Wednesday – August 18, 2021
SPOILER ALERT: This post contains information about Avengers Campus and WEB Slingers: A Spider-Man Adventure. You may want to skip this if you want to go into this new part of the part spoiler free.
Since I had learned how the boarding group system worked and how parking worked, I floated the idea of getting up a little later and trying for a boarding group at my apartment. Then after we tried, win or lose, we’d drive down to Anaheim. My folks agreed and that was what we ended up doing.
It was nice doing all of this in the comfort of my apartment, rather than in a Walmart parking lot. I had a minor heart attack when at 6:58am I tried opening the app only to realize it had signed me out. I quickly input my password and got in just in time to do my 15 second countdown to 7am. Just as before I was able to get in right away and we snagged a boarding group, this time for WEB Slingers: A Spider-Man Adventure.
Disney California Adventure
I was pumped, we had gotten group 12! We then rushed down to the car and left for Anaheim. Leaving an hour later meant that there was much more traffic and rather than taking 35 minutes, it took 55 minutes to get to the parking lot. When I checked the app on the walk from the parking lot to the park entrance, it already said it was ready for us to board. Even though we had an hour window, I power-walked to the entrance of the park.
Once again I forgot to get a park map at the gate but we saw an information booth once inside and I snagged one there. I then asked the women attending the booth the fasted way and we got to the ride by 8:30am.
WEB Slingers: A Spider-Man Adventure
SPOILER ALERT: By the time we got to the ride I had pulled up the digital tickets that needed to be scanned and we got right in. Though I enjoyed having basically no line, I wanted to bask in the newness of the queue and take pictures of everything. Soon we were at the front and were about to be assigned a ride vehicle. I was wearing a Time Variance Authority (TVA) shirt from the Disney+ show Loki. The guy who was managing the queue made a quip about not letting a “Variant” on the ride which I loved.
The ride is similar to that of Toy Story Midway Mania. The ride vehicle takes you around to different screens where there is craziness happening; in this case escaped Spider-Bots. Your job is to shoot webs at them to stop them. The big difference is that unlike TSMM, or most other interactive rides, there is no gun or something on the vehicle. Instead the ride uses motion sensors to figure out where your arms are and you wave your arms to shoot webs. It’s actually really cool and high tech.
Pym Test Kitchen
After Spiderman, we crossed the way to WEB Suppliers to check out the merchandise. They didn’t have a towel or the shirt I wanted so we left. My folks were hungry so we went to Pym Test Kitchen. While they were in line for their breakfast, I placed a Mobile Order for later in the afternoon. Unlike the previous day, it was drizzling. Ever since I moved to CA it has not rained once and on a day when we were at the parks, it decided to drizzle.
In any case, we found a seat outside underneath the overhang so we didn’t really get wet. The fun gimmick with this restaurant is that everything is either blown up or shrunk by “Pym Particles.” It’s a fun concept and makes for interesting menu items.
Afterwards, Dad and I went to the nearby Guardians of the Galaxy Mission: Breakout. However, since the wait time was an hour, we decided to bail shortly after getting in line and met up with Mom. We then took some time to explore Avengers Campus. The first thing we did was to check out Doctor Strange’s Sanctum. There was a cool area where there is an optical illusion that looks like the ground is falling into a vortex.
After Dad took a few attempts of taking my picture, he couldn’t get the view right. Not only could he not hold my phone straight to take non-crooked shots, he also could not figure out burst mode. After they walked away, I tried again, this time getting help from a stranger, a Gen-Xer. She knew exactly what I was looking for and got some great shots.
Afterwards Mom and watched the Dora Milaje, guards from Wakanda, do a demonstration. Following that we caught the Spider-Man demo which was also really cool. They use their robotic superhero dummy thing to fly through the air and if I was a little kid, I’d have no doubt it was real. Afterwards, Spidey climbed down the building and had a photo op. It’s crazy to me how everyone, myself included, knows it’s just an Anaheim teen in a costume, but we flock to him like he’s a god.
Mater’s Junkyard Jamboree
Next we made our way over to Radiator Springs, the Cars Land section of the park. Even though Cars is not one of my favorite Pixar movies I was always interested in the world building they do. Radiator Springs in particular was a place I thought would be cool to visit. This, I would argue, more so than any of their other lands or attractions drops you directly into the movie. It was very impressive.
Since there was a short line, the first thing the three of us did was Mater’s Junkyard Jamboree. It’s like a more complex version of the scrambler and whips you back and forth while Mater sings a song.
Radiator Springs Racers
After that, Dad and I headed over to Radiator Springs Racers. The standby line was 50 minutes so we decided to do the single rider line which took 5, maybe 10 minutes. This takes the premise of Test Track, a life-sized slot car track, and molds it to the world of Cars. Again, between the scenery and the music, it feels like you’re directly in a scene from the movie. There is an indoor section with some great animatronics of the characters. Honestly, it was one of my favorite rides in the park.
Pixar Pal Around
Next we continued further into the back of the park where we rode the Pixar Pal Around (Ferris Wheel). Initially, my plan was to ride in a swinging car while my folks were in a stationary car. However, there were two separate lines, one for swinging and one for stationary. The swinging line was 45 minutes and the stationary line was 10 minutes, so there was no way we could sync up. So the three of us got in a stationary car with two strangers that my Dad annoyed by talking with them the whole time.
Toy Story Midway Mania
After we were done, we made our way to the nearby attraction, Toy Story Midway Mania. Ever since this opened in MGM Studios (I refuse to call it Hollywood Studios), it has been one of my favorite rides. The last time I had ridden it was at the end of the night with my friend Dan at DisneySea in Tokyo. He really enjoyed it and to be honest, it might be one of the best Disney attractions.
It’s basically a 3D midway style video game where you got to different themed screens and try to rack up the most points possible. Every time I ride it I think, it’s never gonna be as good as I think it is and it always meets my expectations.
Pym Tasting Lab
By the time we were done, it was nearly time for my mobile order Pym Test Kitchen. I told my folks I needed to rush over to Avengers Campus to get it and they said they’d meet me there. I had never Mobile Ordered at Disney before so I didn’t realize that you need to alert them when you want them to make your order. So I got there only to be told I needed to do that and find somewhere to wait for it to be ready.
If I knew that, I would have set it up on the way so that it would have been ready by the time I got there. While I was waiting however, I went next door to Pym Tasting Lab. There I ordered a drink I had been excited about ever since Avengers Campus had opened, the Molecular Meltdown. This is one of their “beer cocktails” and consists of Garage Brewing Marshmallow Milk Stout with vanilla ice cream and mini marshmallows.
Though the drink was very good, I was disappointed to find that the souvenir Pym beaker cup was not being given out. I later found out that they were currently out of stock. Shortly after getting my drink, my order was ready and I went up to the counter to get it. I then found a spot outside, almost exactly where we had sat for breakfast, and waited for my folks to show up. While I was eating I got my second of three or four compliments on my shirt.
Guardians of the Galaxy Mission: Breakout
After I was done eating Dad and I lined up for take two of Guardians. The wait was only 40 minutes so we were fine with that. While we were in line, Star Lord came out -on the other side of the fence so we couldn’t see him- and did a dance off thing. It sounded cool and the music was good; they played Fox On The Run which I love.
Initially I had been skeptical about the re-skin of this ride. However, after watching the Behind the Attraction episode about it, I was more intrigued. My main gripe was that I don’t care about Guardians of the Galaxy or almost any of the Marvel movies, except Spiderman. But, the addition of different music each time you ride along with the change in the ride mechanics really made a difference.
Unlike Tower of Terror, this makes you really feel giddy. However they launch you, it makes you laugh. My Dad and I were laughing the whole time. The song we got was Burnin’ Love by Elvis; it was really great. Plus, our “40 minute wait” was maybe 20 minutes.
Monster’s Inc., Mike and Sully to the Rescue
Once we were done, we found Mom and went over towards the front of the park to the Monster’s Inc. ride. Originally a generic dark ride called Superstar Limo, this was re-skinned to be essentially a re-telling of the plot to Monster’s Inc.; not unlike the idea behind most of the original dark rides at Disneyland. The wait was fairly short and the ride was fine.
After we go off, we went next door to a nearby hanger that was being used as a huge Avengers merchandise shop. I searched again for a Spiderman towel or the shirt they previously had, but I came up empty handed. I checked the time and it was ~2:00pm. I had been told that the Doctor Strange demonstration took place at 2:20pm. Knowing I wanted to check it out, I told Mom who clawed Dad away from the Cast Members he was talking to and we made our way back to Avengers Campus.
The Doctor Strange demonstration was essentially a mystical magic show. If I was a kid, my mind would have been blown. Even at my age now I had no idea how the various illusions were performed. It was a cool little experience.
Luigi’s Rollickin’ Roadsters
We then found a cool shortcut that led from the back of Avengers Campus to the side of Cars Land where Dad and I rode Luigi’s Rollickin’ Roadsters. This is a trackless ride consisting of a bunch of old Italian cars that dance around the lot in different choreographed ways depending on what song was playing.
The ride was ok, but what I really enjoyed was the queue. You go into Luigi’s Casa Della Tires and it looks, again, just like you’re in the movie. There were also all of these posters from fictional races that were really cool looking. If they had them for sale, I might even buy one.
We then went over to the Pacific Wharf section where Mom and Dad got lunch. I grabbed a table for them and while I was waiting, I overheard the girl at the next table say that the Incredicoaster had opened. It had been closed all day for an unknown issue. I ran to find my folks still in line for food and asked if they minded if I went to get in line. “Go,” my Mom said and I speed walked over to the ride.
Incredicoaster
When I got there it was pandemonium. Everyone had had the same idea and the line for the ride went out onto the pier. I found the back and followed it until I overheard a woman standing in what appeared to be a separate line near the railing. “Is that the single rider line?” I asked. “Yup,” she said and I immediately jumped over and got behind her.
I felt bad because there were two cast members running around trying to get everyone in order and figure out who was supposed to be where. Despite clearly being under stress, they did an excellent job. While I waited, I texted my folks about the situation.
Eventually I was handed my Single Rider pass and after about 10 minutes, I got on the ride. Though I had never ridden it in its original iteration, California Screamin’, I could tell this was better. CS was, to my knowledge, a themeless generic ride. In this version, they somehow managed to add a story. To my understanding, Jack Jack escaped and you are running around with Dash to try and catch him. There are some fun theming elements along with Incredibles score that makes it more than just a roller coaster.
When I got off the ride, I called my Mom and she told me they had just finished eating and to come over to them. I did so and when I got there, Dad wasn’t there. I assumed he was in the restroom but Mom informed me he had gone over to get in line for the coaster. Why did she tell me to meet them then? In any case, we went back over to Incredicoaster and I told Dad I was gonna ride the Ferris Wheel again, this time on a swinging car.
I went over by myself and the wait wasn’t too long, about 25 minutes. After riding it I met up with my folks and I told them I wanted to explore the side of the park we hadn’t been to yet. We made our way through the Paradise Gardens section and eventually to the Grizzly Peak area.
Redwood Creek Challenge Trail
We walked past the Redwood Creek Challenge Trail and I doubled back to ask the cast member what it was. He explained it to me and since we had nothing else to do, we checked it out. It was basically a walking path through a fake National Park but it was still nice and peaceful. There are little play area sections for kids which we obviously skipped.
Grizzly River Run
After we were done, we went to the nearby gift shop where Mom got some things for my Aunts. When we got out we were right near Grizzly River Run (which I think should be called Grizzly River Rapids), a water ride that was one of the main attractions when the park opened in 2001. I remembered it vividly from the promotional videos and, though it wasn’t a very hot day, I wanted to ride it. The line was only 5 minutes, so I went for it while my folks waited for me on a bench.
This is your standard round tube amusement park rapids ride. There’s one section were you go through a cave and there are bear sounds, but otherwise, it’s pretty straightforward. There are two drops, the first of which I managed to escape getting soaked. When we were about to go over the second one, we were stopped by the block brakes. We were teetering on the edge for about five minutes; long enough that I though we might get a coveted walk off (or in this case, I guess it would be a swim off?). However, we eventually were let over the edge and finished the ride.
Afterwords, made our way the rest of the way through Grizzly Peak. We decided to skip Soarin’ since we’ve done it before at EPCOT and the wait was 50 minutes. We stopped into another gift shop which had cool theming in it. Next we poured out to Buena Vista Street at the front of the park where my folks went through some of the gift shops. I then remember that while we were at the hanger gift shop there had been a photo op with Miss Minutes.
We walked back over to the display where I got a few pics with her in my Variant shirt. Normally I skip things like this but it was so appropriate with what I was wearing that I had to do it. We then headed back to Pixar Pier to go to the Lamplight Lounge. I had made a dinner reservation for us when we first booked our tickets. The reservation was for 7:40pm and it was just around 7:00pm but we headed there anyway to see if we could get a table early. When we got there, they checked us in and told me I’d get a notification on my phone when a seat was ready.
I took us over to the Incredicoaster because I wanted to get a picture of the Jack Jack Cookie Num Num stand. No sooner did I do that, I got a buzz on my phone and our seat was ready. We walked back to the Lamplight Lounge and they seated us at the bar. I was a little bummed because having made the reservation so long ago, I was expecting a table. Moral was pretty low because everyone was so tired and this didn’t help. However, our waitress/bartender was very nice and once we had beer and food, things got better.
I was enjoying overhearing the banter between the bartender Jeff and the couple next to me. When he was tending to someone else, I tapped the guy next to me, “Dude, our bartender is really nice, but this guy seems rad.” His girlfriend leaned over, “I love him,” she said with a smile. After they left, he was bussing their spot and I told him I thought he did a great job. Later, I asked him about the shot he had made for them and we got to chatting again.
Then it all got ruined when my Dad chimed in. As it is I felt odd bogarting him when he hadn’t even been our bartender. But, I had established a bit of a rapport with him and so it felt ok. Dad on the other hand just wanted to hear his own voice and kept interrupting the guy or answering the questioned he had asked him with his own answer. We soon got our check and rolled out.
With a little gas in our tanks, I asked my folks if they wouldn’t mind taking one last stroll through the park so I could get pics of it lit up at night. We got pictures of Pixar Pier, Pacific Wharf, Radiator Springs and lastly Avengers Campus before finally leaving at ~8:45pm. Overall, it was another very solid day and a good way to end their visit.
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