I was talking to a couple of passengers on the same flight as me going to Los Angeles; they were wondering why I would fly all the way to LA to visit Disneyland when we're close to the gigantic Disney World.
Here's the thing, when it comes to spring break here on the east coast, everybody makes their way down to Florida to visit all the huge attractions like Disney World. I didn't want to be one of them. Honestly, I wanted to be far away from those spring breakers. I want to enjoy my spring break, not cramped up in a crowd of people. Plus, I visited Orlando last year for spring break, I wanted to do and see something different.
Little did I know, spring break was also happening in LA too. Oh no!
The minute we touched down in LA, we got a bite to eat, then immediately went to Disneyland.
Instantly, I felt like a kid again, reliving my childhood when my parents and grandparents took my siblings, cousins, and me to Disneyland. I kept reminiscing about all the rides and things I did as a child there, being super excited meeting all my favorite Disney characters getting their autographs. Mr. M was sharing his childhood Disneyland stories too, but his stories were more of how he kept getting in trouble, like cutting in line. Naughty!
The girls have never been to Disneyland before, only Disney World, so they received their official 1st Visit Pins wearing it proudly for all to see.
Cast members would smile and greet the girls everywhere they went welcoming them to Disneyland and telling them to have a magical first visit.
Disney California Adventure Park wasn't around when I was a child it uses to be the original parking lot, but now it's a theme park of the history and culture of California, which opened up in the early part of the year 2001.
Walking around Disney California Adventure Park, you get a feel of the great Golden State, California, from the movie sets, the land, adventure, carnival, the people, Disney did a fantastic job creating this. With me being from California, they capture the authentic feel of my great home state perfectly.
The Food and Wine Festival was going on at the California Adventure Park with culinary demonstrations by top chefs, and wine and beer tastings. We stopped and watched one of the chefs creating a tasty dish for the crowds.
With it being spring break the crowds wasn't bad at all, the lines were about 20 minutes for rides. Only the popular rides like Cars was over an hour wait. We kept it moving to the rides with shorter lines since we didn't have fast passes.
We had park hoppers and hopped right over to Disneyland, the only theme park designed and built under the direct supervision of Walt Disney himself. Disneyland opened in Anaheim, California on July 15, 1955.
There was one ride that I had to get on to make my Disneyland trip complete; It's a Small World. That ride was and still is my all-time favorite ride my grandfather and I had enjoyed together. A water ride with audio-animatronic dolls from around the world in their native clothing singing together in unity for global peace.
I shed a tear a bit on this ride bringing back all the memories I shared with my grandfather. He loved Disney so much, always looking forward to coming back to bring his grandchildren with him.
He was making plans for his grandchildren to visit Disney World to see the new Animal Kingdom during the time when it was first opening, but we never got a chance to go with him because he passed away. That's why I say you never know if tomorrow will be your last, so hold your loved ones tight, and get out and do those things you want to do for yourself and love ones before it's too late.
 |
| Rest in Peace Pops |
We got on so many different rides, much more than the rides in Disney World.
Michelle's and Mr. M's favorite was Pirates of the Caribbean ride, Lauren had a hard time choosing her favorite. And you already know my favorite ride is.
And guess what! I met the big mouse himself in Mickey's Toontown.
So, we just got off Gadget's Go Coaster and walked over to Mickey's house to check his home out and see how he lives.
We walked through playing with his stuff in his home and towards the end of his house tour we got to a room with a huge screen playing Mickey's classic shows. I told Mr. M, I bet the next room will be nothing more than a Mickey statue.
Boy was I wrong!
The next room was HIM!!! There he was standing there waiting to greet his visitors.
I yelled out, "Oh My God, HE IS REAL!!!!" You should have seen my big ol' smile, and the girls were super stoked to see him in person too. Mickey gave the girls kisses and gave me a handshake.
This surprise reminds me of the girls' first trip to Disney World.
It was the year 2008, Michelle was a baby and Lauren a toddler. Bad storms were happening in Orlando, and we were in the middle of it at Disney World miserable and wet.
A cast member saw us not smiling, upset about the weather, came to us to see if it was our first time there at Disney World. I told them yes for the girls and Mr. M, I been there before as a child. The cast member told us to follow him; he has a surprise for us.
I'm thinking, "What kind of surprise he has for us? Some ponchos?" LOL!
No, he had something even better!
He took us in a building, to a room with Cinderella sitting there with her arms wide out to greet us. Lauren quickly ran to her and gave her the biggest hug. Michelle didn't know what the heck was going on since she was too young to understand.
That was the best moment ever in my life! Here we are at the Happiest Place on Earth soaking wet, miserable wanting to leave. But a cast member came to our rescue to make sure our Disney experience would be a magical one.
This is why I love Disney. Their cast members are always so joyful, helpful, caring, making sure visitors have the best experience ever.
Now back to our time at Disneyland.
Although I only had one hour of sleep before our trip to Disneyland, I managed to be wide awake to take in as much as I can.
We were at Disneyland Parks for over 10 hours but didn't stay for the nightly parade due to all of us being exhausted, and the girls are frightened by loud noises of fireworks.
There is no way to do it all in one day, even just visiting one park. If you're going to visit any Disney Park, I highly suggest multiple day tickets, like for a week.
I was having a chat with Mr. M and discussing Walt Disney and his vision of creating Disneyland. I asked Mr. M does he think Walt Disney would be proud of what his vision has become? An idea of a place where children and parents could have fun together. Mr. M think so, and I do as well. What do you think?
Thank you, Disneyland for bringing back my childhood memories and helping me relive them again. This Disneyland trip will be a memory that will last a lifetime, and I know my girls will share their Disney experience with their children in the future as well.
Disclosure: Thank you Disneyland for the complimentary tickets! Our family had a trip we'll cherish forever!
Follow Product Review Mom on Google News!
Glad you guys had a blast. I can't wait until our first Disneyland visit! It'll be a first for me and the kids.
ReplyDeleteAwe what a great way to make memories. I can't wait until I can take my boys.
ReplyDeleteHow fun! I went to Disneyland as a kid and it would be fun to take my family and see how much has changed.
ReplyDeleteYour post actually got me a little choked up. I have very fond memories of the Small World ride from when I was a child too. Things were so much different back then. I still have never been to California Adventure. We plan to take Jaxon there when he is old enough to appreciate it. Glad you guys had such an awesome time!
ReplyDelete