ukstitch
<font color=deeppink>I'm not sure I'm quite your a
- Joined
- May 5, 2008
- Messages
- 5,487
I woke up at about 7:30ish or so and took my bags down to reception, then checked out. I headed straight for the Disneyland Park again a I had a magic morning to use (basically the same as EMH). I headed straight for Fantasyland again, then took in my favourite rides from the previous two days again.
After a number of rides, it was getting on for lunch time, so I decided to head back out to the Downtown Disney area to try to track down a bag. I eventually found a Disneyland Holdall in the main shop in the village, so I bought that and paid a quick visit back to the hotel in order to repack my bags.
I then headed back down to the Downtown Disney area to try to find something to eat. I eventually settle on the rainforest cafe, which I really enjoyed which surprised me considering I'm not a fan of the one in Paris as there's hardly anything on the menu that appeals to me, plus on our last visit, most of the food wasn't particularly hot.
I had the chicken fried chicken which was huge (two battered chicken breasts, plus a big pile of mashed potato), then decided to have the cheesecake for pudding. I'd forgotten the lesson I learnt in New York a few years about ordering vanilla cheesecake in America (it's huge) and was presented with a huge piece of cheesecake. I somehow managed to eat it all - I was determined to do so as I'd failed miserably with the one I had in New York, although I was feeling suitably stuffed afterwards...
I then took the monorail back into the park as I hadn't ridden that yet and then decided that as I didn't have much time left anyway, I would spend the remaining time just taking a slow walk around the park, taking in the sights from each land for the final time.
This was something I really enjoyed doing as I wasn't rushing to try to get anywhere in particular, so I was able to just take photos of things that interested me and enjoy the park.
I eventually arrived round at Main Street again , so I walked down Main Street, turned to take one last look at the castle, then headed out of the park.
I popped back to my hotel to collect my luggage, then sat outside waiting for my shuttle bus (much like the VEA bus at DLRP) to collect me to take me back to the airport, ready to return home after a nice long sleep on the plane to catch up on some much needed sleep due to the long days and short nights I'd had for the past 3 days.
I had an amazing 2 1/2 days at Disneyland. Having experienced DLRP quite a few times, I felt I knew the place fairly well. If I'm honest, I think I underestimated how much I was to enjoy Disneyland - a lot of people had warned me about how small it is andhow it's not as nice as WDW etc...
But - I loved every second I was there. I feel it opened my eyes somewhat when looking at DLRP as it really highlighted some of the areas that DLRP is lacking in my opinion and where it could improve. It felt so magical knowing that I was in the original park and knowing that I was seeing thing, touching things that Walt himself would have had a hand in the making of and this was especially true when riding the Lilly Belle which is an experience I don't think I will ever forget.
I can't honestly think of anything I would consider a real negative, apart from possibly the fact that I didn't get to ride It's a Small World or the "real" haunted mansion (it had it's Nightmare Before Christmas overlay), although this can't be helped as attractions have to be taken down occasionally.
Visiting Disneyland changed my perspective of the parks - while I now have an AP for DLRP and am likely to visit there more often than I visit DLR, this is mainly a matter of convenience and cost as DLRP is closer, which means it needs less days to feel like I've got the most from my trip and also costs less. If I had an unlimited supply of time and money though, I'd probably split my time the other way round - visiting DLRP occasionally as there are still some things there that I prefer (there are more table service restaurants for one thing and the exclusive attractions are really good), but spending most of my time at DLR.
After a number of rides, it was getting on for lunch time, so I decided to head back out to the Downtown Disney area to try to track down a bag. I eventually found a Disneyland Holdall in the main shop in the village, so I bought that and paid a quick visit back to the hotel in order to repack my bags.
I then headed back down to the Downtown Disney area to try to find something to eat. I eventually settle on the rainforest cafe, which I really enjoyed which surprised me considering I'm not a fan of the one in Paris as there's hardly anything on the menu that appeals to me, plus on our last visit, most of the food wasn't particularly hot.
I had the chicken fried chicken which was huge (two battered chicken breasts, plus a big pile of mashed potato), then decided to have the cheesecake for pudding. I'd forgotten the lesson I learnt in New York a few years about ordering vanilla cheesecake in America (it's huge) and was presented with a huge piece of cheesecake. I somehow managed to eat it all - I was determined to do so as I'd failed miserably with the one I had in New York, although I was feeling suitably stuffed afterwards...
I then took the monorail back into the park as I hadn't ridden that yet and then decided that as I didn't have much time left anyway, I would spend the remaining time just taking a slow walk around the park, taking in the sights from each land for the final time.
This was something I really enjoyed doing as I wasn't rushing to try to get anywhere in particular, so I was able to just take photos of things that interested me and enjoy the park.
I eventually arrived round at Main Street again , so I walked down Main Street, turned to take one last look at the castle, then headed out of the park.
I popped back to my hotel to collect my luggage, then sat outside waiting for my shuttle bus (much like the VEA bus at DLRP) to collect me to take me back to the airport, ready to return home after a nice long sleep on the plane to catch up on some much needed sleep due to the long days and short nights I'd had for the past 3 days.
I had an amazing 2 1/2 days at Disneyland. Having experienced DLRP quite a few times, I felt I knew the place fairly well. If I'm honest, I think I underestimated how much I was to enjoy Disneyland - a lot of people had warned me about how small it is andhow it's not as nice as WDW etc...
But - I loved every second I was there. I feel it opened my eyes somewhat when looking at DLRP as it really highlighted some of the areas that DLRP is lacking in my opinion and where it could improve. It felt so magical knowing that I was in the original park and knowing that I was seeing thing, touching things that Walt himself would have had a hand in the making of and this was especially true when riding the Lilly Belle which is an experience I don't think I will ever forget.
I can't honestly think of anything I would consider a real negative, apart from possibly the fact that I didn't get to ride It's a Small World or the "real" haunted mansion (it had it's Nightmare Before Christmas overlay), although this can't be helped as attractions have to be taken down occasionally.
Visiting Disneyland changed my perspective of the parks - while I now have an AP for DLRP and am likely to visit there more often than I visit DLR, this is mainly a matter of convenience and cost as DLRP is closer, which means it needs less days to feel like I've got the most from my trip and also costs less. If I had an unlimited supply of time and money though, I'd probably split my time the other way round - visiting DLRP occasionally as there are still some things there that I prefer (there are more table service restaurants for one thing and the exclusive attractions are really good), but spending most of my time at DLR.
Just wish I could find a partner that shared the same enthusiasm and not "if you think I'm going into the park with all the Hispanic/Brazilian/English tourist to **** me off then you've got another thing coming" lol.
