AntSol Travel

As long as it is not raining, like we just had with tropical storm Hilary, it is usually good weather for bicycling in Southern California. If you live near Disneyland like I do, or stay at a hotel along Harbor Boulevard, cycling sounds like a good idea since it is a couple miles at most, but how safe is the route, where to park, and where to put your helmet while at the parks? Also, updates from Disneyland Resort as summer winds down as Halloween is approaching. 

At the hotel where I work at, we would get phone calls from guests asking about the Anaheim Resort Area, for this case for cycling, such as if the area is safe for cycling, whether there are bike lanes, and whether there are any bike rentals. Is the area safe for cycling, which is tied into bike infrastructure, which Anaheim barely has? There aren’t any bike rental shops in the area, so what is the infrastructure like?

To see what the bike infrastructure is like in Anaheim and the surrounding cities of Garden Grove & Orange, I brought out my trusty foldable bicycle & strapped my GoPro to the handlebars to find out, but more details in the next video post. Bike parking is located at Downtown Disney, next to the former ESPN Zone, which is next to the security checkpoint from the Pixar Pals parking garage walkway and the downtown shops & restaurant employees parking. Make sure to bring your bike lock to lock your bike to the rack, and you are good to go. This also works for electric kicker scooters, optimally with a U lock.

For safety while using a wheeled device, you should always wear a helmet, but what do you do with it while at the parks? You can put it in a locker, clip it to the back of your backpack, or what is not recommended, not wear a helmet at all. Lockers are located in the parks during operation hours, while the Esplanade, the plaza between Disneyland & California Adventure, is open after hours. I did not want to pay for the additional cost of renting a locker, especially since I was only at Disneyland to check on the park’s updates, and I did not want to go any any attractions. So I fasted my helmet to my backpack hook loop, and I was good to go, which was okayed by Cast Members. I just needed to be aware of how my helmet was swinging while walking.

At Disneyland, reservations were wide open, however, it was Tuesday, August 22, which was still two weeks before Labor Day. However, most school districts started already or soon, and the Magic Key passes for the lower-tiered Imagine & Enchanted passes blackout dates were now open. Disneyland was packed with people, especially those with school-aged children & college students getting their last taste of summer before school started. Wait times were through the roof due to the summer surge, as by 11 AM, the line kept growing for Pirates of the Caribbean as Cast Members expanded the queue. The line for Winnie the Pooh is usually between five to ten minutes as it is a dark ride that can load quickly, however, it was thirty minutes. Both attractions sealed it for me that I am not going to go on any attractions today due to the length of the queues as I am going back to Disneyland with my family later that week, along with running on a tight schedule with errands I need to run as well afterward.

In the Adventureland Tree House, inspired by the Swiss Family Robinson Movie, the scrims are down and plenty of exterior work is being done, with completion expected early next year. The Haunted Mansion holiday overlay was in the works from August 15 to 31. 

Now for Tiana, Tiana’s Palace was announced to be open on September 8, with the steeple of the restaurant resembling a steamboat wheelhouse like Mark Twain’s Riverboat, and featuring Creole cuisine. Tiana’s Bayou Adventure is coming along well with plenty of exterior work being done as well. 

To help reconnect with my inner guest since a portion of the hotel guests go to not only conventions but also Disneyland, I make sure to slow down and take in the atmosphere of the parks. For example in Star Wars Galaxy’s Edge, I saw the Stormtroopers interrogate a little kid in a stroller, in all good fun, but the kid did not know & seemed a bit confused. In Fantasyland, I watched Dumbo fly around and realized that at the OC Fair, the carnival operator got away with a similar attraction called “Flying Jumbo”, not “Flying Dumbo” at Disneyland, located 10 miles away from Disneyland at the OC Fairgrounds in Costa Mesa. Then I went to the walkway between Autopia & Matterhorn where you can hear the lawn mower engine of Autopia Cars, and the roars of Harold the Abominable Snowman & the snow sound effects, which was all soothing in a soundclash you can only hear at Disneyland.

After taking in the video of Autopia & Matterhorn, it was noon and it was time to place a mobile order for lunch. However, I tried to place my mobile order and I kept getting this infinite loop of not placing my order, probably due to getting too many orders at lunchtime. The lines for Galactic Grill, the Alien Pizza Planet, and any other restaurant had long lines, mobile orders not going through, and no place to sit, especially, I would look selfish if I took up a whole table myself. So I did plan B, buy the seasonal items from the snack carts! Since I was at the parks by myself, no one was there to judge me on my meal choices, so I went to the pretzel & churro carts in Tomorrowland to get their seasonal items, which I inadvertently carbohydrate-loaded for my cycling trip. The churro was chai spiced churro with a side of coffee cream, which was good as the chai spices complemented the cinnamon sugar, and the coffee cream added a bit of sweetness to it. The pretzel had cream cheese filled inside, topped with walnuts & diced peaches, and dipped in butterscotch sauce. The mix of flavors and texture made it delicious, interesting, and surprisingly filling. To sit, there were not any spaces to sit at, so I sat at a planter ledge and ate there. After eating, I got a Starbucks cold brew coffee at the Market House, where I saw that they put Disneyland guide maps in the coffee condiment holder. Now let’s go to California Adventure!

Outside of the turnstiles, I just realized that the decoration above the turnstiles for the 100th anniversary of the Walt Disney Company was taken down in favor of the upcoming Halloween season, especially with California Adventure hosting the Halloween party, Oogie Boogie Bash, starting in September on Sundays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays. In DCA, along Buena Vista Street, the 100th anniversary celebration banners were still up. However, up the walkway past the area, there was a Halloween street lamp decoration already set up. Halloween merchandise is already on full display in the stores at Elias & Company.

Next was the Pacific Wharf, which was in the process of becoming San Fransokyo Square, a shopping & dining area inspired by the Big Hero 6 series of movies and TV series. At this moment, most of the exterior work for the area was completed. The San Fransokyo Bridge was in the final phase of the suspension bridge tower painting and decoration. The meet & greet areas and shops won’t open until the opening day of August 31st. The conversion of Pacific Wharf Cafe won’t be fully complete until August 31st as well to Aunt Cass Cafe. However, Rita’s Blenders is now Rita’s Turbine Blenders, as now there is a koi fish windsock-shaped wind turbine on top of the building. See footage of the area in the video.

In Carsland, Radiator Springs Racers is getting much-needed tenderness, love, and care as the attraction hasn’t had a major refurbishment in a while. Parts can break down over time if not properly maintained or replaced due to being used day in & day out. 

At Hollywoodland, Rogers the Musical did not get renewed for another season, ending its run on August 31st. It was a good thing I saw it when I did last time I was here.

After that, due to needing to run additional errands & the huge queues for all attractions, I decided to get going. At the main plaza ticket booths, guests were still buying park tickets & reservations for the day at 2:20 PM, but you can still get eight hours if you are still late by midnight or earlier. 

At Downtown Disney, progress was coming along with the new construction. The former Catal & UVA Bar, to be Centerio (Spanish for central) & Paseo Lounge (Spanish for the walk) respectively. Walls were being taken out and rebuilt for Certerio & rebuilt, and steel beams were being welded together for Paseo. At the former AMC Theater, Din Tai Fung and a couple of other to-be-announced tenants are getting more structures built right now. At the former ESPN Zone, facade work was done on the exterior of the building, and the walkway was resurfaced.

Time to unlock my bike and head out to do some additional errands. Coming up in the next episode, what is the bike infrastructure like in Anaheim? If you are not an experienced cyclist, stick to the sidewalks, take the Anaheim Resort Transportation bus, walk, or park for $30. Bike lanes, here next to nothing, to right down dangerous, find out on the next episode of AntSol Travel!