How to Plan a Disneyland Trip in One Hour (Labor Day 2015) Updated 4/12

[AlliGirl]

HELLO EVERYONE!!! We are Scott and Alli, and this is the story of our most recent trip to the Disneyland Resort.


If you haven’t read our previous trip reports, you should. They’re pretty life changing. If you’d like to check them out, our report covering our first ever trip to DL in 2014 can be found here, and our 2nd trip report documenting our most recent trip to Walt Disney World last summer (2015) can be read here! Enjoy…


Now on with the introductions, I’ll keep it short and sweet since we’ve introduced ourselves before. As I’ve said, we are Scott and Alli. We’re both currently teachers working on the Gulf Coast of Mississippi. Our journey together began in January of 2013 when we both participated in the Disney College Program at Walt Disney World Resort. I (Scott) sailed the seven seas with Captain Jack Sparrow at the Pirates of the Caribbean attraction in the Magic Kingdom, and Alli explored the rivers of the world as a Jungle Cruise Skipper.

We had an amazing time working for the Walt Disney Company, and we learned a ton of useless facts and useful park skills along the way.


Anything that I (Scott) type will be normal text, and anything that Alli has to say will be italicized.


Hi everyone! Thanks for reading along!


If you guys have read our previous reports, you can probably tell that we really enjoy planning things out to the minutest detail. What time we’ll get up, which path we’ll take, where to eat, what to order, etc. It’s this aspect of our personalities that made this trip very… interesting.


Alli’s mother is an avid runner and lover of all things fitness, and also a certified Disney fanatic.

She had been signed up to run the Disneyland Half Marathon for months now, and she needed somebody to keep her company on this trip. Alli and I knew that we would not be able to go, so Alli suggested that she ask MY mom to accompany her.

My mom agreed to go, and Alli and I agreed to drown in our sorrows. Our moms were going to Disneyland without us. We just could not afford the cost of the trip.


In addition to the cost of the trip, as teachers, it’s pretty hard to take off of work in the first couple weeks! “Hey I just had a three month summer vacation, but I wanna go to Disneyland now soo…” So, with that option ruled out, I knew we’d only get two days in the parks and I wasn’t sure if that was enough time to justify the cost of the trip. We’ll let you know about how we felt about a quick weekend trip for a three-day weekend throughout this report.


Cut to Friday, September 4th, 2015: I was in my first few weeks of student teaching, and Alli was working at the local middle school. Our moms were on an early morning flight to Anaheim. When I awoke that morning, I had ZERO ideas about what was about to unfold. I received a text message from Alli on my drive to school (Don’t text and drive, ladies and gentlemen. I was at a red light and Alli was still at home.) saying that the airfare prices have been LITERALLY cut in half! The prices dropped from about $600 a ticket to around $300 a ticket. This trip had now become a possibility. We battled back and forth for a long time (a few minutes) about whether or not we should do this thing. Just jump on this, have a very stress filled day, an awesome vacation, and worry about the consequences later, or sit back and be responsible adults. I specifically remember texting Alli back at one point and saying, “Hey… Let’s do this.” (*Not actual message – Actual message contained bad words*)


We really had to decide in just minutes, as flights through Expedia were disappearing before my eyes! There were 5 seats left…3 seats left…and that’s when I just knew we had to do it. This was our one chance to see Disneyland during its 60th Anniversary celebration. If we tried to go on our own later, we’d have a hard time justifying the huge cost of the trip (bye bye cast member discount!). People who know me know that I have methodically planned every aspect of my life. Sure, I take risks; I went and taught English in China for a summer. But I read books upon books and websites galore before that trip; I have never done anything this spontaneous in my life.


It was decided. We would fly in that night and surprise our moms at the hotel. There were only a few hurdles to jump over between now and then. Alli purchased the plane tickets and reserved the Super Shuttle before she left for work. Now it was my responsibility to, while student teaching, make a parking reservation and find somewhere to leave our dog, Penny, at a moment’s notice. The airport parking reservation was easy enough to complete online, but the dog boarder that we typically left Penny at was booked up. So I had to scramble to find another boarder, which was not easy. Being that it was Labor Day weekend, most places were completely full. However, I found a place near our apartment that seemed legit. Now, all that was left to do was:

1) Drop Penny off at the boarder as soon as I got home

2) Pack for a Disney trip in roughly 30 minutes

3) Drive to New Orleans to hopefully catch our flight in time

4) Figure out how we would surprise our moms


Per advice from the Dis, I reserved a one-way ticket for both of us from LAX to the Hilton Anaheim through Super Shuttle. I believe it was $30 for both of us, and it wouldn’t have been cheaper to do a round trip up front, so I waited to see how we would leave the last day. I came up with a clever rouse to pull information from my mother. I told her that I was having a special surprise delivered for her at the hotel, but I needed the exact address and room number. This was how I double-checked that it was the correct Hilton etc. There are a lot of hotels with similar names in Anaheim! I just didn’t tell her that package was going to be Scott and Alli shaped.


Leaving Penny was sad, and packing was stressful, but we completed these tasks and left the apartment at around 4:15.

Oh... You all know Barney had to come.

We were making good time, but we were still very worried about missing our flight. The drive to the airport (not counting traffic, parking, catching a shuttle, and going through security) was almost exactly 2 hours, and our flight was for 7:00. We were cutting it close. I just knew that there would be a ton of traffic and that we would have to wait in a long line at security. Then a small series of miracles took place. First miracle: Our flight was delayed. Second miracle: There was absolutely no traffic. Third miracle: The airport was basically abandoned. We were literally the only people in line at the security gate. YES!! We made it to our gate with more than enough time, so I got a smoothie and we waited for our flight.


That delay text message was the best “bad” news I’ve ever received! I was still in my classroom at that point. My students get dismissed at around 3:30 and then I have to do bus duty and make sure all the students get on the buses. So, trust me, I was doing everything but physically shoving the kids onto the bus! Ha! The drive to New Orleans can be pretty slow moving at certain points, but this one time it was just perfect. How weird, Friday night of Labor Day weekend and no one else was headed to New Orleans or the airport with us?!


We were on the plane by 8:00, but because we purchased the plane tickets at the last minute, Alli and I did not have seats next to one another. However, the seat next to mine was empty, so Alli helped herself and we got settled in for our flight to the West Coast.

My mom was so sad that I wouldn’t be with her for the trip, so she had been texting me a ton of pictures all day and of course I had been responding excitedly! Whenever she’s at the parks without me, she’ll text and ask questions like where she can get a certain snack or just show me pictures of merchandise and ask if she should purchase it. I knew that my five-hour absence in our texting would make her worried, or suspicious, so I told my mom that I wasn’t feeling well and I was going to take a long nap. I hoped that would keep our surprise under wraps! Scott typically worked Friday nights, so he had a good cover for his absence in texting!


We landed at LAX at 10:30 (that time change is great). We had to wait outside for quite some time until our Super Shuttle arrived, and, again, the shuttle was almost full. So I sat up front with the weird driver, and Alli sat in the very back. It was gonna be a weird 45 minutes.


Yeah, I had to sit on a bench seat next to a mom and daughter and let me tell you, I have a non-existent backside and I guess they decided I didn’t need any seat to go with it! I had to clutch onto the edge of the bench seat to stay on. Magic Kingdom’s Space Mountain was more comfy than that ride (and that’s saying a lot)! I would use Super Shuttle again, for economic reasons, but certainly not for magical reasons.


After dropping off a few of our fellow travellers, we eventually made it to the hotel: The Hilton Anaheim. Upon entering, we were greeted by a VERY friendly doorman who was extremely adamant about helping us to get checked in. At this point, we did not know the room number, and it wasn’t like we could ask our moms, or else we’d risk ruining the surprise. Alli’s plan to get a room number using the gift basket strategy got us a room number and that should have worked out fine, except for the fact that her mom gave us the wrong room number. I mean not even a number for another room. She completely left off the first two digits. The room number she gave us wasn’t even a THING. So we said “Ok… It’s nearly midnight. They have to be asleep. So let’s both call them at the same time, wake them up, and just tell them we’re here.” Well here is where we almost blew the entire operation…

Our insane mothers, who had been up since 4:00 that morning, were NOT in bed sleeping. They weren’t even in the room. They were partying it up at Downtown Disney. So imagine the improvisation that I had to pull out whenever my mother answered and said “Yea we’re headed back to the hotel right now… Wait… Why are you awake? It’s 3:00 in the morning where you are.” SHE WAS RIGHT! WHY WOULD I BE AWAKE?? I threw together a quick and flawless lie… “Oh… Uh.. I just.. Am” Nailed it. Anyway, now we were hiding in the lobby, waiting for our moms to get back. They arrived probably 10 minutes later. The call had left them a bit suspicious, but they were still surprised to see us, bags in hand, waiting for them. It turns out they were NOT in room 115, but in room 12-115. 12 floors up, overlooking a tiny, yet glorious, Disneyland skyline.

They had already purchased a few souvenirs for us: a Disneyland 60th anniversary puzzle, a few magnificent pins, and a new backpack.

We had made it. Merely 17 hours ago, we had no intentions of flying across the country for a weekend Disneyland trip. Now, we were here, we were exhausted, and we were ready for some 60th Anniversary magic.


Seeing my mom in that hotel lobby was truly one of the most magical moments of my life, and it wasn’t even in the parks! I live 8+ hours from my family currently (soon to change because Scott and I don’t stay still for long!) so Disney Parks aren’t just a vacation spot, they’re the place we get to just be together and they have been for 20+ years now. Sure, my mom was very suspicious after our late night phone call, but I think that added to the fun of it all. My mom was so incredibly surprised and proud of me that I did something spontaneous! Seriously guys, I would consider pulling over for a drink on a long drive spontaneous (and frivolous). So my Mom knew just how crazy it was for me to let loose and travel across the country to join her for some fun. Now I only had one worry on my mind: WE DIDN’T HAVE TICKETS! It was too late to head to Disneyland and buy tickets that night, and the lobby wasn’t currently selling tickets, so that was going to have to wait until the morning. WHAT! Yeah, we were those people, standing in line for tickets the day of the vacation while everyone else charges by getting on all the rides! Well… at least that’s what I was scared of!


Next time: Alli and Scott need to stop stressing about everything, the most beautiful Disney park on American soil, and seriously this park is soooooo pretty.

 

[sillymoose]

Loved reading your previous trip reports and am very excited to follow this one! Surprising your moms sounds so exciting, and I can't wait to see what else is in store

 

[TwoLittlePrincesses]

What a fun surprise!! Can't wait to hear about your DL adventures!!

 

[DnA2010]

Well this sound exciting indeed! Can't wait to hear more!

 

[Shir Kahn]

I'm on board and waiting to read more! We're hopefully heading to Disneyland in August!

 

[FreddyMercury]

Loved reading your previous trip reports and am very excited to follow this one! Surprising your moms sounds so exciting, and I can't wait to see what else is in store

What a fun surprise!! Can't wait to hear about your DL adventures!!

Well this sound exciting indeed! Can't wait to hear more!

I'm on board and waiting to read more! We're hopefully heading to Disneyland in August!

Thanks, guys! Alli and I can't wait to get you all updated on our first day in the parks. STAY TUNED. Tell your friends about us. Make us famous.

 

[Canadian Harmony]

YAY Alli!! Look at you doing spontaneous stuff and stuff!! You two are awesome! Your Moms must have just been thrilled to bits! I look forward to next instalment!

 

[AlliGirl]

Alright… Here we go, everyone. Today was our first day in the park. We went to bed around 1:00 A.M. the previous night and we were up by 6:00, spritely as ever. We were going to Disneyland! How could we not be excited?! We knew we’d be slamming down the caffeine in a few hours, but in that moment we were ready to GO!!!



We were out of the hotel room by 7:45. We made our way down to the lobby with one thought on our mind: Alli and I had no park tickets! That was our first priority. They had a very convenient ticket desk in the hotel lobby, but there was very inconveniently only one person working there. We waited in line while the one employee struggled trying to communicate with a foreign family for what seemed like 45 minutes. After giving up on that venture, our main priority shifted from getting Alli and I set up with park tickets to getting Alli’s mother and I set up with some Starbucks coffee. After waiting in an INCREDIBLY long line at the hotel Starbucks, we finally began our trek to the parks by 8:15.

Our hotel wasn’t exactly the closest good neighbor hotel to the front gates, but it was still within walking distance. It only took us 15 minutes to reach the Grand Californian Hotel. Our plan was to cut through the hotel to Downtown Disney. We were through bag check by 8:40.

We were here. We had made it! Oh yea… Tickets…


We should have never bothered with the ticket desk in the hotel lobby. Once we reached the promenade, there were ZERO people in line to buy tickets. We each purchased a two day park hopper (we = our moms).


I was picturing the extremely long queues you see at the Ticket and Transportation Center at the Magic Kingdom. There was barely any line. Thanks moms!

Because our moms had spent the previous day at Disneyland, they planned to spend today at Disney’s California Adventure, which was completely ok with us.

I don’t know the general opinion on this specific subject, but Alli and I both feel like DCA is, by far, the prettiest Disney park in America. It’s an incredible work of art. Each area is perfectly themed, the walkways are amazingly wide, and the food choices are vast! Straight up, it is our favorite Disney park (so far).


The pathways are just so deliciously wide! The importance of that cannot be overstated. You never feel congestion, so it’s a lot more carefree.

Disney CERTAINLY did not skimp on that diamond budget. Diamonds EVERYWHERE.


The park opened at 9:00, and we were waiting in a corral of park guests in front of Carthay Circle at 8:45. We were about to participate in the “Running of the Radiator Springs Racers Fastpass line.”

Or at least I was. Alli and the moms waited comfortably off to the side while I knocked elbows with the other anxious guests.

I ended up getting us Fastpasses for 10:40. I gotta say… It felt good to hold paper Fastpasses again.


Yay, fastpasses for 10:40am! We couldn’t believe everything was working out so nicely at the last minute!


It wasn’t quite time for breakfast yet, so we decided to head to Paradise Pier, located in the back of the park. We felt as though this area would be one of the least crowded, and we were right!

Also I had the longest arms, so any selfie responsibilities were left up to me.


Our mission as of now was to get to Toy Story Midway Mania before the line got too long. If you guys have ever ridden TSMM in Walt Disney World, you know how different the experience is. In WDW, this ride would already be up to an hour wait at the lowest. We waited in line for 10 minutes. WOW.

I don’t know what happened, but Alli beat me. BY a ridiculous amount. I don’t want to talk about it.

I’ll be honest, I used Scott’s tactics against him! I rode with my mom, so I exploited a couple high scoring loopholes that he typically would’ve dominated. If you’re interested about any of our strategies, Scott listed them in our WDW Trip report (links in our signatures). I got a big lead from chasing the fox out of the henhouse over and over.


After my upsetting loss, we were feeling the need… the need for… FOOD! And we knew exactly where to go. We took our favorite shortcut through Pacific Wharf (also abandoned at this hour) to Carsland!

If I could eat in Carsland for every meal, I would. And almost did. The food options in this one area in the park are so diversified and unique! We knew we wanted to hit up Flo’s for breakfast.

Collectively, we ordered the chicken tamale breakfast, the brioche French toast, and the seasonal fruit plate.

The chicken tamale was delicious, but a tad bit too spicy for a breakfast item in my opinion. The French toast was also very tasty and a very sizable portion, and the fruit plate was a plate of fruit. This was a great place to grab an awesome breakfast, and I know we’ll be back in the future.


Sitting outside at Flo’s on the patio made for an awesome view! I felt like I was at a National Park in California…you know, instead of a Disney Park in California. Don’t listen to Scott, the Chicken Tamale was incredible and not too spicy in my opinion. Make sure you check out people’s plates as you’re going inside to see how big the portions are. The French toast was definitely a splitting dish to me!

 

[AlliGirl]

We still had some time before our RSR Fastpass, so we did a little shopping/exploring around the Carsland shops. Everything in this land (and every land at DCA) is so perfectly themed. Radiator Springs looks as though it were cut straight out of the movie and dropped right here in the park, along with a few extra details.

Somebody is hiding in the Cozy Cone lobby...

Every third blink actually IS slower!

So here's a story for you (which you’ll know if you read our last Disneyland Trip Report)... During our last trip to Carsland, upon examining the statue of Stanley, I noticed that somebody had placed coins in his eyes. I ended up knocking the coins loose accidentally and found it impossible to put the coins back in his eyes. I struggled with it for a good 30 seconds. I just knew that the person who had placed them was somewhere watching me, laughing. So in order to prevent any further embarrassment, I placed the coins on top of a nearby fire hydrant and exclaimed, "I'M NOT STEALING YOUR COINS!!!" My mom thought this story was a riot, so she (effortlessly) placed two pennies in Stanley's eyes as a tribute to my past failure.

We were in line right at 10:50 to use our RSR Fastpasses.

We love this ride. The animatronics and the effects are second to none, and the “high speed” race at the end is always a thrill. It was my mom’s first time riding this attraction, and for the rest of the trip, she would not stop commenting on the fact that she had to ride it again before we left! Don’t worry, mom. There will be time, but for now, other stuff!


My favorite part is when you come around the corner, with the music just perfectly timed and see the waterfall. It’s one of those moments where I can’t help but have a huge smile and think “we’re here, in Disneyland! We made it! We are so lucky!”



The next attraction in our Fastpass sights was Soarin’, Alli’s mom’s personal favorite. However, the attraction was literally on the other side of the park, so obviously I was elected to run all the way over there to retrieve the Fastpasses. You will notice that this becomes sort of a theme throughout the entire trip. I ended up getting Fastpasses for 12:00. The plan was for me to run to get the Fastpasses and then meet the girls in front of Monsters Inc. So just to recap, we were in Carsland, I ran to Grizzly Peak to get FPs for Soarin, and then jogged over to Monsters Inc. If you’re familiar with the layout of the park, it should have been impossible for me to get there MINUTES before the girls did. And yet, that’s what happened. I arrived in front of the attraction a solid 3 minutes before they did. I don’t know how. I’ll let Alli try to figure that one out.


We were ENJOYING OURSELVES okay, Scott? We walked at a vacation pace! Also, in front of the Tower of Terror we saw Cast Members holding a bunch of photo props that were for the Half Marathon so I got my mom to pose with them! Priceless memories! Also…my legs are at least a FOOT shorter than Scott’s.


We rode Monsters Inc. at 11:15.

We do enjoy this ride a lot, but I still feel as though it’s lacking. The animatronics are just really weak. It just feels as though the ride was constructed in a hurry.


As we were walking around the streets of Hollywood, we got a glimpse of Mickey on the red trolley. I have to say that Mickey's old-hollywood "newsie" look is by FAR my favorite look of his.

LOOK AT HIM WITH THE LITTLE HAT AND OVERALLS. Amazing.


We then decided to pop into the Animation Academy. This is another area where Disneyland takes a point over Walt Disney World, especially now that WDW’s Animation Academy has been transformed into the Star Wars Launch Bay. The DCA Animation Academy is, for lack of a better word, perfect. The main lobby is a perfect place to simply sit and relax while the numerous screens flash pictures of concept art from various Disney movies.

Maybe I’m biased because I love concept art. We sat and relaxed for a few minutes before we realized that there was a ridiculous line cutting through the lobby.


We were unhappy to find out that they had removed the Toy Story Zoetrope and replaced it with (DRUM ROLL) an Anna and Elsa meet and greet. Sigh. Oh well. We enjoyed the parts of the Animation building that still remained before taking the hike over to Grizzly Peak Airfield.

I love that they rethemed this area of the park. As Condor Flats, the area was a little weird. It was very small, as if they only built this area so Soarin’ would have somewhere to be placed. Now, it fits nicely with Grizzly Peak and it looks incredible.



We were on Soarin’ by noon. We both prefer the theming of the DCA Soarin’ to the WDW Soarin. The attraction is exactly the same, but the queues are just decorated differently. WDW is made to feel more like an airport, with the cast members all dressed like stewards and stewardesses. The DCA version has more of a “Top Gun” feel to it.

This is an extremely popular attraction. I personally wouldn’t wait more than 30 minutes for it. This is one attraction that I feel requires a Fastpass. I just have a lot of questions. Why are the transitions between scenes so jarring? Why is the LA city scene so sped up? Why did they choose the Disneyland flyover scene to be a Christmas scene?? Hopefully they address these issues with the introduction of the new ride film.



That’s enough for this installment! Next time: Scott drools over the beauty of DCA and everybody drools over more Carsland food.

 

[AlliGirl]

Before we first visited DCA in 2014, we did not have very high expectations. It just seemed like a weird mishmash of random California themes. But guys… Lemme tell ya… This. Park. Is. Beautiful. After we rode Soarin’, our next destination was Paradise Pier, so we decided to cut through Grizzly Peak. By far, this is personally my favorite area of the park. The trees and the sound of running water provide an incredibly relaxing vibe. Out of all of the lands in DCA, Grizzly Peak is the best at making me forget that I’m in a theme park.

After exploring the redwoods, we made our way out on to the Pier and shortly arrived at… GOOFY’S SKY SCHOOL! Our goal was to collect some Fastpasses and come back later. However, the ride was closed. So no Fastpasses at the moment. Bummer. This is one of our favorite attractions at DCA and it would be a real letdown if we weren’t able to ride it. We would check again later.


It was a very hot day and we were in the mood for some lunch and some shade. As I’ve said previously, DCA has amazing food options and a lot of those options can be found in.. CARSLAND! So once again we cut through Pacific Wharf (SIGNIFICANTLY more crowded at lunch time).

We had our sights set on the Cozy Cone Motel. We’ve always read reviews saying that you should avoid the CCM due to long lines and whatnot. However, we frequent the CCM and we seldom have problems with lines. Yes, it is annoying that I have to wait in separate lines to order separate items, but it’s worth it.

I think the many lines are the reason that we're usually the first or second people in whichever line we hop in. I just love what a variety of options are offered here, especially all of the specialty drinks!

I settled on the Bacon Mac and Cheese cone, my mom went with the Chicken Verde cone, and both Alli and her mom chose the Pulled Pork cone.

(Bacon Mac)

(Chicken Verde)

(Pulled Pork)

The bacon mac and cheese cone was spectacular. Typically, I avoid theme park mac and cheese items due to the fact that they never have any sort of cheesy flavor, but this cone was full of cheesy goodness. The chicken verde cone is tasty with a hint of spice. The pulled pork cones came topped with a ton of slaw and a pickle. On our last trip, we sampled each of the specialty drinks offered at the CCM, and I found the Pear of Dice soda to be extremely refreshing. I decided to treat myself to the soda once again, and once again it was incredibly refreshing.

Alli decided to go with the vodka lemonade, which came topped with a pomegranate foam.

This drink was so good! I would definitely get it each trip. The flavor of the lemonade was so delicious, I felt like I could have gulped it down all at once!

After relaxing in the shade of Flo’s Café, we took a detour through Bugs Land to Hollywood Land in order to hit up the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror.

However, the attraction was down. This was a shame, because it would continue to be closed for practically the entire duration of our trip. It wasn’t a huge deal, because we find the DCA Tower of Terror to be far inferior to the WDW version. Still, it’s a thrilling attraction and we have fun riding it regardless.


We didn’t have much of a plan at this point, which is very unlike us. Basically, we were trying to do anything we could to stay out of the sun. The heat was intense. Upon wandering around the park, we stumbled upon the bakery tour in the Pacific Wharf area and decided to check it out.

Pretty boring. If you have a passion for bread, then I would recommend it. If not, there’s not much to see other than a lot of baking equipment and a strange video starring Colin Mochrie and Rosie O'Donnell.


On our quest to stay indoors, we chose to ride The Little Mermaid: Ariel’s Undersea Adventure. This is a fine ride, especially when it comes to relaxing. There’s not much of line, and if there is, it moves quickly. The ride is relaxing and extremely air-conditioned. It’s by no means a spectacular, must-do attraction. The animatronics (besides Ariel) are sub par when you compare them to the other newer attractions like Radiator Springs Racers, but the scenes are elaborate and the underwater transition is a fun effect.

The Pier was so deserted, and it was a nice day, so we decided to take this opportunity to get some nice family photos.

Next up, we decided to check out Goofy’s Sky School once again. They had reopened!

We love this ride. It’s such a thrilling attraction, but I don’t think it tries to be. It seems to be marketed as a family ride, but this attraction is TERRIFYING. It’s so high up in the air, and the cars bank sooooo hard. We find ourselves laughing hysterically each time we ride. It’s best if you sit in the front row on the right side and lean out over the side whenever your car banks to the left. We love this ride so much that after riding, we got fastpasses to ride again at 3:45. The one bad thing about GSS is that it loads very slowly and usually has a decent wait.


Still being worn out from the sun, we found some shade at Pacific Wharf and relaxed for a while with some beers and margaritas. Alli and I got beers from the Karl Strauss beer truck and my mom got a margarita from Rita’s Baja Blenders.

Now that we were rested and full of alcohol, what else would we do besides ride nausea inducing carnival rides? First up was Mickey’s Fun Wheel.

Last year, we opted for a swinging cart. In my opinion, bad idea. The swinging wasn’t thrilling enough to be worth the inconvenience of not being able to get a decent picture mixed with making me want to vomit. This go around, we decided on a non-swinging cart. Much better. The ride was pleasant and I was able to get some decent photographs.

That's our hotel right between their heads!

After the Fun Wheel, Alli and I got Fastpasses for California Screamin’ for 4:50. At this point, it was time to use our Goofy fastpasses, so we rode that again before doing some shopping around Paradise Pier.

It was here in the Paradise Pier gift shop that I found the most amazing shirt I’ve ever seen. It was a white button up covered in tiny black sketches of all of the most famous Disney park icons. I’ve never seen anything so perfect. However, it’s difficult for me to justify spending $65 on a shirt, so if anyone can find the shirt at a discounted price, LET ME KNOW! I’ve never seen the shirt anywhere other than Paradise Pier.

I've never seen that same shirt anywhere besides there either! The style of it was really unique. I was debating buying it secretly to save for a birthday or Christmas present for Scott, but decided against it because I didn't feel the quality of the shirt was quite $65 worthy.

It was time for Alli and I to use our Cali Screamin’ FPs. Last time we rode this, the ride made me feel pretty ill. It’s unusual for me to feel so sick after riding a roller coaster, so I just assumed I was having an off day. NOPE. This ride messes me up. I’m 2 for 2. It’s unfortunate, because it’s such a fun ride with an awesome soundtrack, and I will ride it again in the future, but it just knocks me off my feet for a few minutes.


We had spent a long day in DCA and we did practically every attraction we wanted to do.

Plus, my mom needed to get back to the hotel to rest up for the half marathon in the morning.

So we decided to shop around Buena Vista street a bit before heading back to the hotel. We got to catch the Inside Out ‘pre-parade’ before the Pixar Play Parade, but we had no interest in getting soaked by the rest of the floats, so we opted out for the rest of the parade.

Before exiting I did get pretty up close and personal with 20’s era Mickey and Minnie and my opinion still stands that THESE ARE THEIR BEST COSTUMES AND YOU CAN’T CONVINCE ME OTHERWISE.

So cute! That looks like a picture a paparazzi took of two stars!

Next time: The most people I’ve ever seen in one place, a new favorite nighttime parade, and Alli almost cries on the Matterhorn.

 

[luisov]

Great update! I'm really enjoying your TR so far. Can't wait to read your thoughts on the 60th additions.

 

[TwoLittlePrincesses]

Loving your report so far! Can't wait to read more

 

[AlliGirl]

Before heading back to the hotel, we decided to grab a bite to eat at Napolini in Downtown Disney. The four of us split a large pizza, but we had a tough time finding a place to sit. We ended up finding a table, but we had to gather a mishmash of seats from around the restaurant, all of which were different heights. It was an interesting meal. The pizza was delicious, but the atmosphere was lacking.


We were back at the hotel by 6:30. Our moms were exhausted, and Alli’s mom had a race early the next morning. Alli and I, however, had other plans. With the moms tucked in and snoozing the night away, Alli and I walked back over to the parks. We had park hoppers and we were gonna take advantage of them!

We left the hotel at 7:30 and we arrived at the Disneyland gates at 8:15. There were a lot of things we wanted to do that night, but we were here to see the new 60th anniversary nighttime shows and that was all we cared about at the moment. The Paint the Night parade was scheduled to start at 8:45 so we knew we had to scramble to find a spot.


We aren’t naïve. We knew that, because it was only 30 minutes until show time, we’d be hard pressed to find a good spot for both the parade and the fireworks. We ESPECIALLY knew that the Main Street area would be packed solid, but I had no idea that it was going to be as packed as it was. I worked at Walt Disney World on Thanksgiving Day. I spent a night watching the 4th of July fireworks. I spent a year working in and visiting the Magic Kingdom on the busiest of days. I’ve never seen crowds like I saw on this trip. The park was packed solid from Main Street to Tomorrowland.

Another problem we were experiencing was pure confusion about the upcoming Disneyland Forever fireworks show. We knew that there were projections involved, but our moms (who had seen the show the night before) were very confusing when describing the nighttime spectacular. Their description along with our own research told us that there were four main projection viewing areas: Along Main Street, in front of Sleeping Beauty’s castle, along the Rivers of America, and it front of it’s a small world. Heeding our mothers’ advice, we opted to view both the parade and the fireworks in front of it’s a small world. Main Street and the castle area were completely out of the question, and we wouldn’t be able to view the parade in Frontierland. Also, small world was in the very back of the park and likely to be less crowded. So we made our way through Tomorrowland to find that the small world area was 1000 times less crowded. What a relief.

Alli and I found a nice, slightly empty spot across the street from small world. We were also one level up off of the street, so no tall guests would be blocking our view.

We had heard amazing things about this parade, but I didn’t want to get my hopes up. We also hear nothing but God-like praise for World of Color and we found that to be a huge letdown (sorry not sorry).

The parade stepped off from small world and the first thing that surprised me was the music. I turned to Alli immediately and said, “Is this Owl City??” It was such a random surprise, but the music was my favorite part of this parade. Six months later and the song is still stuck in my head.

The parade was gorgeous. It was such a refreshing step up from the Main Street Electrical Parade at WDW. It was visually stunning. There was nothing about it that I could have imagined complaining about, and I can’t wait until Paint the Night inevitably winds up at WDW.


After the parade, the area cleared out a bit, which was perfect because we had plans to go absolutely nowhere. The spots that we had chosen for the parade had now become our fireworks viewing spot, and it had just become a little less crowded.


If you have read our previous reports, you know that Alli and I are huge fans of Celebrate the Magic, the castle projection show at WDW. Therefore, we were incredibly excited to see the new Disneyland Forever fireworks. We had a perfect view of the small world building, which is where the projections would be. The only issue is that there was a small tree right between us and the fireworks, but it wasn’t much of a problem.


The show really tugged on some heartstrings. The narrator informed the audience that 60 years ago, this area was nothing but orange groves, and Walt Disney saw this area as the area that he wanted to leave his legacy.

The show began with Walt and his dream, transitioned into a series of projections from various Disney movies over the years accompanied by segments of their most popular songs, and ended on a beautiful note. The last shot was a silhouette of Walt and Mickey walking hand in hand which Jiminy Cricket announces, “All of this is yours… Forever!” My eyes became hot and watery. It was just a nice reminder of how magical this place can be.


The show was beautiful and I really enjoyed it. That last line, about Disneyland being ours (ALL of ours) forever really touched me! After moving from Orlando and only visiting the parks three times in the last two years, instead of multiple times a week, every week, there can be some sad days. The days that pass where something new opens and we know we won’t be able to experience it until much later, Disney feels very far away those days. But those words were a beautiful reminder that no matter how long it goes between trips, the parks and the memories we made will be there forever.

This park is truly beautiful at night. I love the look of the DL Teacups, and I've never seen a more gorgeous castle. The 60th anniversary additions really make it shine.

Next we decided to hit up Pirates of the Caribbean. If you’re paying attention, you’ll know that this attraction holds a special place in my heart. After working at the WDW version of this attraction for a year, I have a special appreciation for it. The DL version is far superior. Basically, if you cut out the entire first part of the ride spent in the caverns, and the entire last park of the ride after the jail scene, you would have the WDW version. The scenes and the track are the same. DL just has… MORE!

The battle scene is my favorite scene in the ride. The name of the ship is the Wicked Wench. For those of you who don't know the story, Captain Jack once worked for the East India Trading Company, transporting slaves. Instead of delivering his human cargo, Jack decided to set them free. 100 slaves were freed under his watch. "Humans aren't cargo, mate". Obviously upset, the EITC has the Wench set on fire and sunk to the bottom of the ocean. Jack then decided to make a deal with the infamous pirate Davy Jones. If Jones raised the Wench from the depths, Jack would owe him 100 souls to be enslaved aboard Jones' ghost ship, the Flying Dutchman. Jones raised the ship, but could not fix it's permanently charred hull. Thus, the Wench was renamed and the Black Pearl was born. Pretty neat, huh?

We were nearby, so we headed over to Big Thunder Mountain after we rode Pirates. BTMM is another attraction that’s better in DL, mainly due to the amazing ride finale. I won’t spoil it, but it really is a great effect. Also, this ride is MUCH BETTER when ridden at night.

The darkness of nighttime really helps the finale effect pop as well!


Now it was time for the Matterhorn, the last thing we wanted to try to ride before we left.

On our last trip, this ride left me with crushed expectations and crushed bones. This ride is seriously painful, and I found it to be really lackluster. Maybe riding it at night would add some excitement? Also, we wanted to check out the new 60th additions to the ride, which were a fantastic addition.


Ok… I get it. This ride is a classic and the public would lose their minds if Disney ever tried to change it. But they could at least add some decent seat cushions (which I’ve heard they just added!) and touch up the break system. I took the middle seat and Alli took the back seat. After the cart began to move, we came to the point where the cart stops before beginning the ride, and I thought we were about to have an emergency on our hands. The cart stopped as if it hit a brick wall. Even though we were barely rolling, that jerk of a stop was a doozy. Alli’s face slammed into the back of my seat and, by the look on her face, I knew it wasn’t good. I immediately yelled, “Are you ok?!?!?!” She gave her head a small shake as her eyes began to tear up. I was sure a nosebleed was coming.


I had just so happened to lean a bit forward before the abrupt stop, which is what made my face slam into the back of the seat. It was one of those hits to the nose that instantly makes your eyes water! I wiped my watering eyes, nose, and face and for a second I was pretty scared, as there were red smears on my fingers! But…luckily that was just my lipstick. Eek! It was more of a hit to my pride than anything!


The park was closing, and our bodies were shutting down. We had an early morning ahead of us, so we headed back to the hotel.

The walk back, by the way, is 300% more terrifying when there are no other people within sight and it’s midnight and we have to walk down some slightly sketchy walkways. We made it back alive to find our moms completely passed out. Good night to us!!!


Next time: These racers are insane, Scott gets some quality mom time, and we have a terribly awkward encounter at a new favorite attraction.

 

[luisov]

Great to hear that you guys enjoyed the 60th additions. I'm surprised you didn't enjoy World of Color though. The 60th version is not as good as the original one, but it's still one of my favorite nighttime shows.

Did you have a chance to watch Disneyland Forever from Main Street? That's my favorite spot because of the additional stuff going on.

Great report so far!

 

[AlliGirl]

Great to hear that you guys enjoyed the 60th additions. I'm surprised you didn't enjoy World of Color though. The 60th version is not as good as the original one, but it's still one of my favorite nighttime shows.

Did you have a chance to watch Disneyland Forever from Main Street? That's my favorite spot because of the additional stuff going on.

Great report so far!

We saw WoC on our last trip, and we just felt like it didn't live up to our expectations. I'm a 6'0" tall male, and if I have a Fastpass for a show, I should be able to see it without standing on my very tippy toes. We have a lot of feelings about the experience.

We never got a chance to actually watch the show from Main Street. We did, however, see portions of the show while being ushered down Main Street on our last night. The Tangled lanterns were incredibly impressive, as was Mt. Wannahockaloogie.

 

[ChrisParker]

Loving Loving Loving your trip report(s)!! I am off to DLR for the first time in a couple of months and you are inspiring me to do a PTR and TR. I am a teaching in Ontario, Canada and I laughed at your - "I've just had three months off but can I go to Disneyland?"

 

[AlliGirl]

I am off to DLR for the first time in a couple of months and you are inspiring me to do a PTR and TR. I am a teaching in Ontario, Canada and I laughed at your - "I've just had three months off but can I go to Disneyland?"

DO IT!! We always love hearing about other first timer's DL visits. You're gonna love it. Our first DL trip turned into our first trip report, and writing it was a blast. It's a great way to relive the trip once you're back in the real world.

 

[ChrisParker]

DO IT!! We always love hearing about other first timer's DL visits. You're gonna love it. Our first DL trip turned into our first trip report, and writing it was a blast. It's a great way to relive the trip once you're back in the real world.

You may have convinced me... as well as fuelling my dream of working in the Canada pavilion in my retirement!

 

[AlliGirl]

When we awoke the following morning, Alli’s mom was already gone. She had to be at the starting line insanely early. Waking up at 6:30 and heading out the door at 7:30, I felt groggy enough. I could never imagine waking up at 4:30 and then running a half marathon. I’d be passed out by mile 1. Not to mention a lot of these runners wear incredibly elaborate costumes. How does one run 13 miles in a full length Aurora ball gown?? However crazy they may be, these races are incredibly popular, and the crowds that morning showed it. We followed the crowds to the Disneyland Hotel and made it to the finish line by 8:00. We hustled our way to the barricades, and 15 minutes later, here comes Alli’s mom!

I was so glad that the timing worked out and we were able to see my mom! Situations like that are always pretty nerve-wracking and finding our way to the finish line wasn't exactly easy.

It was exciting seeing all of the runners and hearing all of the cheering, but this was still a vacation and we had some work to do! Alli and her mom headed back to the hotel so they could freshen up, while my mom and I grabbed a bite to eat at DTD.


Where else would a couple of New Orleans natives eat other than Ralph Brennan’s Jazz Kitchen… Express!

My mom got an order of beignets, which came with 4 beignets.

I ordered a breakfast burrito, which was massive!

So to sum it up, my mom ordered one beignet, and I ordered 3 beignets and a giant breakfast burrito. Perfect. I was disgustingly full before we even entered the park.


After our soulful breakfast, it was time to do some hardcore Disneylanding. However, because Alli and her mom were still at the hotel, we decided to take it slow until they arrived. This was the perfect time to get some pictures and maybe ride a few things that my mom wanted to ride that maybe Alli and her mom didn’t absolutely have to do.

We were through the gates by 9:15 and we spent some time on Main Street checking out the windows. I enjoy it when I find windows that pay tribute to Imagineers or Disney employees that I actually recognize from my extensive Disney research. I love the windows that pay tribute to Marc and Alice Davis.

Marc’s window pays tribute to the work he did on the Jungle Cruise and Adventureland in general. Alice’s window is advertisement for the Small World Costume Company, acknowledging her work on the costumes adorning the dolls on it’s a small world.


My favorite window on Main Street is the window paying tribute to Rolly Crump. His window can be spotted above Fargo’s Palm Parlor on the right side of Main Street.

The “F” in “Rolland F. Crump” stands for Fargo, which is where the shop gets the name. The images on the three cards are a tiki mask, the Tower of Four winds, and a clock in the shape of a coffin. Rolly was one of the main Imagineers responsible for the Enchanted Tiki Room. The Tower of Four Winds was an art sculpture he designed for the New York World’s Fair where it’s a small world was first shown. The coffin clock is a reference to the Museum of the Weird, a walkthrough exhibit that never really came to fruition, but instead laid the groundwork for what eventually became the Haunted Mansion. Also, this is the only building on Main Street (I think?) that has a porch out front, which makes it a nice place to sit and relax.

If you guys are interested in some Disney History, Rolly Crump’s book, “It’s Kind of a Cute Story,” is an incredibly interesting read. It’s filled with fascinating stories about Rolly and Walt’s relationship and his history with the company, including fun stories about some of Disneyland’s most beloved attractions.


My mom wanted to check out it’s a small world, so we headed to the back of the park. It was DESERTED.

We were actually concerned about whether the ride was even open or not. Thankfully it was, so we hopped onto our own private boat and took part in the happiest cruise that ever sailed.

As I’ve said in previous reports, I much prefer the DL version of IASM. It’s just… cleaner.


Next up, I wanted to show my mom a ride that Alli and I vowed to never ride again. I wanted to get her views on Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride.

Once again, this ride is a classic attraction loved by almost everyone that I just cannot figure out. Someone explain it to me, because, as a 25 year old bearded man, I find this ride terrifying. The tight turns and drop-away wooden cutouts make this ride feel very claustrophobic and I constantly feel like something is going to jump out at me for some unknown reason. Not to mention that you literally GET HIT BY A TRAIN AND GO TO HELL??? And then POOF ok ride is over BYEEEE!.. What just happened? Why do I feel so violated? Like I said, I don’t get it.


It was around 10:15, so I went out front to meet Alli and her mom. Why did I do this, you ask? Because, once again, it was my responsibility to retrieve their park tickets, run to Space Mountain to get Fastpasses, and run back to Jolly Holliday, where they were waiting comfortably in the shade.


I got FP’s for 11:45, and it was time for 2nd breakfast. We always end up eating at Jolly Holiday. It's such a relaxing spot to just sit and enjoy the sights and sounds of Main Street.

I enjoyed one of my favorite Disneyland snacks, a Matterhorn Macaroon. They’re so deliciously chewy and coconutty and I love them.

We still had some time before our SM Fastpass, so we headed towards a Tomorrowland attraction that we weren’t able to experience on our last trip: The Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage.

On our last trip, this attraction was undergoing a renovation, which was sad because I really wanted to check it out. I have no idea why, but I have some sort of strange adoration for 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. I can’t explain it, because I’ve never read the book, seen the movie, or ridden the classic attraction. I just… like it! So I really wanted to check out the attraction that replaced it.


Getting onto this attraction was nothing short of a miserable experience, however. First, we baked in direct sunlight for what seemed an eternity. When it was finally our time to board, we descended into the submarine only to find that they were short one seat.

So we said “Ok we’ll just wait for the next sub,” and climbed back up the stairs. Upon resurfacing, the cast member basically said “WHAT ARE YOU DOING GET BACK DOWN THERE!!” Ok no she didn’t, but she was pretty forceful about getting us back down, all while we were trying to explain that there weren’t enough seats. Turns out, another guest somewhere along the way skipped a seat, so there actually were 4 seats. So, while everyone in this eerily silent sub stared at us, we went down the stairs, came back up, argued with a pushy cast member, and went back down and took our seats. In their eyes, we were the strongest family in the world, because we were holding up an entire Disneyland attraction (Nice Jungle Cruise joke!). But it wasn’t our fault!! Whatever.

The ride was amazing. We loved it. It was so quiet and peaceful. A lot of people complain that it makes them feel very claustrophobic, but I could have taken a nap I was so relaxed. The various Nemo scenes were cute and well put together.

I loved this ride! I can't wait to go back and do it again. I was so impressed with how much there was to see because I didn't really know what to expect.


It was now 11:50 and time for us to use our SM fastpasses.

Another attraction that Disneyland gets a point for over WDW. The DL Space Mountain is incredible, mostly because of the soundtrack. I can’t help but dance the entire time. In addition to the soundtrack, this ride is just a lot smoother than its WDW counterpart.

Next up on the list was lunchtime, which was unfortunate because I was still full from breakfast. BUT our moms had a reservation for 12:30 at Blue Bayou that we were determined to crash. While they got the reservation situated, I swung by and grabbed up fastpasses for Indiana Jones.

We ate at Blue Bayou on our last trip and loved it. I ordered the Monte Cristo (again) and my mom and I split it. Alli ordered the citrus-marinated chicken breast.

Here’s my advice. If you order the Monte Cristo (which you should because it is delicious), share it. It’s a very sweet treat and it’s a LOT of food.

This is only half of the sandwich, and it was about the size of a Big Mac.

Also, when they ask if you want gumbo or a salad, GET THE GUMBO. I’m from New Orleans and I’m pretty burnt out on gumbo, but I LOVE this gumbo.


After I felt like I was going to burst at the seams from eating an obscene amount of sugar covered, deep fried ham sandwich, what better to do than ride Indiana Jones and get tossed around a bit?

Magnificent attraction. However, our ride got backed up a bit. When I say this, I mean our jeep stopped at a few very exciting parts of the ride, sort of squashing the magic. When it’s really intense and the ball is rolling towards you and you’re about to be crushed and then everything just stops, it sort of ruins things.

I really like the part where they're "shooting arrows" at you, and its timing was off as well.


That’s enough for now! Keep looking out for our updates. As always, we love sharing our stories with you guys.


Next time: eating more sugar covered in sugar topped with sugar, a sad day in Toontown, and our last night in the parks. Our last entry!!! This trip went by so fast!

 

[kkay5]

Thanks for taking the time to write this up!! I love all the photos. Can't wait to go back this summer.