Disneyland 60th Diamond Celebration
After months of trying to convince Hiroshi to go to Disneyland for the Diamond 60th Anniversary since we went to Tokyo Disney 30th Anniversary, he finally gave in. Well, he mainly gave in because he read from the news that Tomorrowland was in Season of the Force hence full of Star Wars decorations. This small getaway may have delayed paying off my credit card for another month but it was well worth it.
Instead of purchasing the tickets at the park or online, we bought it at the Irvine Spectrum on Thursday night. The sales lady asked us if we were going on Friday and when we said Saturday, she looked a bit worried. She told us it could be a little crowded on a weekend. Hiroshi assured me it will not be as crowded as the last two weekends of December.
The day of our trip, we left around 7:20AM and got to the parking lot around 7:45AM as Hiroshi scheduled. I was impressed how organized and smooth the parking was; no hassle whatsoever. Then again, it’s been 13 years since I last went to Disneyland so I can’t really remember much of it or tell the difference. It was freezing cold in the morning and riding on the tram added the Arctic wind to the factor. Even though it wasn’t 8AM, I was surprised how they let the people in through the Main Street.
Our target destination was Tomorrowland before all the other Star Wars fans get there. Right off the bat, our first ride was Space Mountain, which they renamed it to Hyperspace Mountain. As always, that ride never failed to amuse me and it got better when they implemented the Tie Fighters, X-Wings, and Imperial Star Destroyer. I was laughing the entire time. I even bought our digital photo of it instead of getting the hard copy. After the ride we headed off to the Star Trader that was literally next to the Hyperspace Mountain’s exit. I found some pretty cool Star Wars women’s shirt although poor Hiroshi thought the neon colors of the men’s shirt were too flamboyant for him. I wanted to get my nephew this one onesie with a mini Darth Vader that says “If you only knew the power of the dark side” but they apparently ran out. Ah well. We didn’t buy anything for now to avoid carrying stuff early in the day.
So far we were off to a good start until I couldn’t find my ticket in my purse when we were trying to get a fast pass in Star Tours. We had to go to the Town Hall to reprint my ticket and returned to Tomorrowland to get the fast pass. Thankfully that was the only mishap we had. Once we got our fast pass, we headed off to the Galactic Grill for breakfast. I ordered the Darth Tamale, which was okay, while Hiroshi had the Bantha Blue Milk Bread. The food was better than the last time I was here but overpriced.
We still had time to spare before we line up for Star Tours with our fast pass from 10:30-11:45AM so we headed of Star Wars Launch Bay exhibition when it opened at 10AM. They had both Imperial and Rebel uniforms, vehicle models, Rey’s life-size Speeder, and meet with Darth Vader and Chewbacca sessions (didn’t do that one since there was a 30-minutes wait). There was even a booth where people could take pictures with Boba Fett. They also had a small shop where they sell models and even autographed photos. Darth Vader’s helmet was huge! I never knew he had such a big head! The exhibition overall was good; not hardcore cheese-factor but just about right.
The park was crowded by the time we got out of the Launch Bay and heading to Star Tours was a tight squeeze especially when a bunch of strollers took up most of the space. Seriously, I’ve never seen so many strollers in my life and still can’t believe they needed to create a designated stroller parking area. Makes me not want to bring my kids (if/when I have any) unless they can fully walk around the park the entire day. Those things are such a hassle. The crowd isn’t as bad as Tokyo Disney though, where going from one place to another already seems like a line. They’re not rude but still not in a good place to be in. Perhaps Hiroshi and I became more tolerant after that experience along with the 4-hour line wait in Bellagio buffet… Those two still hold the record.
The Star Tour fast pass (or fast pass itself) was truly a blessing. We basically flew by the long line and only waited for about 20 minutes instead of an hour. I finally get to ride the new Star Tours in English too! One thing I did not expect them to incorporate was the Force Awaken. Instead of having an X-Wing pilot on the right panel, they actually had Finn talked to us and we went through the desert scene from the new movie. That was a cool surprise.
After spending the entire morning in Tomorrowland, I was starting to get tired of hearing the Star Wars theme being played throughout the area. I can’t imagine how the workers must’ve put up with it the entire day. Perhaps they take different shifts or else they’d go mad. We then headed off to New Orleans Square to get a fast pass on the Haunted Mansion. We rested a bit by riding on the train to the Main Street to look for a Christmas present for my nephew. Still couldn’t find anything. From there we headed off to line up on Matterhorn but that unfortunately broke down and will take a while to fix. So we went back New Orleans Square and bought Mickey Mouse Beignets and Mint Junpei drink… Not overpriced but not as good as I expected.
On the Haunted Mansion ride, we check out the Hatbox Ghost that Hiroshi anticipated but unfortunately we missed the special effect. Everything else was pretty much the same as Tokyo Disney although everything was in English. It was passed noon when we made our way to the Galactic Grill in Tomorrowland for lunch. Hiroshi had the First Order Specialty Burger while I had the Jedi Order Chicken Sandwich. For drinks we had both the Dark Side and Light Side, which came with a glowing Death Star and Millennium Falcon, and for dessert we had the Darth by Chocolate and BB8-Droid Crisped Rice Treat. The burgers were fine but the drinks and treats had too much sugar in it. And it all cost around $30-$40. Yeesh.
From then on we did a lot of back and forth throughout the park. We didn’t know what to do next so we walked back to Adventureland and got a fast pass for Indiana Jones ride. The wait was really long so we had so much time to kill. Hiroshi suggested we head back to Main Street and look at other stores for my nephew’s Christmas present. On the way we treated ourselves to Dole Pineapple whip, which was refreshing and just what we needed. At the Main Street shopping area, I finally found a cute onesie and a Mickey Mouse toy figure for my nephew. We then lined up to Big Thunder Mountain in Frontierland; apparently our longest line wait since we didn’t have a fast pass. Nothing new on the ride but still enjoyable. Then we lined up for Matterhorn for another attempt and succeeded with less line wait. The bobsled was different from what I remembered; six people rather than eight, they showed more of the abominable snowman, but still shaky as ever. It was getting dark by the time we headed to the Indiana Jones ride only to be told five minutes later that the ride broke down and they won’t be able to fix it. At this point we just wanted a calm and relaxing ride so we settled for Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage… that was uncomfortable and lame.
Since we were close by the Star Trader, we looked at the merchandise one last time. On the second round I got myself a t-shirt and a 3D metal model of a Tie Fighter for Hiroshi because he couldn’t find a shirt that he like. We didn’t stick long because the store was really getting packed with fans. We once again squeezed our way out of Tomorrowland and headed off to the Sleeping Beauty castle to watch the fireworks. Hiroshi said the fireworks were bigger and much better than he last seen it. After the fireworks we debated if we should watched Fantasmic, which we both realized we could really care less about it so took advantage of the shorter line rides. Hiroshi wanted to go to Haunted Mansion again to try to see the Hatbox Ghost. On the way we passed by Pirates of the Caribbean with a really short line compared to earlier so we went in there first. Might as well take two rides in one trip. That was perhaps the fastest line wait ever. Hiroshi was thrilled how we sat at the front by ourselves until we hit the first drop. Basically the water splash was equivalent to Splash Mountain. Both of our faces, hair, sweaters, and pants were drenched. The only dry spot on me was my lap where my purse was. Haha, that was unexpected.
After that we went to Haunted Mansion, which surprisingly had line but not a long one. I didn’t mind so much since we were entertained by bits and pieces of the Fantasmic show while waiting. And we got what we wanted: the perfect view of Hatbox Ghost special effect. Hiroshi was now content. The show was over and the park was practically empty when we got out of Haunted Mansion. Now this is how I last remembered Disneyland: Grand Night 2002.
As the park was reaching it’s closing time, Hiroshi and I went to Fantasyland hoping to ride Peter Pan but unfortunately the line was ridiculously crazy. All the other rides in Fantasyland were pretty open. So instead we sat on one of the benches in front of the castle and looked at the pretty lights. It’s been more than a decade for me (13) and Hiroshi (11) since either of has been in this park. Hiroshi wanted to wait until midnight before we leave to get our money’s worth now that tickets were $99 each instead of $60. By 12AM, we headed off to Main Street where we looked at more stuff and explored Downtown Disney Store for a bit longer. It was well past midnight by the time we got to the car and got home around 1AM.
Man, that was a lot of walking and stroller-dodging in one day. I’m happy that we both went when it was it’s 60th Diamond Anniversary. Now Hiroshi’s thinking about going to the Disneyland in France… Now that one can wait, haha!
Instead of purchasing the tickets at the park or online, we bought it at the Irvine Spectrum on Thursday night. The sales lady asked us if we were going on Friday and when we said Saturday, she looked a bit worried. She told us it could be a little crowded on a weekend. Hiroshi assured me it will not be as crowded as the last two weekends of December.
The day of our trip, we left around 7:20AM and got to the parking lot around 7:45AM as Hiroshi scheduled. I was impressed how organized and smooth the parking was; no hassle whatsoever. Then again, it’s been 13 years since I last went to Disneyland so I can’t really remember much of it or tell the difference. It was freezing cold in the morning and riding on the tram added the Arctic wind to the factor. Even though it wasn’t 8AM, I was surprised how they let the people in through the Main Street.
Our target destination was Tomorrowland before all the other Star Wars fans get there. Right off the bat, our first ride was Space Mountain, which they renamed it to Hyperspace Mountain. As always, that ride never failed to amuse me and it got better when they implemented the Tie Fighters, X-Wings, and Imperial Star Destroyer. I was laughing the entire time. I even bought our digital photo of it instead of getting the hard copy. After the ride we headed off to the Star Trader that was literally next to the Hyperspace Mountain’s exit. I found some pretty cool Star Wars women’s shirt although poor Hiroshi thought the neon colors of the men’s shirt were too flamboyant for him. I wanted to get my nephew this one onesie with a mini Darth Vader that says “If you only knew the power of the dark side” but they apparently ran out. Ah well. We didn’t buy anything for now to avoid carrying stuff early in the day.
So far we were off to a good start until I couldn’t find my ticket in my purse when we were trying to get a fast pass in Star Tours. We had to go to the Town Hall to reprint my ticket and returned to Tomorrowland to get the fast pass. Thankfully that was the only mishap we had. Once we got our fast pass, we headed off to the Galactic Grill for breakfast. I ordered the Darth Tamale, which was okay, while Hiroshi had the Bantha Blue Milk Bread. The food was better than the last time I was here but overpriced.
We still had time to spare before we line up for Star Tours with our fast pass from 10:30-11:45AM so we headed of Star Wars Launch Bay exhibition when it opened at 10AM. They had both Imperial and Rebel uniforms, vehicle models, Rey’s life-size Speeder, and meet with Darth Vader and Chewbacca sessions (didn’t do that one since there was a 30-minutes wait). There was even a booth where people could take pictures with Boba Fett. They also had a small shop where they sell models and even autographed photos. Darth Vader’s helmet was huge! I never knew he had such a big head! The exhibition overall was good; not hardcore cheese-factor but just about right.
The park was crowded by the time we got out of the Launch Bay and heading to Star Tours was a tight squeeze especially when a bunch of strollers took up most of the space. Seriously, I’ve never seen so many strollers in my life and still can’t believe they needed to create a designated stroller parking area. Makes me not want to bring my kids (if/when I have any) unless they can fully walk around the park the entire day. Those things are such a hassle. The crowd isn’t as bad as Tokyo Disney though, where going from one place to another already seems like a line. They’re not rude but still not in a good place to be in. Perhaps Hiroshi and I became more tolerant after that experience along with the 4-hour line wait in Bellagio buffet… Those two still hold the record.
The Star Tour fast pass (or fast pass itself) was truly a blessing. We basically flew by the long line and only waited for about 20 minutes instead of an hour. I finally get to ride the new Star Tours in English too! One thing I did not expect them to incorporate was the Force Awaken. Instead of having an X-Wing pilot on the right panel, they actually had Finn talked to us and we went through the desert scene from the new movie. That was a cool surprise.
After spending the entire morning in Tomorrowland, I was starting to get tired of hearing the Star Wars theme being played throughout the area. I can’t imagine how the workers must’ve put up with it the entire day. Perhaps they take different shifts or else they’d go mad. We then headed off to New Orleans Square to get a fast pass on the Haunted Mansion. We rested a bit by riding on the train to the Main Street to look for a Christmas present for my nephew. Still couldn’t find anything. From there we headed off to line up on Matterhorn but that unfortunately broke down and will take a while to fix. So we went back New Orleans Square and bought Mickey Mouse Beignets and Mint Junpei drink… Not overpriced but not as good as I expected.
On the Haunted Mansion ride, we check out the Hatbox Ghost that Hiroshi anticipated but unfortunately we missed the special effect. Everything else was pretty much the same as Tokyo Disney although everything was in English. It was passed noon when we made our way to the Galactic Grill in Tomorrowland for lunch. Hiroshi had the First Order Specialty Burger while I had the Jedi Order Chicken Sandwich. For drinks we had both the Dark Side and Light Side, which came with a glowing Death Star and Millennium Falcon, and for dessert we had the Darth by Chocolate and BB8-Droid Crisped Rice Treat. The burgers were fine but the drinks and treats had too much sugar in it. And it all cost around $30-$40. Yeesh.
From then on we did a lot of back and forth throughout the park. We didn’t know what to do next so we walked back to Adventureland and got a fast pass for Indiana Jones ride. The wait was really long so we had so much time to kill. Hiroshi suggested we head back to Main Street and look at other stores for my nephew’s Christmas present. On the way we treated ourselves to Dole Pineapple whip, which was refreshing and just what we needed. At the Main Street shopping area, I finally found a cute onesie and a Mickey Mouse toy figure for my nephew. We then lined up to Big Thunder Mountain in Frontierland; apparently our longest line wait since we didn’t have a fast pass. Nothing new on the ride but still enjoyable. Then we lined up for Matterhorn for another attempt and succeeded with less line wait. The bobsled was different from what I remembered; six people rather than eight, they showed more of the abominable snowman, but still shaky as ever. It was getting dark by the time we headed to the Indiana Jones ride only to be told five minutes later that the ride broke down and they won’t be able to fix it. At this point we just wanted a calm and relaxing ride so we settled for Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage… that was uncomfortable and lame.
Since we were close by the Star Trader, we looked at the merchandise one last time. On the second round I got myself a t-shirt and a 3D metal model of a Tie Fighter for Hiroshi because he couldn’t find a shirt that he like. We didn’t stick long because the store was really getting packed with fans. We once again squeezed our way out of Tomorrowland and headed off to the Sleeping Beauty castle to watch the fireworks. Hiroshi said the fireworks were bigger and much better than he last seen it. After the fireworks we debated if we should watched Fantasmic, which we both realized we could really care less about it so took advantage of the shorter line rides. Hiroshi wanted to go to Haunted Mansion again to try to see the Hatbox Ghost. On the way we passed by Pirates of the Caribbean with a really short line compared to earlier so we went in there first. Might as well take two rides in one trip. That was perhaps the fastest line wait ever. Hiroshi was thrilled how we sat at the front by ourselves until we hit the first drop. Basically the water splash was equivalent to Splash Mountain. Both of our faces, hair, sweaters, and pants were drenched. The only dry spot on me was my lap where my purse was. Haha, that was unexpected.
After that we went to Haunted Mansion, which surprisingly had line but not a long one. I didn’t mind so much since we were entertained by bits and pieces of the Fantasmic show while waiting. And we got what we wanted: the perfect view of Hatbox Ghost special effect. Hiroshi was now content. The show was over and the park was practically empty when we got out of Haunted Mansion. Now this is how I last remembered Disneyland: Grand Night 2002.
As the park was reaching it’s closing time, Hiroshi and I went to Fantasyland hoping to ride Peter Pan but unfortunately the line was ridiculously crazy. All the other rides in Fantasyland were pretty open. So instead we sat on one of the benches in front of the castle and looked at the pretty lights. It’s been more than a decade for me (13) and Hiroshi (11) since either of has been in this park. Hiroshi wanted to wait until midnight before we leave to get our money’s worth now that tickets were $99 each instead of $60. By 12AM, we headed off to Main Street where we looked at more stuff and explored Downtown Disney Store for a bit longer. It was well past midnight by the time we got to the car and got home around 1AM.
Man, that was a lot of walking and stroller-dodging in one day. I’m happy that we both went when it was it’s 60th Diamond Anniversary. Now Hiroshi’s thinking about going to the Disneyland in France… Now that one can wait, haha!