Anaheim - Day 10 🎡

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Welcome to the final blog of the holiday! Thank you for coming on this journey with us, if you got this far! I write this from the comfort of my bed in Norwich, very jet-lagged, so please excuse anything nonsensical. The main reason for writing these is that I forget what I did yesterday on a normal day, so I can look back at these when I want to reminisce!

It was our final day at Disney today and we were determined to make the most of it. We started at DCA today, decidedly less damp than it was two days ago! Thankfully, this meant that Radiator Springs Racers was open, so we followed the crowd and had a rootin’ tootin’ good time cruising through the canyons and hanging out with Mater. This part of the park is my favourite, it’s so pretty!

They’ve re-themed part of the park to look like San Fransokyo, from Big Hero 6, which is very cool. We stopped and took a few photos before riding the Incredicoaster (a classic coaster with a rare Disney loop-de-loop!).

Barry next dragged me to do a few rides that have less wait times, like the little spinny kiddy ones and Goofy’s Sky School, which looks pretty tame but is actually pretty intense when you’re on it! Goofy is, like with most things, not good at flying a plane!

After we’d done those, I persuaded Barry to go back on Pixar Pal-Around but not on the swinging gondolas this time, so that we could relax and see the park from above without feeling sea-sick!

Like we did at Disneyland yesterday, we wanted to make the most of DCA’s more natural themed areas, and near Grizzly River Rapids, there is a big forested area that adventurers of all ages can enjoy, with climbing frames and wobbly bridges and caves.

At this point it was late morning and I was ready for a snack, so I ordered some fried pickles from a nearby restaurant and picked them up while Barry popped into a nearby gift shop where he purchased himself a new work mug with none other than Smokey the Bear on it! You may remember him from our hike up to the Hollywood sign, where he appeared on a couple of signs, encouraging people to help him prevent forest fires.

My Frickles were delicious and Barry even tried a couple, though he famously despises pickles. He mostly used them as a vehicle for the buffalo ranch dip that they came with.

We decided that our last ride before heading out would be the Grizzly River Rapids, as it was warm enough today that we would dry off pretty quickly.

On our way up to join the fine minute queue, we spotted a familiar face meeting and greeting his fans. It was Pluto! We don’t tend to join queues to meet the characters but the line was short and it was our last day, so why not? We gave him a hug and wished him a happy 95th birthday, which he was very pleased with.

We got thoroughly soaked on the river rapids, as expected! We waddled out of DCA with wet butts and Barry decided this would be a good time to go back to Blaze Pizza for lunch. I was still full from my late morning snack but Barry enjoyed his pizza and we shared a drink.

Back at the room, we had a nice long break in which I had my first and only swim of the holiday, whilst Barry snoozed and then it time to start thinking about begrudgingly packing our suitcases.

Well rested, we scurried back (and I really should say power-walked, as Barry wasn’t sure they would let us back in so close to closing) into DCA to ride the Guardians of the Galaxy tower with a Halloween overlay, called ‘Monsters After Dark’. We both agreed it was our favourite version and it was actually pretty intense! It got all the kids screaming and the music was by Def Metal. Unhinged and Unmissable!

When we got off the ride it was three minutes to six, and soon time for the Oogie Boogy Bash to begin. We raced toward the exit and got a few minutes of free Halloween party atmosphere before exiting and walking the one hundred metres over to the Disneyland entrance.

When we arrived, there was a little old fashioned bus inviting guests to ride it, so we got on and took a ride down Main St to the castle, which was a rare treat that neither of us had done before!

All we wanted to prioritise at Disney tonight was Rise of the Resistance, which again had been closed for us previously. The wait was 85 minutes but it was our only chance, so in we went. This is where my feet decided that their holiday was over and the ache set in. Luckily there is a fair amount of seating in this queue but it is quite consistently moving so I could never sit still for long!

Just as I felt I could take the pain no longer (and after a few pre-ride queue-distraction shows) it was time to ride Rise. This is always a great time, especially if you’re a bit of a Star Wars nerd. My favourite part is the full size AT-ATs that shoot at you and the drop when you abandon ship in an escape pod!

We stayed in the Star Wars area for dinner, which was a “Ronto- Wrap” and a cheesy potato skewer. My feet could handle no more excitement, so this was the end of our 2025 Disney escapades. We said goodbye to our favourites as we exited the park for the final time.

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On the morning that we were due to leave, Barry went back to Downtown Disney to spend the last of his dollars on more merch. While he was out, I decided to use the laundry room to do a couple of loads, to save on washing time when we got home. I managed to lock myself out of our room in this time which proves I can’t be trusted to be by myself. Luckily the receptionist gave me an extra key so that I could finish packing!

Barry got back to the room with half an hour to spare before check-out and did the speediest shower and packing job I’ve ever witnessed!

We ordered an Uber to take us back to LAX and the app told us that we would be picked up by ‘Maurice’, so we giggled about it being “Crazy old Maurice” from Beauty and the Beast.

Luckily Maurice was a delight and he accepted my offering of a mint from my bag full of confections, which had steadily been growing more varied throughout the holiday.

Check in and security went by without a hitch (I followed Barry’s lead in the queue and didn’t get stuck behind any slow groups this time).

It was the flight itself that was a bit odd. The crying babies were the least trouble of all, being beaten by rude and entitled adults, wanting different seats and then crying when they couldn’t have them, or rightly being moved because a seat was broken but then the other member of their party being upset because they couldn’t possibly sit apart from their mother - they were in their late twenties. We were utterly bemused by it all and were determined to be as little trouble as possible, so Barry was appalled when his screen turned off without warning and his dessert was missing from his dinner tray! The attendants were lovely and got him sorted quickly.

The parents with babies were all sat in front of us and were firm friends by the morning, so naturally had to say their goodbyes when it was time to de-board. This infuriated the already disgruntled people sitting behind us and they just had to make a comment. We couldn’t get over how impatient people are and I made sure to tell the parents what a great job they did as we passed them.

Well folks, we’re back at home now and trying to get over the jet-lag. I’ve had the best time with my Barry and would follow him and his spreadsheets anywhere! Henning has had such fun too and still can’t believe how much we saw and did!

Until next time, miss you already!