1977. That was when I last (and first!) at Disneyland with my sister. Oh, I'd been there a few times since, most recently in 2018, but yes, almost 50 years since she and I were kids. I can't even remember Disneyland from that trip save for two things: I was freaked out by Space Mountain, the roller coaster that was the newest (or nearly) attraction at the park, and I loved splashing in the pool at the HoJo our family stayed at. I dimly recall other bits of that trip to California, but honestly? Little of Disneyland. I am sure I loved it at the time.
First off, let me apologize. I've been fairly busy this week and just haven't had the wherewithal to blog. It happens, I go through lulls. The writing eats up time that I don't always want to give - yes, the writing actually takes some time. But let me get this posted, and let me post more through the weekend. The next two weeks will be busy ones as well, but I will restart my blogging efforts more regularly at some point.
Anyway...
Marie's birthday was last week, and way back at Christmas last year (I think), she had commented that she would like to go to Disneyland as an adult. Technically, she had been in her early twenties, but that was with some of her birth family including non-adult siblings. She has wanted to go as an adult and with only adults since.
Last week Tuesday I came home from work after lunch, got my bag packed, and Van picked the three of us up. A good car nap carried me most of the way to Anaheim, and before I knew it, we were pulling up to the hotel, the Grand Californian. Oh yes, we went fancy while there. Well, not really. The rooms were pricey but, frankly, basic.
Not bad, but basic. It's a handsome hotel facility - a terrific and grand lobby,
a fine restaurant that was closed for renovation (boo!), and a decent bar that made Last Words (a bit tart, but fine).
Sorry, I sound unappreciative. I don't mean to be. It's an expensive hotel though, and although there is much to admire about it, we've had better stays elsewhere for less. Van and I were talking about that last night, and he felt the same way.
But Downtown Disney was right there,
happily, and although we had to pass through security to get to it, it did mean that there were shops and restaurants right there, a short walk away. And with the nice restaurant at the hotel closed (I've dined there a few times, it is nice), we had booked one of our meals at
Paseo, in that Downtown Disney area. And truly, it was the better of the two dinners we had on our trip down there. I was interested in the lamb barbacoa and absolutely sold on it when the waiter told me it was lamb neck - meat is always so tender at the bone.
The pickles and condiments with it were fine as well.
I also thought that my drink, the Maya-Tai, was the best of the cocktails ordered around the table.
The pavlova was tasty but the inclusion of an ice cream or sorbet took it beyond a pavlova for me.
And I didn't care for the chocolate dessert - I dislike these desserts that are just shapeless mounds or blobs of assorted stuff.
Still, it was a good dinner, not too indulgent, and it set us up for a nice day the next day.
The next day? Full on Disney. Rides! We headed into the park mid-morning, and I have to say, it wasn't as busy and jampacked as I thought it might be. Line ups were not ridiculous. I got a photo of the statue of the gentleman himself,
and then we headed to the first ride: the teacups!
It's interesting to me that I have met so many grown ups who cannot handle the teacups or similar rides. Not ones for spinning, it seems. Me, I'm not one for heights and dangling, so there was no way I was going on that big Ferris wheel in the California Adventure park.
As for the rides we did go on, I found Soarin'
convincing enough that I gripped tightly the whole time. We enjoyed several rides that day, including the Matterhorn (wow, was that uncomfortable to us older folks - clunky and jerky and not padded),
Autopia (Conrad's favourite - I confess, I like this one as well even if I do drive almost 80 miles a day whenever I cam working on campus),
Star Tours (Star Wars themed, cute enough, but I am not a Star Wars person),
the Jungle Cruise (dad jokes and a gentle ride in a boat),
the Haunted Mansion (Marie and Van were so very keen on it and then disappointed that it's now just a place to shill Nightmare Before Christmas - I thought it was meh),
and the Incredicoaster (formerly California Screamin' - we actually got Van to go on it, and he was very glad when it was over).
We had pizza for lunch
and a Dole Whip treat among the four of us,
and we enjoyed light entertainment in the Enchanted Tiki House.
It was fun. It was mildly warm that day,
plenty of shade for the most part. The four of us had a good time, and we got some steps in!
At the end of the afternoon, we headed back to the hotel to make ourselves pretty for dinner. We then went back into California Adventure to a restaurant in the park: Carthay Circle. It wasn't bad at all, but it was not nearly as good as the night before. More expensive, for one thing, and the timing was really wonky. Our waiter was great, very personable, and it's not his fault, but we got our appetizers well before our drinks, and I basically had to snap at everyone to hold off on eating so that we could get our drinks. I had the special martini which was really only special because it had blue cheese olives.
Ah well. Dinner seemed to come quickly as well, and it was fine. Duck schnitzel for me.
We did grab our waiter to get wine with dinner, and he was quick with that, happily. I can't recall what we had for dessert. All in all, an ok meal. None of us were upset, believe me, but again, we've paid less for far better experiences. Wow, I really make it seem like I hated our time there!
We headed back through the park, taking some photos,
and - happily - there was an entrance to our hotel directly, without taking us through Downtown Disney or the hotel lobby. It was a good day, but we were done in, and bed called.
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