Wednesday 22 January 2020

The Final Chapter

Post-holiday blues had truly set in. Today was the final day of our whole trip. Being in Disneyland helped! We distracted ourselves with Disney happiness revisiting favourites and enjoying yummy foods before heading to the airport for our 11pm flights. The family split up here as there were only so many business class seats one could get on points...

Mal and the younger two hopped on the direct flights on Virgin Australia whilst Elliot and I "suffered" 2 longs flights via Singapore on Singapore Airlines.

What a trip it has been! Despite the sadness that it had ended, we are always so grateful that we are able to take trips like this. It is even more meaningful when we can share it with family and friends. We are looking forward to next December's epic journey to the Americas! Stay tuned to follow the Albany adventures of South America!

Definitely a family favourite!

Where there's a Disney photographer, we take a photo!

Trying the remaining lunar new year goodies on offer

The Dapper Dans. A Disney classic!

And yes I made everyone listen to the Disney marching band. Amazing!!

When you are in a cave, you need a light saber as your light source

Walking through Batuu one last time

This time with phones charged and time to spare to enjoy the interactive games and features

The matterhorn selfie

Baby Groot will also join our family home to Australia

Funnel cake!

Waiting the last few minutes poolside...

Time to go :( waiting for our private transfer

Nothing says home more than Uluru and the red dirt of the Australian outback

Tuesday 21 January 2020

Boarding Group 15

We had one very important task this morning - get a boarding group to the Rise of the Resistance, Disney's much hyped new Star Wars themed attraction. It seemed like the study required to maximise the odds of success was akin to acquiring a university degree. We had been keenly following the reports from Walt Disney World visitors since Dec 5, but Disneyland was still a relatively unknown entity, with the ride only having just opened at Disneyland on Jan 17. To further increase the difficulty level, this past weekend was the Martin Luther King weekend. Dressed in our Star Wars T-shirts (the best we could do seeing as this was the last leg of a 6 week round the world trip) and armed with children who were technologically savvy and primed with the boarding group know how, we put our best foot forward. We positioned ourselves by the petrified tree near the Rivers of America about 5 minutes before official opening time, where there was only one other couple sitting near us. Half the family hopped onto Disney's wifi, the other half used mobile data. Just call us Fast Finger Albanys because we managed to get boarding group 15!

We had two special bookings lined up: Savi's Workshop Lightsaber experience and Droid Depot customised droid building experience. The number of assistants are limited for these experiences. To our relief the children were very co-operative and agreed that Elliot would build the lightsaber with Malcolm and Lara assisting while Jonah would build the droid with Belinda assisting. We managed to obtain similar time slots so it worked quite well.

By all reports the lightsaber experience was very atmospheric and the young Jedi were asked to choose components to suit their personality. It is not cheap and you end up with some an awkward piece of luggage to take on the flight home, but it was super fun and walking around the park at night with a lightsaber was amazing.

The droid experience actually had more options which suited Jonah perfectly as he loves customizing things. We forked out the extra cash for the backpack which turned out to be a great option because it is a bulky, fragile item that could then become his hand carry. Both experiences are very much one and done affairs, but if you are going all the way there it would be hard to pass up at least one of them. You can buy lightsabers in the park that, in some ways, are better than the build-your-own ones, but it's all about the story.

Before getting to the main event today - Rise of the Resistance, I need to discuss snacks. Today was a great food day. We were able to try some of the brand new items and revisit the classics. Whenever we discuss Disney food someone always mentions the Monte Cristo sandwich. Why? Because it is amazing! Some nostalgic items disappoint when revisited, but not this trusty sandwich. We always share one, as a whole one could well be fatal, so we all enjoy every bite. The next classic was Dole Whip. It is easier to find across the various parks than the Monte Cristo sandwich, but there are variations of flavours and presentation. Malcolm has concluded that Dole Whip is best served up as a float, but the jury is still out for the rest of the family. Funnel cakes would've made it a classic trifecta, but we decided to use up our remaining insulin on the new Galaxy's Edge drinks. The blue milk was a narrow winner over the green milk and it was decided that Coke tastes better when served in a thermal detonator container. Disney mind tricks!

OK. Spoiler alert! It's now time to talk about ROTR. The bottom line is that it is the best ride that we have been on in any park to date and is not over-hyped. It is in a completely different class to Smugglers' Run which we rated as good fun, but not mind-blowingly amazing. The ride involves a rollicking story with good live actors, a lot of moving between rooms and eventually a ride on a trackless vehicle through a massive complex. There are digital components and massive sets and it all comes together well. It is certainly not just a fancy 4D ride. Two thumbs up from all of us who now rate it higher that Flight of Passage and Malcolm even rates it above Carousel of Progress.

We were so glad that Galaxy's Edge didn't disappoint and that we had the opportunity to visit it. The vibe is captured almost as well Cars Land and, like Cars Land it gets better at night.

Decked out the best way we can for Star Wars

Getting into the mood at Star Tours during Extra Magic Hour 

Positioning ourselves for when the park opens and the ROTR queue goes live. The only one with no device gets a rest!

Because we all need a porg

Monte Cristo Sandwich time!

So much caloric goodness...

Dole whip!

A truly phenomenal ride. We will share this photo as this is already widely posted on the internet

Completely immersive

Droid making

Jonah loved the experience

Younger children would need help as there are fiddly bits

The others got to watch as they finished earlier

Two very happy boys!

The backpack carrier

Rey!

Blue and green milk

The stormtroopers were hilarious

Yes we brought this home too!

The millennium falcon

Batuu is simply breath taking

Oga's Cantina

Night time was even more spectacular!

Photos don't quite do it justice!

Monday 20 January 2020

A Disney Lunar New Year

The rat of the family celebrating his year!


We weren't sure what to expect today. We had dedicated today to Disney's California Adventure. It was the Martin Luther King holiday, but the big new attractions were all in the other park (Disneyland). One of the best features of the Grand Californian is direct access into California Adventures.  We were determined to take full advantage and were the very first ones into the park. Awesome! This was a rare event that created an instant dilemma... photos of an empty park or instant access to the most popular rides to get a jump on the touring plan! The kids' anxious faces always win out on this one... straight to Toy Story Mania... and Incredicoaster... and Toy Story Mania again! Max Pass then kicked in and we were off to a flyer! This was our first go on the re-themed roller coaster and we all agreed that it was a big improvement. It's amazing what a difference music, a few sound bites and some special effects makes.. even on a outdoor wooden coaster. The same applied to Guardians of the Galaxy Mission: Breakout. I had never been a fan of the Tower of Terror but found myself torn between crying from fear and bopping from the upbeat music.

Another first for us was to be at Disney for the Lunar New Year. It was extra special as this year wass the year of the mouse - "Rat" if you ask Remy! The main feature of interest for us was the CNY food pass. This was a pre-purchased book of "tickets" which could be exchanged for snacks and treats at various Chinese themed vendors. It was a bit of a mixed bag in terms of quality and value, but it was something different and we all found something we liked.

We didn't eat too many Asian snacks because we wanted to save space for Lamplight lounge - previously Ariel's Grotto. This proved to be a real winner. The theming is Pixar based and has the vibe of a Seattle craft beer bar with walls covered in posters, artworks and trinkets that were both beautiful and nostalgic. The food was fresh, gastropub-ish in nature and not over the top price wise. We all though it was a solid addition to the park.

Grizzly River Run felt a little weird after the tragedy on the Gold Coast, but this was our opportunity as it was about to be "refurbished for our future enjoyment". We were also determined to use our 2009 Kali River Rapid ponchos that we had carried around the world for this occasion. We went on twice and we ended up with dry ponchos but wet feet. Grrr!

Finally we took a glimpse of a new way of enjoying the parks. We sent the kids off to find some food and thrills while we went to a fancy restaurant - Napa Rose. We had wanted to try this one for a long time. Unfortunately it was just ordinary. The food was no better than a glammed up RSL, but the bill wouldn't have left any pension money to put in the pokies. There's no point wasting time and effort describing a dull meal. Let's just leave it as a big thumbs down from us. Give us Flying Fish any day!

The only other negative form the day was Malcolm's new found motion sickness. He learnt to moan in silence, but hopefully this is just a passing fad. No room for snowflakes in this family!

Yup we were first to walk into the park

Everyone peeled off to the left presumably for Carsland & Guardian's of the Galaxy. No one here at Pixar Pier..

Lots of time for photos and pull Gerald faces

Heading to Carsland for breakfast

Flo's got the honours

Might as well post while waiting for Daddy to get churros

Trying out different flavours is fun. Peanut butter and choc chip

Character photos. Yes! Because we had paid for maxpass!

Posing with our spirit character





Laughing at Malcolm. We were on the "wheel of death" in a swinging carriage

Lamplight lounge. Dedicated to pixar films and beautifully themed

Stairwell

Look closely at the wall decor

The chairs are themed too

Got to love Hank!!

Food was good!

Yes it was a special moment. The Pixar Pier Frosty Parfait from the Adorable Snowman Frosted Treats  

We were sure she only wanted the pin...

Chinese New Year food offerings

What happens when you go on the Incredicoaster so many times...