Trip Recap Part 3-Disneyland!

It’s time to share part 3 of our Cousin Connect adventure! We switched up our original plans and ended up going to Disneyland on Thursday and Friday instead of Friday and Saturday. Universal Studios was still closed due to high winds and the threat of fires.

My brilliant and fast-thinking cousins figured that if we moved our Disneyland plans up a day and left Saturday free, we might just have a chance of going to Universal Studios if it reopened. We were hoping really hard that we wouldn’t miss out! Spoiler alert—Universal reopened on Friday, so we made it there on Saturday (phew!)

Disneyland Day One

Oh, my goodness, words cannot describe how excited I was—how excited we all were! We were running purely on adrenaline after staying up late the night before, making a last-minute plan.

So, what does one do when they’re living a wish come true? They take random pictures! Here’s my first pic of the day, taken the minute I got out of the Uber.

And, of course, a Disneyland garbage bin because it says DISNEYLAND!!!

I promise the photos do get better, and just to prove it, I’ve posted about a million. Sorry, not sorry. 😜

Every time I read these words, I choke up! Isn’t it just the most beautiful message? I couldn’t hold back the tears the minute I walked under the sign.

And to make the moment even more perfect, Minnie was waiting to greet me! Ok, I’ll be honest—I was so excited that I didn’t notice the small queue of waiting kids. All I saw was Minnie, and I ran straight to hug her. Sorry, kids!! My cousins haven’t let me live this down yet! Hahaha—oops!!

They’ve even come up with a new saying: “Ruthie Minnied Minnie!” And now, if someone pushes past, we say they’ve “Minnied past.”

First stop: Galaxy’s Edge—no questions asked!!

Watching the pre-show for the ride Rise of the Resistance!

This is a very unflattering photo, but I think it does capture the “I can’t believe this is happening” moment.

The ride was an unbelievable experience, and we all felt like we were right there in a Star Wars movie, fighting for the resistance. Words can’t even begin to describe!

Hello friend!

We were on such a high after visiting Galaxy’s Edge—being a family of Star Wars fans, it was an absolute dream come true! I’m still pinching myself!

Next ride-Pirates of the Caribbean!

Waiting for the Cars ride at Disney California Adventure Park

I can’t quite remember the exact order of the rides we went on, but I’m pretty sure our next one was Guardians of the Galaxy – Mission: Breakout!

It’s no secret that I’m a scaredy-cat, BUT I had promised myself I was going to conquer all of my fears on this trip. I’m not sure if I’ve conquered them all (the list is pretty long), but I definitely crossed off a huge chunk! And I didn’t chicken out of any rides or activities I’ve been too scared of in the past—go me!

I knew that the Guardians of the Galaxy – Mission: Breakout! ride was a fast, free-falling (gulp) ride. So I was prepared—scared but prepared. That’s the best way to be, no?

What I didn’t know was that they were going to play the awesome 80s music from the movie during the ride. Heck, if you’re going to play my kind of music, throw me down a building anytime! I’m totally cool with that! And when “Hit Me with Your Best Shot” by Pat Benatar started blasting, I almost died—and no, not from fear!

I’m in the back row next to Steve, who I think must have been praying at the time, hehe! He did love it enough to ride it again with all of us the next day, though.

The Incredicoaster was a different story—I did not love it. But I’m glad I went on it, and once was definitely enough for me. The ride was fast, and the car tipped from side to side as we went up, down, around, and upside down. I remember thinking, “Yep, this is when the car flies off the track and we end up on the news.”

Haha—also, I was wearing contacts so I could see distance crystal clear and not have to deal with my glasses. But when I got off the ride, I had clamped my eyes shut so tightly that the contact in my right eye got completely squished—like an accordion—and fell out!

My face says it all!

Cars Land is just so sweet!

We shot anything and everything on Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters. It was a fun tame ride after the Incredicoaster!

We wore funny glasses to see the 3D effects on Webslingers.

The Cars Ride was so much fun and a lot faster than I expected! But it wasn’t scary at all. Sam, who grew up watching the Lightning McQueen movie about ten times a day, absolutely loved it.

When he was two, he would go everywhere with his little Lightning McQueen car in hand. I even kept a spare one just in case he ever lost it.

Some of the Cousin Crew

All of the Cousin Crew.

This was so cool! It looks like I’m about to fall into an abyss, but it’s actually a brilliant illusion! The floor is completely flat, but if you stand in just the right spot, the tiles create a mind-bending effect that makes it seem like there’s a giant hole beneath you!

You can find this optical illusion in Tomorrowland, near Star Wars Launch Bay—definitely worth a stop for a fun photo!

It got dark pretty quickly as it was winter. All the pretty lights came on everywhere and here is one of my favourite rides, It’s a Small World. I know some people think this ride is boring, but I love it! The song is so sweet, even if it got stuck in my head on a loop. It was also one of my mum’s favourite rides, and I couldn’t help but wish she was there with me.

We rode The Teacups.

Kept wandering around for a bit and enjoyed Cars Land in the nighttime.

I found a tiny churro stand and waited about 30 minutes for my churro. It was the only place I spotted selling them the entire time we were there! Maybe I just wasn’t thinking about food much, which is probably why I missed them—because according to every Disneyland fan, churros are an absolute must! And after eating this one I completely agree!

That morning, we had driven from Universal City, and it was too early to check into our hotel—The Embassy Suites by Hilton Anaheim South. So, we dropped off our bags and jumped in an Uber, making it just in time for rope drop at Disneyland.

By the time we finally checked in that night, we hit our pillows hard! We had to sleep fast because the next day, we were up bright and early to do it all over again!

Day Two at Disneyland

One of the perks of staying at the Embassy Suites Anaheim South was the buffet breakfast. I just wish I had more of an appetite in the mornings! But appetite or no appetite, it’s hard to resist that delicious, crispy bacon. We don’t have the same kind over here—ours is thicker and not crispy—and now I don’t know how I’ll live without it!

After breakfast, we headed straight back to Disneyland for Day 2.

Our cousin Sam from LA joined us for the day, and my sweet cousin J got him a matching T-shirt. He’s standing next to my Sam—fun fact: we actually named our Sam after him! He’s the nicest, most softly spoken, kind-hearted person, and we all love him. The two Sams met for the first time on this trip, and I’ll have to tell you all about it in another post. Kind Sams deserve their own post!

The Disneyland photographer took these photos, and because we were in Galaxy’s Edge, she told us to ‘use the force.’ Haha!

We spotted Gordon Ramsay! Steve said, ‘Hi, Gordon!’ and he gave a friendly ‘hi’ back, which was nice. I only managed to get a photo of his back, though.

On our second day, we split up for a bit—some of the cousins headed off for more rides, while our trio (Steve, Sam, and I) had lunch at The Blue Bayou. This was another tick off my bucket list!

The food was delicious, but I wouldn’t say it was spectacular. The real highlight was the amazing ambiance—and finally getting to experience what I had always wondered about: how do people get to dine inside the Pirates of the Caribbean ride?

Here’s a view from our table.

I was in complete awe and totally forgot to take many photos, but here’s our starter: the chicken gumbo. I had the fish, Sam had chicken, and Steve had the steak as mains.

And here’s their signature cocktail: The Hurricane

Dessert.

We ended the day with Fantasmic, and it was absolutely spectacular! I got so emotional watching it that I tried to capture some of the show—but of course, I forgot to press record. Duh! I immediately put my phone away and decided to simply enjoy the moment, even if I didn’t take many photos or videos. It was better to be fully present.

But of course, now I wish I had recorded the whole show. It’s on YouTube, and I watched it again the other day.

Our very last stop was Oga’s Cantina in Galaxy’s Edge. Although we had fun in the end, it wasn’t quite what we expected. They didn’t play the Star Wars music from the cantina in the movie, and there were no characters!

We had to share a table with a couple who were trying to enjoy a drink together. I felt sorry for them at first! But by the end, we were all chatting and laughing. They found out we were from Australia and were eager to ask questions about what it’s like—’Do you really have those massive spiders, snakes, and insects?’

Haha, we got asked that a lot on our trip! And yes, we do, but they’re not everywhere. I’ve only come across a massive huntsman twice—and that’s still twice too many times!

And just like that, our two days at Disneyland came to an end—waaaahhhh!!! Saying goodbye to cousin Sam was tough, and we all left feeling a bit sad, but also so happy to have had the best two days ever! So many mixed emotions!!

Bye Disneyland, hope to visit you again sometime.

Thanks so much for stopping by today! That sure was a long post, and if you made it to the end, you’re a champ!

Have a wonderful day!