Dec 28 Dec 29 Dec 30 Dec 31 Jan 1 Jan 2 Jan 3 Jan 4 Jan 5	Friday, January 3 We got up a little after 6 this morning and headed for breakfast about 7. And we arrived at the park (Disneyland) shortly after 8 am. Ten hours later, we returned to the hotel..... In between, well, let's see what I can remember... The photo on the left shows Sleeping Beauty's Castle without the large crowd that was in front of it most of yesterday. The center photo shows the Matterhorn looming over the Main Street Plaza. The photo on the right shows me and Kelly on the Adventureland side of the Main Street Plaza with Sleeping Beauty's Castle behind us. First, we headed for the Star Wars section (Galaxy's Edge). By the time we got there, the wait time for Smuggler's Run was 105 minutes. So, we wandered around the shops and stuff for a while. The photo on the left shows part of the Marketplace of Galaxy's Edge. The center photo shows Chewbacca "talking" with a couple of guests with his handler behind him. The photo on the right shows a resistance fighter hading in a garage that repairs land speeders. There were a couple of storm troopers on the roof of this garage who just couldn't find her at all! Some of the "shops" in the Marketplace were exhibits and some were real souvenir shops. It was a fun place to wander. The photo on the left shows one of the entrances to the Galaxy's Edge Marketplace. The center photo shows an area outside of a "museum" (not a real building) where they stored artifacts that had been brought back from various places around the galaxy. The photo on the right shows a display of mobiles in one of the fake shops of the market. Notice that the one with the Millennium Falcon includes an asteroid field... The photo on the left shows a droid turning a rotisserie spit, complaining all the time. This was outside one of the restaurants in this section of the park. The photo on the right shows that even the menus stay in character... We would return here later to eat lunch. . . The photos to the left and center show the Millennium Falcon replica which is the showplace of Galaxy's Edge. The line for Smuggler's Run is visible on the far side of the Falcon. It winds through quite a section of the back lot here, too. The photo on the right shows a Tie fighter that's parked out on the path between the two rides that will eventually fill this section of the park. The second one opened a couple of weeks after we were there. The wait time was still the same after our wandering, so we decided to try Frontierland and Adventure Land. Never made it that far . We got sidetracked in Fantasy Land and hit three of the old original rides there - Mr. Toad, Snow White, and Pinocchio. The photos to the left and center shows some of the artwork in the queue line for Mr. Toad's Wild Ride. The photo on the left has part of Toad Hall and the center one shows a mural summarizing the ride. The photo on the right was taken in the queue line for Snow White's Scary adventures and, if you look closely, you can see the Evil Queen looking out the window at the crowds below. Carl and Kelly then went on the Mad Tea Cups (Carl's one requested ride). The photo on the left shows Kelly and Carl posing in a stationary teacup outside of the ride. Its entire purpose is for photos like this one. The center photo shows Kelly and Carl on the Teacups ride. They've selected their teacup and Kelly pretends to snap a picture of me taking a picture of her. The photo on the right shows them still waiting for the ride to start and doing a "royal wave"... Then back to the Star Wars area, where the wait time was down to 90 minutes. Along the way, we spotted this stagecoach (photo on the left) between Frontierland and Galaxy's Edge. Way back in the Stone Ages, when I first went to Disneyland, they had a stagecoach ride through Frontierland. I wonder if this is one of those... On to Galaxy's Edge and the line for Smuggler's Run. So, we stood in line... And stood in line... And stood in line... The three photos above were all taken from the first part of the queue line. The photo on the left shows part of the Millennium Falcon and the "station" providing support. The center photo is another section of the Falcon with the control tower again. The photo on the right shows part of the plaza in front of the Falcon, the crowds of people taking photos, and another space craft. From here, the line snaked through a really boring section that, unlike most Disney queue lines was in full sun and had almost nothing to look at. Once the line finally entered the building the ride is in, the queue line got entertaining again. I think that boring section was put in as a stopgap until the crowds thin down a bit. Hope they do something to make it more comfortable and more interesting. These two photos were taken on the inside portion of the queue line. The photo on the left shows an interrupted card game. The photo on the right shows a live action part of the show. From here, the queue passed quickly into the loading zone, where I bailed... Carl and Kelly rode. They reported that the ride was okay, but Star Tours ride was better! We had a quick lunch at Docking Bay 7, which was good. Then we headed back towards Frontierland. We watched a bunch of people on the waterways (a three masted ship, canoes, and the Mark Twain paddle wheel boat). The photo on the left shows the three masted ship (Columbia) plying the waterways of Frontierland. The first time I visited Disneyland (1955), this was billed as Captain Hook's ship. The center photo shows Winnie the Pooh's house on the Pooh Ride in Critter Country. We didn't go on this one. The photo on the right shows Eeyore posing for photos with guests. Behind him are two snow characters - Winnie the Pooh and Piglet. Then we got into another queue line. This one for The Haunted Mansion, Nightmare Before Christmas version. Sorry. I prefer to original... The photo on the left shows the Haunted Mansion as we approached it. The center photo shows a fountain in New Orleans Square. the queue line for the Haunted Mansion snaked along one side of this fountain. The photo on the right shows the front of the Haunted Mansion from the queue line. The pumpkin headed figure is from the movie Nightmare Before Christmas... Next line was Pirates of the Caribbean, where we wound up in the front of the boat. Naturally, we got splashed. My camera is safe, but I may have to clean my glasses tonight... We spent a little time wandering New Orleans Square after the Pirates ride, plus visiting restrooms again. These three photos show some of the decorations (some seasonal, some year round) that grace this part of the park. The photo on the left shows one final seasonal wreath in New Orleans Square. By then, Kelly was feeling chilled and we all needed a break. Jolly Holiday to the rescue. Coffees for them, hot tea for me, and a nice long time sitting and enjoying them. The photo on the right shows the elaborate window at the Jolly Holliday Cafe. At that point, we were still doing okay, but the sun had gone down and we were all getting chilly. Okay what can we do next? We decided to see how they changed the submarine ride (it used to be 20000 Leagues Beneath the Sea - now it's Finding Nemo). Lamest ride I've ever been on. Kelly nearly fell asleep. With that, we headed back out of the park, stopping at the nearby convenience store for more cold meds and something to snack on instead of dinner. Now, we're heading towards bed and a much later start tomorrow..... Later addition - we were all feeling a bit under the weather, curtesy of all the coughers and sneezers on the buses earlier in the trip... Carl and Kelly loaded up on cough drops and cold medicines. I stuck with my allergy stuff. It would get worse... Next...