Disneyland Novice on a Solo trip - Thursday 26th to Saturday 28th March 2015

[Anemone]

Have a fantastic trip Anne!!!!

Thanks Shelley. Will do my best.

Anne have the best time ever !!
Lol at the hair dye

Thanks hun. Well a girl has to try her best.

 

[Ms Poppins]

Have a wonderful trip Anne - can' wait to hear all about it

 

[Anemone]

Have a wonderful trip Anne - can' wait to hear all about it

Thank you Julie. Really excited, can't believe it's tomorrow.

 

[dhidra]

Hope you're having a magical time Anne. x

 

[Anemone]

Thanks Dee, I am. I had a wonderful trip to Disneyland. I'm still in California for another week and a bit so don't really have time for a full detailed TR yet but I promise to do one. I've done a little bit of work on a highs and lows report and hope to post it soon but I'm really busy catching up with my cousins and chilling with my brother and his family.

Watch this space.

 

[dhidra]

looking forward to hearing about it and seeing photos! enjoy the rest of the trip x

 

[ExpatDisneyLover]

Just catching up! Looking forward to your trip report when you return! Hope you have had some good time in California!

 

[BadPinkTink]

hi @Anemone great to hear you are enjoying California. The time goes so quick, just try to soak it all up and make lots of memories, can't wait to read your trip report

 

[Carrie_Cat]

Hello Anne, Hope you are having a great time and look forward to hearing all about it

 

[Anemone]

Hi guys thanks for your patience. I've been really tired since I got home at the weekend and this TR feels like a bit of a chore at the minute which is putting me off starting so I decided to just break it up into tiny chunks.

Day 1...

So.... My brother works close to Union Station and agreed to drop me off on the morning of my first Disney day on his way to work. He leaves the house at 6am so I was early for the first Anaheim train but it's comfortable waiting in the station and it saved me the expense of a taxi. Amtrak is a great way to travel - big comfortable seats with loads of legroom, free wifi and the trip to Anaheim is really short - just time to eat the subway breakfast I bought at the station. I got to the station there at 8.05 and waited for an ART shuttle to Disneyland which came quickly and was pretty efficient. I decided to put my case in a locker in the park rather than leave it with the hotel - just seemed more secure though I was probably over thinking that. I had to open it at the security checkpoint - was glad my underwear wasn't on top - no x ray bag scanners there like in Paris - then I was accompanied by a CM to the picnic area where I could rent a locker - $12 for the day.

That done I was off into Disneyland Park. There were no issues with my way.com ticket. It was accepted at the turnstile and I was given a Disney parks ticket in return. This is the view that greeted me beyond the turnstiles.



I was just walking along taking in the view with a big, stupid grin on my face. It's different from Paris but it's incredibly familiar at the same time - Main Street with Central Plaza at the end and the Castle in front of it. I do have to agree with everyone who has said that DLP's castle is more impressive.



The park had been open for Magic Morning since 7am so was pretty busy by the time I got there about 9.30 but after picking up my photopass+ at the photo shop on Main Street I headed off to Tomorrowland (Discoveryland in DLP) to check out Buzz, Star Tours and I wasn't sure yet about Space Mountain. I grabbed a FP for Space Mountain - I still wasn't certain I wanted to ride but was trying to persuade myself that I should try most things once!

Buzz was a 5 minute queue so I went straight on. It's very similar to Paris but the ride photo doesn't go on your photopass - you can e-mail it to yourself, so I did. In fact the only 2 rides in Disneyland Park that have photos that do go on your photopass are Space Mountain and Splash Mountain. Splash was closed while I was there.



Lol at the same look of fierce concentration that I always have in Buzz pictures.

I then went on Star Tours which was only a 10 minute wait - I loved it though I did feel a little motion sickness.

There was still a couple of hours to wait for my SM fastpass so I wandered over to Adventureland to check out Big Thunder Mountain - I've been wanting to ride this for years. There was a 20 minute wait so I joined the line and took a few photos along the way. I love the attention to detail in the queues. I was practising zooming in on the camera so things may look more close up than they actually are.









I loved the ride. It was over way too fast. I then wandered over to New Orleans Square while I waited for the SM fastpass slot taking in the views along the way. I was feeling hot and a little hungry by then so I decided to treat myself to a Mint Julep and some Beignets. Great choice - the julep is a little like a non alcoholic mojito and very refreshing. The beignets are the lightest doughnuts you have ever tasted - Mickey shaped too.




After this it was time to go back to Space Mountain. I decided to be brave and joined the fastpass queue - if I chickened out this early on I would miss out on a lot of rides. When I got to the loading area I was surprised at how different the ride vehicle is to Paris - the absence of the overhead restraints that Paris had was reassuring - no inversions here then.





I have yet to download my photopass+ photos but when I do I will post the ride photo here - it's hilariously awful.

EDIT: Forgot to say that I didn't find Space Mountain as intense as DLP or as shaky and there were no inversions but I still didn't feel the need to go back on. They ask you to remove all headwear including glasses for the ride which I did but you can see from the photo how short sighted I am without them.



Wandering through Tomorrowland, some things looked very familiar.







I didn't ride - I still remember with pain the morning I took Catherine on it in Paris a couple of years ago and couldn't get her out afterwards. The CM was annoyed at us for holding up the ride but totally unhelpful when it came to getting her out. I understand that they can't lift someone but even taking one of her hands so I could guide her legs out would have helped.

Going to break off here for tonight but will get back to this soon as there's such a lot to tell you all. Thanks for reading along.

 

[ShellB8585]

oooooh great start to the TR

Nice your brother was able to drop you off and you were able to get a good early start! Good to know about photopass+ on only 2 rides. Did you think it was worth the money at the end of the trip? Trying to decide whether to go with this or just buying the odd 1 or 2 photos we like

Mint Julep and Beignets are definitely on my list of snacks to have!! I have been concentrating on DLP as it's only 2 weeks away but earlier this year I was reading more DL and DCA TRs and had to stop so I didn't get the 2 confused but I have read very good things about them both.

Looking forward to reading more

 

[Anemone]

Good to know about photopass+ on only 2 rides. Did you think it was worth the money at the end of the trip? Trying to decide whether to go with this or just buying the odd 1 or 2 photos we like

There are another 3 rides in DCA which go on photopass - Tower of Terror, Radiator Springs Racer, California Screaming. Also any character meal photos are put on your card. In addition there were loads of photopass photographers in both parks. I had over 100 photos on mine before I started to edit and add borders - will be nearly 200 by the time I'm finished. For me being silly with the photographers was a bit of fun and when my cousin's wife joined me on the 3rd day we got all the photos over again.

 

[ShellB8585]

Thanks for the info Anne

 

[BadPinkTink]

Im not surprised you are tired after coming home. I am always knocked out for about 2 days when I come home from California, I guess it a combination of the long flight, jet lag and exhaustion from just being on the go all the time when in Disney.

Mickey shaped beignets, thanks for the time, something new for me to try this year

loving the photos, can't wait to read about the rest of your trip

 

[Anemone]

Thanks hun. Spent my last 3 days in San Francisco which I loved but in some ways was more exhausting than Disney - those hills!

Downloaded the photopass+ photos last night so hope to get more of this done later.

 

[dhidra]

Great start! sounds fab. that snack looks delish! looking forward to more...ESP your photopass photos.

 

[Anemone]

Thanks Dee - it really was delicious. The beignets are offered in portions of 3 or 6 and I was very self controlled and only had 3.

I did some wandering then. Took a few photos as I went.

Dumbo is identical to DLP and has long queues as well. I didn't ride it that day but did get on on my last day there when I did Magic Morning.



I skipped the carousel.



Mickey's Toon Town was nice to walk around but I didn't queue for any of the rides there. A few photos.







I'm not quite sure of the order I did things after this but I'm following my photos as a guide.

Next I seem to have gone to Adventureland where I joined the single riders queue for Indiana Jones. Again, this is very different to the Paris one which I have seen but never ridden. It was very fast and there were lots of scary surprises including a bit when a huge boulder comes towards you and you think you're going to be crushed but the scariest bit for me was when a piece of cobweb-like fabric dragged over the top of our jeep and made my skin crawl. I came upon the Enchanted Tiki Room next but was distracted by the Dole Whip stand. Now bearing in mind I'd just had Mint julep and beignets you'd think I couldn't eat another thing... but this was all in the name of research - there are no Dole whips in DLP so I had to try one. In fact I decided to have a float.



OMG - I thought I'd died and gone to heaven. Think fresh pineapple flavoured ice cream - not sweet but tangy - and delicious fresh pineapple juice. It was heavenly and at least 1 of my 5 a day I reckon.

I wandered down to the Rivers of America to have a ride on the Mark Twain [DLR's Molly Brown for my Paris friends]. The boat had just left and I sat down in the shade to wait for its return when another boat docked - the pirate ship Columbia. I was delighted as I'd been on the Molly Brown before so the Columbia was something absolutely different.





Tom Sawyer Island























Look at the queue for POTC in this picture



New Orleans Square



When I got off it was time to go check into my hotel across the street and have a rest out of the sun before my dinner reservation at Blue Bayou. I'd booked the Fantasmic dinner package so it would be a long evening in the park.

The hotel was literally across the street - just beside the pedestrian crossing. The Park Vue Inn. I arrived at 2.45 and they said my room wouldn't be ready until 3pm and it wasn't. Never mind, I helped myself to iced water and free wifi while I waited. When they gave me my key I headed off to my room which was on the first floor. It was grand - the air conditioner was very noisy but I decided to deal with that when I got back later that night. I unpacked and contacted my cousin's wife who had insisted on joining me on the Saturday with my room number and she rang to make arrangements.

Some photos of the hotel room for anyone who wants to see.









Thank goodness I didn't strip off until I'd taken the photos





I rested until about 4pm when I got up and changed to go back to the park for my dinner reservation.

More on that later... or perhaps tomorrow.

 

[dhidra]

oh my! that float!
looks like you had great weather too; you got lovely photos of the park.

 

[giuly09]

Ohhh great trip and great photos, go on girl, i need new ideas for another trip LOL

 

[BadPinkTink]

you found the Dole float they are really good, especially for those of us not used to the Cali heat Ah yes Indi, so much better than DLP, I don't like the roller-coaster rides, although its a bit jerky and fast and lots coming at you.

Loving the photos, great to see a different perspective and things I haven't done yet, need to put Mickeys Toontown and the Pirate ship on my list for this year.

Looking forward to your Blue Bayou Fantasmic experience, I'm booking that this year, impatiantly checking back every few days to see if the bookings have opened for my dates