First, Background: I just got married one month ago! My DH has an 8 year old brother, Jimmy. His mom owns a company and they had a convention in San Diego, CA. Since I had never been to California, and we had a free flight on Southwest, I decided at the last minute to go! Well, I just can't go to Southern California and not go to Disneyland. So I rented a car in the morning and drove up. I also could not go and not bring an 8 year old kid who has never been to Disneyland! So I brought him as well. This was my first time to go with anyone younger (unless you count going with my younger brother when I was young as well). Anyway, it was a very exciting day!!
Castmembers: Me, Jessica (23) and Brother-in-Law, Jimmy (8)
We woke up pretty early on Friday, 10/28 and headed over to Enterprise to get our car (my fav rental because they don't charge you extra if you are under 25). I got a Dodge Neon. Not too bad, but I would never own one. Then we made our way to the Interstate! Now, I have never driven on the CA freeways and was a bit apprehensive, especially since it was rush hour! It was a piece of cake! No different than here in Kansas City. No one was rude, or crazy. It took us about 1.5 hours to drive from San Diego to DL, so not bad. We arrived, parked (very easy to find, nice "signage"), went through security and got in line for our Will Call tickets. Since I had decided last minute I couldn't get them mailed to me. The only bad thing was the Will Call line as longer than the ones to just buy tickets there. So I would recommend just waiting if you can't get them mailed.
I noticed right away how different this park is. It is so compact. Disneyland, California Adventure and Downtown Disney are right there! It has a totally different feel!
With Jimmy in hand at 10am we waited in line and made our way in.
We went right under the train and onto Main Street. The buildings are great, a lot like WDW, but it was missing something. It seemed smaller and there was no great candy smell like in WDW! We made our way through the throngs of people (the park had only been open an hour, but there were still a lot of people, but not as bad as I have seen WDW). Our first stop was to be Space Mountain, but when we got there, there was already a 60 minute wait, so to fast pass I went. Then we just walked onto Star Tours. Jimmy just loved this ride. I myself got a bit queasy! This ride is exactly like the one in WDW - word for word!
Next was Buzz Lightyear, again only waited like 5 minutes. This ride is also the same. I did pretty well, although I now think it was a mistake to give an 8 year old the controls - dizzy!
We then made our way over to Fantasyland. We rode Snow White, Pinocchio, and Mr Toad's Wild Ride (I hadn't been on this since I was a kid!), all with very little wait. Peter Pan had too long a ride and I figured we would ride it later (still to long of a wait - didn't ride it!). Next was the Matterhorn. Oh my gosh was this bumpy! It really needs to be redone. You sit two people front to back in one seat (like Space Mountain used to be) and I thought Jimmy was gong to jack me in the jaw the whole time, so not that fun.
Now our fast pass was ready! We went over to Space Mountain and very quickly were on. This ride was great! It was just refurbished and was so smooth with great seats - like the ones on RnR. I loved it!
By now we were hungry and went over to Buzz Club and who was there?! - Buzz Lightyear! Jimmy got is pic taken and then we ate - food was okay and of course pricey!! Jimmy got to dance with Buzz Lightyear so it was really worth it. Buzz is his fav! We then got 50th golden Mickey ears with our names on them!
After this we headed over to DCA. I liked it. It is a mix of MGM and Coney Island. We rode ToT first and seriously walked on! It was so funny cause in June at MGM Jimmy had to leave during the movie he was so scared, but he was ready to ride for his first sister! And he loved it. That was his fav ride of the day (although I couldn't talk him into a second ride)! Then we headed over and got fast passes for Screamin', rode the Maliboomer, got our faces painted - Jimmy got a snake and I got a flowery looking thing - Loved it! Rode Screamin, really like this ride - so smooth. It was also Jimmy's first time to go upside down. I talked him into a lot!
Before we left we rode Soarin' - a long line but totally worth it. I love this ride and can't wait to go on it in December! It was just perfect.
Then we headed back over to DL and rode PotC, Jungle Cruise, Indiana Jones (really fun, but totally bumpy. Great decor!), got fastpasses for Haunted Mansion - It was packed all day long because of the decorations for Halloween. It had a Nightmare before Christmas theme and was so different than it normally is. Then we rode BTMR - very fun. We decided to skip SplashM because it was getting cool
and I did not want to get wet. So, we went and waited for the parade. It was such a good parade! There were only 6 floats I think, but they would stop and put on a show, it was so cool and the floats were just beautiful!
Then we went and rode Haunted Mansion and then took the train to Tomorrowland and it was time for the fireworks. It was so packed in front of the castle (they call that a castle - it is so small, but it is pretty) that we were made to go elsewhere. So we watched in front of It's a Small World. It was nice, they shot pictures up on SW, but we missed some fireworks since we were behind the castle, so only so-so. We hopped on the train again and took it around to fronteirland so we could get a seat for Fantasmic. This I don't like either, becuase there is no nice theater for it. You just sit on the ground around Tom Sawyer's Island. The show was basically the same though, so it was of course fun. We ended our day with shopping. I know I will be in WDW at Christmas, but I just couldn't resist! I got these great stockings with Mickey and Minnie on them! Plus I bought Minnie wedding ears for when we go down (DH won't wear his!).
So after a long day! - left at 8am, got to the parks at 10am, and didn't leave until 11:30! - and doing everything we wanted to, we headed home. Jimmy didn't complain once about being tired or cold. I just hope my kids are as good as he is one day! It was so much fun. I do have to say I still am a WDW girl, but it was really great being in the place that started it all, especially during the 50th anniversary!
Thanks!!!
Castmembers: Me, Jessica (23) and Brother-in-Law, Jimmy (8)
We woke up pretty early on Friday, 10/28 and headed over to Enterprise to get our car (my fav rental because they don't charge you extra if you are under 25). I got a Dodge Neon. Not too bad, but I would never own one. Then we made our way to the Interstate! Now, I have never driven on the CA freeways and was a bit apprehensive, especially since it was rush hour! It was a piece of cake! No different than here in Kansas City. No one was rude, or crazy. It took us about 1.5 hours to drive from San Diego to DL, so not bad. We arrived, parked (very easy to find, nice "signage"), went through security and got in line for our Will Call tickets. Since I had decided last minute I couldn't get them mailed to me. The only bad thing was the Will Call line as longer than the ones to just buy tickets there. So I would recommend just waiting if you can't get them mailed.
I noticed right away how different this park is. It is so compact. Disneyland, California Adventure and Downtown Disney are right there! It has a totally different feel!
With Jimmy in hand at 10am we waited in line and made our way in.
We went right under the train and onto Main Street. The buildings are great, a lot like WDW, but it was missing something. It seemed smaller and there was no great candy smell like in WDW! We made our way through the throngs of people (the park had only been open an hour, but there were still a lot of people, but not as bad as I have seen WDW). Our first stop was to be Space Mountain, but when we got there, there was already a 60 minute wait, so to fast pass I went. Then we just walked onto Star Tours. Jimmy just loved this ride. I myself got a bit queasy! This ride is exactly like the one in WDW - word for word!Next was Buzz Lightyear, again only waited like 5 minutes. This ride is also the same. I did pretty well, although I now think it was a mistake to give an 8 year old the controls - dizzy!
We then made our way over to Fantasyland. We rode Snow White, Pinocchio, and Mr Toad's Wild Ride (I hadn't been on this since I was a kid!), all with very little wait. Peter Pan had too long a ride and I figured we would ride it later (still to long of a wait - didn't ride it!). Next was the Matterhorn. Oh my gosh was this bumpy! It really needs to be redone. You sit two people front to back in one seat (like Space Mountain used to be) and I thought Jimmy was gong to jack me in the jaw the whole time, so not that fun.
Now our fast pass was ready! We went over to Space Mountain and very quickly were on. This ride was great! It was just refurbished and was so smooth with great seats - like the ones on RnR. I loved it!
By now we were hungry and went over to Buzz Club and who was there?! - Buzz Lightyear! Jimmy got is pic taken and then we ate - food was okay and of course pricey!! Jimmy got to dance with Buzz Lightyear so it was really worth it. Buzz is his fav! We then got 50th golden Mickey ears with our names on them!
After this we headed over to DCA. I liked it. It is a mix of MGM and Coney Island. We rode ToT first and seriously walked on! It was so funny cause in June at MGM Jimmy had to leave during the movie he was so scared, but he was ready to ride for his first sister! And he loved it. That was his fav ride of the day (although I couldn't talk him into a second ride)! Then we headed over and got fast passes for Screamin', rode the Maliboomer, got our faces painted - Jimmy got a snake and I got a flowery looking thing - Loved it! Rode Screamin, really like this ride - so smooth. It was also Jimmy's first time to go upside down. I talked him into a lot!
Before we left we rode Soarin' - a long line but totally worth it. I love this ride and can't wait to go on it in December! It was just perfect.
Then we headed back over to DL and rode PotC, Jungle Cruise, Indiana Jones (really fun, but totally bumpy. Great decor!), got fastpasses for Haunted Mansion - It was packed all day long because of the decorations for Halloween. It had a Nightmare before Christmas theme and was so different than it normally is. Then we rode BTMR - very fun. We decided to skip SplashM because it was getting cool
and I did not want to get wet. So, we went and waited for the parade. It was such a good parade! There were only 6 floats I think, but they would stop and put on a show, it was so cool and the floats were just beautiful!Then we went and rode Haunted Mansion and then took the train to Tomorrowland and it was time for the fireworks. It was so packed in front of the castle (they call that a castle - it is so small, but it is pretty) that we were made to go elsewhere. So we watched in front of It's a Small World. It was nice, they shot pictures up on SW, but we missed some fireworks since we were behind the castle, so only so-so. We hopped on the train again and took it around to fronteirland so we could get a seat for Fantasmic. This I don't like either, becuase there is no nice theater for it. You just sit on the ground around Tom Sawyer's Island. The show was basically the same though, so it was of course fun. We ended our day with shopping. I know I will be in WDW at Christmas, but I just couldn't resist! I got these great stockings with Mickey and Minnie on them! Plus I bought Minnie wedding ears for when we go down (DH won't wear his!).
So after a long day! - left at 8am, got to the parks at 10am, and didn't leave until 11:30! - and doing everything we wanted to, we headed home. Jimmy didn't complain once about being tired or cold. I just hope my kids are as good as he is one day! It was so much fun. I do have to say I still am a WDW girl, but it was really great being in the place that started it all, especially during the 50th anniversary!
Thanks!!!
