22/12/24 and 25/12/24
Second time to Hong Kong Disneyland but the first since it has been “completed”. It’s smaller than most the other Disneylands, but I don’t mind that. Makes it easier to manage. Plus just different enough as well with Mystic Manor and other areas like Frozen. Plus we spent Christmas Day there!
12/12/24 – 13/12/24
We visited Shaghai Disneyland for two days and it was the last Disneyland for us all to visit to get the set. I liked it… bigger than most the others and more spread out. Less vibe than most the other parks but similar and different enough to make it a nice change.
25/02/2022 – 27/02/2022
Hi all, a quick Disney recap. I didn’t do posts each day as frankly I have probably posted about Disney enough already, and also we were typically going until late in the night, so there was also no time!
These few days at Disney were always intended to be low key. As everyone knows we have been to Disneyland a bunch of times, and so this was just in some respects a signal that some things were slightly more “normal” after the past couple of years. We just intended to take it easy, ride what we could, and also get to the handful of new things, namely the Rise of the Resistance Star Wars ride, and also the new Avengers Campus part of California Adventure.
I won’t go into a blow by blow detail of the three days, but below are some of the highlights:
1. Rise of the Resistance
This wasn’t open last time we went. This is unlike any ride, whereby the line seamlessly blends into the ride, which is part thrill ride, part theatrical story of being rescued by the resistance from the First Order. I rode this twice, both time at park opening (i.e “rope drop) so as to avoid the typical 3 hour wait. It is pretty great, although I think re-ride factor is quite low.
2. Smugglers Run
I have banged on about this before. Piloting the Millennium Falcon… what’s not to love? And I got to ride it by myself a bunch too.
3. Avengers Campus
A new area of the California Adventure park, this is the home of all the Marvel properties. It is not 100% open yet, with only one ride (Spiderman Web Slingers) and some character appearances and things. I will reserve judgement until it is fully open, but it is underwhelming at the moment. Web Slingers is kinda fun (motion tracking you as you fling your arms around to shoot webs at spiderbots) but 2 rides on it was enough for me. I was stuck on the ride for 10 minutes though which is always kinda fun!
4. Haunted Mansion
Our favourite.
5. Pixar Rides
Probably the best themed rides in any of the parks.
6. Random
7. Food
Always a mixed bag at Disney, but you can find some gems (always Dole Whip Float for the win)
24/02/2022
We were on the home stretch now. We said a sad farewell to Palm Springs (after I had a nice 2 hours walk through the mid-century modern neighbourhoods) and headed to Anaheim.
All through the pandemic, all Kate wanted to signify a return to “normal” was a visit to her happy place, Disneyland. So we resolved to do so. And today was finally the day.
The drive was fairly uneventful and by lunchtime we were in Anaheim. Too early to check into our final hotel, we dropped our car off and headed to our usual first visit whenever we come… Trader Sam’s Enchanted Tiki Bar. Who doesn’t want a boozy lunch?
It had turned into a glorious day, and it was lovely to sit outside, having cocktails. We soaked it up, especially after the last couple of years.
We didn’t intend to be crazy over these last few days, rather just take it slow and enjoy the Disney vibe. For the day we really just wandered around. The parks were unusually busy for a Thursday so we went on the odd ride but rather just wandered around Disneyland and California Adventure.
I likely won’t post each day for the next few. I have posted about Disneyland a bunch, so I might just do one post to encapsulate the few days. The two new things will be the newish Star Wars ride, Rise of the Resistance, and also the new Avengers area in California Adventure. So I will report back on those in due course!
Tuesday (5/11/2019):
I didn’t really say that this trip really came about because of my work trip landing me in the US, and that Kate had not had a chance for a holiday all year. After all the work with our renovations, Kate deserved a trip to her happy place so a few days at Disneyland were in order!
It also worked out well, as what new addition was there to Disneyland? Galaxy’s Edge (i.e Star Wars Land)! I was SO excited for this. I had probably done a little too much reading about it, but that was OK… I had to be prepared. And what were the main orders of the day? Well, a trip on to the Millennium Falcon ride “Smugglers Run”, enjoying some Blue Milk, dropping in to Oga’s Cantina (full of scum and villainy), and… BUILDING A FREAKIN’ LIGHTSABER!! Indeed.
I’m not go into all the details for the Disney adventures. I have written about the parks a bunch. So it will be mostly photos (plus that gets me doing these entries quicker!). I will also go a little light on the build a lightsaber experience as I think the less you know the better the experience for that one. Needless to say I was a grinning idiot the whole time 🙂
We also did ride on some of our favourites, especially Haunted Mansion. But today was about taking it easy and exploring the new land.
