South Meets West: Our First Trip to Disneyland

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The clouds were finally beginning to break in the sky and the sun was coming out. It was turning out to be a beautiful day. Still, it was too cold to ride Grizzly River Run. I really wanted to ride this. I love these kind of rides, but it was just way to cold to get wet (we didn't even ride Splash Mountain during our entire trip). So, I did the next best thing and took plenty of pictures each time we passed by.

We made our way to Paradise Pier to see that the water was drained. Really, it was not a pleasant site.

We did a few attractions over here, including TSMM. The queu here was much more of a boardwalk theme, but I really like WDW's queu better. Amanda, John, and I rode California Screamin', while mom and Victor rode the carousel over and over again. I really loved California Screamin'. It was a lot of fun!

After lunch, we headed over to the other side of the park. We took Victor in to Playhouse Disney. This was torture for me! He loved it though. Really, I didn't mind sitting through it for his sake. It's just that I didn't think I would be in Playhouse Disney for at least another decade. Up next, we went to the Monster's Inc. ride. It was cute, but we were good with only riding it once.

 

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Afterwards, we went to one of my all-time favorite attractions:

No matter what, I always have to see this attraction. The older I have gotten, the more I appreciate it.

Victor was ready for his afternoon nap by this time. We walked by ToT, but decided to go on it at a later time.

John took Victor back to the hotel for a nap. Mom, Amanda, and I went to DTD to do some shopping. We really didn't buy anything, just killed some time. While we were there, we did venture into the lobby of the Grand Californian Hotel.

At this point, we all decided to go back to the hotel for a nap. We needed to rest up because we planned on watching the Christmas parade at DL that night.

Once we arrived back in DL it was already dark.

Amanda and John went somewhere while mom and I scoped out places for us to view the Christmas parade. We found a place along Main Street, where she could sit with Victor on the curb, while the rest of us stood behind. I know I have seen a Christmas parade at WDW when I was little, but I honestly don't remember it. I really loved watching the Christmas parade. My sister put Victor's birthday pin back on him for the evening. During the parade both Mrs. Claus and Santa wished him a happy birthday. I know he had no idea that they were talking to him, but it was really nice and special to hear two characters on floats to wish the little boy a happy birthday.

 

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Now some parade pictures:

 

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After the parade, we grabbed dinner at a CS in Critter Country. From there we went on our only run through of POTC. This version was a lot better (and longer) than WDW's. As soon as you walk in the door of the attraction you see boats with people going by. You can almost touch them, they are so close. I was really surprised by that.

From there, we got into an incredibly long line for IASW. That was our longest wait of the trip, which was about 45 minutes. The exterior of the ride was beautiful at night. If I'm not mistaken, that was the last night they were running it before taking down the Christmas decorations, which could explain the long lines.

About every 20 minutes, the lights around the ride went off and a video came on. The images from the video fit in perfectly with the different shapes of the exterior. The video was essentially clips of various Christmas Disney cartoons. There were also different colors and decorations that fit individually into the shapes.

While we were waiting in line, we were never at a good place to watch the video from a front view. This was the best picture I could get.

After IASW it was time to call it a night.

 

[Disneybird]

IASW was beautiful inside and out. Even though the park was very crowded, this was the longest line we stood in. Most of the times waits were less than 20 minutes for everything. But we were always in the parks at opening time since our bodies felt like it was later in the day.

Anyone who gets a chance to go to Disneyland should go. Most walkways, etc. felt a little compact compared to WDW, so there was more shoulder to shoulder contact. But the park was lovely and very magical.

It was a little strange to sit on our balcony at the Howard Johnsons and look into Disneyland though, and know that all that is separating you from the park is a highway and a wall.

 

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It was Day 3 at the parks. We thought this was an early entry day. Even though we were not staying at the parks, we had something included in our tickets that allowed us to have early entry one morning. So, mom and I leave the hotel to arrive at the parks for opening at 8 AM. Only, we get there and look around wondering where all the people are. Well, turns out it was not early entry after all. Both my mom and my sister swear the Disneyland website had this day posted for early entry. So, I took some pictures of the dead area before we headed off for a long Denny's breakfast.

We arrived back at DL for park opening at 10:00 AM. Our first stop for the morning was Fantasyland.

I will note for those of you who have not been to DL. Yes, it is very obvious through pictures that Sleeping Beauty's castle is much smaller than Cinderella's, but wow, I was amazed by how much smaller. Our walk through the castle took roughly 15 steps.

Amanda, Victor, and John got in line for Peter Pan's Flight. Mom and I decided to skip out for some reason, but Amanda called over to us and asked if we would take Victor on the carousel. He kept saying "horsey" in the line. So, we did. He loved the carousel. I think he would have been content if his entire trip revolved around the carousel.

 

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After the carousel, we handed him back to Amanda and John for Peter Pan's Flight. Once they got off the ride, I was absolutely giddy with excitement. We were finally going to go on the ride that I could not wait to go on again.

Until that point we had not gone on because they were having technical problems throughout the week. Mom asked me if I remembered anything about the ride. I told her I remembered that you go to he!!.

Next, we walked through the sleeping beauty display in the castle. We finished Fantasyland with Pinnochio and some other attractions we had not gone on yet.

We ventured over to Frontierland next. The line for BTMRR was not long. So, Amanda and John got in line, while mom and I took Victor to a bench near an open and secluded area to let him work some energy off. We sang and we danced until it was time for mom and I to get another ride in on BTMRR.

Next stop was the Jungle Cruise. We had a great skipper, and this ride had elements that the WDW version does not, which is refreshing.

We rode HM a few more times, and then ate lunch. After lunch mom wanted to see Billy Hill and the Hillbillies. We were way up in the balcony and debated leaving a few times. There Christmas show was entertaining, and there were a lot of people in the audience that saw them perform before. I would like to see their non-holiday show, maybe next time.

 

[Disneyfalcon]

Sorry you got there so early!! But how often do you get pictures of the giant letters with no one in front of them?

 

[popsicletrees]

Sorry you got there so early!! But how often do you get pictures of the giant letters with no one in front of them?

I agree! That was the fortunate thing. I wanted a picture of just the letters, but it is just impossible during hours of operation.

 

[Katherine]

Thanks for the trip report! I went to Disneyland last summer and fell in love... I REALLY want to go back this summer... keeping my fingers crossed! Great report!

 

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Once again it was naptime for Victor. While Amanda and John took him off to the hotel, mom and I rode some more. I think we went on Indiana Jones at least three times during his nap. That evening we met up with the rest of the group at California Adventure. We entered the park just as the Pixar Play Parade was starting. So we sat down to enjoy the parade literally right across from the entrance. It was a really nice view and not too crowded.

 

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I kept saying while we were there that I wanted to see the Aladdin show. So, during the parade my sister disappeared. She returned with preferred seating for the next Aladdin show. We didn't have too long before seating actually began. So, we immediately headed over to the theater.

The show was absolutely AMAZING! Honestly, we went in with no expectations and left completely blown away by it. The sets, the costumes, the cast, it was all so good. Honestly, if you get a chance to see this show, please go see it.

 

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On next for our agenda was another highlight of the trip: Disney's Main Street Electrical Parade. Ok, I know it is no longer on Main Street nor is it called that anymore, but it is still a childhood memory that I finally had the chance to see again. We had a great location sitting on a bench on the bridge near Paradise Pier. No one was sitting in front of us, we had no ropes holding us off, it was just us and the parade.

 

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[Disneyfalcon]

I agree, the Aladdin show is amazing!! It's a "Don't Miss" for sure. Loving your report!

 

[TP2000]

It sure looks like you really hit all the great offerings in Disneyland and DCA! Well done!

 

[popsicletrees]

I agree, the Aladdin show is amazing!! It's a "Don't Miss" for sure. Loving your report!

It sure looks like you really hit all the great offerings in Disneyland and DCA! Well done!

Thanks to you both! We packed our days full, but we did exactly what we wanted to do during our trip.

 

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I forgot to mention this, but after the parade we actually headed back over to DL to ride HM for the last time. It was closing the next day to remove the Nightmare Before Christmas part. Victor rode it that time. He actually enjoyed the ride, even gave it applause afterwards.

The next day was our last day in the parks. That morning mom and I went back over to the Disneyland Hotel so she could get some merchandise. We stopped to take a picture in front of the mural while there.

From there we headed over to DCA. I told mom that she needed to ride California Screamin' before we left. Since we didn't have Victor for the moment, that was our first stop. Next, we went through the Mission Tortilla Factory and the tour of how to make sourdough bread at the Boudin Bakery.

We met up with Amanda, John, and Victor in "a bug's land." The benches there were a great touch to the theming of the area.

We stopped in to ITTBAB, but Victor did not like the theater. John quickly took him out before the show started. We made our way through the park towards the Hollywood Pictures Backlot area.

At this point we finally rode ToT. I was surprised at how different this version was from the version at WDW. Mainly because on the DL version the elevator does not go out the shaft into a separate shaft. So, you begin and end in the exact same place. It completely threw me.

 

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After ToT, Amanda and John went off by themselves. We were going to wait and eat lunch until we got to DL, but mom and I took Victor over to Paradise Pier to see if the ice cream place was open. It wasn't. Oh well. We ran into Goofy, Pluto, and Mickey during that time. So, Victor wasn't too disappointed.

We stopped over on the onlookers bridge at Grizzly River Run for a bit.

We finally made our way back to the entrance where a lot of characters were out. I really loved the interaction between Pluto and Victor. It was very magical.

This really made Victor laugh.