First trip to Disney Land....the parks

[jrkcr]

I grew up with WDW, and just this month went to DL for the first time. It was a perfect vacation! We rode every single ride at the 2 parks!! Yes, EVERY ride!! Well, Maliboomer was just my DD16...yikes!
CA- has a nice area of kiddie rides and the Bugs Life theme was very cute. Brother Bear play area was so peaceful and DD8 had alot of fun running all over the challenge course.
Paradise Pier: was very fun-I luv California screamin'! Here is a warning: that giant ferris wheel-some of those carts SWING!! I had no idea how terrifying that would be. DD8 was screaming "It's a nightmare" and I was a pretty shade of green by the time we got off. Scariest ride I rode all week! Next time, I will look for the non-swinging line.
DD16 rode the Maliboomer, and I had to fight the urge to go onto the ride platform to double-check her seatbelt.
Hollywood: I FINALLY rode ToT!!! I did NOT enjoy this ride, but then I knew I wouldn't. But now I have a badge that says "I survived ToT"...so it was worth it. And the street out front always had lots of characters. We got great pics of DD8 with Woody(toy story) and Dopey-2 characters we don't see very often. Turtle Talk with Crush is very cool-how a turtle can understand what those little kids are saying is beyond me. I was sitting right there, front row, and had no idea what they were saying...
And the Alladin show!! WOW! What a great show! Also, what a line to get into the show!! Luckily we had special passes, so we ate churros and then got to go in.

DL- WDW and DL are two sides to the same coin. DL is almost identical to Magic Kingdom, but I have to say, I really liked DL better than I expected to. Some of the differences in the rides just made DL so much nicer than I thought it would be. I never thought space mtn at WDW needed an update until I rode it at DL. Now I see how good it could be! And the opposite is for Matterhorn, which is understandable, it is a much older ride at DL. DD8, who is scared of everything, said the yeti at Matterhorn looked like the abominable snowman from Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer show. Which was good-cause otherwise she would have been scared of this ride. She is scared of EE and that yeti.
I loved seeing the wicked queen looking down on us over Snow Whites ride, peeking out the window. I have no idea if that is unique to DL, or maybe I have just never looked up at WDW. But we all waved and yelled HI to her. No, the witch did not wave back.
And to ride the Storybook Canal boats was so special, I guess cause I never thought I would ever see them, much less ride them! We rode on Faline.
DD8 had a special encounter with Pinocchio. She and I were headed to his ride, when suddenly he appears, takes DD by the hand and walks off with her! I was scrambling for the camera...he walks her over to a flower bed of red flowers, gets on his knee, picks a flower and gives it to her! It was even a heart-shaped flower! Someone asks him if she is his girlfriend, and he puts his fingers up to his mouth in a "Shhh". DD8 was grinning ear to ear, and is still calling Pinocchio her boyfriend. We walked by his Village Haus restaurant the next night, and she was wondering what he was doing upstairs in his house. How sweet!!

We won a dream while there! We were coming out of Mr Toads wild ride, it was our first night and it was almost cold. We were laughing about how nice and warm "that special place" where Mr Toad ended up was. Suddenly a CM named Maureen was asking about our pins-we all 5 had "first visit to Disney Land" pins on. She asked if we were having a nice time, etc. She asked if there was ONE ride in Fantasyland that we had not been on, maybe because of long lines. DD16 said Matterhorn. (We had been in line earlier at the matterhorn,and just as we got to the boarding area, it shut down.) But we as a family decided on Peter Pans flight, cause that line is always sooo long! SO she took us to the front of the line for Peter Pan. And then to the front of the line for the Matterhorn, and she even watched DD8 while we rode!(DD8 was too scared at night to ride). When we got off Matterhorn, she took us to the front of the line at the canal boats. The whole time she was telling us about the rides, about Walt and the making of the canal boats, and even about her family. We just chatted and chatted! Maureen was such a nice person, and of course having a tour guide and getting to the front of lines, was very cool!

Yes, we spent 5 leisurely days at DL. We stood in line at most 10 minutes(ToT), used only one fast pass all week(Indiana Jones), and waited less than 10 minutes for a table for 5 at the Blue Bayou. We did 2 days at each park, and a final day just riding CA Screamin', and Grizzly River rapids over and over and over...And ended our last night sitting at the River Belle Terrace drinking coffee and watching Fantasmic. (well, we hit BTM a few times until they closed it down)

Going to DL was a real dream come true!
DL gets a big from me!!

[Funforall]

I've been able to go to DL twice and really enjoyed it. Glad you had a great trip.

[NotaGeek]

Thanks so much for posting about your trip! I love it when first time visitor's to Walt's Park really feel the magic that the Original Disneyland Resort is all about!

Didn't you love Fantasmic! on the Rivers of America? It's so dramatic with the whole park behind you!

[Melanie]

What a nice trip report! Glad you loved Disneyland and thanks for relaying your thoughts.

[ChipnDaleGal]

I am so happy that your trip was such a big success for the whole family. Disneyland really is a very special place and your family seems to have "gotten" it! Thanks for the lovely report. You are making me even more anxious for my next trip out there in April!

[tinkwest]

...I loved seeing the wicked queen looking down on us over Snow Whites ride, peeking out the window.... we all waved and yelled HI to her. ...

Proof that you were really in to the magic of Disneyland!

...We won a dream while there! ......

Great to hear!

I've been looking forward to your report. Thanks for taking the time to share your wonderful experience with us.

[Diznee4Me]

How come you never posted any of our WDW trips? HMMM.....?

Sounds like y'all had a great time. Maybe one day you can be our guide.

[Aisling]

Yay! I'm so glad you had such a great time on your trip to DL. I hope a lot of the people wondering if they should go to DL because they are used to WDW read your report and think, YES! I need to go there.

What a treat to have a CM take you around for a bit and chat with you. And you know, I've always thought that Yeti was from Rudolph too!

Love, love, loved your trip report.

[faline]

What a great Disneyland trip you had!

We made sure we rode the non-swinging part of the ferris wheel.

I love seeing the wicken queen peer through the curtains! Glad you noticed her!

[goofysbabe]

Thanks for the report - my goal is to get there someday

[disneymother]

Sounds like a great trip! I think the Fantasyland at DL is much better, even if ride wise it isn't too different!

[Mickey'sGirl]

Thanks for your reports! We have just booked 4 days/3 nights at the Disneyland Hotel for this July -- We were already excited, but your really positive reviews have me even more pumped now! I am so glad you were able to find so much magic!

[DisFan01]

Glad you had a great trip! And you even won a dream! Congrats!

[BronxTigger]

Thanks for sharing! Reading this makes me even more excited for my trip coming up in April! I've been 3 times before, but my last two trips out there (97 and 02) were only one day each, and I was only 5 on my first trip, so I don't remember much. This trip will be 2 full days + 2 partial (travel days)!! I can't wait!

I hope my trip is as magical as yours was!

[Tink&Goofy]

Thanks for the great report! I LOVE DL! Although WDW has much more overall, DL still holds a special place. I love the rides there, and the layout. We know that park like the back of our hand!
I tried the swinging side of the ferris wheel the last time - I think I'll stick to the "fixed" side from now on!

[pdrlkr]

Thanks for the report!

[Mrs. Bee]

What a great report! You should post links to some photos. I'd love to see them!!

Sounds like a great trip! I think the Fantasyland at DL is much better, even if ride wise it isn't too different!

I think the rides are quite different. WDW doesn't have pinnochio, mr. toads, alice in wonderland, storybook canal, and casey jr. mr. toad's and alice are fantastic! Although, I will say that WDW's snow white is a much more complete ride.

I definitely like the looks of Fantasyland better at Disneyland. There are so many great details. At WDW it seems more fakey and circus-tent like.

[Quest4fun]

I love reading about a first timer going to Disneyland and having a good time. I've always been protective of my favorite park growing up and I always worried that people wouldn't like it.

It's like making dinner and having everybody love it. It's just so satisfying to be able to share your experiences with people. What would the world be like without Disneyland?

[MegaDisney]

Thanks for posting! Sounds like you had a great time at Walt's Park!