Though we do live MUCH closer to the East Coast Mouse than to the West Coast Mouse, I, myself, have always wanted to go to DisneyLAND.
Sure, it is very far away and a lot smaller than Walt Disney World, but
I've always wanted to go and do the original... The two main reasons
that I wanted to go NOW are because 1) - CARS is one of B's
favorite movies, still to this day, and I really, really wanted to take
him to Cars Land, and 2) - Disneyland is 60 years old this year. We
visited Walt Disney World in 2011
when it turned 40, so it made perfect sense to visit Disneyland in 2015
when it turned 60! Now, I would venture to say that most people from
my neck of the woods would choose to fly, but never has "getting there
is half the fun" been more true. We've had such a fun adventure just
getting here and looked forward to spending our first day in the park...
Our day started with a classic, Breakfast with Minnie & Friends at the famous Plaza Inn...
where we were promptly greeted by Tigger...
We dined and visited with several character friends, all while making sure to grab a coveted autograph and photo with each!
Captain Hook...
Tigger & Max...
Rafiki...
Chip...
Pinocchio...
Fairy Godmother...
Eeyore...
Perla...
and, of course, Minnie!
Our first stop after breakfast was...
ADVENTURELAND
for a visit to Walt Disney's Enchanted Tiki Room...
Dole Whips for all!
From there, we split up and hit our first rides of the day ~ the Indiana Jones Adventure for Hubby, B, and L, and due to height requirements, the Jungle Cruise for M and me...
In neighboring
NEW ORLEANS SQUARE
we visited the Haunted Mansion, a fun favorite...
and the Pirates of the Caribbean ride, that cruises right through one of Disneyland's famous restaurants, Blue Bayou...
and the Pirates of the Caribbean ride, that cruises right through one of Disneyland's famous restaurants, Blue Bayou...
From there, we made a stop in
CRITTER COUNTRY
for a ride on The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh...
After
our ride, the girls and I stayed put to meet up with a few favorite
characters, mainly Winnie the Pooh, while Hubby and B headed off
to find a charging station and grab some Fast Passes...
In nearby
FRONTIERLAND
we rode Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, a favorite for everyone...
After circling over to visit with Mr. Disney, himself (and his main mouse, of course)...
we grabbed a couple of photos with "Little Pinky", all decked out for Disneyland's 60th Birthday and Diamond Celebration...
Side
Note: I never understood why I'd heard Sleeping Beauty's Castle
referred to as "Little Pinky", but I do now. Let's just say that if you
have been to Walt Disney World, and have seen Cinderella's Castle, the
focal point of Magic Kingdom, you'll "get it"... Little Pinky is a
wonderful castle and beautiful in its own right, but it is not the large
landmark that can be seen towering all over the park. I'd say that
is the Matterhorn here in Disneyland!
Afterwards, the girls wanted to meet Tinkerbell, so we headed over to Pixie Hollow, of course...
where we met both Rosetta...
and Tinkerbell!
From Pixie Hollow, we dipped into
FANTASYLAND
to grab a late lunch and ride a few rides...
before wandering over to
FANTASYLAND
to grab a late lunch and ride a few rides...
and Pinocchio's Daring Journey...
before wandering over to
MICKEY'S TOONTOWN
Here
we met up with Jaana, of Photography by Jaana, who followed us around
for a couple of hours capturing some of my favorite shots of the day...
{photo cred: Jaana of Photography by Jaana}
From Mickey's Toontown, we headed back over to the heart of Disneyland, the quintessential,
FANTASYLAND
In Fantasyland,
we rode Mad Tea Party...
{photo cred: Jaana of Photography by Jaana}
{photo cred: Jaana of Photography by Jaana}
{photo cred: Jaana of Photography by Jaana}
{photo cred: Jaana of Photography by Jaana}
and Dumbo the Flying Elephant...
{photo cred: Jaana of Photography by Jaana}
and the King Arthur Carrousel...
{photo cred: Jaana of Photography by Jaana}
{photo cred: Jaana of Photography by Jaana}
before grabbing a few more shots over to the side of "Little Pinky"...
{photo cred: Jaana of Photography by Jaana}
{photo cred: Jaana of Photography by Jaana}
and parting ways with our fun photographer...
After doing the Sleeping Beauty Castle Walkthrough...
we headed over to
TOMORROWLAND
and waited in line a pretty looong time for Space Mountain...
but we couldn't come all this way and NOT ride the West Coast version...
Before heading back to our hotel for the night, we capped off our FULL day by staking out a spot to watch the new, Disney Paint the Night Parade...
The littles were mesmerized, and I couldn't help but sing along to the catchy song that I know will forever play in my head!
Thank you, Disneyland, for a magical day. Can't wait for more fun tomorrow!
More {Road Trip} 2015 Fun
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