Solo Rope Dropping
This is the first installment of our
February 2018 Disneyland Trip Report. In Part 1, I will walk you through yet another solo adventure at the
Disneyland Resort, this time with rope dropping! We were back and so happy! Part 2 will feel slightly different because it is more personal, rather than park business. We got a puppy and I want to gush about how amazing he is! In Part 3, we rope dropped at Disneyland and found some really creepy Angels in New Orleans Square. In Part 4, we will cover two days of shorter touring and lots of nighttime spectacular fun. Read on and enjoy!
February 3rd
The night before my solo, rope-dropping, California Adventure adventure, I dropped Sarah off at Ontario International Airport. She was headed out to see her mom as she was recovering from double hip replacement surgery in the San Jose Bay Area. She was going to spend the weekend resting with her mom, I was going to spend it at Disneyland.
I got up early on February 3rd and headed down the 605 freeway towards Anaheim. This journey takes us about 45 minutes from our place in Azusa. I got to the Mickey and Friends Parking Structure about 30 minutes before rope drop. I had a bit of time, so I decided to take pictures from the top of the structure. The infamous Southern California smog created a really cool look.
Once I was done walking through downtown Disney, I arrived at Disney’s California Adventure. I was about 15 minutes early to rope drop, so I wandered. I took pictures of the park with my long lens in the smog. It made for a really interesting effect.
Being that I was by myself, I decided that my plan of attack would be to use the Standby queue for Soarin’ Around the World immediately. The next stop Guardians of the Galaxy - Mission: Breakout! to get a Fastpass. After I grabbed a Fastpass, I would head to Cars Land to ride Radiator Springs Racers using the Single Rider queue.
This seemed like a logical enough strategy, given that I was by myself. If I was not, I would rope drop Radiator Springs, then go to Mission: Breakout for a Fastpass, then ride Soarin’. While I pondered this, I took a picture of Grizzly Bear Peak.
First up was Soarin’. While I was wandering around pondering the complexities of park touring, I lost a few places to other guests who were waiting. I was not concerned with this, I figured I would still be in the first group. It turns out that I was wrong. I just missed being in the first group.
No big deal! Our glider flew around the globe and I was very happy. The advantage to being the first person in the second loading group was that I ended up in Row 1.
Hot tip: the best place to be on Soarin’ is Row 1 in the second loading zone. This section ensure that you do you have people’s feet dangling in your view and you are in the center of the screen.
The next stop on the tour was Mission: Breakout! for a Fastpass. Even including Twilight Zone Tower of Terror (RIP), I only remember using the Standby queue for this attraction once. It was the very first day that Sarah and I ever had Annual Passports together in October of 2010. We waited for an hour and swore to never wait that long again. That time-honored approach cotinued during this solo day. I grabbed my Fastpass and walked to Radiator Springs where I had a very strange interaction with another guest.
I had completed the relatively short Single Rider wait and we were both standing waiting to board our cars. He turned to me and asked if I was ok with switching rows because he got carsick. I immediately agreed, but thought about it more and it was perplexing. Why would this person decide to experience this attraction if he gets carsick? What would the difference be in the front row versus the back row? Whatever the case, we completed the race without him getting sick. Win-win?
After I was done I wanted to take some more pictures of Grizzly Bear peak with my long lens so I wandered through Radiator Springs and took some head-on.
I wandered over to Paradise Pier and walked directly onto Goofy’s Sky School. Sarah and I both unexpectedly love this ride. When we were young and the world was new, we used to go all-out playing Jello. If you aren’t familiar with the game, what did you do during bus rides in elementary school?! For anyone who isn’t, it is a game where you let your body go limp and crash into the person next to you.
Currently, Sarah and I play a slightly watered down version of this game. After several times smashing heads on Goofy’s Sky School, we have decided it the watered down version is better for our long-term health. Now we simply push each other into the side of the ride car.
Hot tip: if you want to win this game, you cannot be a gentleman. Make sure you are the first person to load the vehicle. You will be grateful!
After I was done, I decided to wander over to Disneyland. It was more crowded than I expected, so I decided to just take a couple shallow depth of field photos.
After I was done, I headed home. At the time, I fully intended to return to rope drop Disneyland the next morning. Stay tuned for more!