As we enter Disneyland for the first time we see a sign:
Here you leave today and enter the world of yesterday, tomorrow, and fantasy.
And sure enough, we are transported to a world unlike any other…
The First Day: Disneyland Park
Disneyland is everything we both ever imagined it to be (Okay, I’m sure I have been doing significantly more imagining than George) and more.
And then, you look up and you’re greeted with a view of Sleeping Beauty’s Castle, so you pinch yourself. Photographs truly cannot do Disneyland Park justice, because they cannot capture the electric atmosphere that engulfs you as you take your first steps down into the old-world charm of Main Street – complete with jazz music (often Disney renditions) in the background.
A brief moment to acknowledge the awesomeness of the Disneyland Hotel (featuring light-up Sleeping Beauty Castle headboards). Staying at Disneyland was not only incredibly convenient in terms of travel and atmosphere, it also meant we were able to enter the park an hour earlier than the general public. Although this meant a 7am wake-up and Room Service for breakfast (First World Problems Tally: 1), we were able to jump on some of the Park’s most popular rides, before the wait times exploded to over an hour.
First up – Tomorrowland’s Space Mountain.
George had not been on a proper roller-coaster ever, in his life. So what better way to introduce him than Space Mountain?
Let’s be honest – I am a complete and utter wimp. And deep down, I was hoping that George would be my kindred spirit, dislike going on roller-coasters and the rest of our Disney days would be spent frolicking with Ariel, and sipping coffees overlooking Fantasyland.
No such luck. My husband (*Giggle*. I’m still not used to that) loved roller-coasters, and proceeded to spend the next 72 hours dragging me on every stomach-churning ride available to the masochistic guests of Disneyland.
George: Nat neglected to tell me my first ever roller-coaster ride would be in the dark. Abrupt direction changes, and sudden drops make an even bigger impact when it’s pitch black around you with the exception of some space-like star and laser-beam lighting. Of course, once we disembarked my first words were “Again?”. As there was more to see we proceeded to Star Tours which took us on a 3D tour of the Star Wars universe, and like everything we would see beautifully produced and executed. It really *felt* like we were there.
Tomorrowland was incredible. Star Wars, Star Trek, Buzz Lightyear rides – all rolled into one!
We then headed to what soon would be Natalie’s favourite place in the entire world: Fantasyland.
Fantasyland is the centre of Disneyland Park – it is what lies beyond Sleeping Beauty’s Castle, when you walk through the magnificent entrance. It is home to the awesome Mad Hatter’s Tea Cups, ethereal Disney Princesses and has been capturing the hearts and imagination of children (and over-sized children) alike for decades.
Photos with Disney Princesses were obviously highly sought after, and were successfully obtained (See Facebook for all related ‘Natalie Meets Disney Princesses’ photographs)! I managed to keep cool when I was taking happy snaps with my girls Ariel, Belle and Cinderella.
Although dragging me away from Fantasyland was somewhat difficult, we left that magical storybook land for long enough to explore Frontierland, AdventureLand (complete with a long wait for the Indiana Jones ride) and New Orleans Square.
From Pirates of the Caribbean to Haunted Mansion to Toon Town, Disneyland had it all. The rides are exquisitely designed and incredibly entertaining!
After over 11 hours exploring the Park, we were pretty exhausted but pushed on to have a wonderful dinner in Downtown Disney with George’s cousins, Bobby & Kathy.
Then it was time to explore Disneyland at night-time. We enjoyed a spectacular fireworks display over Sleeping Beauty’s Castle, before rushing over to the Disney California Adventure Park to find Radiator Springs lit up in its neon glory, before tearing ourselves away from Tow Mater, Flo’s V8 Cafe and the Cozy Cone to witness the incredible ‘World of Color’ fireworks, water and music display in Paradise Bay.
It was a 15-hour day by the time we fell into our incredibly comfortable bed at the hotel – but not before turning on the bedhead for one final light and song display before dozing off to sleep…
The Second Day: Disney California Adventure Park
Although the Disney California Adventure Park has only been around for just over a decade, it certainly doesn’t disappoint; and was an incredible second day of exploration and imagination.
We started our day with a casual ride on the roller-coaster affectionately known as California Screamin’ (Not-So-Fun Fact: The top speed the rollercoaster reaches is 89 km/h. Making it the fastest ride at Disneyland. I am very glad I didn’t know that before I got on it). And yes, it also goes upside down.
It’s a good thing we had breakfast plans which took place after the further roller-coaster traumatisation saga of Natalie continued. (And yes, as we disembarked, George’s first words were ‘Again?’).
California Screamin’ followed by breakfast at Ariel’s Grotto with the Disney Princesses – who says compromising is difficult in a marriage?
The breakfast was delicious (But American portion sizes continue to astound me….) and was a great start to the rest of our day in the Adventure Park.
The highlight of our day was Cars Land by far: the incredible recreation of Radiator Springs in its entirely, complete with full-size characters cruising the streets. While ‘Route 66’ played in the background, we lined up for our FastPass ticket to beat the cue for Disney’s most popular ride – ‘Radiator Springs Races’. Thankfully our early Magic Hour’meant we were able to snag a ticket; whereas by 11am every single other pass for the ride had been allocated for the entire day. And after we rode it, we understood why. George & I could not imagine a better immersion into the ‘Cars’ universe.
Next, our exploration took us to Hollywood Land, including Aladdin’s Musical Spectacular (Notable Genie joke: I really like what you’ve done with your YouTube video , the Jafarlem shake…), the Animation Studio (where even stick-figure afficionados such as myself learnt how to draw Daisy Duck), A Bug’s Land, a sneak peek of ‘Oz: The Great & Powerful’ and the ultimate low-light of the day: The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror.
Let Wikipedia put this ride into perspective. While you are ascending up an elevator shaft, the last words you hear are as follows:
“You are about to discover what lies beyond the fifth dimension, beyond the deepest, darkest corner of the imagination, in the Tower of Terror.”
On the last word of the narration, the elevator starts its drop sequence. Rather than a simple gravity-powered drop, the elevator is pulled downwards, causing most riders to rise off their seats, held down only by a seat belt. At least once, wide elevator doors in front of the riders open to reveal a view of the park from a height of about 170 feet.
And that was how, amidst my screaming, nausea and hyperventilating I advised George that I would in fact, be divorcing him (much to the amusement of the ride operator, and the other dozen people sitting in the elevator shaft with us)…
Our evening was spent in a much more civilised manner, with thousands of screaming teenage girls at a Maroon 5 concert, at the Staples Center in Los Angeles… The entire concert, including the opening acts (Neon Trees & Owl City) were phenomenal; and although we didn’t return back to the Disneyland Hotel until after midnight, it was worth every moment we spent in traffic on Highway 5.
The Third & Final Day
Checking out of the hotel in the morning was incredibly difficult for me (George was worried he’d have to pry me away from the Sleeping Beauty headboard); but obviously we have vowed to return some day in the future.
Our final day is Disneyland will probably be our most memorable. While our first 2 days immersed in the place ‘where dreams come true’ were long, exhausting, overwhelming and incredibly exciting, we spent our final day strolling around both parks, experiencing some rides we hadn’t managed to get to in previous days, but more importantly to walk around, explore and just soak in the intricate details of everything that is meticulously prepared for your imagination and enjoyment in the Disney Parks.
A lazy lunch at the Wine Country Cellar overlooking the rides of Paradise Bay (much better than actually being on them, that’s for sure) before another cruise down to Cars Land, a final stop at Fantasyland and then watching the Disney Parade take over Main Street. There was truly no better way to have a Disney send-off than a phenomenal array of costumes, with parades of beloved Disney characters bringing our favourite songs to life.
Even George got into it, and requested that he be educated by watching The Little Mermaid in the near future. (Married Life Compromise Tally: 2).
We aren’t sure when exactly we will return to Disneyland, but I am certain that when we do it will capture our hearts and imaginations as much as it did this time, when we took our first steps into a world of imagination, fantasy & childhood…
