Sunday, August 4, 2013
Breakfast at home: scrambled eggs, cinnamon roll, other pastries. Moved their FreedomPop Clearwire Wimax router closer to the window to see if it improved the reception. It did a little bit, I think. Speedtest result: 1.27 Mbps down, .88 Mbps up. Dad and I visited Disneyland today. After entering we took a photo with the train station in the background. Then we purchased a locker rental and dropped some stuff off. Today I remembered I had an iPhone app that told you the wait times for lines. I had forgotten to use it yesterday. We used the app throughout the day and it seemed like it helped a lot. First we rode Pirates of the Carribean, then Haunted Mansion, then Indiana Jones. We got in line for Jungle Cruise, but when we saw they had just diverted the line upstairs we ditched it because we didn't want to wait that long. We stopped in for a minute at Aladdin Oasis just to see what was there. (Nothing of interest.) We picked up a fastpass for Star Tours. We visited the Enchanted Tiki Room. Upon leaving they played a tropicalesque version of "Heigh Ho" which I thought was weird. We rode Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters. We waited 15 minutes at Carnation Cafe before being seated for lunch. Service was mediocre; upon sitting we asked that our very wobbly table be resolved and several minutes later after ordering we had to ask again and several minutes later it was finally resolved. Frequently I saw Joffery's Coffee on Disneyland menus. I had never heard of this company before and later learned it's a company based in Tampa and it's been around since 1984. We rode Star Tours. Since my last Star Tour, they have remodeled the boarding experience, ships, and the destinations. I don't want to spoil it, but this was the highlight of my two-day visit, and I very much enjoyed the trip. After Star Tours we watched the Captain EO Tribute, rode It's a Small World, saw part of Mickey's Soundsational Parade (which we ditched), saw a show at Big Thunder Ranch Jamboree: Woody's Talent Roundup with Billy Hill and the Hillbillies, encountered Vidcon taking their group photo in front of Sleeping Beauty's Castle, rode the Mark Twain Riverboat, saw another show at the Golden Horseshoe Revue where we snacked (and I regretted the snack afterward): two Sprites and a chili cheese fries. Back to the Jungle Cruise, rode the train to Main Street Station, walked to the locker, I changed from shorts into long pants in a nearby restroom, we rested at the hub near the castle for a bit and did a bit of strategizing fireworks viewing. Picked up fastpasses for Star Tours. Rode the Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage with music by The Bolts at Tomorrowland Terrace, where in line we chatted with a couple that met while working Legally Blonde: The Musical in (Vienna?), the woman from Texas, the man from Hungary. We found seats for the fireworks near It's a Small World. By the end of the day my phone battery was dead. The iPhone app I had used to find wait times of the closest rides drained the battery over the day. Train back to Main Street Station and then the lockers. The locker room had a few outlets, and weary, desperate guests sat on the floor near the outlets waiting for their phones to charge. We picked up our locker items and Mom picked us up at the small pick-up and drop-off area for cars and taxis. Back to their home. Packed. I had a late meal: chicken and tofu soup. Drove to Costa Mesa. Lance checked me in to Crowne Plaza. The next two days I'm at a University of California technology conference in Irvine at UCI. It's called University of California Computing Services Conference.