Yay! I love that meal! Glad they were willing to get you the kids meal with the fried chicken. It sounds like you had a wonderful day at our little park! I hope you get to come back someday and spend a few days. I look forward to hearing how the rest of your evening went.
It is affectionately nicknamed the “Batterhorn” for that very reason! I do hope that you were able to get a night ride on it though.
Go gadget was delightful! Very short, but it felt like a tiny Slinky!
After that my plan was to use a 7:25 FP on BTMRR. But it was a little bit to early, I was cold and IASM was a walk on, so I ended up on IASM. It was not so much of a protection from the cold as I was expecting, but it worked.
I got slightly lost and ended up by the Matterhorn, and it was already night. SR was a walk on. This coaster is so good, and it is so beautiful at night! But why is it so rough? It would be a walk on to do it again, but I just couldn’t. For reference, I went on Space mountain 3 times in a row and could have done more.
BTMRR also ended up being better at night, another very fun coaster.
By the time I left BTMRR (8pm) I was done. I cancelled my remaining FPs and stopper by Red Rose Tavern for a quick dinner (got a cheeseburger, didn’t like it that much) and walked to my hotel. If it weren’t for the inconvenient 9 hours jet lag I would probably have stayed longer. At least I managed to stay awake until 8:30pm and I got a full night sleep after, so Disneyland works as a jet lag cure 
It was a really amazing day! Everything worked better than expected. Thank you all for the helpful tips!
Sounds like it was a fun trip! Now to plan your DCA trip. 
Final thoughts and comparisons:
Entering the park: it was very nice to be able to just walk there. It longer than what I was expecting. I was at the bag check line at 7am, entered the park at 7:47am. Very long lines, a lot of people. Probably Rise of the Residence making everyone arrive early. Had I arrived at 7:30am I would probably not be inside on time for BGs.
Crowds: yesterday was predicted 8, I have no idea what it actually was. It felt crowded, with a lot of people everywhere, for the entire day. Streets looked busier than what I saw at WDW in September 2019. With SR lines and Maxpass, they didn’t affect me as much. I might have tried a Fantasyland dark ride or had lunch earlier, but that’s it. People also seem to be more on “weekend mode” than on “vacation mode”, if that makes any sense.
Big Thunder Mountain Railroad: my favorite MK coaster, and I thought the Disneyland version was even better! More theming and more details at California. Very easy to rope drop, but lines built up quickly. Better at night. Rode 3 times (2x RD, 1x FP)
Matterhorn: So fun! So rough! I wish I had the physical resistance to ride it more. I was surprised by how close thematically it is to Expedition Everest (my favorite WDW coaster), but it is a completely different ride. I do prefer EE, but I am glad both exist. Rode 3 times (2x FP, 1x SR)
Rise of the Resistance: My original excuse for taking this side-trip, and it is just amazing. Everyone around me was celebrating getting a BG at 8am, so maybe with 16 hours of operation everyone that is inside by park opening and knows what they are supposed to do gets one? Didn’t see anyone sad or crying. Amazing ride.
MFSR: exactly the same as WDW (SW:GE was the area in which I felt everything was identical to the Florida version). Quick SR line. Engineer, as expected (and preferred). I am more of a Star Tours person. Rode 1 time, SR.
Space mountain: Love it so much! So much better than at Florida! Great soundtrack, so pretty! Quick SR line. Rode it 5 times (1x FP, 4x SR).
Indiana Jones: Very cool ride, a lot better than it’s FL counterpart (Dinousar). Fun queue theming, another great soundtrack. Rode 2x (1x FP, 1xSR, wouldn’t recommend SR).
Plaza Inn: great food, pretty building, reasonable prices. Great place to eat lunch.
Red Rose inn: loved the grey stuff, wasn’t happy about the burger. Fun theming.
Winnie the Pooh: couldn’t understand anything, can’t compare to WDW’s version. Not a bad way to spend 5 minutes.
Star Tours: another ride that looked a lot like the DHS version. The movie this time was completely different, maybe it’s related to Rise of Skywalker. I am always a fan of ST, but this was the first time I got motion sick on it (went 4 times at DHS last September).
Train: I was definitely not expecting to see dinosaurs here. Wouldn’t do it again, I was expecting something like People Mover.
Jungle cruise: better than what imagined, but soooo akward. I would have liked this if at least some passengers laugh.
Go gadget: Fun! I think this is the local Barnstormer? Very cool little coaster.
IASM: does a worse job at protecting people from the weather. In general lines and rides at DLR were more exposed than at WDW.
Entertainment: I didn’t see any of the shows, or the parade, or anything. But even then I saw a lot going on at the streets, and it was all very fun. I loved that aspect of DL.
Overall, it was a great trip . Would love to do something similar again! Hopefully life will bring me this way again.
That’s because there is no weather in California! 
It was raining this morning! Actually, this is my 5th trip to California, and it always rains at least once when I am here I used to think that California was a rainy state 
On the other hand I got one week of sunny days in Alaska.
Yesterday was a beautiful sunny day, but it got quite cold at night, so I did miss some indoor queues.
Do you always go in Jan - Mar? To be fair rain is reasonably common this time of year. But still nothing like Florida!
February, May, July and October, one week long trips each time, so I guess I have bad luck
So glad you had such a wonderful day! I have only been to WDW once and that was 10 years ago. I was really disappointed in Space Mountain there! I agree the DLR version is much better.
As far as less protection from weather, I think DLR has less extremes in regards to temperature as well. Granted it can get hot, but nothing like what I imagine Florida to be like in summer! It can definitely be tough to find somewhere warm at DLR when it’s chilly out. Even most eating places are mostly outdoor seating. I tend to be cold all the time, so this is a struggle for me. Not so much for my daughters.
I love that you can be walking down the street and just happen across a character or a musical group. Sometimes both together! We’ve seen Mary Poppins dancing with one of the musical groups in front of the castle. Pure magic!