I don’t usually post random adventures of just me in Lolita, but I did want to share a day at Disneyland (Anaheim, CA). A family I’m close with gave me a one day park hopper for Christmas. I was pleasantly surprised! During Disneycember, I was watching a ton of Nostalgia Critic recapping and recounting a lot of the live action Disney films – Mary Poppins, Might Ducks, Rocketeer, Herbie, etc. Disney has always been a huge part of my childhood – I grew up on the Disney channel. One of the reasons why I dig classic and country Lolita is because of “Avonlea” (look it up, you’ll be quite surprised and entertained!). So, I was already hyped up for Disney to begin with. I used to have an annual pass when I was a California resident, but that changed when I moved across the country. I have not been to Disney in years, and I racked up a couple of firsts during this visit.
The Coord
I’m wearing a Melty Chocolate JSK. Though I’m not a sweet Lolita, I do appreciate chocolate themed prints and pink and white stripes. Pink and white stripes are very reminiscent of classic Victoria Secrets. The blouse is from Bodyline. The tights are from Forever 21. The shoes are generic Bodyline tea parties. I’m just wearing a heavy leather jacket to keep myself warm during the colder hours. I was not quite sure if Lolita was permissible at the parks. I’ve heard horror stories, but after talking to a few cast members, they’re quite used to it. Even one cast member who was working at Cars Land knew what Baby the Stars Shine Bright was! I still kept things toned down, but I was amazed by the compliments and running into people who recognized what Lolita is – I even ran into a few (mundanely dressed) local Lolitas from the Southern California community!
California Adventure
Anytime I walk down a street that brings be back to the early 20th century, I feel right at home. That’s the first impression I got at Buena Vista Street. I haven’t seen the new street, but I do feel it is a fitting theme to California Adventure. It just really inspires me to get more vintage clothes in my life and hopefully attend a Dapper Day either in Anaheim or Orlando. I think my favorite part of this new area is the Five & Dime – it’s a jazzy street performance where you have a live jazz band and someone singing classic jazz standards. I realized my new dream – master jazz standards and work in Disney parks! Their outfits are really cute too!
I was disappointed that Electronica was removed to make way for Mad T Party. I get that Alice in Wonderland – in many of its incarnations – is insanely popular, but it’s a dark day for 80s kids when Flynn’s Arcade is no more. Maybe it’s just the 80s kid in me, but we need something Tron-esque in the parks. I was hoping Eletronica would stay for a while.
We also checked out Cars Land – I feel it’s more like “Barstow Land” or “This is the Crap Town You Stop At On the Way to Vegas Land.” California Adventure needed new food places anyway. We wanted to check out Radiator Springs Racers, but that was a 120 minute wait. We instead checked out Tower of Terror – it was someone’s first time. I love to point out the random bits of trivia to newcomers on Tower of Terror. It was also someone’s first time to A Bug’s Land – and the 90s kid in me still feels like they’re in Honey I Shrunk the Kids in A Bug’s Land. We had lunch at Condor Flats (which we nicknamed Rocketeer Land) – ordered a simple side of chili cheese fries and lemonade – good enough to get through most of the day.
Disneyland
The more crowded of the two parks – for peak season, it wasn’t too bad. The wait time for most rides was between 20-40 minutes. One of our people’s downloaded the wait time app on their smart phone to keep track of what to do next. We took a fire truck to Adventure Land. We wandered into the new Fantasyland Faire. It looks like this was where all the Disney Princess happenings took place. It was really nice they re-themed the carnation plaza. I will miss the swing dancing that used to take place there. The Jungle Cruise had a holiday theme to it now. I liked how the Jungle Cruise had Christmas decorations on the boats and on the ride – nothing too distracting, but it was a nice addition to one of my favorite attractions in the park.
Lines were generally long, but we had the whole day to spare. Pirates was about half an hour to get on. Haunted Mansion holiday was about 30 minutes (the wait time said 50, but it turned out to be 30). What was interesting about Haunted Mansion Holiday is that they were in their 13th year, so there was a twist. Each tableau had 13 of the same objects in it. For example, Leota’s seance room has 13 candles and the ballroom has 13 skulls on the birthday cake.
Because I was with a group of Star Wars nerds, we all went to Star Tours – I really hate the waiting area – so stuffy! We all had a chat about how much the prequels sucked. It was also someone’s first time on the new Star Tours. Our combination was Hoth and Coruscant. I joked that we were in New England when we got to Hoth (considering New England was getting 15 inches of snow that day). For dinner, we went to the pizza place in Tomorrowland. I keep forgetting how big the portions are! One pasta is big enough for two people with small appetites to share. We decided to hit up Space Mountain since it was nearby. About half an hour in the queue, the ride broke down. A lot of people were leaving causing us to move up further in line. We were quite indecisive on what to do. However, the 80s tribute band, Stellar, was playing at the Tomorrowland bandstand to keep us entertained. We were devising some plans on what to do for the rest of the night. Just as we were about to climb off, Space Mountain was operational again.
The same thing happened on the Matterhorn. Matterhorn waits aren’t that bad – the lines move up pretty fast. Yet, the ride broke down and the whole ride system had to be rebooted. We still heard Stellar from the distance. We started to postulate that Stellar was responsible for having all the rides in the vicinity break down. However, the wait was worth it. As we went on the Mattherhorn, the fireworks display went on. It was really cool to see the fireworks go off while you’re racing through the ice mountain. As if our timing wasn’t good enough, we splashed right down as soon as the big fireworks finale went off. It was totally worth it!
We also wanted to do Splash Mountain next. The line was short and you could just hop in a log without waiting for an hour. By this time, everyone was leaving the park or watching the second showing of Fantasmic. We did two runs of Splash Mountain and watched the last showing of Fantasmic to dry off before heading back. We were quite exhausted by the end of the day, but the day was very well spent!
Attractions and Entertainment Listing (Count: 23)
Soarin Over California, Redwood Creek Trails, Little Mermaid, Monsters Inc, Muppet Vision 3D, Five & Dime, Tower of Terror, Fire Department Band, Main Street Fire Truck, Jungle Cruise, Aladdin Meet and Greet, Pirates of the Caribbean, Royal Street Bachelors, Disneyland Railroad, Main Street Flag Retreat, Haunted Mansion Holiday, Star Tours, Space Mountain, Stellar, Matterhorn, Fireworks, Splash Mountain, Splash Mountain, and Fantasmic.
Quotes
“Anyone feeling hungry after The Little Mermaid?” “Ariel eats her delicious friends…”
“It’s time for My Little Mermaid…Friendship is…nevermind.”
“Don’t you go to the Laughin’ Place or the fox will get you too!” “But what did he say?”
“You’ll be the cupcake princess! Note to self…make a cupecake princess video game…” “Can it be a shooter?”
“Even California Adventure agrees that there needs to be another Incredibles movie!”
“Johnny was steel mill worker, he works hard, he plays hard, every day….every day…” “That’s not the words to the song…” “We gotta hold on to what we got!”
“*insert rant about Man of Steel*”
“You call that snow?!’
“He needs to be the Headless Snowman…”
“How does snow get on cars? They don’t have hands!”
“My butt is uncomfortably wet.”
