We were lucky enough to nab another set of Moonlight Magic tickets this year. For the first time, we attended the event at California Adventures. While this was our third Moonlight Magic event, it was definitely a different experience.
- New Disney Crew. When we (my husband and I) went to our first Moonlight Magic in 2017, we decided to alternate between inviting my friends and his friends. So far, we have brought friends, coworkers, and family to the event; It’s always fun to share the magic with others. This year, DVC only allowed you to bring a maximum of four (4) guests if you were not staying at the resort. In the past we were able to have a party of 6, so this really limited who we could bring to the park. Many of our friends have kids and the event was on a Thursday night. I decided to bring Michaela (naturally) and my two friends from work. Together we had an AMAZING time together.
- Short Ride times were (not always) a thing. As much as we love California Adventures, let’s admit it, there are fewer rides there than at Disneyland. While we were able to hop on some attractions quickly (The Little Mermaid, Goofy’s Flight School, Silly Symphonies, and Emotional Whirlwind), other rides (Incredicoaster, Radiator Spring Racers, and Guardians of the Galaxy) had uncharacteristically long wait times in comparison to Moonlight Magic events we have been to in the past. Being annual pass holders we were not pressed to get on rides. As an alternative, we focused on...
- Character Meet and Greets. WE LOVE CHARACTERS (See our blog post on how we meet 30 characters in one day). Up until now, we had never seen any of the special characters at the Moonlight Magic events because we did prioritize rides. When we saw the list of characters that were out that night we all completely flipped out. Marie from the Aristocats was coming out! If you are a Disney regular in America, you know that it is nearly impossible to meet Marie. Kronk, from The Emperor’s New Groove, was also available to meet. I can not tell you how many times I had to watch this movie when Michaela was a little girl. Naturally, she made it a priority to meet Kronk. After hitting up a few rides, we decided to check out the “Assortment of Villains” on the Grizzly Trail. There we were able to meet the Evil Queen dressed as an old peddle, Pain and Panic from Hercules, The Cheshire cat from Alice and Wonderland, and Shan Yu from Mulan
- Meal Vouchers. If you have read any of our previous posts about Moonlight Magic, you know that the food options have changed dramatically over the last two years. In the past, guests received unlimited free snacks (Popcorn, churros, ice cream, and beverages). While the days of unlimited snacks are over, the park still provided complimentary ice cream and a $20 meal voucher that could be used at many quick-service dining restaurants across the park. This year we were very strategic about using our Meal Vouchers. We shared a meal from Flo’s V8 because they give some large portions. We used the second voucher to buy the Mickey Jingle Ball Sipper. We were only able to acquire the sipper because we took the demo sipper that would not light up (just needed new batteries).
