First Trip to DL - Day 1

Who: Me, Matt (11), Molly (8)
When: June 13 through 16
Where: Best Western Anaheim Inn

This was our first trip ever to the Disneyland parks. We’ve been to WDW too many times to count, but never out to CA. Hubby couldn’t get time off from work so, once again, it was just me and the kids. I was able to keep the trip a secret from the kids until the day before. When I told them they were so excited! I’ve never done anything like that before and it was really so much fun! They could hardly believe we were really going.

We had to get up really, really, early on Monday morning because we had a 6am flight from Denver to Phoenix, and then a short flight to Orange County. We actually got out the door right at 3:30 as planned and had plenty of time to check our bags and get to our gate. Both flights were very smooth and without event.

We arrived in CA around 10:30 and waited at the airport about 30 minutes for the Disneyland Express to take us to our hotel. We were the 2nd to the last stop but were all checked in and on our way to the parks by 11:30. Having never been there before, I didn’t really know where I was going and ended up taking the really long way from our hotel and entering through Downtown Disney. Little did I know, if I made a right instead of a left when leaving our hotel, we were only ½ a block from the parks instead of walking what felt like close to a mile. Oh well, live and learn!

We started out at California Adventure. After getting the GAC pass for my son, we were on our way. The GAC was a life saver! We’ve never used one before and generally if a line is more than 20 minutes, we need to leave, it’s just too much for him to take. With this pass, we were able to wait away from too many people and, in general, the wait was never more than 10 minutes. We all benefitted from this – no melt downs, no me losing patience because he’s climbing on railings or playing with the chains, etc. Anyway, we were able to do all of what we wanted to do at CA, with the exception of Soarin, by about 3:30 or so. We really enjoyed everything we did there and especially loved the Little Mermaid and the rapids ride. So much fun. Matt did California Screamin and loved it – Molly wouldn’t try.

So, after we had our fill in CA, we walked across the courtyard to Disneyland. We were all so excited to finally be going to the “first” Disney park. Although it is smaller and feels more cramped in some areas compared to the Magic Kingdom, we all really enjoyed it. We all got a good laugh at the castle though. When we first got there, the afternoon parade was just finishing and we couldn’t see the castle from Main Street because the floats were completely blocking it. It is nice and seems much more “storybook” to me. We were starving at this point and ended up at the Plaza. I had the fried chicken and both kids ordered pasta. I have to say, the chicken was so yummy! Matt fell asleep just as Molly and I were finishing. I let him sleep for about 10 minutes and when he woke up, he was good to go. Our first stop was Star Tours! We had a great first ride and Matt, who is a HUGE Star Wars fan, was so happy to finally be riding the new ride. He then proclaimed that we had to ride it at least once each day of our trip, which we did!

We were able to do quite a lot at Disneyland, focusing mostly on Tomorrowland and were in Toowntown – which I loved! – when I hit the wall. I had been up since 2:30 that morning and just couldn’t do anything else. It was around 9:00 by that time. After the kids went into Chip and Dale’s treehouse, I proclaimed it was time to call it a night. After very little protesting, we walked the right way back to our hotel and were washed up and ready for bed in no time.

Wow, you really packed a lot into your first day. I too love the chicken at the Plaza Inn. Can't wait to hear more.:thumbsup:

Thanks for the report.
I am reading to get tips as we head to CA and Disneyland the last week of July.

Sounds like a happy first day. But, oh my goodness, I'm imagining your walk around the parks to enter through DTD! Good thing you discovered your mistake after just one trip.

Plaza Inn Chicken = my DH's favorite Disneyland meal. Glad you enjoyed it!

Thanks for the Report! :mickey2:

Thanks for the report! Man I could use some Plaza Inn fried chicken myself!