Friday, November 10, 2023
Anaheim trip day 5 of 7. Breakfast buffet with Patrick at Agio. Oatmeal with cranberries, shredded coconut, and other toppings. Breakfast potatoes. Our server noticed that I didn't each much and charged us only one meal—so nice. Rode Lyft to Disneyland. Accepted a suggestion from the driver to be dropped at IHOP to save five to ten minutes avoiding the crowded rideshare drop-off location; you just have to cross the street at the crosswalk which has a traffic signal so it's quite safe. This turned out for us to be correct and valuable advice. We encountered very long, nearly unbearable lines to enter security check, probably because today was the first day of the Christmas decor. Entered Disneyland. Bought Genie+. Enchanted Tiki Room. We realized that parts of the preshow now seem a bit racist. (e.g., Me Rongo!) And some of the preshow animations did not function. Why play Heigh-Ho at the end of the Enchanted Tiki Room? It makes no sense. Why not Hawaiian music? We rode Smuggler's Run via lightning pass. Patrick and I got to be pilots, which seemed more exciting than the roles of the other three persons in our ship (two adults and a child), but our controls didn't feel like they controlled very much. I felt as though I had been placed into a video game against my consent and given responsibilities for providing enjoyment for ourselves and the other party on our ship, and it caused me some anxiety because I know I'm not good at piloting. Since our ship did not do well in the game (I think we crashed into a towering object?) and since the controls didn't feel like they worked, I felt entirely disappointed and somewhat duped and guilty. I much rather prefer Star Tours where I'm not asked—nay, forced—to work to be entertained. We walked past Big Thunder Mountain Railroad which was temporarily closed. At Tiana's Palace, Patrick had house gumbo with cornbread and unsweetened iced tea, and I had a beef po-boy with rice and beans with bottled water. We marveled at the magical sight of automatic electric folding French doors. Today was the first time I saw cast members placing tape on the ground to initiate line management. At one point we saw a railroad train running but with no passengers. We shared a churro. We watched Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln, which was mostly empty. We rested outside It's a Small World, and here we saw a railroad train pass with guests on it for the first time. We waited at the railroad station for a train and abandoned after the train failed to appear after more than expected wait time of 10 minutes. At the monorail we waited in line 5 minutes then heard an announcement saying that there was only one train, and the wait time was 45 minutes. We abandoned. Snacks: frozen cherry lemonade and crunchy Cheetos. The table we sat at was not completely clean. We rode Space Mountain via lightning pass. In New Orleans Square we waited for Jambalaya Jazz, which started late and had no microphone. They played only three songs and then took a break. We rested in front of the castle on green benches that had been rearranged and grouped in a manner to suggest you weren't meant to sit on them, and we overlooked a VIP area for fireworks viewing. We rode the Matterhorn bobsleds via lightning pass. We rested and drank bottled water at tables near Casey Jr. and then inside Red Rose Tavern. We stopped in at the Golden Horseshoe Revue and watched a piano player perform. Dinner at River Belle Terrace: pork chop and decaf coffee for Patrick, peppermint tisane and blackened sea bass for me. No dessert. Service was noticeably slow. We sat at the fireplace at the Grand Californian while ordering and waiting for Lyft to arrive. Rode Lyft to the hotel. Patrick went to bed, and I showered then went to bed.