California Trip 2023 Part 2: Farewell, Splash Mountain

When we initially planned and booked this trip with Ben and Jenny, we were only going to go to the Disney Parks for two days, and we made our reservations for Thursday and Friday, June 1st and 2nd. But, when I read that Splash Mountain would be closing forever after the park closed on May 31, I knew we had to try to go one last time. Brian called the Disneyland customer service and they easily converted our 2-day ticket to a 3-day ticket (we paid the extra, obviously, but it was much less than having a 2-day ticket AND a 1 day ticket), and we had this bonus Disneyland Day for just the 5 of us. 

We used our tram line and park entrance line time to apply sunscreen. Some of us did a better job than others. 

When the rope dropped, we headed over to Adventure Land. I don't remember what we were hoping to hit up first, but we were amazed to discover that Pirates was a walk on and then Haunted Mansion was also a walk-on. Next, we noticed that the wait in Star Wars wasn't very long either, so we headed over there. 

We took advantage of the fun lenses that the Disneyland App had while we waited in line. 

We rode the Millenium Falcon Smugglers run, and I sat in the back, didn't watch the screen, and just pushed the flashing button while everyone else enjoyed flying. 

We rode Rise of the Resistance. 

Big Thunder Mountain. 

And finally, we rode Splash. We came prepared with flip flops to change into and ponchos! Despite it being the end of May, it was a little chilly. 

We ran into Captain Jack. 

We enjoyed the Queue at Mickey and Minnie's Runway Railroad. 

Took advantage of the Disney Lenses again. 

I traded Brian with riding the cart, which I needed due to my recent surgery, but I was happy to be able to still spend a good chunk of the day walking. 

We got lunch at Cafe Orleans, which is tucked back by the exit to Pirates of the Caribbean, so while we were waiting, the kids met Red, the sassy female pirate. She was really cute with Gabe and Rachel. 

We rode Hyperspace Mountain, probably my favorite overlay of a ride. I wouldn't be sad if they made it permanent. 

This random single rider that rode next to Michael loudly claimed us as his people to his buddies in line. So, for all our posterity, for the 10 ish minutes that he was in our car, he was a part of our family. 

We rode Splash Mountain, one final time. This has been my favorite ride since the first time I came to Disneyland back in 2004. 

While we were standing in front of Splash, we heard a guy who was riding it yell, "We love you Splash!!!" as he went over the drop. Here's hoping the Tiana's refresh is just as fantastic as Splash has been. 

Going into this bonus day at Disneyland, we wanted to actually try some of the iconic park treats. We've only tried a few over the years, but when Rachel got the Unofficial Disney Parks Recipe Book for her birthday, we realized that though we are park addicts, we've never really gotten into the food scene at the Disney Parks, so armed with her book, we all picked out something that we wanted to try and made a note of where it was in the park. These Beignets in New Orleans Square quickly became a new park necessity. 

For this trip, I introduced Rachel to the concept of Disney Bounding--the idea that you wear something inspired by a Disney Character. Adults aren't allowed to dress in costumes, except at certain Halloween events. If you don't know by now, I love dressing up--formal wear, costumes, themed parties--so naturally, Disney Bounding speaks my language. Here's Rachel's up close Disney Bounding. Can you tell who she is imitating? 

How about me? 

If you guessed Rapunzel and Donald Duck, you would be correct. 

Our skipper for Jungle Cruise was particularly fantastic. It's funny that this used to be an "eh" ride for me, but the more time I spend with Brian and his punny Dad and family, I appreciate it more and more. I could ride the Jungle Cruise for "Niles and Niles and Niles. If you don't believe me, you're in d'Nile." 

We rode Autopia. 

And then we got word that Ben and Jenny had landed in LA, so we made our way to the exit, stopping for some more treats on our way out. (We did have to remind ourselves that this was a bonus day at the park, and that we really came to California to spend time with family. It's always a little hard leaving a park before closing.)

We made our way to our AirBnB in Anaheim and wasted no time exploring the place and getting settled in. 

We were so excited to explore parks and spend time with Ben, Jenny, Tyler, and Tucker!