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Visit Date: 3/28/25
Steps: 24,449
Parks Miles: 11.19
Time in Parks: 11.25

 
Trip Log:

I was directed into a spot on the Mickey level of the parking structure near the middle of the structure. Decided to walk to Downtown Disney. The security lines were backed up with a couple of school groups so walked down to the Disneyland Hotel entrance and found it to be wide open. Spent some time taking a look at the construction and finding all twelve eggs hidden throughout the area. Arrived at Disney California Adventure just after 11am. Took a look around Buena Vista Street for some eggs then saw Soarin with a 30 min wait time so headed that way. It turned out to be more so skipped it and continued my Egg quest walking out to Paradise Gardens then around Pixar Pier. Met the rest of my group who had a table in San Fransokyo. We ate lunch then visited Cars Land, Avengers Campus and Hollywood Land. Soarin was posted at 20 minutes and it looked like it was just reopening so decided to give it a try. Turned out to be just over 20 minutes to the preshow video. After Soarin Over California walked through some shops on Buena Vista Street and wrapped up my Egg Hunt. Crossed the Esplanade to Disneyland. Spent some time on Main Street USA looking for eggs then caught the 1:45pm Cavalcade. Walked through Adventureland then Frontierland looking for more eggs on my way to Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge. Saw Luke Skywalker and R2D2 then continued on my egg hunt visiting Bayou Country, New Orleans Square, Fantasyland, Fantasy Faire and Tomorrowland. Walked out to the Fantasyland Theatre and then returned to Main Street USA to find the final egg and watch the Flag Retreat. Returned to Disney California Adventure and caught the 5pm Band Stand set followed by the 5:30pm Palisades Stage performance. Walked through Grizzly Recreation Area back to Buena Vista Street. Exited the park and walked through Downtown Disney to the Grand Californian Hotel. Took a look at the Season of the Force display then made my way to the Downtown Disney stage for the 6:30pm performance there. After the set boarded the Monorail for Disneyland. Walked around Tomorrowland then noticed Rise of the Resistance just reopened so walked through Fantasyland to Galaxy's Edge and managed to wait about 15 min for Rise of the Resistance. Walked through Black Spire Outpost to see how the crowd was for the projection show. It turned out to be mostly full already (8:10pm) so I opted not to go down into the big crowd and find a spot in the back. After the show walked back through Frontierland to Main Street to exit the park. Boarded a tram and returned to the garage to find my car and head for home. (Walking time 3:59 today)


For Comparisons to other trips or more park miles click here to visit our park Miles Section.

Note: These totals may be skewed because the pedometer is zero'd when we start and then left alone and read when we leave. So attractions, and other things may cause extra "steps" to be counted. The pedometer that we use basically measures up/down motion as a step, so if your standing in line and moving up and down it may be counting steps, etc.. so the total distances traveled and steps may be off.. so use these as rough distance comparisons between trips and they may not be accurate in terms of actual distance traveled.
Pictures & Video From this Trip:


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My Thoughts & Observations:

Hello everyone,

Friday was a nice day in the parks. They were busy but overall it did not feel as crowded as last week, maybe it was just I had better timing. The weather was not nearly as nice topping out in the mid 60s and cooling to the 50s. Wait times were scattered as you would expect. I managed to luck out and visit Soarin' Over California, Rise of the Resistance and the Monorail with under 20 min of wait time at each.

Thoughts and Observations:

  • I started my day walking over to Downtown Disney. I really think they need to figure out a better way to route people to the security/entrance. Ideally a straight walk from the structure to keep people out of the parking lot and to minimize steps. It is not very guest friendly in the current configuration.
  • The steel looks to be mostly up now for the new Earl of Sandwich location. It looked the same for weeks and then in the course of a week they assembled the steel. It is always fun to see the outline take shape for new structures. No real visible progress on the other three projects in DD.
  • The Monorail park entrance was using the new self scan kiosks. The process seemed to be working smoothly the couple times I walked by there. I used them the process in the evening. When you step up to the kiosk you scan your phone, ticket, or tap your Magic Band. Your picture is then displayed on the kiosk and taken by the kiosk. If it is your first entry your image is saved/linked to the ticket. If the system matches the gate opens and you can enter. If not a cast member is alerted to look into it. The system worked with no problem for me and was really quick. It will be interesting to see if this improves things or slows them down once rolled out to all entrances.
  • The 2025 Eggstravaganza has returned to the Disneyland Resort. There are 36 eggs again, 12 each in Disneyland, Disney California Adventure and Downtown Disney. You can pick up the boards, keepsakes and other related merchandise at various spots around the resort. This year the keepsakes/prizes are wooden eggs that come with paint for you to decorate them. This is very different and an interesting choice for a theme park item. Listening to guest comments they need not seem as popular as previous toy eggs. There seemed to be less guests overall participating but it is only the first weekend. I enjoyed the egg hunt but opted not to participate for the keepsake again.
  • Visiting Soarin' Over California was one of my goals again this week and I was able to succeed with a 20 min wait. I had some fortunate luck to walk by as it appeared to be reopening and was able to walk the queue and inside without a lot of hesitation. Once inside we did have to wait as they cleared the entire Lightning Lane return queue and even waited for some guests to walk down the ramp at one point. It was fun to Soar over California again. The film looked a tad off in a few spots with some wave effects happening.
  • Disneyland turns 70 on July 17th this year and the celebration officially kicks off May 16th. The first round of merchandise has started to show up around the resort with an assortment of items featuring the 70th logo and bright color scheme available for purchase.
  • Star Wars: Season of the Force started today and runs through May 11th. This celebration includes a new projection show, Luke Skywalker, Hyperspace Mountain and an assortment of merchandise and food items. The event is relatively low key. It is featured on the cover of the park guide map but I did not see any other banners or indicators of it outside the food & beverage signs. There is no quest this year or droids.
  • Throughout the day Luke Skywalker is making appearances and greetings guests in Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge. This is his first visit to Batuu. On Friday he was in the Black Spire Marketplace for a trio of times and then by the Millennium Falcon. R2-D2 accompanied him on some of the visits. The times today were, 12:45, 3:45, 5:00 & 2:30, but be sure to check the app as they may change day to day. As you would expect the crowd was large since it was his first day. I took some pictures from a distance to try and capture the crowd. Overall though guests were letting him roam and just trying to enjoy the scene.
  • I did not spend time looking at the merchandise or food. I did see Death Star Popcorn bucket which seemed popular based on the number I saw around the park. The queue in Tomorrowland filled an extended space in the evening with guests waiting.
  • Shadows of Memory: A Skywalker Saga is a new projection show that takes place on the Spires above the Millennium Falcon. There were two shows this evening 9:00pm and 10:15pm.
    • I decided to try and see the first one. I showed up just after 8pm to see how busy it was and the main viewing area was mostly full and looked jammed. The terrace overlooking the courtyard was blocked off for media (on other nights it will be blocked for the dining offering). I opted to stand across the walkway from the stairs. This offered a wide view with only a few lights in the way. I stood there for about 50 minutes, along with a number of other guests. I started in the second row but the couple in front of me decided to move after about 15 minutes so I was able to get a front row spot along the walkway. I really thought for opening night they should have offered more than two showings. They blocked off the courtyard near Olga's and the steps were blocked too so you had to use the ramp to reach Smugglers Run or the viewing area. The crowd flowed fairly smoothly most of the time. There were a large number of cast members trying to kept things moving.
    • The show itself looked great. The projection mapping on the spires was impressive. The style of the show is mostly artwork with a little animation and it played well on the rockwork. I thought the projection effect of the story teller looked good and was a nice plus with the droid. The show was about 10 minutes in length and featured the projects, smoke effects and lights. The story of the Skywalker Saga was told tying all nine films together and featuring John Williams music. I thought it was well done and Star Wars fans will find it enjoyable. If you are not a big Star Wars person it may seem to drag for you.
  • I showed up for the Flag Retreat this evening and there was a camera crew in Town Square. They were setting up and talking with a cast member in a suit. I thought maybe they were going to honor him or do something special during the ceremony but they did not. They filmed him and the retreat but there was no announcement and he did not participate. My assumption is it is for CastTV and he is being honored or spotlighted for something.
  • Disney's Grand Californian Hotel features a culinary display for Star Wars: Season of the Force again this year. This year it is an impressive Death Star in the center of the lobby. The creation has lights and is supposed to spin. The rotation effect was not working and a team was trying to fix it when I arrived. They were not successful though. Even without the rotation the creation is impressive to see and a fun addition for the celebration. It is in the center of the lobby where the Christmas tree usually goes, it is a bit odd as a centerpiece for the hotel to me.
  • Storytellers Cafe is closed for renovation. During the closure they have set up a dining option in one of the ballrooms. The price is still $55 for breakfast and $58 for dinner. There were guests looking at eating a few inside but no where near as many as the regular restaurant would have had. To me that seems pricey for a buffet in a ballroom.

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Trip logs and mileage reports are in the Park Miles section.

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