Sunday, October 8, 2017
Anaheim vacation day 3 of 5. Gay Days Anaheim day 3 of 3 (California Adventure). Visited the hotel gym with Patrick but three persons occupied it and we considered that full since the room is such a small one. Breakfast at the hotel: oatmeal with fixins for Patrick; eggs, hash browns, and sausage for me. Rye toast for both. Rode UberX to Disneyland Resort main gate. Entered California Adventure. Browsed in shops. Patrick took a photo of a sculpture of the Headless Horseman. At the Hollywood Backlot Stage we caught the last two measures of the last song by the Los Angeles Gay Freedom Band, which was excellent. At the Sunset Showcase Theater we enjoyed a 3-D Thor: Ragnarok exclusive sneak peek. At the Hollywood Backlot stage we watched the Fox Dance Company from Calgary perform two numbers. Explored shops and investigated then abandoned experiences that were more for kids. Walked past Guardians of the Galaxy—Mission: BREAKOUT! then into A Bug's Land then Cars Land, then the food area with the Karl Strauss Beer Truck. We walked the wrong way through the Bakery Tour hosted by Boudin Bakery due to poor signage, receiving our free sample of bread at the end instead of the start. Passed the Golden Vine Winery. Near The Little Mermaid—Ariel's Undersea Adventure we encountered Bill K and met Frank and Steve, and chatted briefly while watching the Green Army Men perform a fun drumming comedy routine. Crossed the bridge at Ariel's Grotto, walked past the California Screamin' roller coaster and along the Games of the Boardwalk where we rested on a bench. We continued to Plaza de la Familia to rest and to listen to a 40-minute set by Mariachi Espectacular, a terrific mariachi band. We visited a great exhibit advertising the film Coco. Near Grizzly River Run we encountered and chatted briefly with Ray, Jeremy, Jay, and Alan. Rode the streetcar a short distance. Tried to find food we liked without a long line in the sun and without overly crowded table seating, failed many times before having a late lunch at Downtown Disney's Earl of Sandwich: hot chicken avocado and bacon sandwich for Patrick, caesar chicken wrap for me, iced tea for both. Walked to the Grand Californian. Rode Lyft back to the DoubleTree. Nap. Rode Lyft to the Downtown Disney Pickup/Dropoff location. Monorail to Tomorrowland. Rode and enjoyed the Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage. Tried to visit Star Wars Launch Bay only to discover that it had closed for the day less than an hour ago. Browsed in the Star Wars shop. Walked to the area near It's a Small World and waited for the fireworks show "Remember… Dreams Come True" to begin. The show was canceled due to poor weather conditions; the sky was quite cloudy with a very slight breeze. In place of fireworks, Disneyland projected onto It's a Small World a short, entertaining film with the same theme. (But what was that train at the end of it? And why finish with the train?) Walked to the Grand Californian. Rode Lyft back to the DoubleTree. To bed around midnight. Today we decided to begin using Lyft instead of Uber for our transit in this area because of too many problems encountered with Uber. For example, Lyft is clearer with respect to specifying pickup points. The most recent Uber problem was that when I specified the Grand Californian as a pickup point it marked my location correctly before I committed to the trip, but when the driver was on approach it put the pin on Disneyland Drive instead of in the driveway for the hotel, and by this it asks us to walk to Disneyland Drive for the pickup. There's nowhere safe to perform a pickup on Disneyland Drive. The driver didn't know to turn in to the hotel driveway, there was too little time for me to contact the driver to explain, and after the driver missed the turn into the driveway I canceled the ride and requested a refund. Lyft doesn't seem to have the same problem.