Wrapping up our first trip to Disneyland

Our third and final day was back at Disneyland. And it ended up being a particularly ride-filled day. Not because we wanted to pack in as many rides as possible but because the lines are a lot shorter if you get there when the park opens.

Pirates of the Caribbean was our first ride because we wanted to get it in and it doesn’t have a fast pass. We basically walked on. And the California version definitely wins out over the Florida version. Our son liked it, other than the two drops at the beginning.

Then we went to the Winnie the Pooh ride, which our son specifically requested. Which was cute and fun and not as jerky as the Florida version but the real treat was that Winnie the Pooh and Tigger were just outside it with no line. Doodle got over his shyness and hugged both of them.

On the way back, the line was short for Haunted Mansion so we got that in again.

Then, while Mommy and Doodle went on the Teacups and Mr Toad again, I went on the Matterhorn. I knew it was the first rollercoaster at Disneyland so I really wanted to try it. Not bad but very jerky and not that different than a regular roller coaster. 

After that, we went almost all of the dark rides in Fantasy Land that we hadn’t been in. Pinocchio, Alice in Wonderland, Snow White and even the walk through of Sleeping Beauty’s Castle. I’d say they were all a bit dated, technologically, but still cute and charming. I’d go on any of them again, as long as the lines were short. (Which is why we didn’t go on Peter Pan)

The ride that was not fun that we got in was Storybook Land Canal Boats. The aisles in the line were very tight and cramped. And, other than getting to sail into Monstro the Whale’s mouth, it was simply not very good. You ride in a boat to see miniature replicas of buildings from the movies. No characters, just  architecture. If you didn’t have the narrator telling you what the buildings were, I don’t know if I’d recognize most of them. It was like a boat ride by a miniature golf course.

Somewhere in all that, we ate at the Rose Inn, which was the Beauty and the Beast-themed restaurant. The beef poutine and cauliflower sandwich were tasty and doodle ate his way through the kids meal.

Then Mommy and Daddy took turns riding Space Mountain. Personally, I thought that the seats were much more comfortable than the Florida version and and the ride was smoother. Radiator Springs Racers was still better but Space Mountain is a classic.

By then, our time at Disneyland was wrapping up and we needed to get to the airport. We got in one last ride at the teacups and Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters and headed out. Good rides to end on since we’ve enjoyed them at both Florida and California.

Disneyland is a different place than Disney World. Florida is like going to another country. Disneyland is still the same country, just a couple of very good amusement parks.

Our first time visiting California Adventure Land

Our second day was our California Adventure Land day. We were very curious about this park, since it doesn’t have an exact version in Florida, although it has elements of Epcot and Hollywood Studios.

It was also the day that our friend Melanie came out to see us. She moved to California last year and it was really great to see her.

We got a fast pass for Toy Story Midway Mania when we got into the park. While we were waiting for that, we got in the Little Mermaid Ride (we couldn’t tell any real difference between the California version and the Florida version other than the queue) and the Mater’s Junkyard Jamboree (spun us around faster than we expected but that made it more fun) and we tried to get on the Luigi Rollicking Roadsters ride but it broke down literally just before our turn.

This was our first Midway Mania experience. It definitely took the shooting game crossed with a ride idea to the next level. The Buzz Lightyear ride explores it too but this was a more involved game. All three of us were impressed by the shooting part, although doodle found it too jerky.

We next tried out Bug’s Land, which has some carnival style rides that seem aimed at younger kids and we have a four-year-old. We tried three of the rides. Flik’s Flyers and Francis’ Ladybug Boogie were fun but Heimlich’s Chew Chew Train was one of the more meh experiences we had at the parks.

We at lunch at Pacific Warf. Bread bowls of soup isn’t high cuisine but it was a nice alternative to sandwiches.

We watched some cute street theater about the Guardians of the Galaxy having a dance off (I was disappointed that Ronan the Accuser didn’t show up and dance) before we waited an hour to get into the Hyperion Theater to see a theatrical production of Frozen. Frozen is the doodle’s favorite movie and he knew about the Hyperion production. It was his biggest request for this trip. 

It was a surprisingly good production. The special effects were a lot of fun, including the puppets. Their version of Anna was goofier than the movie version, which was more interesting than a more straight reading. Our son was rapt the entire time.

After that, we tried something we hadn’t tried before. Taking turns going on a ride that was too big for the doodle so we’d get to go on it. We both wanted to try the Radiator Springs Racers and that proved to be maybe one of the best rides we went on. The special effects were great, the speed was wonderful and it was smooth. As someone with back problems, smooth is a big deal.

Then we made our biggest mistake of the trip and had our most miserable experience. The World of Color. That is a light show that uses pyrotechnics, fountains, lasers and images projected on mist.

The problem was we waited an hour in order to get prime viewing and that was at the end of the day. Doodle was fussy and tired and our feet and calves were aching. And we had to stand through the show as well and doodle fell asleep near the beginning.

Oh, it was impressive, particularly wall of fire that was the Pirates of the Caribbean portion. We had no idea why they included Mustaffa’s death scene as part of the show. But it was simply a grueling experience and none of us thought it was worth it.

Afterwards, we got some pizza at Downtown Disney, the retail area in between the parks (where we also got some legos at the LEGO store’s huge Pick A Brick wall) and went back to the hotel for sleep.

Our very first day in Disneyland

While we have been to Disney World three times, we have waffled about going to Disneyland for a while. Truth to tell, it wouldn’t even be on the table if we weren’t currently in Arizona and much closer to Disneyland. And after doodle turned four, we decided that it was time for a quick Disneyland trip. Our plan was to fly out early on Saturday and fly back late on Monday, giving us three days at the parks.

We got up when it was still dark on Saturday. Amusingly enough, we ran into my Uncle Don at the airport. He had been in Tucson for a conference but we hadn’t been able to get together with him. It was a fun start to the trip.

We had an easy flight to Los Angeles. From there, we took the official Disney Coach to the parks. I say official since there are some fly-by-night vans that will offer to do the same. As usual, the doodle hated waiting but was happy as long as he was in a moving vehicle.

We stayed at the Day’s Inn across the street from the two parks. Part of why we chose to stay there was that it was closer than any of the actual Disney hotels. 

Now, I’m not going to go into exhaustive detail about every ride and attraction and quick service we went to but some will get more comments than others.

One term I’m going to use a lot is dark ride, since our son really liked those. Dark rides are when a little car or boat takes you past a series of scenes. They’re mostly inside and often have a lot of animatronics.

Our first ride was Mr Toad’s Wild Ride, which is a dark ride and one that’s no longer at Disney World. So it was one we wanted to see. We also knew that it ended with a car crash and the ride going through Hell. Well, it was the quaintest Hell ever. It was pleasant, quaint ride but I would hope a ride based on The Wind in the Willows would be quaint and pleasant. It was a nice way to get started.

One of our big goals was to go on the California version of It’s a Small World since we’d heard it was better and bigger than the one in Florida. And it was. We managed to ride it only a day or so before it was shut down to remove all the Christmas decorations. It was memorable and impressive.

I also have to note that It’s a Small World is an odd experience. It’s depicting not a realistic version of the world but a toy one. So it has an intentional fake look to it. It’s quite surreal.

After that, we went on the Mad Tea Party and the Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters, both rides our doodle had enjoyed at Disney World. While there were differences, none of the them were significant.

Our next stop was Toon Town, an entire area unique to California. It’s a mix of tributes to Who Framed Roger Rabbit and the houses of the classic Disney characters. Our son was most interested in Chip and Dale’s treehouse. We also went on the Roger Rabbit Car Toon Spin, which is another dark ride with the story being an out-of-control taxi ride through Toon Town.

At that point, we needed lunch. It was getting later and we the adult at least we’re really hungry. We are at the Galactic Grill and I’d say it was a low point in our dining. Not because the food was bad because it was so crowded it felt like being in a cattle car.

The last time we were at Disney World, the Magic Kingdom’s train was down and our son didn’t get to ride it. So we wanted to make sure he got to ride the one in California. We didn’t realize it would include a huge diorama of the Grand Canyon and of dinosaurs. That was a fun surprise.

Doodle has done well enough with other dark rides, we decided that he could handle the Haunted Mansion. And he did. He thought it was lots of fun. We did think that the special effects were better in Florida. 

We had dinner at the Jolly Holiday Bakery, which is the Mary Poppins-themed restaurant. It was a much better experience than lunch and the baked goods were excellent.

After going on It’s a Small World again to see it lit up in the darkness (which was pretty incredible) and another round of Buzz Lightyear, we called it a night and went back to our hotel.