Hello, just here to write a quick trip report. Sorry, there are no photos!
I am a single 20-something that went to Disneyland for the first time with family friends (20-something parents, a newborn, and a 3 year old) the first week of December (it was a Monday). Because of this I couldn't do as much as I would have had I gone solo, but it turned out okay anyway.
We arrived and I was immediately excited! We saw a bunch of characters just roaming around, which is the way it was when I was a kid. We even were first in line for Donald Duck!
I didn't really get to experience much of Main Street because we knew time would be limited. I was really happy to get a 3 year old's experience of it, though. She reveled at the horse drawn trolleys and the Christmas decor.
I was a little disappointed in the castle. It was really small. I knew it was going to be small, but it seemed uber small. But, it did have lights on and ready to be lit for when the night dawned and that made me happy. Once through the castle I was also struck by how small the walkways are. The crowd level (according to my friend's app) was at 30% and I can't imagine what it would have been at 60+! I was also struck by the rows and rows of strollers. It seems like they were parked wherever they fit.
I rode the carousel with my 3 year old friend, first. We had a good time trying to spot her parents from on the horses. We then tried Toad's Wild Ride. It was fun! After that, we headed over to Dumbo. We waited for a little (maybe 15min) and then chose an elephant. We got on and her reaction when she spotted her parents, for the first time on a ride without her, was wonderful! She was so surprised to see them in an Elephant across the way.
We were walking to the Snow White ride when someone offered us their Frozen Meet & Greet ticket because they weren't going to be using it. The CM told us that we couldn't use it because they are issued to specific park goers (first come, first serve style) at the beginning of the day and you need ID to use it. That seemed kind of stupid. I wasn't impressed with the Snow White ride. Its as if a scene or two was missing. For instance, she is poisoned with the apple but in the very next scene its happily ever after! Something didn't add up somewhere.
We went to Alice in Wonderland because I was really excited to try it out. Alice in Wonderland is one of my favorite Disney movies. My friends had never seen it! I explained it might be a little odd, as the movie is a bit odd. The ride did not disappoint. I LOVED it. The colors, the indoor/outdoor, the caterpillars. Wonderful! My friends, despite never seeing the movie, like it, too and decided they needed to watch the film.
We went to Tomorrowland and rode on the Nemo Submarines. I'm not sure what I was expecting, but it was cool. The mix of water and projections was interesting and I'm not sure how they did it. There was one small complaint here. The narrator was telling the rules of the ride (stay in your seat, stay quiet so everyone can hear the narrator, etc). Well, a few minutes in my friend's newborn started to cry, and he never cries. The narrator got a bit huffy and said, "As I said, EVERYONE needs to be quiet." Umm, does he not realize that sometimes its difficult to quiet a baby and that we couldn't very well just get off the ride? We were in a submarine! Of course, we felt bad that the baby cried for about 30 seconds to a minute, but there wasn't much to do. He did calm down and the many more minutes of the ride were fine.
We split up for a little while so I can try the rides that the 3 year old wasn't tall enough for. I tried Star Tours and wasn't impressed. It jerked me around a lot and I'm not a huge 3D ride person (I tend to get nauseated). I don't think I will be retrying it when I go to Disneyworld in April.
We met up at the Buzz Lightyear ride, which I believe is really similar to the Hollywood Studios version that always has HUGE lines. This lines was super short, about 10 minutes. It was a great ride! The 3 year old, despite me showing her a few times, either couldn't figure out how to press the blaster's button or didn't have the strength in her tiny fingers to press it. Food for thought for those wishing to take their little ones on it. The parents had a great time on this ride as well, and since the ride had to stop for about 30 seconds, they were placed directly in front of a really high-point target and racked up some pretty great scores!
Pinocchios Daring Journey was fun, and then we headed out to Frontierland.
We did the Pirates of the Caribbean ride and it was AMAZING. Really! How many stories do those boats go down into the earth! I was so thoroughly impressed. I'm a little disappointed that Pirates at Disneyworld isn't as good (according to memory and others' accounts). It was really great and I could ride it over and over, though I only got to ride it once.
We then headed to the Haunted Mansion and had a really great The Nightmare Before Christmas themed ride. I'm looking forward to seeing the regular version in Disneyworld since it won't be Christmastime when I go. The 3 year old loves to be scared, so the ride didn't bother her.
We had a meal at French Market restaurant. I wasn't impressed, but it did its job and left me no longer hungry. We then split up again because the kids were getting restless and I wanted to finish a few more over 35" rides that I wouldn't be able to ride while in Disneyworld. I rode Indiana Jones. The line for that ride is HUGE but I got a solo rider pass and was on within 5 minutes. It was a great ride, but I had to hold on to prevent myself from being jerked about. I also rode the Matterhorn, which was really fun. I would have liked to have ridden it during the day as well to get a different experience of it. Again, I got a solo rider pass and was on in 2 minutes.
I tried Space Mountain but the line was an hour long and there is no solo rider line.
On the way out, I was able to see Its a Small World all lit up and it was gorgeous! We even saw the castle light up to appear like icicles and main street was lit up with light streamers as well.
We had a really great time. I hate that I missed out on a bunch of rides (Storybook Canal Boats, Peter Pan's Flight, The Mad Tea Party, Its a Small World, Space Mountain, Enchanted Tiki Room, the Jungle Cruise, Splash Mountain, Big Thunder Mountain, and the Winnie the Pooh ride) but it was supposed to be a laid-back day and we achieved that. Besides, most of those rides are duplicated at Disneyworld and I will ride them then.
I am a single 20-something that went to Disneyland for the first time with family friends (20-something parents, a newborn, and a 3 year old) the first week of December (it was a Monday). Because of this I couldn't do as much as I would have had I gone solo, but it turned out okay anyway.
We arrived and I was immediately excited! We saw a bunch of characters just roaming around, which is the way it was when I was a kid. We even were first in line for Donald Duck!
I didn't really get to experience much of Main Street because we knew time would be limited. I was really happy to get a 3 year old's experience of it, though. She reveled at the horse drawn trolleys and the Christmas decor.
I was a little disappointed in the castle. It was really small. I knew it was going to be small, but it seemed uber small. But, it did have lights on and ready to be lit for when the night dawned and that made me happy. Once through the castle I was also struck by how small the walkways are. The crowd level (according to my friend's app) was at 30% and I can't imagine what it would have been at 60+! I was also struck by the rows and rows of strollers. It seems like they were parked wherever they fit.
I rode the carousel with my 3 year old friend, first. We had a good time trying to spot her parents from on the horses. We then tried Toad's Wild Ride. It was fun! After that, we headed over to Dumbo. We waited for a little (maybe 15min) and then chose an elephant. We got on and her reaction when she spotted her parents, for the first time on a ride without her, was wonderful! She was so surprised to see them in an Elephant across the way.
We were walking to the Snow White ride when someone offered us their Frozen Meet & Greet ticket because they weren't going to be using it. The CM told us that we couldn't use it because they are issued to specific park goers (first come, first serve style) at the beginning of the day and you need ID to use it. That seemed kind of stupid. I wasn't impressed with the Snow White ride. Its as if a scene or two was missing. For instance, she is poisoned with the apple but in the very next scene its happily ever after! Something didn't add up somewhere.
We went to Alice in Wonderland because I was really excited to try it out. Alice in Wonderland is one of my favorite Disney movies. My friends had never seen it! I explained it might be a little odd, as the movie is a bit odd. The ride did not disappoint. I LOVED it. The colors, the indoor/outdoor, the caterpillars. Wonderful! My friends, despite never seeing the movie, like it, too and decided they needed to watch the film.
We went to Tomorrowland and rode on the Nemo Submarines. I'm not sure what I was expecting, but it was cool. The mix of water and projections was interesting and I'm not sure how they did it. There was one small complaint here. The narrator was telling the rules of the ride (stay in your seat, stay quiet so everyone can hear the narrator, etc). Well, a few minutes in my friend's newborn started to cry, and he never cries. The narrator got a bit huffy and said, "As I said, EVERYONE needs to be quiet." Umm, does he not realize that sometimes its difficult to quiet a baby and that we couldn't very well just get off the ride? We were in a submarine! Of course, we felt bad that the baby cried for about 30 seconds to a minute, but there wasn't much to do. He did calm down and the many more minutes of the ride were fine.
We split up for a little while so I can try the rides that the 3 year old wasn't tall enough for. I tried Star Tours and wasn't impressed. It jerked me around a lot and I'm not a huge 3D ride person (I tend to get nauseated). I don't think I will be retrying it when I go to Disneyworld in April.
We met up at the Buzz Lightyear ride, which I believe is really similar to the Hollywood Studios version that always has HUGE lines. This lines was super short, about 10 minutes. It was a great ride! The 3 year old, despite me showing her a few times, either couldn't figure out how to press the blaster's button or didn't have the strength in her tiny fingers to press it. Food for thought for those wishing to take their little ones on it. The parents had a great time on this ride as well, and since the ride had to stop for about 30 seconds, they were placed directly in front of a really high-point target and racked up some pretty great scores!
Pinocchios Daring Journey was fun, and then we headed out to Frontierland.
We did the Pirates of the Caribbean ride and it was AMAZING. Really! How many stories do those boats go down into the earth! I was so thoroughly impressed. I'm a little disappointed that Pirates at Disneyworld isn't as good (according to memory and others' accounts). It was really great and I could ride it over and over, though I only got to ride it once.
We then headed to the Haunted Mansion and had a really great The Nightmare Before Christmas themed ride. I'm looking forward to seeing the regular version in Disneyworld since it won't be Christmastime when I go. The 3 year old loves to be scared, so the ride didn't bother her.
We had a meal at French Market restaurant. I wasn't impressed, but it did its job and left me no longer hungry. We then split up again because the kids were getting restless and I wanted to finish a few more over 35" rides that I wouldn't be able to ride while in Disneyworld. I rode Indiana Jones. The line for that ride is HUGE but I got a solo rider pass and was on within 5 minutes. It was a great ride, but I had to hold on to prevent myself from being jerked about. I also rode the Matterhorn, which was really fun. I would have liked to have ridden it during the day as well to get a different experience of it. Again, I got a solo rider pass and was on in 2 minutes.
I tried Space Mountain but the line was an hour long and there is no solo rider line.
On the way out, I was able to see Its a Small World all lit up and it was gorgeous! We even saw the castle light up to appear like icicles and main street was lit up with light streamers as well.
We had a really great time. I hate that I missed out on a bunch of rides (Storybook Canal Boats, Peter Pan's Flight, The Mad Tea Party, Its a Small World, Space Mountain, Enchanted Tiki Room, the Jungle Cruise, Splash Mountain, Big Thunder Mountain, and the Winnie the Pooh ride) but it was supposed to be a laid-back day and we achieved that. Besides, most of those rides are duplicated at Disneyworld and I will ride them then.
