Our Family Goes to Disneyland
We just got back from a family vacation that ended with our family’s first trip to Disneyland!
Now, to be fair, it wasn’t Jon’s first time there. He grew up in Anaheim, so he had been to Disneyland a few times. But for the rest of us, it was a first.
We were at Disney for two days, day one spent in Disneyland, and day two spent in Disney California Adventure. And the first thing I’d like to share is that I forgot how many steps you get in during a day at a Disney park. On the first day, I had over 18,000 steps. Laws! I kept seeing women in either flip flops or heels, and I don’t know how any of them do those shoe choices without sitting down and crying by lunchtime!
So, Disneyland, day one.
Ok, maybe it’s just me, but I love the fact that Disney does little details so well, that even the Starbucks cups there a magical.
I loved the California versions of many of the rides that I’ve gone on in Florida.
The Pirates of the Caribbean was so different! The little drops in the ride really add a fun aspect to the whole experience, and I enjoyed the beginning part of the trip. I also enjoyed Space Mountain more in California.
Now, this might seem like an off thing to comment on, but the atmosphere of the waiting area as you’re standing in a long line is so much more entertaining in California. There’s more to see, and it feels a little more thought out. I also like the style of the ride that it’s not 3 singles in a row.
Of course, I had to get a Dole Whip. I love Dole Whip! Alexia got a twisted version, with raspberry and pineapple. And Jon got ours spiced – the top is covered in bacon. He liked that, I didn’t really.
I think the ride we all enjoyed the most on the first day was the Indiana Jones ride.
It is so much fun! And again, Disney just rocks the entire ride experience, because going through the line wasn’t boring. There was plenty to look and touch as we walked through to the ride.
We also did a night time Jungle Cruise, which was a fun and different experience. Everything you see is still lit up very well, but it’s nice being on the water at night. The darkness feels cozy.
As a side story, my dad told me about a ride he went on with his dad back in the 1950s. He told me about how he kept getting hot dogs for the two of them, and my grandpa wound up feeling quite sick, and then they went on a ride that looked like rocket ships, and grandpa almost hurled. Chloe and I were walking by an area under construction that had pictures on it of past Disneyland events and saw this picture.
And yes, when I sent it to my dad, he said that was the very ride he was telling me about. I love Disney!
The one disappointment at Disneyland was that the castle was completely covered up, for some necessary upkeep of the castle. Kind of a bummer.
Disney California Adventure, day two.
We decided that the first thing we’d do was take ourselves straight to get FastPass tickets for Cars Radiator Springs Racers. We got the passes around 10:30, and the FastPass time was from 3:05 to 4:05. Crazy!
Next up was another Starbucks visit. Because we love us some Starbucks.
Next, we hung around for the Newsies show. Newsies is Chloe’s absolute favorite musical, so we couldn’t miss it. Did you know that Mickey comes off the trolley and performs with the Newsies? Totally awesome.
Ok, so Jon wanted to go on the Guardians of the Galaxy: Mission Breakout drop tower. I haven’t done a Disney drop ride before, because I have this whole thing with heights. But, because I am a wonderful wife, I agreed to do it. And I loved it! I was thinking it was like one of those drop rides where you start at a really crazy height and fall all the way down to the bottom – it totally isn’t!
It’s more of a drop a bit and bounces and go up and down a few times type of deal.
And, again, I loved it! Once again, the line area was amazing. Quite possibly my favorite. The whole thing is set up like the Collectors museum, with artifacts and pictures and information. And the ride was spectacular. It kept the theme going throughout the ride, which was a lot of fun. I liked this ride so much that I wanted to go again, but the wait was too long since we only had one day to spend there.
Next up was snack time! We really did eat a lot of snacks for day two. Because, as we’ve discussed in some of our YouTube videos, Disney is great for people with allergies. They have wonderful ingredient lists and take time to help you figure out what you can and can’t eat. We wanted some yummy Mickey Mouse ice cream treats! Jon and I couldn’t eat the Mickey bar, but we could eat the sandwich!
Ok, so in the Hollywood area of DCA, we saw both Captain America and Spider-Man! Super exciting! We didn’t wait in line to meet them, but we did see them. And I did freak out a little.
We walked around more, Chloe did the swing ride (it freaks me out to even watch that one), we rode The Little Mermaid ride, which was super cute.
More snacks!
For real – that sugar cookie was amazing! My absolute favorite. It has a slight almond flavor and I loved it.
Now it’s finally time for the Cars ride! It was amazing. Since we all liked it so much, we actually decided to wait in the ridiculously long line to go a second time. Pro tip: if you have long hair, put it up for the ride. The tangles were many.
The one disappointment for DCA was that we had wanted to eat dinner at one of the restaurants, and we forgot until too late in the afternoon. We couldn’t get a reservation at any of them, they were all totally booked up, and we had to go elsewhere to eat.
We did take a walk through Downtown Disney and saw some amazing creations at the Lego Store. Being the Lego obsessed family that we are, that was a fun little perk to our day.
In summary to this long post, definitely make a stop at Disneyland a bullet point on your bucket list. It is a lot of fun and a must for any true Disney fan!