WDW Vet Becoming a Disneyland Vet? Solo Trip 1/29-1/31 2024!

[ThreeMountains]

Next up? A DL classic...Matterhorn! This one really knocks you a round a bit but perfectly rides that line between pain and fun. I imagine this perception will change as I get older lol.









What better way to follow up such a classic ride than with my all-time favorite Disney parks snack? One Mickey's Premium Ice Cream Bar, please!





At this point, I feel I should mention one disappointment about the trip. Leading up to it, I had contemplated and then made the decision to book the Walt's Main Street Story Tour one of the three days, but since they don't sell out, I planned to actually buy one whichever day I decided to do it.

Sadly, when I arrived in DL and first walked onto Main Street, this was the sight:



If you're not familiar with this tour, it culminates with a visit to Walt's DL apartment over the fire station and then hanging out on the apartment's patio for refreshments. For me, though, looking out that apartment window to see what he saw all of those years ago was one of the coolest parts I looked forward to experiencing. Since it was all covered over, though, and after quite a bit of internal debate, I decided not to do the tour. Perhaps I will get a chance on a future trip, but until then, I don't get to check that one off my list. It's too bad because I had the extra time and some money set aside for it.

All of this certainly wasn't going to put much of a damper on my trip, though. After all, I'm still in Disneyland with gorgeous weather and 2 1/2 days of freedom and park hoppers. So, I believe you can guess what I did next...

 

[ClaraOswald]

I think you were smart to wait and do the tour another time! Wouldn't be as good with that scrim up.

I haven't been on the Matterhorn in over a decade (I think.) I miss it but I'm worried it would wreck me!

 

[summerlvr]

Enjoying your trip report and looking forward to reading more. I will be visiting DL in August, so I'm trying to learn as much as I can. Have been there twice, once in 1998 and again in 2007. Have never been to DCA.

 

[ThreeMountains]

Time for the best aspect of Disneyland: ease of park hopping!

You decide you want to go to the other park, and you go. Simple as that. From Main Street USA, Disneyland, you're on Buena Vista Street, California Adventure in about five minutes.









I spotted some characters, namely Minnie and Clarabelle, so I took a couple videos to send to my kids. I do this throughout the trip and, apparently, they love to see them. Me? I would just be jealous haha.

Lunar New Year is happening right now, and I've been several times. It's always fun, but my only complaint is I don't try as much food as I'd like because so much of the menus look spicy. Don't get me wrong, I absolutely love spicy food, but I also have serious GI issues, so I can't take the chance on a trip like this.

For those who haven't been to California Adventure, they have festivals there in a similar way Epcot does with food booths everywhere. I don't feel like most aspects of DCA are anything like Epcot, but this obviously gives a similar vibe to the Epcot festivals, and they also sell alcohol (you can only get alcohol in Disneyland Park at sit down restaurants).

 

[ThreeMountains]

I made my way to the new San Fransokyo section, which is kind of sort of Big Hero 6 themed, and I walked through the bakery, then checked out the scenery, as this section was different last time I visited.

 

[ThreeMountains]

A trip to this section of the park in the evening isn't complete without a beer, so I tried the Follow the Sun Blonde. It was solid. It was also $13, the price of a good craft six pack at the store haha. Whatever, I'm on vacation!











I then made my way through Paradise Gardens Park and the "back way" to Pixar Pier, as I feel the proper entrance is across the bridge.

 

[ThreeMountains]

 

[ThreeMountains]

Ok ok you got me...I got a second beer. This time the Moment of Zen, also solid. Also $13. Also still on vacation.



As I sipped my beer, I slowed down and took my time again, soaking in the sights, checking out menus, heading back into Pixar Pier - this time in the proper direction - and just enjoying being in a Disney park.

 

[ThreeMountains]

If you're a rollercoaster fan, then you really can't miss the Incredicoaster, and I certainly didn't this trip, grabbing a Lightning Lane and having just a short wait. The ride is fast and relatively wild without being painfully so. You also get a launch, a loop, and the theming is fun. I was pleasantly surprised the first time I rode it, and I look forward to it every trip.







After Incredicoaster, I made my way to the front of the park and back over to Disneyland thinking about what I might get for dinner.



At this point, I remembered how much I liked the blackened fish tacos at Ballast Point, so I decided to head back out of the park and partway through Downtown Disney to see if they are still good.

I found a spot at the bar, settled for a water, as I already had my two beers, and ordered the tacos with fries. They came out quickly and I was pleasantly surprised to find out they had tweaked them from what I remembered, along with significantly improving the salsa that comes with them. It was really good and I was definitely happy with the decision over something quick in DL.

 

[ThreeMountains]

I then made my way back into Disneyland, and again, this just demonstrates how easy Disneyland Resort is compared to Disney World. I've just walked from the far end of DCA to Main Street in DLP back to Ballast Point in DTD - ate a sit down meal - then back into DLP, all in 59 minutes looking at photo timestamps. Incredible.



I had a Lightning Lane waiting for me in Adventureland, so I took a left at the hub, waited about five minutes for the LL window, then hopped on Indiana Jones.









I know a lot of people love this ride - and I don't dislike it - but I definitely prefer Dinosaur. I feel like Indiana Jones was a big swing and a miss for telling a story, and there was so much potential. Nevertheless, it's still a fun ride; I'm just sad that they're supposedly turning Dinosaur into Indiana Jones. My one hope is that it will be an improved version that tells a better story, but we'll see.

 

[ThreeMountains]

I now had a LL for Mickey and Minnie's Runaway Railway, which I enjoy, but it went down right when I got there. Ah well, plenty of time left over the next couple days to make it happen. I'm also glad this is no longer a paid LL.



To end the night, another classic: Autopia. I really enjoy driving this at night, and I have fond memories of my first ever time on the ride. It was at night and about 1/3 of the way around the track, the DL fireworks started going off, so I got to drive the rest of the track while enjoying the fireworks.

Overall, I prefer the WDW version if I had to choose.







I love staying open to close, but knowing I had two more to enjoy, I decided to call it. Again, I had been on my feet about 15 hours a day since the previous Tuesday (now Monday), so I was beyond tired and achy.

I took my time wandering through Tomorrowland (which is much better at night in DL), then through the hub, then down Main Street USA. I then grabbed my stuff out of the locker, left the park, and walked back a slow 15 minutes to the hotel.





UP NEXT: DAY TWO!

 

[ThreeMountains]

DAY TWO!

Day two had an unexpected start. I intended to sleep in, but with the time change, 6:30am is sleeping WAY in, so I still made it to the parks in time for opening right at 8am.

My initial trip plan also included starting at DLP day one, DCA day two, and DLP again on day three. When I arrived at the esplanade on day two, though, DCA had LONG lines waiting to get in, while DLP had basically none. Not one to miss an opportunity, I checked my calendar and realized that, for my ticket type, DCA had no reservations available but DLP did, so I swapped, assuming early crowds would be heavier at DCA.

Side note: it's amazing how no matter how many times I walk into DLP or Magic Kingdom, it simply never gets old walking through the tunnel, checking out the attraction posters, and entering Main Street USA. The magic is always there.



(DLP lines right at 8am opening - I didn't get a photo of DCA lines, but they were all probably 50-100 deep at the same time right behind me from where I took this photo)











I grabbed a locker, then headed into Fantasyland to knock out Peter Pan, which already had a long wait. It takes them forever to board this ride, as it's not a continuous motion system the way it is at WDW, so they literally stop each ship and load them one at a time. The line never looks that long, but it takes forever. I waited about 50 minutes, much longer than the sign said at this point, and it's the only ride the entire trip where I waited more than 15-20 minutes since it doesn't have Lightning Lane.

 

[ClaraOswald]

I wonder if they will someday update the Peter Pan ride system.

I have to ask...why do you prefer Tomorrowland Speedway to Autopia?

Any idea why the DCA lines were so much longer than DL that day? I always assumed Disneyland would have longer lines first thing in the morning. (We never rope drop.)

 

[ThreeMountains]

I wonder if they will someday update the Peter Pan ride system.

I have to ask...why do you prefer Tomorrowland Speedway to Autopia?

Any idea why the DCA lines were so much longer than DL that day? I always assumed Disneyland would have longer lines first thing in the morning. (We never rope drop.)

I was wondering the same thing about Peter Pan while waiting longer than I typically would for that ride, which I only did because I had so much time on this trip.

I grew up going to the WDW version - so it's more nostalgic for me - and love the more "race track" character of it, including the sights and sounds. I also prefer the layout and views. Autopia kind of feels like it's stuck in the back and you don't really get many views of anything, other than if a monorail goes by. The cars do steer noticeably better, though.

My theory on the lines at DCA vs Disneyland on Day Two is that Disneyland had Sweethearts' Night that night, which meant an earlier park close for "regular" guests, so maybe a lot of people booked DCA instead that day. I don't know for sure, but that's my best guest. Since I had a park hopper and plenty of time on this trip, it didn't really matter to me where I started each day except that I like to start the first morning at DLP.