We are off-and-running again! We left Beale AFB on Monday, February 11th with a six-hour drive to a an over-night RV park stay in Bakersfield, California. We stayed at the Bear Mountain RV Park that is very easy to get to and get into. The next morning, we left around 9:00 for the second have of our trip to March Air Reserve Base in Riverside, California. The drive to March ARB was uneventful and we knew that we would be parked in the “overflow” parking area without any services. This worked well since we planned to leave the trailer parked at the base as we went to Anaheim, CA for a three-day and two-night stay at Disneyland. We arrived and parked “The Beast” off to the side of the RV park and stayed the first night there. It was also a perfect parking space for the RV, and we were comfortable that no one would bother it.
The next morning, we left for Anaheim where we had reservations at the Anaheim Majestic Garden Hotel. This worked great for us since we parked the truck and took the Shuttle to Disneyland every day. We were dropped off right at the entrance and the shuttle departed every 30-minutes; super convenient. The room was great and had two queen-sized beds.
Day 1 at Disneyland - We had a great time at Disneyland. We arrived at the park around 11:00 am on Wednesday and jumped right in to seeing the sights. We went straight to Adventure land to see the Enchanted Tiki Room. So great to see the singing birds, plants, and Tiki statues. After the Enchanted Tiki Room, we went to the Jungle Cruise ride. Elephants, rhinos, lions, boa constrictors, and more to see. After that it was off to the Indiana Jones Adventure. This is a fun ride where you ride a very bouncy open vehicle through a temple with all sorts of fearsome activities going on. We managed to survive the trip. Next. We went to New Orleans Square to enjoy the Pirates of the Caribbean ride. It was fun and brought back old memories from the last time I (Wayne) was here; about 30 years ago. After the Pirates of the Caribbean, we had hoped to see The Haunted Mansion, but it was undergoing schedule maintenance; bummer. We stopped for lunch (that we had brought with us) and decided to go to the newest and most exciting ride in Disneyland at this time; Star Wars – Galaxy’s Edge.
The Star Wars adventure park is truly amazing. A beautifully built replica town on the galaxy’s edge with X-Wing fighters and other types of fighters too. There is also a huge replica of the Millennium Falcon associated with a ride called “Millennium Falcon – Smugglers Run. Definitely worth going to see. Now, to get a “boarding pass” to the main ride which is called “Star Wars – Rise of the Resistance” you have to download the Disney App, create your own account, and use it to schedule the ride. You have to be in the Disneyland part of the park when it opens at 8:00 am with the app open and your finger on the “Obtain Boarding Pass” button. While we were in the Star Wars area, I asked a young lady who worked at the exhibit to show us how to use the smart phone to do the things necessary to get a pass the next day. Sometimes it is okay to be a computer nerd!! She finally gave up and said, “Come with me.” We went up to the ride entrance and she spoke to a person there who put us on the next boarding group and we were off to the ride. Wow! Talk about great luck. We did use the computer to obtain a boarding pass later, but is was number 90 and would board near 5:30 in the afternoon and we were leaving the park that day at 2:00 to avoid massive traffic jams on I-91 to Riverside. We were so lucky to get to experience the ride; it is awesome.
Rise of the Resistance – On this ride, you are part of the resistance and being taken by a resistance vehicle to another planet. On the way, you are intercepted by a “First Order” star cruiser and pulled on board with a tractor beam. You are taken to interrogation under the watchful eye of hundreds of storm troopers. Just as you are about to be “eliminated” by the “First Order.” You are rescued by resistance members who put you on a transporter driven by a droid. You travel all about the Star Cruiser and are attacked from all directions by Imperial Walkers, storm troopers, and even Kilo Ren and his light sabre. You are finally jettisoned into space and escape the First Order troops and star fighters. Talk about exciting! Go see it if you get the chance. Be sure to study the process required to get the coveted “boarding pass.”
After the Rise of the Resistance ride, we went to the Millennium Falcon and experienced “Smuggler’s Run.” This is a great ride to smuggle resources to the resistance on a planet. We are attacked by the Star Fighters and have to defend ourselves. You actually become part of the crew and have to operate systems to defend your ship. Pretty cool.
After Star Wars, we went to the bobsled ride on the Matterhorn, It’s a Small World, and then Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. We finished the day with a jaunt around the park on the Disneyland Railroad.
At this time, we headed back to the shuttle and the hotel. We were pretty exhausted. We hit the shuttle at the perfect time and it left immediately for the hotel. A great first day at Disneyland.
Day 2 at Disneyland – We are off to enjoy the other side of Disneyland at The California Adventure Park. Although we enjoyed this park, there seem to be more activities for younger people and fewer rides that enticed us to take part. We did more walking about and eating than riding different rides.
We found that our first ride was at “Soarin” where you are lifted in a seat and given the feeling that you are flying all over the country and the world. It is very “uplifting!” We really enjoyed this ride and went back to ride it for a second time. Pretty neat. It even provides fragrances that relate to the part of the world where you are “flying.” They used blowing air to give you the sense that you were actually flying. After “Soarin,” we sauntered over to the “Golden Zephyr,” a very gentle turning and flying ride. We then went to the “Pixar Pal Around” Ferris wheel. Both were fun, but pretty gentle. We elected not to ride the large roller coaster because it had circular travel that took you up-side-down and this did not sit well with Lisa. We also did not go on the “Guardians of the Galaxy” ride because it had some significant vertical drops and this did not sit well with either of us.
We walked around the California Adventure park for most of the day looking around, eating, and getting some ice cream. Then we decided to go back to Disneyland to see the Enchanted Tiki Room before we left for the day. It is always fun. We also went to “it’s a Small World” since Lisa had never been to this attraction before. This is a fun ride, but you simply cannot get the song out of your head after the ride. Before leaving the park, we decided to ride the Disneyland Train. It was fun and we had forgotten that is traveled through several different scenes such as a pre-historic world. After the train, we headed for the hotel to rest.
Day 2 at Disneyland - We decided that we had seen enough of the California Adventure park and went back to Disneyland to go on some rides that we had selected. We knew that we had to leave around 2:00 to avoid traffic. We went through the process of obtaining a boarding pass for the Star Wars Rise of the Resistance, and we ended up getting Group #90. We knew this would be well after we left the part, so that was out of the question. It is non-transferable too.
We made a list of rides to see:
1. The Enchanted Tiki Room
2. Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom
3. Thunder Mountain Train Ride
4. The Matterhorn Bobsled Run
5. Space Mountain
6. The Disneyland Monorail
We did all these rides and then had lunch of pizza and salad. It was a fun day at the park, and we were saddened to have to leave early. We also noticed that the crowds were much larger than on previous days which made it harder to move around; the lines were longer too. This was a Friday on the Presidents Day weekend, so it was a good time to leave.
Overall, we had a great time. The hotel was great and the shuttles worked quite well. The park was not too crowded, generally speaking, and we were able to ride many rides. Some of the rides jostled you quite a bit and this did not sit well with my back. I occasionally got a momentary sharp pain in my back from a pinched nerve, but it did not last long or hurt after the initial pain. Kind of a nuisance, but did not stop us. Overall, a well-planned adventure and a lot of fun.
We drove back to March Air Reserve Base and the traffic was not bad at all. We had to jump-start our generator to get the batteries re-charged on the trailer, but all else worked out fine. We stayed overnight and departed for the town of La Quinta near Palm Desert to visit with Martin Perlmuter and Mary Boles, our friends from Tiburon, California.