wan solo

until recently, i'd never done a solo disneyland trip before.  that changed on may the fourth.  heh.

after i dropped the bean off at school, i hopped on the freeway and made my way down to anaheim.  of course, that's right during rush hour and so my drive took twice as long, but that's okay.  i still managed to get to the parking structure nice and early, while the back entrance was still open and i even snagged one of the electric car charging spots.

being a one-person party made it super easy to catch a ride on the tram, and i was able to slide onto the first one that pulled up because everyone else in front of me was in a bigger group.  score!

when i got to the esplanade, i remembered that they were doing one of those special ticketed events that evening, for "may the fourth."

as i made my way towards galaxy's edge i walked past tarzan's treehouse, which is currently closed for renovations.  this section is gone now, which upset some disneyland purists - but honestly, it's really nice because now this area is much easier to get through.

i took this while the park was still pretty empty, which didn't last long.

the only ride i really wanted to get on that day was rise of the resistance, so i was prepared to wait however long i had to.  and because everyone else seemed to have the same idea, by the time i got there the wait time was already quoted at 90 minutes.  of course, the ride broke down about half an hour in and added even more minutes to my wait.  i didn't really care, though.  and then finally...

i took a lot of selfies that day.

oh, and here's a tip that may or not be helpful to you: skip the starbucks that morning and hold out for the cold brew black caf that you can only get at docking bay 7 food and cargo at galaxy's edge.  it's so good - joffrey's cold brew coffee with a dollop of delish sweet cream cheese topping and a handful of cocoa puffs.  it's my favorite drink in the whole park, right next to the mint julep in new orleans square.

i'd busted out my best shoes for the occasion.  three people came up to me throughout the day to ask where i'd gotten them, only to be disappointed when i had to tell them that they were a vans collaboration from several years ago and aren't currently available.  although i guess you could probably find them on ebay or poshmark or something like that.  i don't know, i've never looked.

right when i got up from that bench, i managed to catch a mini parade.

stormtrooper sighting in tomorrowland!

look how cute this fanny pack is...yeah, i said "fanny pack."  i know the cool kids are calling it a "belt bag," but i'm not a cool kid.  i'm an old lady.

i had to take advantage of at least one photo op, right?

and then i picked up something to take home and share with the bean.  you can guess what this is, i'm sure.

by then it was time for me to head on outta there so that i could fight through traffic and still get to school to pick up the bean on time.  most people were getting off of the tram to start their disney day, so it took pretty much no time at all for me to grab a seat and head back to the parking structure.

my first solo disney day was a definite success.  of course, it's always lots of fun to go with others too, but there's something to be said for just wandering around by yourself, sliding through the crowds with ease and stopping for whatever catches your attention.  it definitely won't be my last.