AntSol Travel

It has been two weeks since my last update report on Disneyland Resort, however, I wanted to go to Splash Mountain before it closes on May 31st, so to Disney it is on a day off!  I also wanted to stay all day since it has been a while since I last enjoyed some of the attractions or recorded safe attractions to film on. I also have not recorded and posted the regular haunted mansion and it’s a small world since I posted the holiday overlays, so I bought into the Genie+. I would discover plenty of changes & issues with the resort along the way.

This eventually became my 4,000+ word final paper for the spring semester, to say the least for my hypothetical Masters of Hospitality, Travel, and Tourism Analytics from the School of Events & Travel Content at the University of YouTube. I would “graduate” when I get one thousand subscribers, so I would be eligible to get ad revenue on YouTube. After that, I would continue my growth for my “doctorate” and file AntSol Travel as a sole proprietorship to get income as a company & get taxed on it. At least, I have a business plan for charging companies to produce video tours & create a travel agency, alongside my videos & blogs. Now back to Disneyland updates!

Some other things on my mind during the day were the Anaheim Ducks NHL draft lottery, the Golden State Warriors vs. Los Angeles Lakers playoff basketball game, and the Los Angeles Angels vs Houston Astros baseball game. I want to put these in the introduction since all of them have an aspect of the day.

Part 1: Parking at Disneyland

Parking at Disneyland Parking regularly costs $30 for parking, $15 with the Believe Magic Key annual pass holder discount that I have, or at no extra charge with the top tier Inspire tier, which my sister has. I accidentally scanned her pass once and the parking toll booth cast member wondered where she was when I came myself, and they said that doing that on purpose is against the rules and could have my sister’s pass revoked. I told them it was an accident & did not realize it, so I quickly pulled up my pass & got a 50% parking fee. 

For guests going to Mickey & Friends parking structure, most guests exiting off Interstate 5 would exit northbound at Harbor Blvd, turn right, turn left on Ball Road, and turn left on Disneyland Drive then followed by Mickey & Friends parking structure. Southbound would exit for Disneyland Drive as well. When you go to Mickey & Friends, even on a weekday during the school year, there are still so many guests coming in and have to wait in a huge line for the toll booth. However, if you continue to Disneyland Drive and turn to Magic Way, there is the Pixar Pals parking structure entrance, and there were only a couple of cars in front of me. 

The way I went this time was to exit Orangewood from I-5, continue past Harbor until I get to West Street & turn right. Then I pass by the back side of the Anaheim Convention Center. After passing Katella Avenue, I was on Disneyland Resort property and the street changed to Disneyland Drive. On the way to the Pixar Pals structure, I passed by the soon-to-be Pixar Place Hotel on the left, formerly Paradise Pier Hotel, and the Grand Californian Hotel on the right.

Then the road dipped under the Downtown Disney walkway between the LEGO store and the now-called Coastal Jazz Kitchen, more on that later. At Magic Way, I turned left, and then right into the parking structure. After paying $15, at 10:30 am, we were all sent directly up to the top floor, six-floor, Inside Out. After getting directed to park by the Cast Members, I exited my car and went down the stairs, and did a quick video about getting to the Pixar Pal’s structure and objectives for the trip. 

After walking down the stairs to the second floor, I wanted to get some exercise in by walking to Downtown Disney and taking the monorail to Disneyland to get ahead of guests coming in from California Adventure Park hopping time. However, there was a family with rambunctious little kids going that way, so I decided to take the tram instead. At the security checkpoint, I was questioned twice by security Cast Members about my GoPro on a short extendable tripod, it only extends out six inches, so it was fine. However, if it was any longer, I would not be allowed in if it extended out the length of a selfie stick. Then I headed out for the tram line. I recorded the tram ride with my GoPro, however, there was a little girl sitting in the row in front of me who kept looking at me recording the tram ride, probably thinking “Why is this grown man recording video of the tram ride…” or “Oh Great, another YouTube vlogger…” probably thought by every other guest as well when I record video of anything at the parks. 

Part 2 Disneyland: Splash Mountain & West Side attractions 

When I got to the Disneyland gates, it was 10:52 am, eight minutes before the 11 am park hopping time for this case, California Adventure guest to park hop to Disneyland, I came just in time to beat the crowds to Splash Mountain. When I got to Splash Mountain, it was only a 25-minute wait.

I recorded parts of the queue and the full ride on Splash Mountain. Since I was there myself, I was placed in the last row, which was fine since I would not be in the way of other guests while recording, however, everyone else recorded on their phone anyways since it would be their last ride as well. GoPro action cameras are primarily used in daylight, so it does not do well indoors or after dusk outside since it requires more light to fully capture the image correctly, and there isn’t a night mode on there interestingly enough. However, since I have a collapsible tripod to hold in my hand while on the attractions, it is preferable since I easily lose grip on my phone. 

After Splash Mountain, I wanted to take the whole day to go to attractions since I have been on a lot of attractions the last few trips here by myself to capture and write about the park’s updates. I want to take in the attractions and capture videos of the attractions to record like It’s a Small World & Haunted Mansion since I have already posted the holiday overlays, not their regular shows. To get the most attractions possible, I bought the regular Genie+ with Lighting Lane, which is $25 normally, or $20 with the Magic Pass discount. However, select high-demand attractions like Mickey & Minnie’s Runway Railway, Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance, and Radiator Springs Racers, all cost an additional amount for their Lighting Lane. 

Lighting Lane distribution time is based on how many guests purchase the pass and get the lane passes as there are X amount of passes allocated for a time slot. For example, low-demand times for Star Tours with nearly five-minute wait times, however, high-demand attractions like Guardians of the Galaxy Mission Breakout might have a two to three-hour window due to the number of guests who got the Lighting Lane pass.  

After purchasing the Genie+, there was a five-minute wait time before scanning my pass on my phone or with my MagicBand+. In the meantime, I saw that the Disneyland Railroad was back from a brief refurbishment, which was the case I was there last time, however, it looked like the building on the other side of the train track was under construction. Then five minutes flew by and was time for me to tap in with my MagicBand+, which glows a thematic color & sound for each attraction. The lighting Lane skipped the majority of the winding exterior stand-by queue, then the lines merge under the overhang of the mansion. While in the stretching room, thankfully & surprisingly, no one annoyingly recited the Ghoast Host lines. After exiting the room and funneling into the interior queue, the attraction stopped & Cast Members told guests that they were not sure when it will start back again. Several groups of guests exited, but I wanted to wait to see, it is not fully down until all of the lighting is on and Cast Member tell everyone to leave & guests on the attraction to do a full show exit. Fifteen minutes later, it was fully back up! 

I filmed the entire ride along of Haunted Mansion on my iPhone 14 Pro Max. When I exited my Doom Bugy, the name of the ride vehicle, one of the Cast Members noticed that my MagicBand popped off my wrist, and she thankfully got it & my attention, I would have noticed it until I was outside and another guest would of getting it. Unfortunately, I did not get her name to fully submit a compliment. On the escalator ride back to the park, the MagicBand+ vibrates and glows red like a heartbeat as the dead bride wants me to hurry back and bring my death certificate, no thank you!

The next attraction I got for Lighting Lane was Big Thunder Moutain, with a twenty-minute wait time to redeem (referred to as tap on with my MagicBand+). I headed over to Big Thunder and wrote a complaint to my Instagram followers about nearly forgetting my MagicBand+ on Haunted Mansion, thinking it was a good idea to cut the wristband size down as it actually makes it easier to pop off, and they really should have user replaceable wristband on the MagicBand+. Disney Parks sells themed Apple Watch Bands in stores, so why not for MagicBands? Probably they would make a lot more money on replacing the bands and chargers… After fifteen minutes, it was my time to tap on Big Thunder Mountain.

After that, it was time for lunch at Ronto Rosters at Star Wars Galxy’s Edge. For entree is a Ronto Wrap with roasted pork & pork sausage. To drink was Destrian Ice Cap: an Italian soda with Sprite tangerine syrup on the bottom, and cream cheese foam on top. I tried to take a video of me eating it for my video sites, however, all the tables were full, and guests with a whole group trying to sit & eat would be mad at me for taking up a whole table for one person. So I ate at one of the bar-like ledges by the roasting droid and make a video there, however, it was loud and the roasting engine was loud as well, so no video but I did the photo below.

Part 3: It’s a Small World & Tomorrow 

When I was done eating, I headed towards Tomorrowland for my next Lighting Lane, however, I did not realize that the 1:30 pm showing of the Magic Happens parade was going by. At Fantasyland, I did not hear the Cast Member that I was being directed toward It’s a Small World & Toontown, which was okay with me since I wanted to film It’s a Small World. There wasn’t any line at the time, so the timing worked perfectly! After completing It’s a Small World, the parade was long gone and I can freely go to Tomorrowland.

In Tomorrowland, was my next Lighting Lane, Space Moutain, or for the month of May, Hyperspace Mountain, the Star Wars overlay for the attraction in celebration of the Star Wars Nite, which happen to be that night. I taped on for the Lighting Lane and we sped through with ease at the expense of the stand-by guests, which always feels like forever & a day in that line. The story for Hyper Space Mountain as the New Republic detects Star Destroyer & Imperial TIE fighters in the vicinity, guests are sent into hyperdrive to destroy the threat in a starfighter battle. Guests enter the rollercoaster cars with swapped-out audio tracks of the fight, modified visual effects of the star tunnel to blast into hyperdrive, and added visuals of enemy fighting ships, cannon blasts, & the Star Destroyers. It was fun!

After returning back from hyperspace, it was 2:30 pm, and guests coming for the Star Wars Nite could check in early at the Starcade & get their wristbands so they won’t be kicked out at 8 pm with the general public. 

Next was Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters, I taped in, and I waited a couple of minutes before the Cast Member let us in with the main line, as she waited for the line to get past Buzz Lightyear in the briefing room, which is kind of against the point of the briefing room if you don’t take in the story of the attraction, but do guests care as much as I do? Depends on who you ask. This time around, I wanted to record myself on the attraction since I just need to shoot the baster and turn myself around for a different target. It was a good thing I did since for some reason, every time I pulled the trigger, I automatically got 500 points! I did not realize this until a couple minutes in. This blaster was broken and I am sure many other blasters were like this too. I also did the email photo and the scores were not on there anymore. The Disneyland version of Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters opened in 2005, so it is roughly 18 years old. 

Let’s do some quick calculations, a full ride through was 5 minutes. 60/5 = 12 rides per hour x maximum operation time of 7 am to 12 am of 17 hours of operations per day, 17*12= 204 rides per day. 204 x 365 days a year = 74,460 rides a year x 17 years (to account for the 2020 closures & downtime for refurbishments) = Roughly 1,265,820 rides since its opening in 2005! This not accounting for how many times guests shoot the blaster too. So parts will break down and regular refurbishments are always needed with how many guests go to this & many other attractions.  

One time, the blaster just did not work, I complained about it to a Cast Member, and they let me ride again. However, they did not fix or stop the ride to at least tape it off so they won’t disappoint the next guest. 

After Buzz Lightyear was Autopia, where I filmed with my phone in one hand and drove with the other hand. It is possible with the lane guardrails so you won’t veer from your lane. However, along the way, one of the guest’s cars stalled, thankfully, a Cast Member helped to restart the car. It is 2023, why are these cars still using what sounds like a lawn mower engine gasoline engine that they have not swapped out since 1999, they still put out the asthma-inducing exhaust, bless the Cast Members working this attraction. When are these cars going to be converted to electric battery power? As I got to the loading bays, I hastily exited my Autopia car and headed to Star Tours, thankfully, no issues there.

Part 4 Downtown Disney 

 Afterward, I wanted to check on the progress of Downtown Disney by taking in the monorail. When the monorail was making the final turn into the Downtown Disney station, the land of the former AMC Theater had plenty of progress with a bulldozer flattening out dirt for the foundation.

The fence encroached a lot into the walkways making it a bit narrow to navigate, especially if you were trying to get through while a crowd watches a band play on the Downtown Disney Live stage.

The only other difference from two weeks ago, was now Ralph Brennan’s Jazz Kitchen is now Jazz Kitchen Coastal Grill & Patio, losing its New Orleans architecture for a more plain mall beige & gold that Downtown Disney has been going towards, with the last place on that side of the shopping center not been changed to its exterior is Tortilla Joes. Besides those two, nothing else new besides that Catal, Uva Bar, and Sprinkles Cupcakes closed, see my last post for details. 

Part 5 California Adventure Before Dinner

Next, I went to California Adventure! The Food & Wine Festival is over and is weird not seeing the food carts for six months in a row, which we will see in another six months for the holidays. My next Lighting Lane was Monster’s Inc.: Mike & Sully to the Rescue, with the lane, no wait-in at the time expense of the stand-by guests. On the ride vehicle, there are video screens that set up the plot if you haven’t seen the movie, and the screens were a remnant of the previous incarnation of the attraction, Super Star Limo. This time, the video screens did not work! I was so distracted by it, I took a picture & posted it on Instagram, I did not really pay attention to the ride as I have ridden it & watch the movie tons of times anyways.

I made my next Lighting Lane for Goofy’s Sky School, however, there was an hour wait time to tap on the attraction. In the meantime, I went to the single-rider line for Radiator Springs Racers. On the way to Radiator Springs, I went via Avengers Campus & there was a huge line of guests waiting for a meet & greet with Mantis, the ship pilot of the Guardians of the Galaxy, in timing with their third & final movie, Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 3. Right past the line to meet Mantis was Lighting McQueen meet & greet car. Then I headed to Radiator Springs Racers. The single-rider line was relatively quick at about fifteen minutes, however, I could not get Lighting Lane included as it is one of few attractions with additional paid Lighting Lane, $18 per person.  

While in line, the NHL Draft lottery of which team was to pick first was also on my mind, and hoping that the Anaheim Ducks get the first pick, especially since they only won 23 of 82 games last season. The top prospect was Connor Bedard, who would likely go to the first pick. He was born in July 2005, about as old as Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters. At 5:20 pm, it was announced via a lottery system that the Chicago Blackhawks get the first pick and the Anaheim Ducks got second… oh well. My roommate went to the Ducks-sponsored draft party after work at J.T. Schmitts, the brewery across the street from Honda Center, and he sent me a video of everyone groaning in unison. So he stormed out of the brewery and headed back to the apartment.

After Radiator Springs Racers & the emotional rollercoaster of the NHL draft lottery, I walked around a bit before it was time for Goofy’s Sky School. Along the way, I saw that the Grizzly River Run was finally back from refurbishment. So I took in a moment & record the lift hill, which the water wheel was not operating. Then my phone dinged to tap on Goofy’s Sky School.

Goofy’s Sky School was a reskin of the original opening day attraction, Mulland Madness, named after the road on the Hollywood Hills with similar curvy roads. Goofy’s Sky School is themed to Goofy’s How To cartoon shorts where Goofy teaches guests to fly an airplane. The rollercoaster track is the same with an initial lift hill, several hairpin turns, a few drops, and stops. The last break run was so powerful, it forced it down by a notch on my restraint, hurting my lap a bit. This attraction also has a single-rider line as well. 

Following that was the Increadicoaster, a reskin of California Screamin’. However, I had to wait fifteen minutes before tapping on, so I took some pictures of Pixar Pier, formerly Paradise Pier, and then headed over at the time. The attraction does have a single rider line, however, it is variable when there is, and it won’t happen on high-demand days. In the queue, the Incredibles are self-aware that the roller coaster was renamed in their honor. The story goes that the baby, Jack-Jack, was being babysat by the superhero suit designer, Edna Mode, while Mr. Incredible, Elastagal, Violet, and Dash go to the rollercoaster renaming. However, Jack-Jack with his many superpowers gets away from Edna, while the Incredibles try to get Jack-Jack under control & back home. The tunnels are where the story beats each attempt to get Jack-Jack, however, gets away. At the end of the rollercoaster, Jack-Jack gets back safely to Edna. You have to be careful on the ride with your belongings as my phone flew out of my pocket, which I grab and held on to the entire ride.

After the Increadicoaster, I put in for my last Lighting Lane of the night for Sorin’ Over Cali… oh wait, Food & Wine is over, it is back to Soarin’ Around the World with a wait time of an hour to tap on. 

Part 6 DCA. At and after Dinner

In the meantime, I went to the Pacific Wharf to get dinner & check out construction on the Big Hero 6 retheming to San Fanotoko Square. There was much more scaffolding than two weeks ago, along with Japanese Kanji on the outside of the doors of the Boudin Bakery Tours, you can say that the writings of the change, were written on the walls. *Puts on sunglasses like on CSI Miami*. Most changes are exterior for now, hopefully, the bakery stays since it is home to the best soup in a bread bowl in this half of California, since it is freshly baked there. 

For dinner, I ordered the clam chowder in a bowl on the mobile ordering, and I had to wait ten minutes to pick it up, similar to Lighting Lane, but at no extra cost. In the meantime, I went to the Pacific Wharf Distribution Company, which sells Karl Strauss Brewing Company beer, I wanted the lightest beer they had since I was driving home, which was the Follow the Sun Blone Pilsner at 4.8% ABV. Then I slipped on my beer for a bit before my time slot was ready to pick up my dinner. At pick-up time, I showed the mobile order cast member the order number, then they just poured the soup into an open bread bowl with the top & inside bread taken out. I found a place to sit that perfectly aligns with the setting sun for a picture with my dinner. While eating, I heard a basketball game playing from a couple of the guests’ phones, which was the Golden State Warriors @ Los Angeles Lakers game three of the conference playoffs, which Lakers won, making the series 3-1 Lakers. I am from the San Francisco Bay Area, Let’s Go Warriors! 

After eating, my time to tap on Soarin’ Around the World, so I made my way there. Along the way, I remember seeing earlier about one of the feral cats, Nutmeg, apparently passed away, according to Disneyland News Today (not affiliated with the Walt Disney Company), which was even cited by Orange County Register in a subscriber-exclusive article. Nutmeg was mostly at the Magic Key Terrace, which for me as a Magic Key holder, I haven’t been to so I have not seen Nutmeg before. The cats are in the parks to keep pests away and are loved by guests & cast members. I even saw and posted about seeing one of Nutmeg’s colleagues at Grizzly River Run one time. 

Then I headed to Soarin’ Around the World & made the joke of the switch back to the world with my Instagram followers.

After Soarin’, it was 8:30 pm and I decided to head home as regular guests were being kicked out of Disneyland for the Star Wars Nite & talking over DCA, or head home. I decided to head home since I was there for ten hours & messaged my roommate that I was heading back. 

Downtown Disney in the Evening 

I could take the tram back to the parking garage, but I wanted to check the World of Disney store and check what things are like in the evening. At the store, nothing caught my eye, except for the Apple Watch bands, which Disney could make a huge profit on MagicBand swappable wristbands, however, I am sure they make more money on flimsy fasteners that guests can lose easily.

At the Jazz Kitchen Coastal Grill & Patio, the quick service option was not open yet, however, they were selling beignets to clamoring guests as the only other option to get them in the resort was the French Market, which is being refurbished to Tiana’s Place. You can get beignets at Hungry Bear Restaurant. The Jazz Kitchen was selling beignets to guests and was a welcoming site to many, even with the Jazz Kitchen Coastal Grill & Patio name change.

At the Downtown Disney Stage, a Hawaiian band was playing, the walkway that was taken away made things a bit harder to navigate for guests trying to get by while the guests were watching the band. After that, I walked the half-mile Downtown Disney path to the parking structures.

When I got back to the apartment, the Los Angeles Angels just lost to the Hoston Astros 4 to 6.

This will be my last Disneyland update before the summer rush of guests & Grad Nites, don’t worry, I will try to plan around those as well, but updates won’t be as frequent.

Grad Nites are after-hour events for the next 30ish days of high schoolers celebrating their grad night. This will not affect the amount of arriving guests since most schools are based in SoCal and take the bus back home afterward. However, this may affect guests’ experience at Disneyland Resort since there will be large groups of high schoolers all over the parks. They have ticket options of just Grad Nite from 9 pm to 2 am at DCA, all day at DCA, or also can park hop all day between Disneyland & DCA. The general public would be kicked out of DCA by 8 pm. At least the amount of the general public does dwindle and get shorter lines towards 8 pm.

Dates are May 12, 14, 17, 19, 21, 24, 25, 30 & 31. June 2, 4, 7, 9, 14 & 16.

One other thing, Disneyland will close Alice in Wonderland, Peter Pan’s Flight, and Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride for refurbishments on June 5th.

Thank you for reading! Videos and more details will be added later this week.