Disneyland Resort in Anaheim - July 4, 2002 trip report

We spent the day at the resort and had a good time as usual. There didn't seem to be as many people there as in years past. We got there earlier than normal, around 11am. On Fourth of July, Disney always gives out a little generic flag pin to each person. That's always been very cool. This year, the flag pin looks like the ones they usually give out, but it's better quality, and it's actually a Disney pin. It's backstamped "July 4, 2002 Disneyland Resort". Very cool on Disney's part, I thought.

We had lunch at French Market. It's apparently been a while since we've eaten there because the drinks are now self-service. Instead of having to request drinks from the CM on the other side of the counter, they have dispensers in line. I like that change.

We walked around DCA for a while as well and were amazed to discover that Farmer's Market was actually open. The CM there that I spoke to said they expect to be open for the duration of the summer, so we're really happy because we like that place and it's not been open much lately. We're already planning on having lunch there on Sunday. Oh, and the shake place was open too.

We spent the afternoon as usual hiding at the resort in an out-of-the-way place and snacking on things that we'd brought and chatting with friends.

We made our way back to DL around 7pm and had dinner at Pizza Port. We then hung out at Fantasia Gardens for a while to wait out the end of the 8pm parade and then made our way over to Small World to stake out our spot for fireworks.

"Believe" was good as usual - Mickey worked, but not from our particular angle. For the Fourth of July patriotic salute, we were a bit disappointed that they didn't run the same version as in the prior two years (using the music of "Golden Dreams" from WDW), but instead, they ran a version similar to the patriotic salute they implemented shortly after September 11 last year, using a rendition of "God Bless America". It was still a good show. Disney is awesome at doing fireworks.

Another good Fourth of July at the resort. We've learned how and when to avoid the crowds, so that always helps. It was fun hanging out with the friends we knew would be there, and it was fun running into the couple friends we didn't know were coming.