Part 4
Our final day at Disneyland would be the second time we made use of the park hopper pass, starting our day early in the California Adventure Park, with another ride on Radiator Springs Racers, where we experienced the 'other side of the ride.' There are two paths through the early part of this ride, one where your car gets a paint job, the other where your car's tires are changed. We grabbed a bite to eat, and then we returned to the Disneyland Park to spend the day catching up on attractions we had previously missed or wanted to experience again.
We toured Tomorrowland, rode the monorail and railroad, spent time in the Haunted Mansion, rode Thunder Mountain, searched for Captain Jack Sparrow on Pirates of the Caribbean, and spent a fair bit of time wandering around New Orlean's Square. The rides at Universal must have had an effect on Pat, as she was far more willing to try out the rides than earlier in our stay. She encouraged us to ride the Indiana Jones Adventure three times! FastPass is really handy!
The Enchanted Tiki Room contains the first anamatronics created by Disney. It's still a fun spot to consume pineapple desserts and enjoy the talking birds. In similar fashion, the Haunted Mansion is a ride where you make new discoveries each time. We counted five instances of the same bride with different husbands!
One of the most futuristic attractions at Tomorrowland is Honda's ASIMO robot. The immediate goal of this device is to provide support to folks with some incapacity, allowing them to live independently. ASIMO is sized to be able to reach counters, light switches etc, yet remains diminutive enough to appear unthreatening.
We had hoped to see the Disney Gallery, but it was closed during our stay, and we missed the Chinese New Year event in California Adventure. We closed our stay at Disneyland by viewing the Soundsational Parade followed by a Fantastic! Dining Package: a delicious dinner at Blue Bayou Restaurant, followed by front row seats at the Fantastic Light show.
We felt Disneyland to be a fun place whether you have kids, or just want to be a kid again! The dining options were greatly improved from my previous experiences with the Disney franchise. California Adventure provides more adult dining experiences, including beer and wine tasting opportunities, as does Downtown Disney. Ready access to surrounding off-site dining, all within walking distance rounds out the experience of a stay at Disneyland. The new Anaheim Gardenwalk hosts a number of dining options, as do the hotels surrounding the Park.
I recommend Daisy Sparks' blog "DISNEYDAZE" as a great resource for discovery of the Disneyland Parks from an adult's perspective. Daisy writes about many of the small, whimsical and interesting bits of the Disneyland Parks, and the opportunity to enjoy slowly, rather than engage a frantic pace trying to do everything.