It had been two years since I'd been to Downtown Disney in Anaheim, California. And almost a year since it closed for the coronavirus pandemic in 2020.
![](https://hosting.photobucket.com/images/l93/pandisoo/20210305_163255cropLO.jpg)
Trader Sam's (the tiki bar where I spent my 40th birthday) is still closed, but much of the rest of Downtown Disney has reopened.
![](https://hosting.photobucket.com/images/l93/pandisoo/20210305_145201lo.jpg)
And throngs of Disney fans have celebrated its return.
![](https://hosting.photobucket.com/images/l93/pandisoo/20210305_140936lo.jpg)
I hesitated to go, mostly because of the COVID-19 virus—despite the fact that I'd visited a semi-reopened Knott's Berry Farm last fall without incident.
![](https://hosting.photobucket.com/images/l93/pandisoo/20210305_140812cropLO.jpg)
But I wasn't sure if there would be anywhere I could comfortably eat outside, either because reservations were booked...
![](https://hosting.photobucket.com/images/l93/pandisoo/20210305_140627cropLO.jpg)
...or because the Rainforest Café has been converted into the Star Wars Trading Post pop-up shop.
![](https://hosting.photobucket.com/images/l93/pandisoo/20210305_160309lo.jpg)
I never really went to Disneyland to eat, anyway. And there was very little I was interested in buying in the stores (though I like to look).
![](https://hosting.photobucket.com/images/l93/pandisoo/20210305_145404cropLO.jpg)
...which has thrown open its gates to give visitors the chance to walk its equivalent of "Main Street" at Disneyland...
![](https://hosting.photobucket.com/images/l93/pandisoo/20210305_145534lo.jpg)
...a.k.a. Buena Vista Street...
![](https://hosting.photobucket.com/images/l93/pandisoo/20210305_145603lo.jpg)
...absorb the Disney atmosphere...
![](https://hosting.photobucket.com/images/l93/pandisoo/20210305_145739cropLO.jpg)
...say hi to Walt...
![](https://hosting.photobucket.com/images/l93/pandisoo/20210305_153605cropLO.jpg)
...and maybe have a snack or two.
![](https://hosting.photobucket.com/images/l93/pandisoo/20210305_150220lo.jpg)
I always welcome the chance to pay my respects to Carthay Circle, a reproduction of the circa 1926 Los Angeles theatre where Snow White premiered...
![](https://hosting.photobucket.com/images/l93/pandisoo/20210305_150150cropLO.jpg)
...especially since the original was demolished in 1969.
![](https://hosting.photobucket.com/images/l93/pandisoo/20210305_151331cropLO.jpg)
It makes for a nice backdrop, even if you can't go inside and order a dirty martini at the bar.
![](https://hosting.photobucket.com/images/l93/pandisoo/20210305_150538lo.jpg)
It had been at least five years since I'd been to California Adventure—and it was only by visiting it that I realized how much I'd missed it.
![](https://hosting.photobucket.com/images/l93/pandisoo/20210305_152041lo.jpg)
It's a special park to me, with its homages to California scenery—from the Pan Pacific Auditorium-themed entrance gate to its decent approximation of Hollywood Boulevard.
![](https://hosting.photobucket.com/images/l93/pandisoo/20210305_152102lo.jpg)
None of the rides are open right now—and no access is provided to Cars Land, Paradise Pier, or the forthcoming Avengers Land.
![](https://hosting.photobucket.com/images/l93/pandisoo/20210305_152150lo.jpg)
None of the inside attractions (including theaters) and only some of the eateries and shops are open right now...
![](https://hosting.photobucket.com/images/l93/pandisoo/20210305_152106lo.jpg)
...but I was happy to just walk around, take in the atmosphere, and hear every staff member ("cast member," in Disney lingo) tell me to have a "magical day."
![](https://hosting.photobucket.com/images/l93/pandisoo/20210305_152133cropLO.jpg)
It made me even more excited to return when it's safe to do so—and when rides will be open with limited capacity—and race a car in Radiator Springs and check out the rebranded Tower of Terror.
![](https://hosting.photobucket.com/images/l93/pandisoo/20210305_152229lo.jpg)
For the one year I had a Disneyland annual pass, I didn't spend nearly enough time at California Adventure.
![](https://hosting.photobucket.com/images/l93/pandisoo/20210305_152221lo.jpg)
Most Disneyland visitors don't.
![](https://hosting.photobucket.com/images/l93/pandisoo/20210305_152259cropLO.jpg)
Even now, during the pandemic when there's very little else to do, California Adventure was far less crowded than Downtown Disney.
![](https://hosting.photobucket.com/images/l93/pandisoo/20210305_152357cropLO.jpg)
Even though you can buy much of the same stuff there—and more.
I paid only $10 for all-day parking, and I got two hours' worth of entertainment (and exercise)—plus a Haunted Mansion-themed face mask and a sunburn.
It was a magical afternoon, indeed.
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