Some of your Favorite Disneyland Memories...

[IndianaJones]

I don't think I've had anything really crazy out of the ordinary happen to me, so I've had to work at compiling some smaller memories.

Here's a starter: the first time I saw World of Color. I was right on the water, right in the middle of the fountains. The way the show towers over you and surrounds you, the amazing colors... it was an incredible experience.

LOTS of carousel rides with this guy back in 2007/2008:

My daughter's first time being 40"... she LOVED all of the "big" rides!

You see I can't wait for this stuff. My wife and my first born is due in a few months and I'm just so looking forward to taking him to the parks for the first time.

Every memory that I have now is amazing, but I truly can't wait for the first time that we take our kids!

Thanks for sharing the photos!

 

[Figments Friend]

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Thought i would share another early memory of my first visit to DL.
The parking garage.

I remember that first visit, arriving with friends for the day, and having to park in the *Mickey & Friends* parking garage.
It was quite a jarring experience for me, as it was so different to what i am overly used to at WDW.
Far, far too used to the wide expanses of parking spaces in FL..and the various *magical* modes of transportation available there ( boat, Monorail, etc..) i felt spoiled in comparison.
This was before i reached a state of mind where i realized that *comparing* the two was silly.
BOTH properties are completely different, as they should be, and part of the charm of DL is just that...the differences.
But i was still your typical WDW Vet making a first visit...and being confronted with a lot of *differences*.

Parking garages are a rare experience for me in general...usually only do that in the inner cities.
So to arrive at the *Happiest place On Earth* and have to park in a typical multi-level parking garage was....a bit of a jolt to the pixie dust meter.

A clash with the more festive and themed surroundings.
So *plainly urban* ...for a Disney Theme Park.
I remember those being my thoughts at the time.
*Why don*t they paint it pink, and toss up some Castle turrets on the side to jazz it up..*
Yeah....i had issues with it*s perceived *blandness*.

Of course i understood it was a necessity since DCA took over the old, original ground level car park or yore.
DL needs all the parking areas it can get these days.

So yeah...i remember that parking garage and not being a big fan of that rather ordinary *arrival* experience.
Probably something that would only come to mind for a longstanding WDW vet.

Now i enjoyed the tram ride...of course, that totally jived with my previous embedded *WDW State of Mind* experience.
I love Tram ridin* ..and smelling those fabulous diesel fumes.
I do.
So the short ride was ....well, more fun then the garage was.


I have not been back to that garage since that very first visit.
Have not needed to.
I love walking to and from, and it gives a real sense of *arrival* to the place.
That first stroll along the palm-lined roads heading to the Park is something i now readily look forward to when i visit.

 

[IndianaJones]

Okay I'll keep it going.

Let's go back to that second trip again. I'm a fan of pretzels. Especially soft pretzels. So whenever snack time came around I kept wanting a Mickey Pretzel. We looked everywhere for one. And we couldn't find one. I eventually began to give up on the dream that was the Mickey Pretzel. I moved on to other snacks, things like pop corn, churros, and other treats. But in the back of my mind, the pretzel always sat there.

It was our last day in the park. And we decided to ride Splash Mountain. We had not done Disneyland's version and were excited that we would finally be able too. Little did we know, disaster was about to strike in the form of water....and lots of it.

Now I know how to remain dry on WDW's Splash Mountain. I've ridden it enough times to do things to keep the water off of me. I tried these same tricks on the original Splash Mountain and unfortunately got soaked. I wasn't the only casualty though, as my mom was also drenched. Here we are enjoying ourselves after the ride....

See how happy we look...

Now my dad, sister, and brother had gotten away unscathed. So they went out searching for some snacks for us. I expected some pop corn, maybe a coke...but what I was given was something else entirely...

It had finally been found! And it was delicious. And after the ride on Splash Mountain we had just had, it hit the spot perfectly.

I know this was kind of a silly memory, but it's one that sticks out and I love telling this story.

Thanks for all of the responses.

 

[Nicole220]

When I was younger, like 1st grade or so, my mom pulled my friend and I out of school to go to Disneyland. At the end of the night we chose Thunder as our last ride. There was no one in line so we rode it 7 times in a row without getting off, and we were the last train of the night. I thought it was the coolest thing.

My sister and I got picked to be in Tiana's Showboat Jubilee...that was such a neat experience!