Sunday afternoon we arrived to the Disneyland Resort and made our way to Disney California Adventure.
The entrance to DCA is really coming along and it should be ready within a week. I must say it really looks great. It makes me very excited for all of the changes coming to the main entrance of the park. I can’t wait to see Buena Vista Street completed with Carthay Circle Theatre looming in the distance.
The first ride we went to was The Little Mermaid: Ariel’s Undersea Adventure. The line was posted at 20 minutes, but it only took about 10. I love how many people can get through the ride. It really is one of the best loading situations Disney has ever produced. The ride was great as always. I can look at those animatronics all day!
We then went over the the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror, but the wait was 50 minutes. So instead of riding, we just went inside the gift shop to look around. Then something strange happened. As I was walking through the shop, all of the sudden all of the lights turned off and the music stopped. It was pitch black inside. After a few seconds, the lights flickered back on and the music followed soon after. It was so eerie. It really felt like the Tower was losing power (which it was). It really was a great unintended effect. Unfortunately, all of DCA lost power at that point. Everyone was evacuated from the Tower and it remained closed for at least an hour.
So we walked over to Goofy’s Sky School, but that was closed too due to the power outage. The Little Mermaid ride was closed as well. So we went to the new Paradise Garden section of Paradise Pier. It really looks great. The amount of detail is terrific and there are many plants and trees, which DCA badly needed. It felt like Main Street at Disneyland. The menus look good at the new restaurants too, but we did not try any of the food. That will have to wait till next time!
Then we walked over to the newly themed Redwood Creek Wilderness Explorer Camp. The camp is themed after Pixar’s Up. It is pretty much exactly the same, except you now do these activities to earn merit badges. When entering, you are given a map of the area and after you complete the activity listed, you scratch off the badge. It was a fun time and kids really seem to enjoy it.
We then went back over to Goofy’s Sky School to see if it was open and it was! This would be my first trip on the newly themed attraction. While it is a fun ride, it is pretty much exactly the same as Mulholland Madness. They just added new billboards featuring Goofy. The only thing I wish they did was put speakers in the cars and have the classic Goofy “How to” narrator speak as you “fly” around. Oh well… It is still a very thrilling little ride, however.
After our flight with Goofy, we walked over to Disneyland and headed for Pirates of the Caribbean. The middle guy waiting to be dunked in the well is still missing, but the ride was excellent. The lighting really seemed to be perfect on this particular trip through the Caribbean.
It was now dinner time and we went to the French Market for some roast beef. It was near the end of the night, so I didn’t get the best roast beef. It was a little tough, but still good. And those mashed potatoes are a masterpiece!
After dinner, we went to the Haunted Mansion to visit some spooks. I didn’t notice anything different about the ride during this visit. Everything seemed to be working great. The ghost we got in our doombuggy was Gus (The little guy with the beard). And yes, Madame Leota was floating!
We then took a walk around the park going through Tomorrowland and ending up at Casey Jr.’s Circus Train in Fantasyland. We rode the caboose of Casey Jr., as that’s the best seat in the house! I can’t say enough about how much I enjoy this ride. I really love it. I love how close you get to the little mountains above Pinocchio’s village. That might be my favorite part of the ride.
It was near closing by this time so we just took one last look around Fantasyland and headed home having spent a wonderful night at the Magic Kingdom.
Here are some extra photos from the trip:
