Once Upon a Christmas Dream: Disneyland 2005 is Complete with pictures!

[Sleeping Jedi Beauty]

Well, I didn't really sleep on account of the super comfortable metal bar that lay right underneath my back in the couch bed of our motor home. It's impossible to fit all 6'4 of me into a bed that's designed for someone shorter than that. So, I get up early and it's actually close enough for us to be near ontime for park opening. On account of spending all day yesterday in Walt Disney's Magic Kingdom, we decide to start this morning off in the one place where no one is sure to be for miles around: Disney's California Adventure!

As much as I love Disney, it saddens me that Homer Simpson described DCA perfectly. This park has only a handful of attractions that are really outstanding. The rest are only worth going on if you have a 3+ day pass and want to spend all your time in Disneyland. The other major challenge facing the park in my opinion is the lack of Disney feel to it. DCA seems to be a replica of the beach boardwalks that Walt Disney was trying to avoid when he built Disneyland. I can't figure out why Disney chose to go against Walt's vision. The park doesn't even feel like a Disney park. One of the things I love about Disney parks is how they make you feel. You literally enter a different world. Well, DCA just feels like an extension of California. The beach music doesn't feel like Disney. It feels like the oldies station on the radio. At least, they're doing something about this, starting off with this new Christmas tree. Note who is placing the star on the top of the tree.



So, we hit Screamin' and Tower of Terror. I must say that I was very excited when I learned that Tower of Terror was coming to DCA. I loved this ride the first time I went on it at Disney-MGM Studios during our 1994 trip, and am very happy that one of my all time favorite rides is only 6 hours away by car instead of by plane. After hitting these two rides we decide to skip Grizzly Falls on account of it being December and I don't really want to wait a long time for Soarin'. So, we step into a gift shop and make a remarkable discovery.

My mother loves the artwork of Thomas Kinkade. She has Kinkade paintings all over her home. She thought the Kinkade painting of Sleeping Beauty Castle for the 50th Anniversary was beautiful. And while you can't purchase this in World of Disney, you can purchase it inside a Disneyland park. So, we call my dad and tell him of our discovery. This will have to be done all quiet like on account of mom's professed disdain for receiving gifts. She always says that she never wants anything, but always speaks lovingly of assorted gifts she's received in the past. While dad comes into to select a mouse ears frame and pay for the picture, we head out of the park to draw attention away from the fact that dad is secretly buying mom a Christmas present from all of us. Outside of the park, we look at the candy cane striped letters forming California and get a picture in front of my favorite character, Mickey. You may note from this picture the Disney Christmas hats that my sisters are wearing that proved so helpful when I needed to find them in line for Space Mountain yesterday.



Now it's time to get one in front of my little sister's favorite, Goofy. Yours truly is wearing the T-shirt with Mickey and friends decorating the Christmas tree in front of Sleeping Beauty Castle.



I thought about getting a picture in front of the 50th Ornament, but the crowds around it were too big, so I settled for getting a decent side angle of the ornament. From there I head into Disneyland to chill on Main Street and spend a little bit of cash in the Emporium. I already have a lightsaber for 12" action figures at home. Now I just need a Princess to wield it, so I find a Princess Aurora 12" action figure and pick it up. She'll look nice with the Jedi and Padme that already adorn my room.



And with that, dad has returned from his top secret mission inside DCA, and everybody meets up with me inside Walt Disney's Magic Kingdom where more fun and rides await us. While inside I take a daylight picture of Disneyland's Christmas tree, all decked out for this year only in gold.



Yes, this tree really is that big. To continue our journey, we all head over to the Frontierland/New Orleans Square/Adventureland/Critter Country side of the park to take in some favorite rides such as Pirates of the Carribean, Thunder Mountain, and Indiana Jones. I also check out Haunted Mansion Holiday again. After another ride on Splash Mountain, we decide to head back to the motor home for lunch, but not before I announce that I want to have my picture taken with Princess Aurora. My sisters look at me like I'm crazy, but my brother, still regretting running away from Cinderella all those years ago in Walt Disney World, says he'll come with me. Well, we get to the castle, and Aurora's not there. While I may like Disney movies, I'm not about to subject my already aching and sore body to a line to have my picture taken with any old Disney character. You see, at this point, I need a break. My shins are screaming, my lower back is begging me to quit, and my feet hurt. I appease my body by telling it that it can rest later, but I will give it a brief break for lunch and advil. Maybe painkillers can convince to delay the coming protest until the end of the day.

After lunch, we hop on the railroad and circle around the park. While the railroad may not be the quickest way from point A to point B in Disneyland, it is a very pleasant one. From the railroad, my mom can see the only part of Splash Mountain she really likes without having to go through the drop that she dreads so much. We get off at Tomorrowland and decide to go to Space Mountain. While in line, I have a nice conversation with a mother and daughter behind us. This lady also feels like Mickey is a part of her family and her daughter, now in her teens, wishes that she had been more into Princesses when she was younger because of how much her mother loves the Princesses. This is what Disney is about. Families coming closer together through a shared interest. In Disney, age doesn't matter. Even if 900 years old you feel, act like 900 years old need to you do not. When our turn came to board the rocket, we let the lady and her daughter ride in the front row. Their excitement at getting to ride in the front row was great. It made me feel good to think that in a small way, I helped contribute some Disney magic to their day.

Parades are a great time to hit the rides. Most of the crowd disperses into the center of the park, leaving us the chance to go on a lot of great rides with relatively little to no wait in line. The trick is to catch the parade one day and then take advantage of it the next day to go on rides like crazy. It's great fun and you get to see the parade, while also enjoying the thinned out crowds that it causes. Hoping to catch a great seat for Remember, Dreams Come True, we decide to head out for an early dinner so we can get back to the park before 7:00 and camp out early enough to get a great seat. So, with that, we head back to the motor home for dinner before the final push.

Be sure to tune in next time, same Mouse time, same Mouse channel where you will discover our fate. A chill wind blows through the December air. Will I get to see Remember, Dreams Come True?

 

[Sleeping Jedi Beauty]

After dinner we all head back to the park. The plan is to camp out for the fireworks and hope that we get to see them. As we near the castle, we find a great spot, but the parade is still an hour away. My parents, who've been AP holders this year, decide to camp out. I head out with my brother and sisters to do Fantasyland. My sister is still recovering from foot surgery so she's in the wheelchair. We do some old Fantasyland favorites. One of the things I love about Fantasyland is the detail on the attractions. Peter Pan is so detailed and is my favorite dark ride because you feel like you're almost flying as the pirate ship carries you through London and onto Neverland. Peter Pan is another Disney movie that I watched many, many times in childhood. I also enjoy Pinocchio's Daring Journey. The storyline of this film is fascinating, especially when you consider how Walt changed to give it a happy ending. I love how it reminds that when we listen to our conscience, we will be okay. I also appreciate the reminder of a loving father who would do anything to keep his son safe. Part of the power and magic of Disney is how Walt's stories remind us that while bad things can and do happen to us, good will always triumph and win out in the end. My sister agrees to go on King Arthur's Carrousel. I enjoy this if only for the carrousel versions of classic Disney music. The familiar Disney classics can be heard all around the carrousel and add to the feeling of magic. I also remember well from childhood how the carrousel depicts scenes from my favorite Disney movie, yep, you guessed it. Sleeping Beauty. I make sure to pick a horse close beneath one of the pictures from the film and enjoy the ride. I also appreciate the carrousel because Walt came up with the idea for Disneyland while watching his daughters enjoy the carrousel at the park every Saturday and wishing that he could be with them. Thanks to his vision, there is now a place where fathers and mothers can be on the carrousel with their children and experience that wonder firsthand. Somewhere, up in that Disney castle in the sky, I'm sure that Walt is smiling.

It's now a half hour before the parade, so we figure we had better head back. We pass through Sleeping Beauty Castle. As we look up at the castle, my brother and I attempt to capture the beauty of the castle at night. In the end, this is the clearest picture that I can get. I had one where the colors looked better, but my hand wasn't steady enough to capture it.



Coming Next: A Christmas Fantasy

 

[FSUDisneyGirl]

more please

 

[Sleeping Jedi Beauty]

And so after finding my parents, we all settle in for a few minutes before A Christmas Fantasy begins. I hadn't planned on watching this parade this trip. We've been to Disneyland during December for 3 consecutive years now, so I had planned to pass on the Christmas parade. But on account of getting good seats for the parade that will translate into great seats for the fireworks show, here I am.

As the parade begins, my little brother and I continue our picture taking frenzy. After showing off our castle shots, now we start to show off our parade shots to each other. Even now as I look at the pictures I took, what I remember(aside from how pretty Princess Aurora is ) is of sitting there taking the pictures with my brother and then showing my pictures to him and then seeing the cool pictures he took.

One of the great things about this parade is it's length and how it features a ton of Disney characters, including my favorite one of all, Mickey. As a side note, I think his dark blue coat is pretty cool, but that' probably because dark royal blue is my favorite color as well as the color of my alma mater.

And in a nice touch for Disney, the parade features perhaps my favorite of the secondary characters, the lovable and goof off chipmunks, Chip & Dale. I still love watching all those old Chip & Dale cartoons. They rank right up there with Goofy in terms of laugh value. Nice to see the chipmunks get respect.

Then comes the Christmas Ball float. My brother once had one of Cinderella's stepsisters hit on him watching this parade. Guess that's what you get for running away from the princess herself in her castle when you're 8 years old. This float though, is off limits to ugly stepsisters, mermaids, and Jasmine. I guess she just doesn't fit in with the clothed princesses. If you've never seen this parade, one of the cool things is that the princesses don't just stand up there and wave. They actually dance along the street from time to time with their respective Princes and even get up to take center stage on the ballroom part of the float.

Beauty and the Beast also take their turn on the steps of the ballroom.

And last, but not least, the beautiful Princess Aurora, the first and only Disney Princess to wear a crown.

The excitement of the parade reaches a fever pitch as the famed jolly old man in a red suit comes riding in on his sleigh, and I'm not talking about Santa Goofy, who I will teach my kids about. The kiddies really get excited for this one, and who can blame them. They're at Disneyland and Santa Claus is there. Yes, they know he's coming, and they can hardly wait.

And so the parade has come to an end. There's a little bit of jockeying for position among all the crowds as the hub around Sleeping Beauty Castle begins to fill in for Remember, Dreams Come True. In the end, things are fairly well organized and we all settle in. The view is great, but one question remains. A chill wind blows through the night sky. It is definitely colder than last night and it was windy conditions that cancelled last night's show. Will the fireworks happen?

Things begin to look up when the PA system informs all Disneyland guests that Remember, Dreams Come True is starting soon. There is no notice that they may have to cancel the show. Each time the PA comes on, the message remains the same. This is a good sign.

At the appointed time, Remember Dreams Come True begins. I breathe a huge sigh of relief and prepare for the show. All I know is that Star Tours is a part of the show and we hear "Light speed to Endor." As the show unfolds, I realize that we're seeing the very best of what Disney has to offer. It's remarkable how they cover the history of the Happiest Place on Earth in fireworks and laser lights. Sleeping Beauty Castle, one of the landmarks of California, is a part of the show as Disney projects effects onto the front of the Castle.

In Adventureland, we come to Indiana Jones and the Temple of the Forbidden Eye. Since John Williams is my favorite musician, I love hearing the fireworks synched to his music. The flamethrowers mounted on the turrets of Sleeping Beauty Castle suddenly transform the castle into the Temple of the Forbidden Eye. Simply amazing. But it gets better as pirates wage a battle over the village in the skies above Sleeping Beauty Castle. And then a familiar dark music pipes in through the air as grim grinning ghosts(try saying that 10 times fast) come out to socialize. The castle has traded it's royal hues for a haunting green with ghostly projections dancing on it's facade. Simply amazing. As we work our way through the park, some of Disney's most beloved songs are set to fireworks as the attractions that make up the Happiest Place on Earth are realized as fire in the sky. Peter Pan flies through Neverland, Pinocchio becomes a real boy, Ariel wants to be part of that world, and Cinderella goes to the ball. This show celebrates not only 50 Years of Disneyland, but also reminds us of the contributions that Walt Disney has made to the world through his imagination.

Soon, we come to Tomorrowland and the familiar noise from Space Mountain is heard. We remember the Voyage Thru Innerspace. And then, Captain Rex opens up the cockpit. The lasers are dancing across the castle, and then it's lightspeed to Endor. With that moment, I get chills as the familiar strains of my all time favorite movie music sound throughout the park. For this Star Wars geek, there is nothing quite like seeing fireworks set to the Star Wars main theme. I can almost see the lightsabers crossing in the skies above Sleeping Beauty Castle. Once again, Disney has reminded me of what it feels like to be a little boy again.

 

[Sleeping Jedi Beauty]

After the fireworks, my siblings head off to do Autopia again. I decide to try and see the backlit 50 years of memories photomosaic that Disney is doing for Haunted Mansion, but the crowds are horrendous. Instead of swimming upstream, I head back to Tomorrowland to hit Star Tours and Space Moutain one last time. After Star Tours, my family calls me and wants me to join them on Small World, so I head over there, but we quickly decide that it's been a long day and we're all tired, and this line isn't moving. We get out of line and on the way back notice that Storybook Land has no line, so we hop right on. This ride is one of my Disney traditions. I've loved it ever since I was little and love to do it at night, especially at the end of another long Disney day. It's quiet and relaxing and I enjoy seeing the little details of this attraction. It's so neat to see the assorted villages made famous in a variety of Disney movies, plus Disneyland boasts not one, but two castles, as Cinderella Castle appears in Storybook Land. And with that ride, we all drag our tired and sore bodies out of Disneyland and to the World of Disney. The time has come to get our souveniers.

After much wrestling, I decide to get two plush Mickeys. The little one leading the parade and the big one where Mickey is wearing his attire for the Happiest Homecoming on Earth. I also end up finding the plush Mickey that we will give my nephew for Christmas. And after that, we return to the motor home. Our Disneyland trip is over. I'm sad, yet my back is shot and my legs are jelly. I can't do one more day. Most importantly, I was there for the 50th Celebration.

Coming Next: Epilogue.

 

[Sleeping Jedi Beauty]

It is now Christmas Day 2005. We've been home for Disneyland for a couple of days now. As we're opening the presents, we show my mom what is coming. With my sister's digital camera, we took a picture of the Kinkade print of Sleeping Beauty Castle we bought for her. Mom starts to cry and then attempts to insist she was crying tears of anger that we got this for her. I remind her that I've made her cry for good(and, unfortunately bad) and I know the difference. She is deeply touched that we got this for her. In the end, this really isn't about giving mom a picture of a castle by her favorite artist. It's really about giving mom a print of the landmark of so many of our most treasured family vacations and memories. Yes, we are a Disney family. So that painting of Sleeping Beauty Castle, opened the same year mom was born, is a reminder of family and how truly important it is in our lives.

Later that afternoon, my brother and sister-in-law arrive with their 4 month old son. Another generation is being introduced to Disney. For Christmas, he is getting two Disney plushies, a baby Mickey that I hunted all over the World of Disney for and a plush Pluto playing football. After Christmas dinner, we settle down to watch the Walt Disney World Christmas Parade recorded earlier that day. It brings back many fond memories for us from earlier in the week at Disneyland and of all the times we've gone to Disney as a family. People begin to talk about how much they want to go to Disneyland again even though we were just there. For me, it's a nice family moment. I have to fly back to my job early in the morning two days later and I don't really want to. But, for now, we're once again gathered as a family enjoying Disney. My little nephew enjoys the bright colors of the parade, but I notice something. He seems especially fascinated by two characters in particular, Mickey and Pluto. It's like he knows them from somewhere. I suppose it's similar to how his uncle was at that age. According to my mom, I wasn't much older than my nephew when I began to recognize Mickey Mouse from a mile away. And so the Disney magic continues in my family as an uncle hopes to pass on his love of Disney to his nephew, and his own children when that times comes.

And three days later, I get a phone call from my mom that I never saw coming. In the days since I have left, my family has been talking about taking another vacation, except this one will be far away from California. We're going to Walt Disney World. And so the adventure will continue in Once Upon a Celebration Dream: Walt Disney World 2006.

 

[Ron from Michigan]

Thanks for a great Disneyland report. I grew up a few miles from Disneyland so it is also a very special place to me. I can remember our whole family going there and having a great time. It sounds like you have a very wonderful family. One question, how come I did not read about you going on one of my favorite rides the Matterhorn. I'm off now to read your WDW trip report.

 

[Sleeping Jedi Beauty]

One of the problems about writing a trip report months after it happens is that you forget to put certain things in there. Don't worry as we did go on the Matterhorn a couple of times, but I forgot about it. One of the things I love about the Matterhorn is the music playing as you get closer to the station to get on the bobsleds. It adds such a nice touch to the ride.

 

[Philadisney]

thanks for a wonderful report! I just stumbled upon it and read it straight through. You have a beautiful way with words and it sounds like you had a great time. As a big fan of Walt myself, it's very cool to hear your thoughts and insights on the man. You are a wealth of Disney knowledge!
I didn't realize that Princess Aurora was the only princess with a crown - interesting! I also thought it was so cool how you used different smilies to represent the members of your family. I'm looking forward to reading your next report!

 

[Sleeping Jedi Beauty]

Thank you for the compliments. It saddens me that the Disney Channel has forgotten all of the programming in the archives featuring Walt Disney. Even though I was born almost 10 years after his death, Walt was a part of my childhood on account of all the Wonderful World of Disney reruns I watched as a child. I wish the Disney Channel would start showing those programs again instead of catering solely to the preschool and tween audience.

 

[dornen]

indeed i enjoyed staying up late and watching the old school disney chanell. and then their demographic changed.

 

[Disney owl]

Great reports thanks for sharing your holiday & photos with us