Tag: Disneyland

An Adventure at Disney California Adventure

After a great day at Disneyland before, California Adventure was the next thing my family and I would tackle. Disney California Adventure was an amazing overall experience. There was so much to do and see and my family and I got through most of it.

My aunt, uncle, mom, sister, and I arrived at Disney California Adventure around 9:30 or 10 in the morning and decided to get to Cars Land first. Cars Land was so well created and made my family and I feel like we had just stepped into the movie. It was so cool! Of course we had to do the Radiator Springs Racers ride and so we walked that way first. The wait may be been about two hours but it was well worth the wait. The ride was so cute and it was fun to travel through Radiator Springs and then win the race in the end. It may have been rigged but that’s okay. After that thrilling ride, we got our picture taken with Mater at the Cozy Cone Motel and then made our way towards Paradise Pier.

Paradise Pier is home to many enjoyable boardwalk games, Ariel’s Grotto (a restaurant), several rides, and the World of Color show. We decided to walk around and see where we would be eating later tonight, which would be at Ariel’s Grotto. Allyson, my sister suggested that we ride on Ariel’s Undersea Adventure which was a ride in a seashell through Ariel’s journey. There was no wait which was great and the ride was also very cute.

Once we finished that, Allyson and I led everyone to Hollywood Land where we got to go to the Animation Academy, meet Anna and Elsa, and then attend the Animation Academy and draw Zero from The Nightmare Before Christmas. Frozen is my favorite Disney movie, so of course we had to meet the royalty of Frozen. Anna and Elsa were very sweet and Anna even gave my sister and I a hug! The Animation Academy drawing class was a lot of fun because we got to draw with an actual Disney artist and he complimented my sister on her drawing which was awesome.

Meeting Anna and Elsa!

After visiting the Animation Academy, we found a place to grab some really good hot dogs for lunch and then headed back to Disneyland to get on a few rides we missed yesterday. We ran into Cinderella on the way back to Disneyland and got to meet her and take pictures with her of course.

The next thing we did was walk over to Adventureland to get some Dole Whip and also take the Jungle Cruise. Before we got to California, I heard a lot about Dole Whip and how amazing it was. Everything I had heard about it was true. It was so refreshing, light, and delicious. My family and I were able to enjoy the beloved treat while waiting to get on the Jungle Cruise which was also an enjoyable and interesting ride. Our tour guide for the boat trip was hilarious and the animatronic jungle animals looked so realistic and were fun to watch move around.

Dole Whip… It can only be found in Hawaii or at Disneyland

Once that was over, we walked back to Fantasyland to walk through Pixie Hollow, rode the Monorail, and do the Alice in Wonderland ride. While the Monorail didn’t go around the whole park, it was cool to be in it and see as much of the park as we were able to. The Alice in Wonderland ride was very cute and fun.

This was one of the caterpillars to ride in for the Alice in Wonderland ride.

And of course, to finish out our time in Disneyland, my family and I had to do Splash Mountain. The line had been terribly long all day and we knew that the ride was popular so we decided to get Fastpasses earlier in the day so that we could come back later in the day and get in line, wait for a short amount of time, and then ride Splash Mountain. That ride was my favorite out of any ride we’d been on. It wasn’t jerky or ridiculously fast like the Matterhorn, but it had enough speed and drops to be thrilling, enjoyable, and worth everything. I got soaked on the ride, and that probably happened because I sat up front in the log.

Splash Mountain

On the way back to California Adventure, we did a quick walkthrough of Sleeping Beauty’s castle and then made our way back to California Adventure to get to our reservation at Ariel’s Grotto in time.

We made it to our reservation with plenty of time to spare and we were even able to get in like ten minutes earlier than our reservation because we checked in early. The food was wonderful. We were served a three-course meal, which started with a choice of soup or salad, then an entree, and it finished with dessert. The salad was a strawberry, pistachio, and feta cheese salad, I picked their fire-roasted corn cakes as my entree, and then for dessert there was a lemon frosted madeline, passion fruit creme brûlée which was to die for, and then a mocha chocolate pastry. I somehow managed to eat it all and I was satisfied with the food and the service. After dinner, my family and I were given our tickets to the preferred seating at the World of Color show. World of Color is a show at Paradise Pier that involves fountains and lots of water and pictures and clips are projected on water. We purchased the package deal of dinner at a specific restaurant, which for us was Ariel’s Grotto, at California Adventure and preferred seating access to World of Color. We got to stand right up near the water and see the show from a very good spot. Even though we got somewhat wet, the exciting light show, reflection of Disney movies and pictures on the water, lasers, and flames kept me happy and entertained throughout the entire show. It was a wonderful experience and that like no other and I would definitely do the package deal again to get such good seats for World of Color.

The best part of the meal. (I forgot to mention that we were celebrating my sister’s birthday as well as mine and the restaurant gave us cupcakes for it.)

That was a great way to end our last day at the Disneyland Resort and I know that will definitely be going back in the future. Disneyland really is the happiest place on earth and I’m so glad I had the chance to go.

Walt and Mickey on Buena Vista St. at Disney California Adventure

I’d also like to add, Happy Father’s Day to all dads out there. Thank you for everything you do for us all. 🙂

June 19, 2016
A Day at Disneyland

Disneyland, the happiest place on Earth. This past week, my family and I were able to go travel to Anaheim, California to spend two days at Disneyland. Those two days were some of the best days of my life, ever. My family and I had so much fun, ate plenty of good food, had a lot of fun on the rides, and were able to make some wonderful memories. I was disappointed that my dad wasn’t able to come with us because he had to stay and watch our dogs, but we were still able to get stuff for him and fill him in on the entire trip. Anyway, here’s my experience at Disneyland.

Thursday we decided to stay at Disneyland the entire day. That was a wise decision because there was so much to do! Being there in June, I was worried that the lines would be terribly long and it would be hot and humid, but it wasn’t too bad for either of those things at all. It was overcast both days and the temperature was cool but still comfortable enough to wear a tank top and shorts. We waited in the security lines for about ten minutes and then headed into the park.

I had seen plenty of pictures of Disneyland before but none of them compared to being at Walt Disney’s creation in person. After walking around Main Street for a little bit, my family and I found our way to Sleeping Beauty’s Castle and the little area in front of it where Walt is holding Mickey’s hand. We definitely took lots of pictures and then headed to Tomorrowland.

We decided to go on Nemo’s Submarine Voyage first and that was a cute, fun way to start our experience out. After that, we decided to head to the Matterhorn in Fantasyland. I did not like this ride at all. Some people might enjoy a fast, jerky, extremely loud ride through a mountain while you’re being followed by an angry yeti, but I don’t. I didn’t get sick but I was disappointed with how that ride turned out. My family and I were getting kind of hungry by now, since it was around noon and so we found a little shop that sold giant turkey legs and corn on the cob. I had a giant turkey leg and it was delicious but kind of greasy. I needed help finishing it because there was so much turkey! Once we were satisfied with food, my aunt, uncle, mom, sister, and I travelled to It’s A Small World, which was super cute and a nice, relaxing ride compared to the Matterhorn. Then, we did Storybook Land which was a little boat tour through a land where a bunch of the castles and settings from Disney movies were displayed. That ride was also fun. We made our way back to the Sleeping Beauty castle to get on Peter Pan’s Flight which was a ride following Peter on his trip from London to Neverland. This ride was a joke. We waited in line for an hour and a half for a less than two minute cheesy experience. I probably would have enjoyed this ride if I was younger, and it was still really cute, I was just irritated that waiting in line for almost two hours wasn’t really worth the wait.

Finding Nemo’s Submarine Voyage

It’s a Small World

Entering the whale from Pinocchio at Storybook Land

While I may not have enjoyed that ride, the next three rides my family and I did after dinner were wonderful. For dinner, my family and I ate at Café Orleans in New Orleans Square. I’ve never been to New Orleans, but according to my aunt and uncle, it really reminded them of the actual city. The food at Café Orleans was delicious and the service was great. I ordered their “Crescent City” salad which was amazing and the pomegranate lemonade was really good too. With full stomachs, the five of us adventured to Pirates of the Caribbean, which is also in New Orleans Square. This ride was well done, exciting, and overall a great experience. The next one we did was Haunted Mansion, which was not scary at all, and it was really cool. Finally, we ventured to Adventureland and decided to tackle the Indiana Jones and the Temple of the Forbidden Eye. There was a long line for this ride, but our hour wait was definitely worth it. A majority of the ride was computer generated and it was so cool! While the jeep moved quickly and we did make a few sharp turns and sudden stops, this ride was awesome and so much fun.

This was my salad and it was probably one of the best salads I’ve ever had.

Indiana Jones and the Temple of the Forbidden Eye

After a long day of rides, churros, other delicious foods, long lines, pin trading, and crazy Disney fans, my family and I called it a day and headed back to our hotel which was walking distance from the park. We must have lucked out with the weather and wait times on most of the rides. The reported wait times for the most popular rides we went on were anywhere from 30-90 minutes and with the exception of Peter Pan’s Flight and Indiana Jones, we were in line 20 minutes at most. The cast members at Disneyland were all very helpful, welcoming, and sweet. Our first day was a little hectic and overwhelming at first, but overall it was a great first day at Disneyland. Disneyland really is the happiest place on earth. 🙂 The next day we would check out California Adventure, and I will share my experience from California Adventure next week.

June 12, 2016