only thing that was kind of a bummer was that Space Mountain, Peter Pan, and the Matterhorn were down for rope drop. We were going to Space Mountain, but we saw it was down in the Disneyland app so we made other plans and pivoted to rope drop Haunted Mansion, which worked out well. Space Moutain was actually down well into the afternoon. That worked out nicely for us because we used our Genie+ selections for Space and they turned into the quite valuable multi-experience passes, which we were able to use to ride Space Mountain 3 times in the evening. This was the kind of day where even the challenges worked in our favor. 

It has been 10 years since Alison and I took our first trip to Disneyland together. In those 10 years, we took 18 Disneyland trips. We have shared many amazing trips and experiences. This trip had its moments. The Oogie Boogie Bash was so magical and memorable. Sunday was one of those perfect Disney days where everything lines up the way you hope. I was really grateful for that because this may be the end of an era. Disneyland is changing and so are we. I think there will be fewer Disneyland trips for us in the future. Maybe Sunday will be the last time we spend a day in Disneyland just Alison and me, at least for a while. I am grateful that it was a magical day. I am also very excited about the possibilities the future may bring.