[Big Disney Fan]

I have been considering another DL trip for some time now to go with my father. Eventually, it came to pass, but also with my mom. My mom has trouble getting around without getting bothered by her feet. We came down from NoCal on July 31 and we spent the entire day coming down. I brought my personal laptop computer with me to watch movies on the way down. I watched "Who Framed Roger Rabbit", for one thing, as I was hoping to the Car Toon Spin within the 24 hours of arrival.

We eventually reached Anaheim around 9:00 PM. We stopped outside a hotel (but not ours) to watch the fireworks before we continued on to our actual hotel: Best Western Raffles Inn several blocks down from the resort. We got there and finally got settled into our room. Eventually, we went to bed and slept.

The next morning, we headed to Disneyland. We rode the tram up to the gate and went through the rigmarole of getting mom an electric cart for her to ride around in instead of her walking. Once inside the park, we headed up Main Street and we hurried over to the info board at the head of the street so we could see what attractions had short lines, with the intention of getting Fastpasses for Splash Mountain, but instead, the line, at that time, was only a mere five minutes. So we hurried over there, stopping by a bathroom on the way. However, that bit of time cost us, since by the time we actually got over to SM, the lines were up about five or ten minutes or so. So my father and I got Fastpasses after all. My mom neither could nor would ride Splash Mountain; she hates that drop. My mom spent more time shopping than riding and my father was walking around with her in the shops around Critter Country.

I was anxious to do an attraction, though, so I opted to give the Single Rider line a try, which is available in DL only for Splash Mountain (though I think that other rides sorely need it; it works wonders. I would use it a lot at DCA). So I got into the Single Rider line for Splash Mountain and did that. I sat near the back, where you don't get as wet as you would up near the front. After the ride, I got back to my parents who were still shopping in the Pooh store near the exit. At this time, I also got pictures of some of the characters (walk-around, that is), including both Brer Fox and Brer Bear (I got my picture with the former) and some of the Pooh characters. Around this time, the Fastpasses were available for our SM return window, so we did that. This time, however, we had the misfortune of sitting near the front. Needless to say, we were goners. I spent the entire day trying to dry off.

Then we continued back across the park, stopping by the Haunted Mansion as we did so (this was the first attraction my mom could do). She parked the cart by the entrance and then went inside to do the ride.

Then we all debated doing either the Tiki Room or getting lunch and we agreed to do lunch. We all went to the Rancho Del Zocalo, but since I don't particularly care for Mexican food, I got fish and chips at the Stage Door Cafe instead. After that, my parents headed back to the hotel room for rest and I followed them to the gate, but stayed back. I was anxious to get some rides under my belt in a short time. I'm at my best when I'm in the parks alone. Not only do I get to do the rides I want, but I can do it in a short time. I promised that we would meet again at 6:00 PM.

Anyway, I hung out on Main Street for just a few seconds and then hightailed it back to the info board to see about the wait times for Big Thunder. Amazingly, the line was only about ten minutes and the ride was fun, as always. Next, I quickly raced over to the nearby riverboat landing to do the Mark Twain riverboat. Once that was over, I decided that I had had my fill of attractions in Frontierland (not that I was not going to do them again); Big Thunder and Mark Twain are the only two worthwhile attractions in FRL to do, as far as I'm concerned.

Then, on my way to Toontown (where I would do the Roger Rabbit ride), I did some stuff in Fantasyland, including the Snow White and Pinocchio rides. From there, I raced over to Toontown and got a Fastpass for Roger Rabbit. As I was getting the FP, however, I noticed a FP lying on the machine from which I got the ticket. At first, I thought it was simply invalid, but no, not only did it have a time window on it, but it was an open one for right at that exact time! I quickly scooped it up and used it. The ride was fun as always. My main complaint with the ride's FP, though, is that it ignores the elaborate queue and simply goes straight to the ride itself, not that that was much of a bother with me.

After the ride, I hung around Toontown a bit longer to do the hands-on parts, such as the crates, the firework detonator and the post office, both the characters' mailboxes inside and the mailbox outside. While there, I got a picture of Goofy nearby. Back in Fantasyland, I did the teacups and the carrousel. Then I returned to Toontown for my other FP return on Roger Rabbit. And then I returned to Fantasyland one more time to brave the big long line for the Peter Pan ride, which was fun as always.

From there, I headed over to Tomorrowland and did Autopia, the Astro Orbiter and Buzz Lightyear all in order. By now, the meeting time of our meeting between me and my parents at 6:00 was getting close, so I hung out in the Main Street stores (and the cinema) while waiting for the return. As it got close to the deadline time, I raced back up to the center of the park where the Walt and Mickey statue is (this is our meeting place for anything). Eventually, I saw them return and we got back together.

I'll discuss more at a later time. Stay tuned.