Tuesday, July 12, 2016

Disneyland Trip Recap 4/29/16

On our first Disney day, we planned to go to Disneyland.  Tara had made an itinerary based off of a plan Casey from DLR Prep School had designed.  I'm really glad we had a plan because it was a lot easier to stay focused on our day!  This was both Tara and Linda's first trip to Disneyland Resort so I wanted them to do whatever they wanted to do, and to see what they wanted to!


I got up early to get ready.  This is where I'm thankful for the 3 hour time difference.  It's not as difficult to get up early when your body thinks it's a few hours later anyways!  I enjoyed getting ready in my hotel room.  I noticed a few more Mickey details that I hadn't noticed before.  One of my favorites was the Mickey shower dial!


I laid out my Disneyland outfit the night before so I was ready to go!  I supported many small shops!  I had my new Disney shirt from Once Upon A Mickey Tee, my Mickey hat earrings from Hokey Donut and my Disneyland ears from Elephant and Mouse


I met up with Tara and Linda and we headed towards Downtown Disney.  We walked through part of Downtown Disney, stopping when we arrived at the Grand Californian entrance.  Tara and Linda asked if we could go through it, and I said "well, yeah!"  The hotel is beautiful.  I'd love to stay there someday!  We explored for a little bit.  We also hit up the gift shop to get our first glimpse of Disneyland merchandise!


One of the things that jumped out at me was an Elliott ornament.  I took a picture of it and sent it to Eliot.  He was partially named after Elliott so I took that as a sign that while he might be at home in Maine, he was at Disneyland with me in spirit!


After, we headed to the ticket booths.  Both Tara and Linda had to get their travel agent ticket vouchers switched to actual tickets.  I could have tried to get a free ticket, but in the end I just bought a three day hopper ticket.  (We got discounted tickets because of our private event anyways!)  Tara had a little bit of a harder time getting hers switched over.  The cast member felt bad because it took such a long time to do it.


She asked us which ride we were going to first and I practically screamed and fell over myself yelling "Peter Pan!"  I had a hunch why she was asking and I was right!  She gave us a ticket so we wouldn't have to wait in the longer line.  Peter Pan always has the longest line since it only takes 2-3 people in each car.  While Peter Pan was the first ride on our itinerary, I knew we'd save a ton of time with that pass.  Yippee!!!


We entered Disneyland and took a few photos of the Train Station.  Then, I took the girls over towards the Fire Station.  I wanted a few photos of Walt's candle.  Plus, I always stop by to say a little thank you to Walt every time I go to Disneyland.


Next, we headed towards the Main Street Cinema.  We watched a few minutes of Steamboat Willie before going to the castle.  On the way, I pointed out some of the windows.  We took a pictures at the Casting Agency door and enjoyed Main Street.


We took a bunch of pictures at Sleeping Beauty Castle.  It really is stunning with the Diamond Celebration decorations on it.  I'm really going to miss the extra sparkle when the 60th Anniversary ends in September.


Tara, Linda and I went to Peter Pan's Flight next.  We used our ticket and got to stand in the handicap line instead of the regular line.  (I think the regular line was at 40-45 minutes.)  We probably waited about 15 minutes before it was our turn.  We all jumped into one boat and we sailed away to Neverland!


After, we did the Sleeping Beauty Castle walk through before heading over towards New Orleans Square.  We had some time before our Blue Bayou lunch reservation so we went on the Haunted Mansion.  I went in a car behind Tara and Linda.  It's been a while since I went on the Haunted Mansion alone!  I absolutely love the mansion, but it did remind me of when I was a kid and it scared me a little.


We headed through the streets to Blue Bayou.  We stopped at the original Club 33 entrance and took photos of the sign.  Then, we checked in for our reservation.  We had to wait a few minutes since the restaurant opened at 11:30.  We ended up being one of the first groups seated and we were right next to the water.  I was so excited!


The entire lunch experience was incredible.  I exclaimed when I opened the menu and they lit up!  I was also so excited when I found out they served mint juleps.  I've wanted to try one so this was perfect!  I ordered the House Salad and the Citrus-Marinated Chicken Breast.  The food was delicious.  I'd love to go there again.


While we ate, we watched the boats from Pirates of the Caribbean pass by.  The Blue Bayou restaurant is located in the beginning part of the ride.  You pass through the bayou with the restaurant on one side and the ride scenes on the other.  Once in a while, someone from a boat would yell over asking for a dinner roll.  The rolls were delicious and I thought it was amusing that everyone wanted one so badly.


After lunch, we thought it was only appropriate to go on Pirates of the Caribbean.  I love Disneyland's version of POTC.  The ride is a little bit longer.  There are also two drops since the drops are used to get you under the train tracks an into the ride building.  Their cave with waterfalls and the beach scene is stunning.  I love it!


Next, we set out to finish the rest of our Disneyland itinerary.  We used our FastPasses to get onto Indiana Jones.  (I put my phone away and didn't take any pictures.)  On the way in, I spotted the house of the "Little Man of Disneyland".  Tara and Linda both enjoyed Indiana Jones.  It is really cool.  I wish we had one at Walt Disney World!


We headed back across the park to go on Buzz Lightyear.  It was a lot of fun!  After, we walked through Tomorrowland towards Fantasyland.  We went on the Finding Nemo Submarines since it was something else we don't have at Walt Disney World.  I love this ride.  They re-themed 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea to Finding Nemo and it worked out perfectly.  It's really cute.  Kids of all ages love it!


After that, we went over to It's a Small World.  I love how the clock building and facade is outside.  It's so much prettier than crammed into a building.  While waiting in line, we watched one of the time presentations with the dolls coming out.  The ride wasn't too busy.  In fact, I think we each ended up in our own row of an entire boat to ourselves!


My favorite part of the Disneyland's It's A Small World is that they've added Disney dolls to their respective countries.  Along the way, I pointed them out.  Some of the characters seen in the ride are Cinderella, Alice, Mulan, Aladdin, Jasmine, Lilo, Stitch, Ariel, Nemo, Dory, Woody, Jessie, and Pinocchio!  (Along with many more!)


At this point, we were starting to run a bit low on time.  We returned to Tomorrowland because we wanted to see some of the Star Wars Seasons of the Force stuff.  Linda decided to sit in the shade for a few minutes while Tara and I went to explore Launch Bay.  We saw costumes from the movie, movie clips, a store, and then we discovered the Chase Visa Card photo spot.  We decided to do it and we got to meet Kylo Ren.


I could write a ton about the experience, but to sum it up he was creepy.  Creepy in a 'I couldn't stop laughing' kind of way.  He decided Tara "sympathized with the light side" so he hated her the entire time.  I told him I was team Kylo and he seemed to like me, as much as Kylo Ren can like someone.  He totally shunned Tara in our photos.  What we were left with was a way awkward prom photo of me and him.  It was so funny.


After that, we decided to call it a day.  We'd accomplished most of our Disneyland itinerary, and we'd done all of the things we really wanted to do.  Plus, our day wasn't over yet!  We still had our private party to attend!  We headed back to the Disneyland Hotel to get ready for our Pearls in the Park event.  It was a great Disney Day One!!!

Note: I've already written about Pearls in the Park, so instead of writing the same thing over again, you can read more about that here!  °o°

2 comments:

  1. Thanks for bringing us along...what fun you had!

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    1. You're welcome! I'm glad you enjoyed reading about it so far!!! :-)

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