A Day at Disneyland 2023 – Prologue
May 10, 2023, to be exact.
My last visit to Anaheim and the Happiest Place On Earth was well before the Covid-19 Pandemic. A day with friends visiting the California Adventure almost 5 years ago to be precise. So, I was well and truly overdue for a day at Disneyland.
There had been changes all around the Disneyland Resort; including some rather large additions that I had only seen virtually. Notably, the entire Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge and the Black Spire Outpost on the Outer Rim planet of Baatu.
Planning for this day was a good six months ahead of time. While budgeting is always where I tend to start such an adventure, it was not going to be my only challenge. Transportation would need to play a part as I would be traveling from the San Francisco Bay Area to Anaheim and back again. The method most often employed tends to be driving down Interstate 5. A trip I have made too many times, so it was low on the list, as gasoline and rental car prices being high at the moment make it less appealing than in the past. And a recent work trip driving from the Inland Empire back to the Bay Area helped me make the decision against the long drive.
Air travel was another option under consideration. Even with attractive airfares, the usual suspect becomes Southwest. Service from the Bay Area airports offers multiple destinations with Long Beach and Orange County as attractive choices. But all of the hassles of getting into and out of airports for travel also helped make me decide on another option.
That came in the form of passenger rail service aboard Amtrak. I had the chance to travel from Oakland to Los Angeles and back on business in mid-April aboard the Coast Starlight. However, those trips already are a 12-hour plus day. And we encountered unusually long delays making for very early morning arrivals, which I did not wish to repeat.
Amtrak does offer an alternative in the guise of its San Joaquin trains which frequently travel between Oakland and Bakersfield daily, with motorcoach connections to various Southern California locations. All in all, it was an 8:25 am departure out of Martinez, with a 4:30 pm arrival at Los Angeles Union Station. Low roundtrip fares and the availability of a rental car at the station sealed the deal.
While I do enjoy taking in a day at Disneyland by myself, the other opportunity was to visit good friends I had missed connecting with in recent years during the quarantine and more. So a full trip of four days and three nights including travel was planned and all it needed was to plug in the final choice of dates.
Oh, that and to get my Disneyland ticket and theme park reservation.
We will save that for the next chapter in this tale.