Our California Dreamin' Trip - Day 5 Disneyland

[brownie]

We headed west to California from June 16-23, 2007 for our family vacation. We split our time between San Diego, where we visited the San Diego Wild Animal Park, San Diego Zoo, and Legoland California, and Anaheim, where we visited the Disneyland Resort for the first time. We were joined on our trip by my parents.

In Anaheim, we stayed at the Best Western Courtesy Inn, which was okay. Our room was large, but we could hear all the traffic on Ball Rd. really well. My parents were able to see the fireworks from their room but we could not.

We had breakfast at the McDonald's on Ball Rd. before heading to Disneyland. Disneyland opened at 8 AM and we were in line to get into the park at about 7:30 AM. There were quite a few people in line ahead of us.

The gates opened at 8 AM and we slowly made our way up to the gates and then got into the park. We headed for Tomorrowland, since my mom wanted to ride the subs; she had ridden them when she visited the park back in the 60's. We got the subs and cast members directed us back towards the Matterhorn. When we found the end of the line, it was between the Matterhorn and Fantasyland, well over 2 hours of waiting. We decided to try the subs later and headed back into Tomorrowland, where we practically walked onto Buzz Lightyear's Astroblasters and Star Tours. I missed seeing the AT-AT that Disney-MGM Studios has, and I wish the guns would shoot continuously for Astroblasters like they do for Space Ranger Spin at the Magic Kingdom at WDW. My dad rode the Astrorbitor Rockets with Mark, our 6 yr. old, and then we went to Adventureland.

I really wanted to ride the Indiana Jones Adventure, but it's opening was delayed. We rode the Jungle Cruise after a short wait in line, and then headed into New Orleans Square since Indiana Jones was still closed. We rode Pirates of the Caribbean and the Haunted Mansion after short waits in line. I really liked the Disneyland version of Pirates of the Caribbean, but I like the building at Magic Kingdom better.

Sharon, my bride, Mark, and I went and rode Splash Mountain and got pretty wet. Justin, our 9 yr. old, stayed with my parents who didn't ride Splash Mountain.

After riding Spash, we went back to Indiana Jones, and it was now open so we got fast passes for the ride. We took in the Enchanted Tiki Room (we've never seen the WDW version) and then headed back to New Orleans. We had an 11:30 AM priority seating for the Blue Bayou, so we headed over there and checked in. We got a table right next to the bayou, so that was cool. The food was good but it was pretty expensive even for lunch. I did enjoy my Monte Cristo sandwich, which was the only reason for eating there.

After lunch, we had to kill some time in Adventureland before our fast pass time came up for Indiana Jones. Mark, my mom, Sharon, and I rode it. Justin & my dad went to Tomorrowland. I wish WDW had the Indiana Jones Adventure; it was really cool!

We all met back up in Frontierland. Sharon, Mark, and I got fast passes for Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. When our time came up, we went to ride it while my parents & Justin went to Tomorrowland to stake out seats for Jedi Training Academy. After we rode Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, Sharon, Mark, and I headed to Tomorrowland and found my parents at the Tomorrowland Terrace. The Jedi Training Academy was great, I just wish Justin and Mark had gone up into the sections to try to get picked. We really enjoyed the show, and we seated right by the ramp where the Jedi and stormtroopers enter and exit.

After the Jedi Training Academy, we headed into Fantasyland where we rode Mr. Toad's Wild Ride. Afterwards, on our way to It's a Small World, we had some Mickey ice cream bars. After finishing our ice cream, we rode It's a Small World then headed into Toon Town. Justin, Mark, Sharon, my mom, and I got into line for Roger Rabbit's Car Toon Spin. It was our longest wait of the day so far at about 40 minutes. There wasn't must air flow inside the queue, so it wasn't a real comfortable wait. After riding it, my dad, who had waited outside, pointed out a TNT box with a handle. Justin & Mark tried it until it set off the fireworks inside one of the buildings (complete with smoke). We explored Toon Town a little more and then headed back into Fanstasyland where we had dinner at the Village Haus.

After dinner, we decided to check the line for subs. The end was some ways into the queue line, so we decided to try it, and figured we could always get out of line if it got too long. We ended up waiting about 90 minutes (a cast member at California Adventure the next day said that was pretty good; he said the wait had been averaging 2.5-4 hours!) The ride was interesting, and I'd like to know how they projected the images, but I certainly wouldn't wait that long to ride it again.

It was almost time for Fantasmic! when we got off our sub, so we went to Frontierland and snagged a spot just as Fantasmic! started. Our view was somewhat obstructed by trees, but we managed. I liked the Peter Pan segment, although I wish we could have seen it better. Too bad they don't have the pirate battle in WDW's version.

After Fantasmic! we found an empty bench in Frontierland to watch the fireworks show. We missed out on a lot other than the fireworks, but we wouldn't have had time to find a spot on Main St. (my mom was moving a lot slower and the fireworks started shortly after Fantasmic!)

After the fireworks we headed out and back to our hotel. It was after 10 PM and the park was open to midnight, but we had done enough and the next day we were headed to California Adventure.

Disneyland was neat, but I was disappointed by the lack of the presence of the castle. Cinderella Castle grabs your attention, and I didn't get that feeling with Sleeping Beauty Castle. Everything feels closer together. We enjoyed it and had a really good time.

[Lizzie]

Glad you enjoyed your visit to DL. I love the close proximity of everything.

[NotaGeek]

Thanks for the report. My feeling on the Castle is at WDW the Castle is the center piece of the park, at DLR the Park is the center piece! Glad you had a good time!

[ChipnDaleGal]

It sounds like your family enjoyed their day at Disneyland. I am glad you made it on the Nemo subs. I can not imagine waiting 4 hours for anything!! Thanks for reporting.