Disneyland - Part II

We definitely covered a lot of ground on our Disney adventure. We only took the Monorail into the park on our first morning. After that, we just made the walk through Downtown Disney. It didn't seem like a long walk, especially in the mornings when we'd stop to get a Jamba Juice for breakfast!

Nick dancing with Mickey down Main Street!

DISNEYLAND
Since a picture is "worth 1,000 words," here are some of our favorite memories from our trip . . . though not necessarily in the order we experienced them. We hopped between Disneyland and Disney's California Adventure park and went on a few rides more than once.

TOMORROWLAND
The Autopia was probably one of our most favorite rides. Nick LOVED driving . . . it didn't matter that he couldn't see where we were going! I'd just call out LEFT or RIGHT, and Nick would crank the steering wheel one way or the other. It felt more like driving on a long bumper car ride. Nick didn't mind. He usually ended up in hysterical giggles before we finished.








































Buzz Lightyear was probably John's favorite ride . . . plus, he loved the speed of getting on the ride via the "Fast Pass." I liked the ride and getting an "email" photo to send home was nice. But, Nick didn't like it as much--I think it was too loud for him.





FRONTIERLAND
I hadn't been to Tom Sawyer's island for over 15 years. I was amazed at how much I'd forgotten . . . or maybe they've changed a few things (the addition of a "real" Captain Jack was definitely new). Even so, I swear those caves seemed MUCH bigger back then.


























ADVENTURELAND
The Tiki Room is one of those shows that you can't miss, but that you don't really plan for "when" to actually go. It just happened that as we were walking by they were closing the gate. We RAN in just before they closed the theater doors--WHEW!!!





















CRITTER COUNTRY
One of our "can't miss rides" is Winnie the Pooh. If you know the movie The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, then you know this ride. However, this ride spends a lot of time on Pooh's dream where he meets the "Heffalumps & Woozles." Thus, my friend Lori has taught us to call this the Psychedelic Pooh ride. (Trivia note: this space used to house the Bear Country Jamboree.) Our bonus was meeting Pooh, Eeyore, & Tigger just as we got off the ride.



FANTASYLAND
Some of my earliest memories are of Fantasyland. Though some of those memories are the stories I'd hear about how my dad worked there as a ride operator (Casey Jr's Circus Train, Mr Toad's Wild Ride, and many others). Nick LOVED the Dumbo ride. He thought it was fun to make the elephant fly up/down as we went round & round in circles.



MICKEY'S TOONTOWN
On our second morning, we used an invitation to get into Toontown one hour early. We were sworn in as honorary citizens of Toontown by Mayor Mickey Mouse. Then, we ran around Toontown trying to get photos with as many Disney characters as we could. We saw Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse, Goofy, Pluto and Dale. But, the highlight was taking Nick on his first roller coaster ride!





Well then . . . join us for Nick's 1st roller coaster ride!

NEW ORLEANS SQUARE
Our most anticipated ride was the Pirates of the Caribbean because we had just missed the re-opening the last time we had come in 2006. For all the hype, I have to say . . . I like the old version better. The new version retains a lot of the old segments (a few have been moved around--they did keep the "Take a Wench for a Bride"). But, the ride just seems darker and less cohesive now that they've added in Captain Jack.


Even the Haunted House seemed darker . I almost thought my eyesight was going. I was squinting to see most of the holograms. I almost couldn't see the ghost that hitchhikes with you in your car on the way out.



















MAIN STREET, U.S.A.
I think this was one of our favorite parts of each day . . . watching a parade. Disneyland's current parade is the "Parade of Dreams" and was amazing to watch! We had a great location right at the top of Main Street.

I believe our dreams really did come true on this trip. We packed in a mind-boggling amount of activity, kept a 3-year-old going almost non-stop (it was hard to slow him down), and ended the trip with a dinner out with some special friends.





However, no matter how much a 3-year-old wants to keep going . . .

Every night ended much the same way . . .
he was asleep before his head hit the pillow!


Stay tuned for Part III -- the final segment!