My parents's wedding anniversary was this past weekend. They drove down from the Bay Area to spend their time here in in Southern California. On Sunday, they spent the day at Universal Studios. In the evening, they unexpectedly visited at work. Pictured below is my dad talking to me as I was putting away random merchandise that had been left throughout the store. Mom was hiding behind a fixture taking pictures, obviously.

On Monday, I did not have work thanks to a shift trade that went through successfully (thanks Justine!). I was able to spend the entire day with my family, catch up, and enjoy a day-cation with them.

First, we ate at a nearby restaurant. Then, we went to Toy Story parking lot, which was a switch-up from our usual Mickey & Friends spot. After arriving at Disneyland(r) Park, we immediately went on the Disneyland(r) Railroad.

My parents had not been on it since it re-opened last year, and I wanted them to experience the historic left-hand turn. We rode it once around the entire park, seeing the new sights and sounds that came with its re-opening.

Once back at Main Street, U.S.A., we hopped off the train and headed towards Adventureland, my favorite land. We wanted to ride Indiana Jones Adventure, my favorite ride, but the ride was temporarily closed. Okay, no worries. We'll just go on another ride.

By this time, it was probably 11:30 am and getting so hot. We decided to get Fastpasses for Splash Mountain, a ride I had not ridden* since my time here on the DCP. Getting Fastpasses made me nervous, but I knew I had ridden the ride before, so it should be no big deal, right?

For reference, I don't ride roller coasters or fast rides (Indiana Jones and Radiator Springs Racers are few exceptions). I don't like the g-force feeling in the pit of your stomach, and simply the thought of going through these rides sends my anxiety through the roof. I will ride roller coasters someday when I am ready and comfortable doing do.

On our way back from Critter Country, we decided to ride a classic, Pirates of the Carribean. The only problem was, the line queue, although fast moving, was mainly outside in the hot sun. We simply couldn't do it.

We walked over to Indy again, since it's nearby and some time had passed, and it was still closed. That's fine. That's just Disney magic guiding you towards another location. I knew what to do next.

I walked into the Adventureland Bazaar retail store and asked a cashier if I could have a clear plastic bag. For those of you who aren't aware, retail locations can only give you a clear plastic bag if you ask for another (without purchasing an item). I got two bags from the cashier and we headed over to Splash Mountain again.

The wait time was only 30 minutes, and it was still very hot outside. If we used our Fastpasses at our given time, 3:30-4:30 pm, it would not have been hot anymore. We decided to just wait it out. To our surprise, they gave us small Ziploc bags while we were in line! These are the perfect size for cell phones, wallets, and other small items. They're also very cute and a cool, free souvenir

I was able to ride Splash Mountain because I had ridden it before, and knew where to expect the drops. As soon as the big drop came, though, I suddenly got nervous and thought someone get me off of this ride. After the ride log finished its ascent and the front started curving down for the drop, I screamed at the top of my lungs. Have to get the nerves out as you're dropping.

I feel so bad for the Guests who were outside in Critter Country and had to hear my extremely loud and terrified screams. I survived, though, and had a lot of fun. I definitely want to ride it more times during this program.

We rode Indiana Jones Adventure afterwards, and it was so much fun, as usual. I love this ride because of its immersive experience, cool effects, and overall thrill level.

I know the Indiana Jones franchise is pseudo-archaeology, but it's my one "guilty pleasure." I am fully aware of its implications and troubling effects, but I still allow myself to indulge in it. Perhaps a deeper analysis of this could be said on another blog post?

After riding Indiana Jones Adventure, we were hungry, and decided to try a new place-- Plaza Inn. I have been wanting to try this place since my previous program in 2017, but I never quite had the funds, or stomach capacity, for it. My dad had been recommended Plaza Inn by a friend and knew we had to try it on this trip.

Upon arrival, we all decided to get the Plaza Inn Special, the chicken dish. It came with three pieces of fried chicken, mashed potatoes, a buttermilk biscuit, and a side of vegetables. It was such a full plate that we shared two among the three of us.

I highly recommend this place-- it is sooo good! Again, I'm not a food blogger so I'm not sure how to describe the tastes this dish, but the chicken was well-seasoned and had a good portion. The biscuit was warm and fluffy (and dense), the mashed potatoes were fluffy and buttery, and the vegetables (green beans) were great as well. Sorry, no pictures of this dish— we ate it way too fast.

Right as we finished eating, we decided to move over to Disney's California Adventure. We walked a bit and headed over to Starbucks for a caffeine refill (I just had water since I cut out caffeine from my diet for my health). We sat outside of Fiddler, Fifer & Practical Cafe, the building Starbucks is housed in, and people-watched as we enjoyed our drinks. The Newsboys and Mickey were on Buena Vista Street doing a performance of Suitcase and a Dream. That's my favorite performance out of the entire show.

We then decided we wanted something sweet. This is a common occurrence when I visit Disneyland on my days off. We headed over to Paradise Gardens and tried the new desserts inspired by Disney Pixar's Coco. We tried the Coco cake and the conchita. They were both soo delicious, and definitely worthy of praise.

Pictured left to right: Coco Cake, conchita (with dulce de leche inside!), and me smiling after devouring these treats. The Coco cake was my favorite. It was tres leches flavors; very moist and fluffy. The conchita tasted like regular pan dulce (except maybe not as fresh), and very heavy and dense. Still delicious, but milk was definitely a necessity when consuming.

My parents and I then decided to ride Radiator Springs Racers in Cars Land. To bypass the long line, we used the single rider queue. That meant we weren't able to ride together, but we rode it after waiting for only 20 minutes. I highly recommend utilizing the single rider option when in the parks, especially if you have limited time and want to ride as many thrill rides as possible. I was also able able to get this cool shot:

At this time in the late afternoon, we were all pretty tired and decided to head back to the hotel room. Although we did not have a chance to ride every single ride, or check out any fireworks shows and parades, we still rode some classics. It was the quality time we spent together that made the trip special and worthwhile. Happy anniversary, Mom & Dad! I keep forgetting how long y’all have been married (25 years now?), but I’m glad you decided to spend the day with me.