Anaheim - Day 9 🥨

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Another early start, another Disneyland day! We were settled in to our regular theme park routine by this point, rising with the sun and rousing ourselves with a cup of tea and some of 7/11’s finest cereal. After completing 50% of our intended attractions on Monday our plan for the morning was to tackle things on the remaining ‘left side’ of the park.

In comparison to the previous day it was a beautiful Southern California morning and we both remarked how significantly more pleasant the walk to the park felt without being buffeted by driving rain. After passing through security and once again resisting all instincts to pet the drug sniffer dogs (if not friend, why friend-shaped?) we found ourselves back amongst the hordes outside the castle waiting for rope drop so we could make our way to the very rear of the park to experience Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance.

Sadly our lengthy scurry proved in vain as once we arrived we were told that the ride was currently down due to technical difficulties with no prospect of reopening anytime soon. While this played havoc with my carefully researched schedule, I was a very brave boy and improvised a reshuffle which involved heading to the nearby Smuggler’s Run attraction. This ride allowed us to live out every nerd’s dream by crewing the Millennium Falcon, Ellie and I were drawn as pilots, despite our best efforts to offer the role to the little kids on board with us (honest!). In retrospect it was probably for the best as we did a marvellous job, if I do say so myself, and we definitely made Chewbacca proud.

As well as the usual range of rides we had a number of opportunities to explore themed areas and enjoy some relaxing modes of transport around the park. We climbed up and down countless stairs in the gigantic Adventureland Treehouse, wandered the caves and bridges of Pirate’s Island (that itself can only be accessed by a mini boat ride) and basked in the sun upon the Mark Twain Riverboat as it slowly cruised around the Rivers of America. It’s these highly immersive environments that spark the imagination and allow children and adults alike to ‘choose their own adventure’ that set Disneyland apart from many other theme parks, and if I can get on my Disney Parks geek soapbox for one second, something that seems to have been forgotten at their Florida counterpart, where the suits seem intent on monetising every square inch of land.

Lunch today came in the form of a snack combo - a traditional hot and salty Mickey Pretzel with cheese sauce followed by a cooling Pineapple Dole Whip float. It was at this point that I realised that for the first time on the trip, Ellie was beginning to flag. A trip with me in charge of the itinerary is not for the faint of heart and she had done incredibly well to not struggle up until this point. With this in mind we decided to head back to the hotel for a break once we’d completed the planned loop around the park on the Disneyland Railroad. Ellie was so sleepy that she couldn’t even be roused to pay much attention to several of the exciting dioramas that the train passed through (I’m very cool, I promise).

After a lengthy nap back at the Alpine Inn it was like I’d gained a different fiancée this evening as Ellie practically bounced down the road back to the park. We spent some time re-riding some of our favourites while battling with the crowds and street closures caused by the ‘Paint the Night’ parade - I know that parades and fireworks shows are as an essential part of a Disney theme park experience to some as rides, but they’re absolute anathema to us and I just find myself wishing all of these slack jawed yokels would get out of my way instead of gawping up at the pretty lights and colours (I’m very nice, I promise).

Despite the warm temperatures during the day, the usually clear skies mean that California can get quite cool at night, and as such the prospect of some Broccoli and Cheddar Soup in a bread bowl from the New Orleans Square area of the park seemed like an excellent choice for dinner. Ellie used this as an opportunity to finally purchase the Monte Cristo Sandwich - a textbook example in my opinion of why America should be banned from inventing its own food. To quote directly from the Disney menu, this is a ‘deep fried sandwich filled with ham, turkey and Swiss cheese, dusted with Powdered Sugar and served with jam’. Basically a big fried meat donut. Yummy.

And on that note it’s time for me to say goodbye. Ellie will be here tomorrow to wrap things up. In conclusion, I love LA, I love Disneyland, I love Ellie - she’s been an absolute trooper and has walked far more steps than anyone rightly should be expected to on a holiday! Pray for her feet (and for my bank balance).

Adios amigos.