Return to Disneyland

It had been a while! It has been six years since I took my mother, and I didn't get to go on many rides on that trip. The last time I had really been there for me was 2015.

Disney is celebrating 100 years (that is of Walt Disney's career, not of the resort), so there was a platinum decorating scheme, that included some spiffy new statues and updated monorail cars.

As you can imagine, a lot changes over eight years (and six years), including two completely new lands.

There will be three other posts that will focus on specific aspects, but here is an overview.

It is still just delightful. I love going on rides, so amusement parks are great for me. Even if that were not true, the design and the upkeep and the friendliness and the music could all make it a great place to hang out, though kind of expensive just for hanging out.

I went in January again, which unfortunately is no longer the off season. There may no longer be an off season.

I am sure it is still less crowded than other times, but still, there were more lines than I like. However, we never used the Lightning Lane or ordered our food in advance. Julie did download the app, and we would sometimes use it to check ride times and that could influence where we went next, but we primarily stuck with our plan of trying to avoid peak times and going left.

Is it worth reserving a place in line for a ride or pre-ordering food? It might be. I am a cranky old late adopter, so my avoiding it is not necessarily the answer. While I was in line for Guardians of the Galaxy - Mission: BREAKOUT! there was a family arguing in front of me.

I realized that they had the genie, but had gotten to the regular line because it was shorter (the park had just opened), and they were not in agreement about whether that was a mistake. The regular line was shorter, but the other line would have people pulled in sooner. They did leave and go to the other line.

Your mileage may vary. I will say I am a big fan of the single rider line. It's not available everywhere, but I used it for three rides (Web-Slingers, Smugglers' Run, and the Matterhorn) and loved it. Obviously it is available more often for popular rides with a set number of seats per vehicle.

Do I still recommend January? Well, it is no longer as low occupancy, but it is still unlikely to have us wilting in the heat. 

It also used to be a time when there were more rides closed for maintenance, because it was downtime. That does not seem to be as true now, though there was a major overhaul going on in Adventure Land. The only attractions open were the Enchanted Tiki Room and the Jungle Cruise, and the Jungle Cruise broke down while we were in line.

However. the Bengal Barbecue was open, and had added a delicious pork belly skewer, plus now you can buy pickles there. They also added some rice options, which I think is a good move, though I did not take advantage of it.

In general I thought the rebranding of Pixar Pier worked well, even if I do kind of miss A Bug's Land.

If there are things to miss, I nonetheless know that the constant tinkering and innovation keeps things interesting, and fund, and delicious!

It was good to get back.

Accessibility: They are really the best for this, with more rides that more people can go on than anywhere else I have been. There is a lot of walking, though there are also a lot of mobility aids. There are also many different kinds of food options for people with allergies. I can imagine difficulty for sensory processing issues, for all the people if for no other reason, which brings us to...

COVID: It almost looked like Los Angeles was going back to mask mandates, so I was kind of hopeful. Fortunately, there is a lot that is outside. We wore the masks on indoor rides and transportation, but also while we were going through lines. When there was a line outside that moved inside, we may not have always put it on at the optimum time, but we did not catch anything while there, so I'm counting it as a win.

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