Disneyland Spring 2012 Trip Report Pt 1
Alice in Wonderland, an attraction that has become my favorite Disneyland dark ride, was next on the agenda. Even though I’m not a fan of the animated Alice in Wonderland movie (and I haven’t seen the Tim Burton flick), I have an odd affinity for the art of the original Alice in Wonderland. I also like the music. Since these two aspects of the movie are present in the attraction, I guess the attraction has become a favorite of mine.
As we waited in line, we were in front of a small child who was at first really excited to be going on the Alice in Wonderland ride. Then, as he got closer to boarding, he wanted to ride with us. Throughout the queue, he had been rather…uh…affectionate(?) towards Sarah and me. He grabbed onto our legs and tried to hold Sarah’s hand. This didn’t bother either of us at all, but I wasn’t really sure how to react to it. If I had kids, I probably wouldn’t want random strangers interacting with them, so I tried to just pretend I didn’t notice him. When we finally got on the ride and his mother prevented him from joining us, he burst into tears. Luckily, we were out of there when the waterworks started!
It was time to use our Space Mountain FastPasses, so we headed over to Tomorrowland after spending some time doing other attractions, all of which had incredibly short waits, in Fantasyland.
Next, it was time to cross yet another item off my trusty “Storied Disneyland Foods to Consume” list. This time, that food would be the Plaza Inn fried chicken. Although I wasn’t incredibly hungry, I decided to reward myself after a day of “healthy” eating by getting my own fried chicken rather than sharing with Sarah. If I could eat a corn dog, churro, and fried chicken all in one day (plus various other junk along the way), it might prove my theory that I’m invincible!
The Plaza Inn fried chicken. Where do I begin? The Plaza Inn fried chicken is the end-all, be-all of fried chicken. I don’t know what the secret ingredient in that breading is, but the fried chicken is the culinary equivalent of crack. The chicken itself was moist, perfectly breaded, and the flavor was out of this world. There is a restaurant in Indianapolis that serves “gourmet” fried chicken, and it doesn’t even compare to the Plaza Inn fried chicken. At least in my opinion. Sarah seemed much less impressed by the fried chicken, but she doesn’t much care for fried chicken.
Sarah ordered the Pot Roast. She thought it was dry and tough. I have to admit, I wasn’t overly impressed by it, but Sarah has the art of cooking pot roast down to a science, so everything pales in comparison to hers. Plus, the glorious fried chicken was sitting on the same table as the pot roast, and nothing could compete with it. It was as if she brought a knife to a shootout.
We ate outside at the Plaza Inn despite the cold weather so we could enjoy the sunset as we ate. It wasn’t amazing to photograph, but the sunset is always a pretty time of day. After we finished eating, we headed to Indiana Jones Adventure for a quick ride before we had to return to Disney California Adventure for World of Color.
Having almost been shut out of World of Color on a rainy (and uncrowded) day last November, we had picked up World of Color FastPasses earlier despite the low crowds. My favorite spot to view World of Color is the front row, but I was a little hesitant to do this because it had gotten pretty cold (if I recall correctly, it was in the high 30s or low 40s), and I was only wearing a polo. Ultimately, I decided to “man up” and view World of Color from the front. I would dry off and could get warm later. I couldn’t go back in time and watch World of Color from the front row later.
Although I was behind some people, which made photography tough, I still had a great view. After a few unsuccessful shots, I decided to just enjoy the show.
World of Color is always amazing, and this show was no exception. That is, until about 10 minutes in when Buzz Lightyear “blasted off” to infinity and beyond. The water from that blast off was carried into the audience by the wind, and I got soaked. I have never looked forward to the Pirates of the Caribbean fire scene so fondly!
I was so cold and wet after World of Color, and we were both so tired, that we didn’t even both sticking around to take photos. It was incredibly early (both Disneyland and Disney California Adventure closed at 8 pm), and normally we would have found something to do for a few more hours after such an early closing. However, on this particular night, the early closing was actually nice. We headed back to our hotel, and went to sleep almost immediately.
For previous installments in this Disney trip report, visit its index.
PLUG: If you like Disney photos, I strongly encourage you to check out the eBook I wrote (and more importantly, photographed), Disneyland: Sunrise to Sunrise, by clicking here.
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My Disneyland trip is never complete without a corn dog. They are delicious!
Awesome trip report! And great photos, like usual. I’m so excited to visit DCA on our trip in 2013, because Buena Vista Street and Carsland both look so cool! Although, I would have to say my dad is more excited about Carsland than anyone in the family, since Cars is his favorite Pixar film. I’ve heard a lot of good stuff about the Plaza Inn fried chicken and it sure sounds good! I should try next year.
You will have a blast at Disneyland next year. I’m already counting down the days until Disney California Adventure’s grand reopening!!!
Great trip report! Shame on you for waiting so long to consume a Corn Dog. Having a trusty list of foods is a great idea. More importantly, Tom, where did you get your Mickey Camera Strap. I’ve seen you with other Disney straps of the same vintage style but cannot seem to find them on the interwebs. Any tips on where to buy?
I have an RS7 BlackRapid strap but i think that a Disney neck strap would be awesome to have. Thx!
eBay…be warned, though, they can be expensive! I bought all of mine a while ago before they became popular.
Oh my goodness, poor kid! Seems he found something interesting and appealing about you guys. I find it odd he wanted to actually ride with you. Maybe he wasn’t too fond of his parents? By the way, what were they doing at the time the boy was attached to you guys?
It was just his mom, and she had her hands full (literally) with his sister. She was a nice lady–I don’t want it to come across as her being a bad parent. I think he was just a kid who needed a nap.
I totally agree with your assessment of the new Disney California Adventure. The first time I visited the park was only a couple months after it first opened. Despite it being spring break season and a Friday night, the place was a ghost town. There was nothing to do there. It’s already improved so, so much and I think it will be brilliant after the grand re-opening.
I’m visiting next week and am a little sad that my trip falls before all the walls are set to officially come down. Then again, I’m not sad to be missing the expected crowds. There’s always next time, right?
Absolutely! After the amazing experience we had on One More Disney Day–despite the crowds–we’re going to be there for the grand re-opening. The Disney geek in me wants to be there for the historic event!
Yeah, we booked this vacation before we knew the official re-opening date. I like being in Disneyland for my birthday (the first week of June) but would have pushed the trip back if I had known. This isn’t our usual “just the two of us” trip, though. My whole extended family is going this time. I couldn’t ask everybody else, who had already requested time off, to change their plans. But like I said, our attitude when it comes to the US Disney parks is that whatever miss on this trip will be there for us next time.