Hello everybody! I am back with another Disney blog post. Today I am going to be giving you an overview of our day in California Adventure, which we had not been to since BEFORE Cars Land even OPENED! It is not because California Adventure is a terrible park to go to, we just prefer other parks like Universal Studios Hollywood over it. But, I loved the recent change of Paradise Pier to Pixar Pier that happened last year! Continue reading below to find out what we did and remember, it has been almost two weeks so the details are definitely fuzzy.
Saturday, August 31st, 2019
This morning started off with another early morning by waking up at around 8 am today, getting ready and heading down to the lobby for another FREE breakfast. I was proudly sporting the Captain America shirt I had gotten in Universal Orlando’s Islands of Adventure today because Marvel IS a Disney property. I literally do not know why I had reserved that shirt for Universal Studios park days. This time for breakfast, I veered away from the carbs that is the waffle and stuck with the protein such as the sausages and potatoes with two cups of apple juice.
After breakfast, we once again headed out to the Toy Story parking lot bus stop next door and took the bus to the parks. Since it was a Saturday and Labor Day weekend, I could already tell that the parks were going to be busier today. Upon entry, the Disney Cast Members were handing out Marvel 80 Years buttons because it also happened to be the 80th Anniversary of Marvel Comics! That was seriously unplanned and there could NOT have been better timing to go as the Main Eight (Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, Pluto, Chip, Dale, Donald and Daisy) were also dressed up in Marvel cosplay for the summer to celebrate! Unfortunately, if you are planning to go, this ended on September 2nd :(.
Once inside, I made a pit stop to the restroom while my dad and brother headed to Cars Land to get the fastpasses for Radiator Springs Racers. Since all of our legs were so sore from going hard at Disneyland the previous day, we had planned to go with the flow and take it easy today. The first ride we had decided to go to was Soarin’ Over California. We had just missed the cut off for the Soarin’ Around the World overlay as that was scheduled to start on September 2nd. I have a slight fear of heights so I instantly got butterflies in my stomach once the ride started and found myself needing to lean all the way back in the seat and look all the way over to the left to see feet for affirmation. I wished we were here for the Around the World overlay as I found the California one kind of boring because that where we live! We “flew” over San Francisco, Napa, Death Valley, Redwoods, and of course, Disneyland itself during fireworks.Afterwords, we made our way to the Pier but stopped to get fastpasses for World of Color first and saw Chip and Dale (not in Marvel costumes) walking into the Redwood Challenge Trail as we were passing through Grizzly Peak.
Once at the Pier, we went to the Incredicoaster, which was once California Screamin’. This was all of our first times riding it because I have ALWAYS been a wimp when it came to coasters and used to HATE any one that went upside down! This changed when I rode Rock N’ Rollercoaster in Hollywood Studios at DisneyWorld in Florida. My eyes may have been closed the entire time that time but now I knew that I did not have a reason to be afraid! I was always afraid of the idea of getting stuck in the loop if the ride broke down. My mom is not a fan of coasters but we made her go on it once to try it. I LOVED it! The launch at the beginning does not look fast but it feels fast and I particularly loved the Incredibles incorporations throughout the ride! My mom, however, did not really enjoy it and we know this because right after we got off, the three of us went to go again and she opted to go and watch us at the launch point.

After our two rides on the Incredicoaster, we all explored on the pier some more and my dad proposed the idea of going on the Pixar Pal-A-Round (the ferris wheel) but on the SWINGING one. My mom is very afraid of heights so she, once again, opted out and found a seat on the bench beside the ride while we waited in line for the ride. We were in a cart with another couple and started on our loop. I found myself keeping my eyes on the floor and having a deathly grip on the window cage and the chair since those were the only places I could grab. As for the swinging, it actually did not swing that much until we got to the middle and the cart actually slid all the way down. You do two full loops on this ride as the first loop was for people getting in the cart. I honestly would probably never do the swinging ones again and when I go on it, I would do the Non-Swinging like I originally wanted. I also got to meet Sully from Monsters Inc afterwards cause we were sitting in the same area! He is soooo fluffy!


After the Pixar Pal-A-Around, we headed to Cars Land for our Fastpass window and to our surprise, the ride broke down once we got there! While we waited for the ride to hopefully open back up during our window, we explored Cars Land. I was in awe of the accuracy of Radiator Springs and particularly enjoyed seeing all the classics from the first film such as Cozy Cone Motel, Luigi’s Tire Shop, and Flo’s V8 Cafe. I also like seeing Lightning McQueen and Cruz Ramirez (from Cars 3, which is the only film of the three we have not seen) driving in for their meet and greets at the motel. Since the ride was still broken down, we decided to have an earlier lunch (than yesterday) and wait in line at Flo’s Cafe. I got the “Mack” and Cheese (after Lightning’s transport truck for races) off the Kid’s menu which came with water, carrots, and a fruit cup, because I was tired of the amount of “fast food” we had recently.


Once we finished our lunches, the ride was actually open again (and within our window) so we went over and got to ride it for the first time! This ride is SO MUCH FUN! It starts off slow and Sheriff “hosts” (his voice is the main audio voice throughout the ride). You ride through Route 66 and through Radiator Springs where you see characters such as Mack, Mater, Mater’s tractors, Fillmore, Sarge, Sally, Lightning, Luigi, Guido, and Sheriff as the Hudson Hornet! Once you get into Luigi’s store, he tells Guido to change the tires into nice racing tires then you go through the store and to the starting line where you race other cars. This is where the speed is amped up! We lost our first race but the ride was still so fun! Right after we got off, we hopped onto the single riders line to go AGAIN! (Also, it was already at a 90 minute wait time but the single riders line took like 5 minutes so when it doubt, single rider, if your over 14 that is.) I rode with my mom and we won this time!

After Racers, we went back to the pier and rode Incredicoaster once again. Then, we also had previously gotten fastpasses for Toy Story Midway Mania and headed to that. My brother and dad, or as they dubbed themselves, “the Pros” paired themselves up together (they are competitive with each other) so I rode with my mom. I much prefer this gaming ride to Astro Blasters because it is SO MUCH EASIER to tell which one is yours due to the different coloring of the guns and paint on your target! I lost this round, but did have better accuracy. I was also winning until the end. Always aim for the high points such as the 1000 or 2000 combos that often pop up at each screen!

We continued down the pier and decided to go on Mickey’s Silly Symphony Swings next. By the way, it is actually the shortest ride ever at like about 5 minutes, but it was fun while it lasted! We then headed over to Hollywood Land to ride Guardians of the Galaxy Mission Breakout and take a class at Animation Academy. I am always on the lookout for more Marvel gear so we made a pit stop at Off the Page to see if we can find something. There was nothing but we did find the entrance to the area where Animation Academy is. Also in this area is where can meet Anna, Elsa, and sometimes Olaf, listen to Crush the turtle talk, and take a rest break in an air-conditioned room. After we looked around, we went back outside to ride Guardians. However, we had a little setback as the app said 25 minutes but the sign had been updated to a 45 minute wait, which is definitely not a bad wait, but when your legs are killing you, you simply cannot wait in line for that long, so we went and grabbed a fastpass instead. At this point in time, I took the opportunity to go back into the room and take a drawing class at Animation Academy. Nobody in my family likes art, so I ended up taking this class on my own while they waited on the benches outside. I had fun exploring my creative side and drawing the fashion diva that is Edna Mode from the Incredibles! (Although I wished I had stayed for the next class becuase they were drawing Baby Groot, my favorite Guardian at my favorite age!)
After the class, I was still on the lookout for Marvel gear (as I always am) and figured that the store by Guardians was the best place to find some and I was right! I specifically wanted the Baby Groot that can sit on your shoulder like the Porgs (that were sold out) can, so we went and got one of those, but I was also looking for either a Pop! Funko or a Marvel Loungefly backpack. (which I admittedly actually saw but did not speak up to get, the silver lining though is that I did get a Box Lunch Exclusive one after the trip and it is SO CUTE)
We then explored some more and went further in, where I found Mickey and Minnie doing Meet and Greets in their Marvel cosplay and wanted to meet the main mice! Mickey was Captain America and Minnie was Spider-Gwen from Into the Spider-Verse! They were SO CUTE IM STILL DYING OVER IT!! Unfortunately, they left when I was second in the line and were not going to be back for another 30 minutes so I never got to get my photo with them :(. While I was line, my brother and mom went to ride on the Monsters Inc ride next door while my dad waited literally on the railing outside. We then went back to the Pier for our Incredicoaster fast pass and rode it a THIRD time. I just wanted to say that they take the photo at the wrong time because the ride slows a lot at the point where the camera is so the reactions are not genuine. They should really take it earlier but that may be just me.

We then took a slushie break and I got blue raspberry and my dad and brother shared a wild cherry and lemonade layered one. The slushie was really yummy and refreshing and a much needed treat on this day. This was also a time for my brother to watch the Oregon v. Auburn football game, which Oregon lost in. After, we headed to Goofy’s Sky School which is actually a pretty terrifying ride when you remember that you are so close to the edge and that the vehicle could fall off and onto the floor at any given point. It is still fun regardless but quite jerky.
Now this is where things get a little crazy, we decided to go on Grizzly River Run. It was around 5-6pm at this point so it had cooled down significantly and was not as hot as it was just a few hours before. My mom, as usual, did not want to get wet so she opted out once again and went to go sit on the bench and wait. The wait time was 45 minutes so we got in line, I admittedly spent most of the time on the floor. I happened to get lucky on this ride because I barely got wet at all. My brother and dad were sitting by the stairs and got soaked when the geyser hit at the end. They were fine UP UNTIL that point, which is really funny when you think about it. We then met up with my mom and went to go sit in the sun out by the bridge to the pier for a while.
We all headed back to Pixar Pier (our favorite place) to go ride Incredicoaster for what would be our last time that day and then headed back to Midway Mania. We never got to go back to Guardians because of the location. We had a fastpass for the Incredicoaster that was around the time of the fastpass for Guardians and that ride is at the edge of the park so it made the journey there a hike. Since Bug’s Land was closed for the making of Avenger’s Campus, that shortcut to the area also could not be used so you have to go all the way around as well which is an actual pain.

The wait time for Midway Mania said it was 45 minutes but it was actually only 20-25 minutes so that was a score. This time, I won against my mom! I just focused on trying to hit as many 1000 and 2000 combos as possible! If you focus on the high points, you will have a great shot at winning! Just do not lose focus! After the ride, we headed over to Radiator Springs Racers, taking a shortcut through Pacific Wharf (which we did not even realize was there until we looked further). This time the wait time was significantly longer so we singled it again but waited 15 minutes this time, which is better than the like 2 hour wait time in the normal line. This time my dad and brother were in two separate cars but my mom got to ride in the same car as me (the cars seat 6 by the way). We happened to win but only by default as there was noone on the other side to race with us, which was a little strange.


After our last Racers, we headed over to the yellow viewing and waited about 30 minutes for World of Color to start. At about 10 minutes, the cast members came by to tell everyone to stand up, which was actually killer for me. We actually saw World of Color last time we were there and I am pretty sure that they have not changed the show at all since then, even when it was closed down and reopened again. I, admittedly, got excited during the Toy Story 2 part because I thought it was something from a Marvel film, it was not. I liked the show but I thought that it should be updated with recent films and Marvel films so hopefully that will happen one day.

After World of Color, we had a trek back out to the exit and it was a trek because I was so sore and in actual physical pain, and hungry as well as I had opted to eat dinner outside of the parks to “save a little money”. Once we exited, we decided to find a place to eat at Downtown Disney, which I have never been to. We stopped at the massive and very crowded World of Disney store to try and find that Captain Marvel backpack I saw in the Guardians store. We found SOME backpacks but they were all Guardians related. The Baby Groot face one was cute and tempting and I also found Professor Hulk and Nebula Pop! Funkos in their quantum suits but we all agreed that you could probably find them cheaper somewhere else. (It was only $15 though so not to bad if you all are interested!) We then decided upon a place to eat, I wanted pasta so we went to Napoli Ristorante and Bar but it was a 30 minute wait and at 10 pm and we were starving so we opted on the pizzeria, Napolini, next door. My mom and dad shared a pizza whereas my brother and I each had our own Meat Lover’s ones.

After dinner, we headed back out to the bus and to our hotel where we able to have an earlier night in. Good night!
Sunday, September 1st, 2019
Today, was the day we were going home, but we had to make a pit-stop first. In the morning, I got to wake up at 9am, get ready, and my parents brought me my breakfast to go so I ate it at the dinner table in our room. We went and checked out and said goodbye for now to Anaheim and Disneyland. Who knows it may be another two years until we come back! (Hopefully when we do, Avengers Campus will be open!!) We then headed to the University of Southern California or USC to college tour the school (for my brother). The school is so nice and is still my dream school! Though I am extremely happy in Oregon and do not regret my decision to go there! We stopped by the student store and my brother bought a lanyard and a long sleeve shirt. (You know, just in case!)

We then drove over to the USC Village for lunch at Kobunga, a Korean restaurant. I had the Beef Bulgogi with white rice and honey carrots and corn as my sides. Honey carrots is interesting by the way and I do not think I enjoyed them very much. They also have a Wahlburgers there too, in case you wanted to know. The USC Village is extremely convenient for the students who live there because they have a Target and Trader Joe’s in there! I wish I could just go downstairs to buy my groceries instead of a block away.
After lunch, it was time to head to the airport and we were cutting it really close cause when we got there we only had 15 minutes to go through security and to our gate. Luckily the Long Beach Airport is tiny so we managed to accomplish that even with my slow and sore walking and some slow people in the security line. We did have to wait longer for medical reasons but we were eventually able to board our flight and fly home. On this flight, I sat next to strangers and fell asleep because I was tired from waking up early and from all the walking! Disney is so fun but man is it a lot of cardio! Goodbye Disneyland! Hope to be back one day soon! (It is my dream to go during the Christmas season! I need to see all that magic during my favorite holiday!!)


Hope you guys enjoyed these blogs! I love Disneyland so much and wish I could go ALL THE TIME! But because of school, location, and money, that simply is not possible but one day I will get my annual pass! Thanks for reading! Bye! 🙂