I ordered breakfast at McDonald's; they gave me the wrong sandwich, but at least the hash browns were hot. Connie and I met at 7 am near the benches by the valet stand outside the lobby of our hotel, the Camelot Inn & Suites. We walked over and stood in line outside Disney's California Adventure and followed the large groups of people heading into the park. We realized that we were almost accidentally in the line for early entry for on-site hotel guests, so we went to the other side behind the rope, holding people back from going too far. I found a bench away from the growing crowd.
Dan, a cast member from Guardians of the Galaxy: Mission Breakout, came over with a photographic prop. He was chatty and might have even been hitting on me, but he might have just been awkward and nerdy in the best way possible. Soon, the morning announcement was broadcast through the speakers, and we were off. Because it was early entry and Disneyland Hotel guests were already inside the park, the first Genie+ LL reservation time for Webslingers was 8:10 am. I booked it, and we walked past the growing standby line into the pre-show area. We had zero wait. We grabbed our 3-D glasses and headed down the hallway to the ride vehicles. We were joined by a single rider who had yet to learn what the ride was or what to expect. Connie didn't know either, which was fun, and at least Connie grabbed a pair of glasses on the way in.
Our new friend did not.
The ride is a game; you are trying to help Spiderman collect and destroy rogue spider bots wreaking havoc in the city. It's like Toy Story Midway Mania at Disney's Hollywood Studios (or California Adventure) but with a Spiderman theme. After a very close call, I pulled out a last-minute victory. I booked an immediate LL for Guardians of the Galaxy: Mission Breakout, and we waited for less than five minutes to enter the pre-show for that attraction.
There was a longer wait from the pre-show to loading the elevators, and we had to walk upstairs, which was fine but unexpected. We ran into Dan again, the cast member from before, who said, "Nice to see you again." We were in the front row of the elevator ride vehicle, but somehow, I messed up linking our attraction photo in the app. I was nauseous after this one; perhaps I'm getting too old for thrill rides.
We had breakfast at PYM Test Kitchen; I had an overside French Toast with bacon. Connie had a kid's meal. I'd eat here again for sure.
We headed over to where the Amazing Spiderman show would take place. We watched him flip and tumble all over the rooftops of Avenger's Campus. Then, we walked over to watch the Avengers Assemble show. Four superheroes came out: Spiderman, Antman & The Wasp, and some unidentified woman with black hair and an American-themed costume. Captain Marvel, maybe? But her hair didn't look right to me. Anyway, whatever was supposed to happen didn't, and the show ended, and the heroes sorta confusingly walked away. Meanwhile, the cast members on the ground started screaming at those of us standing there wondering what happened that we had to move because "warriors were coming out." Who? What? I don't get it. It was bizarre. Connie asked a cast member about it later, and they were equally puzzled.
I returned to the room and napped before meeting my friend Jordan for lunch at 1 pm at Splitsville at Downtown Disney. Connie stayed and explored. She eventually returned to her room before visiting Disneyland for photos with the characters. She also returned to California Adventure for a bit before taking another break. Being so close to the hotel was a real luxury.
Jordan and I had a great lunch and catch-up. He parked at some lot very far away and was a little late getting to me. Even though he lives twenty minutes away, he'd never been to Downtown Disney. He was impressed. We browsed the Lego store and sat and talked before walking back to my room to meet up with Connie.
Jordan eventually left, and Connie and I went into Disneyland. We had Lightning Lane reservations for Indiana Jones; despite being in the "fast pass" queue, we still waited about 20 minutes to ride. It was an exhausting and seemingly endless queue upstairs, downstairs, through the caves, and more before we finally loaded onto the jeep. I had to switch places with Connie because the steering wheel was in the way of my knees, and there was no way I'd fit comfortably. As it was, I still had to dig my knees into the vehicle's wall to avoid banging them repeatedly.
I'm done with rides like these. I'm too old to enjoy them.
We waded through the sea of people in Adventureland. We found a bench in New Orleans Square, where we rested before heading back to Galaxy's Edge. We got lost after taking a left when we should have gone right and found a dead-end in Critter Country. It really is very dark at night.
Finally, we entered the Star Wars-themed area, and I sat for a while. Connie roamed around and then came back to me. We walked to where the bar was and talked to the cast member about checking in early. She recommended we wait for a seat instead of a standing table. This made sense to us, and we found a Photopass photographer while we waited.
We finally checked in and sat in a giant round booth with a friendly Portland family. I ordered pretzel knots with cheese and a Blurrrrgfire non-alcoholic drink. Connie had "the Outer Rim," which was a fancy margarita. It was a lovely time, but I need to figure out the fuss about the place - the theming is light, and nothing happens. It's a bar with costly drinks.
We decided we'd had enough for the night and walked past the castle on our way out. My back hurt from all the stress of walking around on pavement and concrete, and I slept very well.
TOMORROW: LEAP DAY!