Wednesday – November 3, 2021
Just as was the case with my DCA day with Mom and Dad, Kyra and I decided to “sleep in” and try for the boarding group for WEB Slingers in the comfort of my apartment at 7am. In a continuous stroke of good fortune, we were able to nab a boarding group and left promptly after. We arrived at Mickey and Friends Parking Structure at ~8:15am and were in the park by ~8:45.
The first thing we did was head to Avenger’s Campus. The line for Guardians of the Galaxy: Mission Breakout (1) said it was 55 minutes, a wait time I normally wouldn’t want to do right at the start of the day. However, since California Adventure is a small park with not a ton to day, and I was skeptical of the wait time, we decided to roll the dice. It ended up being more like 35 minutes which is much more manageable. The ride was a lot of fun again and afterwards I was hungry so I grabbed a shawarma at the Shawarma Palace.
I felt a little cheated because they were only serving the breakfast one and I wanted the lunch one. Oh well, another reason to go back. While grabbing my food, Kyra caught the end of the Dora Milaje demonstration. I sat and ate for a bit before we made our way to the WEB building to watch the Spider-Man demonstration. We then went over to Radiator Springs to explore that area. It’s honestly one of the coolest parts of the park. Even if you don’t care about Cars, it’s by far the most immersive land in DCA.
Kyra and I decided to do the single rider line for Radiator Springs Racers (2) which was totally worth it and we got on in maybe 5 minutes as opposed to the 50 minute standby line. mention the woman next to me who was on her phone the whole time I was pleasantly surprised at how much Kyra enjoyed it. As I may have said before, this is low-key maybe the best ride in DCA. We then transitioned out of Radiator Springs into Pacific Pier. There we stopped in the Ghirardelli store before getting a free slice of bread at the Boudin Sour Dough Bakery Tour.
mention the fact that the water was drained from the “ocean”
Once out the other end, we sat and ate our bread before continuing on our way to Pixar Pier. We went right to the Incredicoaster (3) and waited in the single rider line. I asked the girl in front of us what the deal was and she said that they were only running 2 of the 4 trains and thus they were holding the single riders and letting then in bit by bit. She said our other choice was a 50 minute wait. We got to talking and we found out her name was India and she was from Oregon at the parks by herself. We had actually seen her in line for Guardians but I didn’t mention it.
In any case, we eventually got on the ride after about a 15 minute wait. When we walked through the exit, I looked back at the standby to see it was a 15 minute wait, not 50; I had heard her wrong. We totally could have waited in the standby line to ride it together. Again, no big deal. By the time we were done it was time to head over to our boarding group for WEB Slingers (4).
Earlier we had placed mobile orders at Pym Test Kitchen and Pym Tasting Lab. However, when we saw how long the line was, in spite of the fact we had a boarding group, we decided to update our delivery window. The only problem was, when I went to update the window for my drink, the app glitched or something and the it told them I was ready for my order to be made. I was suddenly panicking because I wasn’t sure if when I got done with the ride, if they’d honor my mobile order.
On top of this, I had over dressed for the day, assuming it was going to be cold like it had been the day before and I was roasting. Luckily Kyra brought suntan lotion so I was able to take off my hoodie and long sleeve shirt and cover my now exposed arms with sunblock. After a 45 minute or longer wait, we finally got on the ride. I was the highest scorer in our car getting almost half of the 600,000 points we earned on my own.
After the ride it was time to for the verdict of the drink. I went up to the Pym Tasting Lab counter and explained that the app glitched and accidentally placed the order and that I was in line for Spider-Man and was unable to come to the counter sooner. Thankfully I had taken a screenshot of my order number and they were able to check on their computer or iPad or whatever that my order had never been fulfilled and thus obliged to make my drink order.
I had been fairly confident that this sort of thing must happen all of the time and that I’d be able to get my order but it was good to have that stress sorted out quickly and easily. The bartender I initially spoke to seemed a bit skeptical but after he asked his supervisor, I was all set. I was glad to get the drink because it ended up being really tasty. I feel like they must put barely any tequila in because I couldn’t taste it. However, the beer with the habanero and mango syrups was the perfect combination.
I then went to get my chicken sandwich from the Pym Test Kitchen. The app told me to go to one section of the counter but as I was walking up the woman behind the counter at a different section called me by name, “Kyle?” “Yes,” I said. “You looked like a Kyle,” she said and handed me my food. I brought it back to the table at which Kyra and I were sitting and am sad to report that I was fairly underwhelmed. I’m usually fairly easy to please, unless something is obviously wrong and this was definitely overcooked. I ate most of it regardless, but it wasn’t as good as it could have been.
While eating, I could hear that the Guardians of the Galaxy demonstration was happening nearby and asked Kyra, who was still eating, if she minded if I went over to watch it. I hadn’t been able to see it the last time I was in DCA and had been wanting to check it out this time due to my “gotta catch ’em all” mentality. The show was basically a dance off and the music was so good that I couldn’t help but dance along. I was glad to finally see it. Lunch meandered for a fairly long time; 1:30 to 3pm. It was made a bit longer than it would have been because agin Kyra was not feeling well after her drink. No more booze for her at theme parks.
After were were both done and rested, we resumed our trip through the park. The next nearest ride was Monsters Inc. Mike and Sully to the Rescue (5). The line was half an hour which was probably a fairly accurate wait time. There was a little girl in line behind me that kept bumping in to me and driving me crazy. I’m getting better about speaking up, either to the child or the parents to ask for a bit more space. I understand that children get restless but I don’t think that this type of request is unreasonable. The ride was fine but the cool thing was that at the end, Roz called out Kyra and said she liked her glasses. This was something I knew happened from time to time but wasn’t working the last time.
We then made a pit stop in the Avengers warehouse store before continuing our counterclockwise trip around the park. As we entered the Grizzly Peak section of the park, we stopped in Humphrey’s Service and Supplies. This is, in my option, one of the coolest themed shops. It’s pretty small but I like the gas station/convenience store vibe and the merch they sell. In any case, we then crossed the way and got in line for Soarin’ (6).
Unlike last time when the line was 55 minutes, this time it was 30 minutes but actually ended up being closer to 15. I hadn’t ridden this ride in a long time and is usually a no brainer to skip unless the line is short. However, something about it hit me just right and, low-key, it’s actually a really fun attraction. The visuals and the feeling of flying are really cool and the scents they inject for the different scenes are all really pleasant. I got off the ride feeling refreshed.
Next on the list was Grizzly River Run (7) which only had a 10 minute wait which ended up being more like a 5 minute wait. The weather was warm enough that getting wet wasn’t going to make you freezing and the family we were sat with were cool. It ended up being a good time. We then made our way back to Pixar Pier where we got in line for Toy Story Midway Mania (8).
As I may have said before, this is honestly one of my favorite rides. There was once again an annoying little girl in line behind me. There was also a small tiff with Kyra and I because she was trying to talk to me and I couldn’t hear her because she was talking to the back of my head and the Incredicoaster was going by above us. Then, before boarding, I was getting annoyed that the kids in line next to us didn’t have face masks on. Eventually a cast member, who was seemingly a senior executive based on how he was dressed, asked them to put on a mask. I was a little taken back by this as he himself did not have a mask on. It’s like, my guy, lead by example.
I any case, that ride was good as usual and the next thing we did was the Pixar Pal Around (9). We had a fairly short line and the couple that were in the ferris wheel car with us were really good. Kyra and I rode the swinging car which I maintain is, low-key, the scariest ride in the park. After we got off, we looped back to back to Radiator Springs because Kyra wanted to get an ice cream at the Cozy Cone. I waited for her on a bench only to find out it was mobile order only and she ended up not getting one. We then tried to go on Radiator Springs Racers again because we wanted to try it at night. However, they had closed the single rider line for the night and we didn’t want to wait 55 minutes to ride it.
We closed off the night by walking through Avengers Campus again to see it at night. We stopped in to WEB Suppliers to see if they had the shirt I was looking for, but they didn’t. We then hit some of the main street gift shops and we both tempted to buy long sleeve Disneyland shirts but they were super expensive and we didn’t need them and we would never wear them. So, after all that, we left the park and continued to Downtown Disney.
Downtown Disney/Trader Sam’s
We essentially just walked through and admired DTD because we were on a mission to try and get seats at Trader Sam’s Enchanted Tiki Bar. I had been wanting to try it since long before my previous visit to Disneyland and never got around to it. We made our way all the way through DTD, out the other end and onto the property of the Disneyland Hotel. We eventually arrived at the bar and this is where the night fell apart.
I started to say that I wanted to see if we could get seats in the bar. Kyra, being much more apprehensive about COVID precautions, suddenly told me that she didn’t want to dine inside. This took me by surprise because she had never mentioned not wanting to go inside before. This pissed me off because the whole point of the “enchanted tiki bar” is the fact that there is cool theming and fun things that happen once you’re inside. She wanted to eat on the patio on the outside. I wasn’t even planning on getting food, just drinks. Clearly there was a big miscommunication that had taken place.
We walked up to the maître d’ and were told we could either sit outside and have a waiter, sit on the other side and order for ourself or put our name on the walk up list for the indoor seating. We chose to sit outside and Kyra was going to order her own food. I was fuming because I had made it all the to Mount Everest and was being told I couldn’t go to the top. Now don’t get me wrong, everyone has their own comfort levels when it comes to COVID restrictions, but what did she think I meant when I said I wanted to go there? I’m not sure how this was going to be any different than going to Oga’s Cantina.
After talking for a bit she said that as long as she wasn’t going to be eating in there, she was ok with going inside. I put my name on the list and was told to wait for two texts from them. The first would be a confirmation text to show I was on the list and the second would be a text letting me know our table was ready. From what she was saying, I was under the impression that it was going to take up to an hour for us to get a seat.
Sure enough, I got the confirmation text at 8:06 and the “your table is ready” text at 8:07. It told the maître d’ that we had gotten the second text and she said she’d send someone over to take us inside. We waited for 5 or 10 minutes while other people were let into the bar. I didn’t want to bother the maître d’ again but I truly wasn’t sure if she understood that I’d gotten the “your table is ready” text.
I hovered around her booth until the other woman appeared and told that woman we were ready to be seated. She then finally took us inside. Just as we got to the door I realized I’d left my Pym Tasting Lab “beaker” -the beaker I’d gotten screwed out of the first time I went to DCA, the only souvenir I was excited about- on the table. Kyra went back to get it for me and met me at our seat in the corner. Once seated, she went on about how she was glad things had worked out and that now seeing the seating set up, she would have been cool eating inside.
I let this sit for a bit and then, not wanting to let the moment pass, let out my frustration. I explained how just like with the night before, her going on and on about the thing that was already settled makes things so much worse. She always has to talk all these things out, but the simple fact is, it’s too close to the situation for me to want to hear any of that. All I want her to do in that moment is to shut up and to let the anger slowly drain out of me. But she has to insist on the moment and make it last longer than it has to.
Now I rarely pick an argument with anyone (Kyra on the other hand loves having arguments) because it’s generally not worth my energy and I’m bad at articulating what I want to say or how I’m feeling in the moment. I especially try to avoid doing this with Kyra because there is no way for me to win. It’s not even necessarily about winning but my side of the argument is somehow never valid and I always somehow end up coming out to be the bad guy. Sure enough, this is exactly what happened this time as well and so I learned, as I have for the past 32 years to just let her say whatever she wants and let my negative energy bottle up inside of me until it kills me one day.
IN ANY CASE, our waitress took forever to come over to us. Then once she did, she was super perky which normally would have been nice but it’s like girl, read the room. I ordered a Piranha Pool and the Hawaiian Sampler. Kyra, having already ate on the patio, just ordered a coffee. mention the fact we got to see one of the indoor storms that happens when someone orders a certain drink
My drink came and it was huge. It was also a frozen drink and I was looking for something that was actual liquid. Also, at this point I was sort of over it so by the time my food came out I was ready to go. I had a few bites before asking for a box and a few more sips then promptly paid the check and left. To make matters worse, when walking back from Trader Sam’s to the Mickey and Friends parking structure, the directions weren’t very clear so it was a little annoying. All in all, a real shitty way to end what would have -overall- been a good day at the park.
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