Girls Day and the "New" Fastpass

Took my daughter today for a 1/2 day girls only trip.  I try to take each of my kids individually when we have passes at least once in the year and with currently being off of vacation for a few more days, I took advantage.  My daughter is a preschooler and is afraid of the dark.  She is also very adamant about what she likes and what she won't even try unless her daddy or grandmother are around.  That being said, we had a great time going on rides she enjoys and meeting characters when available.  So, where did we go?

We started our day on It's a Small World, one of her favorite rides.  As it was rope drop, we were the only ones on the ride.  It was nice, however, to view everything without other people around.  Then, we went over to Casey Jr.  My daughter prefers the real train that makes a loop around the park, but since that one's still closed, we took what we could get.  Afterward, we headed to Autopia and Buzz Lightyear's Astro Blasters.  Then, it was time to switch parks as there were no other activities my girl wanted to do in Disneyland.

At California Adventure, we started off on her all-time favorite ride, Monster's Inc.  That girl would ride that one over and over if I let her.  Thankfully, it was closed after we rode the first time, so we were able to move on.  We went on The Little Mermaid, then headed over to Carsland to try to meet Cruz.  Unfortunately, Cruz had to drive away right when we got to the front of the line, but we did meet McQueen, so all was not lost. 

My daughter really wanted to meet the Toy Story characters, but the line was long.  However, she was willing to go on Toy Story Midway Mania to see her favorite characters.  The standby line is usually too long to wait, especially in the sun.  But, here's where we get interesting.  Today, a "new" fastpass system rolled out.  Now, you get a reminder card of when your return time is, but you have to scan your actual ticket to go in.  It's a bit like magic bands at Disney World, but without the bands.  I would prefer the bands honestly.  It's too hard to juggle tickets while waiting in line with a preschooler.  I'm wary to think what it will be like with my family of 5.  There are perks and limits to the system, but it aims to make distribution a little more fair perhaps.  Anyway, I'm not sure if it was due to being the first day of the new system or just that no one was using FP for the day, but when we got to the line for Midway Mania, the CMs actually told us we'd be better off getting a FP.  Return times were only 10 minutes later.  The standby line?  Much longer (maybe 30-45 minutes).  So, we used the new system and enjoyed barely waiting.  Scanning the tickets is cumbersome, but I like the concept.  As I stated though, we really need the bands to make it more streamlined.  I'll leave judging the new system to someone who did more than 1 ride on it today, but I enjoyed most of the process and it seemed to work properly from a technology standpoint, so at least there's that.

Anyone have thoughts on the new system?  How about the MaxPass (for an additional fee, you can book fastpasses online--coming soon)?

Cars 3--Worth the Time and Money

Back in 2006 when Cars first came out, I was taking a class at my alma mater on Pixar in the arts.  One of my final assignments before I graduated was a critique of the film in terms of artistic and theatrical merits.  I came to the conclusion that, while visually expanding the skills of the Pixar team, the movie was less than powerful as a story.  Sure, there was the basic story of the main character on the high road to stardom finally stopping to smell the roses and the old, wise man who convinced him to slow down, but unlike most Pixar movies, there was nothing "more."  Sure, I grew to respect it more over the years, but it never hit me in the way many other Pixar films did.

Fast foward to 2017.  We will ignore Cars 2 (2011) because it was just a disaster.  But, what about Cars 3?  I went into the movie with low expectations after the Cars 2 fiasco.  But, my kids wanted to see it, and it would be fun for nostalgia's sake.  What I found though was nothing short of a Pixar masterpiece.  A movie that pushes the boundaries by incorporating realistic-looking scenery for the first time in a Pixar feature film.  A movie that, on the surface, is about an older racer who crashes and wants to keep up with the newer generation of racers, but also a movie with surprising feminist themes.  I won't give away spoilers, but I was so happy to have taken my children to see it.  It's fun for adults, but more importantly, it's a feminist movie that my preschooler daughter can understand and that my 2 boys are more than willing to watch time and time again. 

If you have children, take them to see this one.  You won't be disappointed.

Summer of Heroes, New/Old Trails, and Hotel Stays

This past weekend, I took my big summer trip to Disneyland Resort with the kids.  We stayed at the Courtyard Anaheim Theme Park Entrance on Harbor.  We had stayed there right after the hotel first opened back in October of 2015, but hadn't since.  It's a bit more expensive than we usually choose, but my oldest was turning 7 and wanted to try the water park area, so we splurged a bit.  We stayed in a standard room with a "waterpark view."  We like to go to Disneyland in the morning, check in around 1, then go back after resting.  We go in understanding that rooms aren't guaranteed until 4, but at most hotels, we haven't had an issue. Unfortunately, this hotel takes a bit longer to clean the rooms.  This in itself isn't a bad thing and the rooms were great and very clean, but I do wish they had had rooms ready slightly earlier. 

The rooms are spacious and my family of 3 adults and 3 children had plenty of space, especially with a bathtub and separate shower in the bathroom area.  Our view was also stunning.  If you've booked a waterpark view room, check out the rooms on the top floor #640-650.  We stayed in 650 and were very pleased with our surprise view of the fireworks and the water park.  There's no free breakfast at this hotel, but Panera, Mimi's, and McDonald's are all very close and there's a coffee/pastry stand in the lobby.

One of the highlights of the trip was experiencing the "Summer of Heroes" at California Adventure.  The best part of the experience, of course, was the new Guardians of the Galaxy ride.  This ride took over the old Tower of Terror building.  As a huge fan of the original ride, I was skeptical at the take over.  But, I figured I would give it a try before judging. 

I went straight for fastpass for GotG at rope drop.  Currently, the fastpass line starts back toward the Disney Jr. stage and winds around taped off areas, though a backstage area, and out to the right of the fastpass distribution center, at least when you arrive in early morning.  Fastpass is running out fairly quickly, so either get there early for your fastpass or ride the attraction at rope drop.  I only had time to ride once, but I would have loved to see all the variations.  The attraction is so much more fun than I expected.  It's more intense than it used to be and a lot more lighthearted. 

 

I didn't have time to explore a lot of the other "hero" themed stuff.  There's a training show somewhat similar to the Jedi training at Disneyland, but it's apparently not very popular.  My son almost signed up, but decided not to after seeing it.  I think it could be fun for some, but it just didn't appeal to anyone in my family.

The other highlight was the re-opening of the Big Thunder Trail at Disneyland.  It's been closed for months while construction on Star Wars Land has been going on.  They have finally finished the Frontierland side of the facade and re-opened the trail just in time for the busy summer season.  It's absolutely beautiful and I can't wait until later in the summer when the Rivers of America, Fantasmic, and the railroad finally re-open.

Overall, the weather was beautiful and it was a wonderful trip.  Stay tuned.  Next month, I am going to my first ever D23 Expo!