Wednesday, March 4, 2015

20 Years of Adventure with Indiana Jones!

Like a younger family member growing older, when I heard Indiana Jones Adventure at Disneyland was turning twenty this year, I was a bit surprised. Had it really been TWO decades since Adventure Land had forever changed??  
Decoder cards from Indiana Jones Adventure, yes, I save everything.
I still remember the first time I went on the ride (yes, I know it's officially called an "attraction."). Upon approaching the queue, I was handed a small card that was able to be used to decode messages throughout the queue. I thought this was such a fun idea! It definitely helped pass the time while waiting.  Seeing one of my favorite childhood movies transformed into a ride was amazing! 
Fast forward twenty (!) years, and Disneyland decided to celebrate with a celebration for Annual Passholders.  As soon as I heard about the event, I signed up. I've attended other Annual Passholder events, but never during my favorite month of the year, March.  
Guide for the event which included a decoder card and of course I had to get a birthday button!
After quickly checking in near the ticket booths, we were handed a guide with a decoder attached. Gotta say, I'm a sucker for freebies, especially when they are unique event specific items!  With nobody in line at the entrance turnstiles, we were inside the park after a few minutes of checking in. My first priority of the night was to visit City Hall on Main Street to get birthday buttons for both myself and Indy. The CM who helped me was so sweet and gave buttons to both me and my boyfriend. I'm glad she found it amusing that I wanted a birthday button for Indy rather than odd. 
Sleeping Beauty's Castle
I was so happy to see that the park was very uncrowded. As a lifelong Disneyland visitor, my childhood memories include days when the park was less busy than it is nowadays.  After walking down Main Street, and taking obligatory photos of Sleeping Beauty's Castle, it was time to have some adventure!  
I would not want this job!
During the event, the West Side of Disneyland was open, so we started off by visiting Frontier Land.  The wait for Thunder Mountain Railroad was only ten minutes, which is a rarity.  After riding the wildest ride in the wilderness, we headed to visit the fellow birthday celebrant,  Indiana Jones Adventure. Near the queue entrance was a man balancing on a boulder. I couldn't watch him for too long, because I was worried he would fall!  There was also a fez wearing band,  The Joneses playing music whuch really added to the ambiance. Thankfully, after a short twenty minute wait, we survived the huge boulder at the end of Indy. 
The Joneses

It was then time to visit my second favorite house in Anaheim, the Haunted Mansion. I was so happy that there wasn't a line, which was also the case for Pirates of the Caribbean! Throughout the West Side of the park, mellow retro music reminiscent of the time period of Indiana Jones was playing,  which was a nice touch. There was also a special showing of Fantasmic, as well as a panel discussion with Tony Baxter, both of which we decided to skip. 
Haunted Mansion
The 20th birthday celebration for Indiana Jones Adventure was a wonderful time.  Being able to celebrate my favorite day of the year at one of my favorite places was fantastic. I hope that Disneyland continues to offer these special events for Annual Passholders! 
Happy Birthday!

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