Photo TR: The Campbell Brothers Take Their Mom to Disneyland

[cfc]

 

 The Campbell Brothers Take Their Mom to Disneyland

Back in the magical year of 2019, my siblings and I decided to surpriseour Mom with trip to the Happiest Place on Earth. No, not Las Vegas, but Disneyland. Mom was very excited, as she hadn’t been to the Anaheim park in years. The last time she was there, Galaxy’s Edge wasn’t even a glimmer in Disney’s eye, there were no photo ops with Marvel superheroes, and Disney’s California Adventure still had Superstar Limo and the big hubcap icon.

Plans were made to visit the Disneyland Resort in early May of 2020.

But we all know what happened then.

Then 2021 came along, and we rearranged our plans to visit Disneyland on November 2 and Disney California Adventure on November 3. I flew to Sacramento on October 30, and my brother Ward drove us down to SoCal on November 1.

This was not your standard Disneyland visit for us. Mom uses a walker to get around, but that wasn’t going to work well at two theme parks, so we took a wheelchair. Everyone thinks of Disneyland as a “flat” park but it’s surprising how many inclines there are when you’re pushing someone in a wheelchair, not to mention that long haul from the parking garage, as there was no tram service because of the pandemic (I think the trams return later this month).

Many attractions, such as Pirates of the Caribbean and the Haunted Mansion, require you to go to the exit, get a return time from a cast member (which connects to your park ticket), and then follow special instructions to ride when you return. This system works pretty well, but it can hold you “hostage” to your return time (usually 30 to 45 minutes after you check in). However, many newer attractions, such as Radiator Springs Racers, have queues that can accommodate chairs and ECVs. Racers even has a separate loading area for the disabled.

And how did it go? Everyone had a great time! Mom particularly liked Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance and Radiator Springs Racers (she’s a Mater fan). There were a few hitches. For example, I blew my first try at the virtual queue for Rise at 7:00 am (forgot to switch off my phone’s WiFi), but made up for it at noon. 

There were no issues with the virtual queue for Webslingers: A Spider-Man Adventure the next day. They had a special vehicle that could accommodate Mom’s chair. We even got to ride it twice in a row. 

Care to join us? Let’s start with Disneyland.
 

First, we must traverse the country of my forefathers: the San Joaquin Valley. Yes, that’s a lot of traversing. Boy, we traversed the hell out of that place.

That’s more like it.

Meet Jungle Mom . . .

. . . seeker of adventure, . . .

. . . the backside of natural wonders, . . .

. . . and bargains.

She also seeks beignets.

The Backside of the Pirates of the Caribbean--the Ninth Wonder of the World!

This a lousy picture, but I think this is a new addition to POTC. New to me, at least.

“You people with the small communication devices. Your window for the virtual queue does not open for another 20 minutes by order of Kylo Ren.”

Like its Florida counterpart, Galaxy’s Edge makes you feel you’re on another planet.

Chewbacca says, as the noon virtual window approaches, “May the Force  be with you.” 

And it was! Well, in another 360 minutes, anyway.

Frontier Mom on the Mark Twain. 

“Hey! Can someone show me how to get down from this rock? Kylo Ren put me up here.”

Some moose--or should that be “meece”?

“A-w-o-o-o! Hi kids! It’s me, Count Floyd, with another Monster Chiller Horror Theatre!”

“It’s going to be real scary!”

“Do you dare enter, . . .

. . . Dr. Tongue’s 3D House of Christmas?”

“A-w-w-o-o-o! Dr. Tongue even scares Jack Skellington!”

Here’s something I haven’t seen in years--Disneyland’s band.

Hey! You with the mouse! You’re blocking our view of the castle.

My only photo of Rise of the Resistance. Sorry.

Here’s a nice picture of Galaxy’s Edge after dark to make up for it.

Ward and I got to pilot the Millennium Falcon. We banged it up a bit. Good night from Disneyland.

 

[cfc]

On to Disney California Adventure! There were some firsts here for me, too: Avengers Campus and Incredicoaster.

First stop: Elissa’s favorite parking level.

It’s a long walk from Chip ‘n’ Dale to DCA.

The not-so-virtual queue for Webslingers.

The virtual queue is longer than you might expect.

You’d think Hank Pym could shrink this line a bit.

The food has been shrunk to the subatomic level, so you can’t see it.

Yay! We made it!

Yeah, you gotta be careful with those potato guns. I hear Tony Stark disrupted an alternate universe with one when he was a kid. Loki became president, and Scarlet Witch was his First Lady. But Tony fixed it all.

The ride broke down for about 15 minutes, . . .

. . . and I think I know why.

Spider-Mom! Spider-Mom! Does whatever as Spider-Mom can!

Spidey shows us proper webslinging technique.

So, the ATM that isn’t here is no longer available? Got it.

Mom wanted to pet the cutest little tractor ever.

Ward and I rode Grizzly River Run later. Mom was smarter than us and stayed dry.

Time to Ka-Queue up for Radiator Springs Racers.

Here’s where you board if one of your party is in a wheelchair.

Mom is a Cars fan and loved this ride.

It’s bit more scenic than I-5 through Kern County.

The new Captain America (formerly, Falcon) and friend.

Mom and Ward liked the ride, but preferred the old Twilight Zone version. I like it that each version of Tower is different now, and I thought Mission Breakout was fun.

Well . . . aren’t we special?

Never drink the Blue Milk at Galaxy’s Edge.

Ultron says, “Hello, ladies.”

Rocket fills us in on his insane escape plan that just might work.

Harold, old buddy! How ya doin’? It’s been years!

Darn. I was so looking forward to this “adventure.”

Grizzly River Run: Christmas Breakout.

Time to sneak in one coaster ride.

I liked the re-theming of Californin Screamin’ to Incredicoaster.

Good night, Avengers Campus. Keep the world safe, will ya? Quit building Spiderbots and Ultrons!
 

Good night, Mickey.

And good night, DCA.

And that’s all from a great visit to the Disneyland Resort. Thanks for reading.

 

[bert425]

Nice report. . glad y'all had a good time.

Man. .I've GOT to get back to Disneyland/CA. .there's so much new since I've been here - the least of which is Cars-land.

[Haymaker]

Love the Breaking Disney shirt!

[PKI Jizzman]

I can't believe I saw your social media updates and thought WDW! Great report!