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!