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An Intro to Limitless Parkives
When I first started Limitless Park, I spent a lot of time writing trip reports. These reports were my way to showcase different parks I visited in a more informal way than a review or a guide. I would take as many pictures as I could of all the rides, shows, restaurants and shops I visited, and then just comment on them in chronological order. It was a nice way to catalog the day without filming a vlog.
These trip reports didn’t last forever though. Starting in 2020, Limitless Park began releasing vlogs from different theme parks we went to. While I might’ve accidentally deleted the Google account tied to the videos (not my brightest moment), they were a sort of spiritual successor to the old trip reports. With the vlogs available, I didn’t see a reason to continue writing trip reports nearly as frequently. However, I would still take tons of pictures at each theme park in case I ever wanted to bring them back. Most of these pictures have never been uploaded to the site.
I know that cataloging and archiving photos from old trips might not be interesting to anyone but me, but that’s okay. At the very least, these pictures might provide a fun time-capsule while also being a sort of “retro” trip report. Sure, we’re not going back decades, but someday these pictures will be that old. Might as well upload them now! I’m calling this series “Limitless Parkives.”
Disneyland in 2018
The earliest photos I currently have access to are from my day trip to the Disneyland Resort in Spring 2018. It’s the last time I was in Disneyland, and before massive expansions like Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge and Avengers Campus were built. Instead, the big draw to visit this year was Guardians of the Galaxy: Mission BREAKOUT! The conversion of Tower of Terror was quite controversial when it was announced in 2017, but I still remember being very excited to try it out.
Now, compared to later trips, I didn’t take a ton of photos. I’m convinced there are some that I’m missing from this trip, but I haven’t been able to find anymore Disneyland photos from 2018. I do have photos from 2014, 2015 and 2016 trips, but they’re all on older hard drives. Perhaps someday we can go through those as well.
Without further ado, let’s take a journey back to Disneyland in Spring 2018.
Entering Disneyland Resort
What’s interesting about this 2018 trip is we stayed off-property, but within walking distance of the Disneyland Resort. When we visited in 2014 we stayed on property at Disney’s Grand Californian Resort, and the two day trips after that we drove in from Santa Monica, California. Staying within walking distance was definitely a great middle ground, as it costed significantly less money but was still very close to the resort.
And Then, Disney’s California Adventure
Firstly, we went into Disney’s California Adventure. We managed to get Fastpasses for Guardians, so we’d be heading there soon. Remember Fastpass? That was…so long ago.
Strolling Down Buena Vista Street
A walk down Buena Vista Street might not be as relaxing or iconic as walking down Main Street, but there’s a certain amount of charm to it. The fountain towards the end is nice to sit and relax by.
Soarin’ Around the World
We had a bit of time before our ride on Guardians, so from the hub we turned right to head into Condor Flats. I actually didn’t know the name of this sub-land was changed to Grizzly Peak Airfield in 2015 until researching it now. I suppose the name makes more sense and is more cohesive with the surrounding area, but I’ll still probably call it Condor Flats by accident.
We decided to ride Soarin’ Around the World. It’s an okay version of the ride, but I can’t take it seriously with all it’s distorted visuals. I feel like a ride should be enjoyable no matter what seat you sit, but this just isn’t the case for Soarin’. Thankfully, the ride does go back to it’s original California iteration sometimes. Hopefully I’ll be able to do again it someday.
Guardians Time
After Soarin’ Around the World, our Fastpasses for Guardians were ready. We headed over to the ugly tower to give the ride a try. We’ve discussed how good this ride is before in our old Top 50 Attractions list, but I’ll still say this ride absolutely rocks. It may be an eyesore on the outside, but the inside has an incredibly fun attraction that easily outdoes Disneyland’s version of Tower of Terror. It’s kind of unfortunate that this ride is arguably better than anything added in Avengers Campus. At least that’s what the general consensus seems to be.
Walking Around Grizzly Peak
Here’s the first point in the day where I don’t remember exactly what was going on. This is a picture of Grizzly River Run’s exterior, but we never rode it during our visit. I guess for some reason we backtracked around the area after riding Guardians? I’m not sure why we did that though. Perhaps we just wanted to take in the scenery again.
Car’s Land
The next area we visited was Car’s Land. It’s currently my favorite land in all of Disney’s California Adventure. Like I said before, I haven’t experienced Avenger’s Campus yet. Even so, I think this would still be my favorite area due to it’s attention to detail and the fact that I just love the movie Cars. We started out riding Radiator Springs Racers, which is such a fun thrill ride and easily better than it’s Walt Disney World counterpart, Test Track. We’ll see if that changes with the upcoming Test Track refurb.
After Racer’s we went over to the other attraction in the park we hadn’t done before: Luigi’s Rollickin’ Roadsters. There are two main points I find interesting about riding this. The first is that I actually was lucky enough to experience it’s short-lived predecessor, Luigi’s Flying Tires, before it closed. It’s an interesting piece of Disneyland history and it’s fun to compare to the current ride. Secondly, while Rollickin’ Roadsters certainly isn’t the first use of the trackless ride system, it was technically the first in the U.S. Disney parks. It can’t be compared to massive trackless dark rides like Rise of the Resistance or Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway, but it’s still a fun flat ride on it’s own. The dancing sequence and music are definitely the main attraction, and I’d definitely recommend it if the line is short.
R.IP. Bug’s Land
Before looking at these pictures, I kind of forgot Bug’s Land existed. It felt like such an out-of-place remnant of California Adventure’s early years, and I don’t think I ever experienced any attraction in the land. It’s strange to think that it was still open in 2018, as it feels like it closed much earlier. Even stranger is the fact that Flik’s Flyers, the ride pictured above, was repurposed as the Inside Out Emotional Whirlwind in Pixar Pier. I have yet to experience that iteration, but I doubt I’m missing much.
Heading Over to Disneyland Park
Some time after those rides, we journeyed over to Disneyland park for the afternoon. I’ll always love that one of the first things you see at this park is the DIsneyland Railroad. It’s such a classic part of Disney history. I know we rode the Railroad on this trip, but I can’t find the photo of us on it. Maybe it’ll turn up someday.
Walking Right Down the Middle…
I’ll admit, my memory does get a bit hazy when it comes to our afternoon spent at Disneyland. The pictures give us a bit of an insight into where we went, but it doesn’t stick in my mind as well as the morning at California Adventure.
Wandering Westward
Contrary to the angle of the previous Sleeping Beauty Castle picture, we actually walked left into Frontierland and then New Orleans Square to ride the Haunted Mansion. This ride always had consistently short wait times whenever I visited, and it’s always worth doing at least once.
I believe we also did Pirate’s of the Caribbean afterwards, but I didn’t take any pictures of it. I could use old pictures from 2016, but that would be cheating. Also, you probably wouldn’t enjoy the quality of my iPhone 5S camera.
Visiting a Past Version of Tomorrowland, the Futuristic Land of the Past Future
After New Orleans Square, we apparently trekked all the way back over to Tomorrowland. I have no idea what we did in this land, as those are the only pictures I have of the land at that time. I have vague memories or riding Autopia, so maybe it was that?
Finally, Fantasyland
After Tomorrowland, we headed towards the Matterhorn Bobsleds. We must’ve had Fastpasses, as this is the Fastpass entrance sign and not the regular one. I find it funny that I didn’t take a single picture of the actual Matterhorn mountain. I have plenty of photos of it from previous trips, so I must’ve thought of that as “good enough.”
Some time after riding Matterhorn, I picked up my favorite Disneyland snack: a churro. I know some people prefer the dole whip or a mickey ice cream bar, but this is my favorite sweet treat at the parks.
Beyond Big Thunder Mountain
Of course, a day at Disneyland wouldn’t be complete without a ride on Big Thunder Mountain. It might not be as exciting as the Disneyland Paris version, but it’s certainly better than Walt Disney World’s. I’ll always love the dynamite effects on the third lift hill, and the strange ghost town at the end.
After Big Thunder, we walked around the back of the ride to the future (now current) entrance of Galaxy’s Edge. It’s still so cool to see a version of the park where the massive Star Wars land doesn’t exist. Sure, I love Galaxy’s Edge, but it’s still hard to comprehend that it’s just sitting behind Big Thunder now. It doesn’t feel like there should be anything back there!
And Now…Food
For whatever reason, almost all my remaining pictures are of food. I have a memory of eating these flat breads at lunch, but it seems like it should’ve already been afternoon by now. Maybe we just ate a late lunch? Also, I’m fairly certain that we ate these at Village Haus, which is actually now known as the Red Rose Tavern. I was unaware this change even happened, but apparently it has an awesome new Beauty and the Beast theme now.
Later on that day, we exited the park and went over to Downtown Disney for dinner. We ate at Tortilla Joe’s, which had weirdly become a tradition for us by that year. I’m fairly certain we ate here every single trip before this, so this time we absolutely had to. We also met up with my Uncle Jim and his Fiance, Jenn, which is always a good time!
Back Into California Adventure
After dinner, we bounced back into California Adventure. While I was content with riding Guardians once, I definitely wanted to try it one more time. We ended up waiting over two hours to ride it again. While I would’ve preferred a Fastpass, I would argue it was still worth it. That’s definitely the second longest I’ve waited for any attraction though, only second to Maxx Force at Six Flags Great America in 2021 (which was over 3 hours).
By the time we got off the ride, I remember it being around 11 pm. California Adventure was closing, but Disneyland was still open for another hour or two. We had also managed to get Fastpasses for Space Mountain while in line at Guardians. However, we only had about ten minutes to get from one park to the other.
Brandon and I BOOKED it all the way from Guardians, out of California Adventure, through the turnstyles of Disneyland, down Main Street U.S.A. and into Tomorrowland in TEN minutes. Even better, we obeyed the rules and didn’t run. I still don’t know how that was possible, but at least we got to end our day with a ride on Space Mountain.
. . .
Thanks for reading the first article in this new Limitless Park Series, the Limitless Parkives Photography Collection. If I decide to go in chronological order, then the next trip I’ll cover is my July 2018 trip to Walt Disney World. That trip was especially fun since I stayed at the Boardwalk Hotel for the first time. We were also there a week after Toy Story Land opened, so I had plenty of time to explore the new area! If you’re interested in reading that article, be sure to subscribe below to receive it in your email the day it comes out.
Later! – Andrew K
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