The Happiest Place on Earth

Hi all for the first time in a few days,

We have had the most wonderful three days at Disneyland! I’m lucky enough to have now been to the California Disneyland four times, and I was worried it wouldn’t be as good post Covid. I couldn’t have been more wrong - it was as magical as ever. The only key difference we noticed this time compared to December 2019 was hand sanitiser dispensers everywhere. We used these liberally after every ride because we are 90% sure we caught Covid here last time. We were both very sick and it was as people were starting to get it over here! Not many others seemed to be using them. We also noticed a lot more rides seemed to be breaking down pretty regularly, but we kept track on the app of when they reopened.

It was 30 degrees every day we were here. This was tough as last time it was around 20 and perfect, but we found ways to cope like going on air conditioned rides such as It’s a Small World or the Tiki Room in between other rides and activities.

On the first day we got in lots of rides at Disneyland first, and then met up with my friend Luke and his Mum to watch the ‘Magic Happens’ parade together which was brilliant. The four of us then went on Splash Mountain together with me at the front, and I got absolutely saturated from head to toe! It made for a soggy experience watching ‘World of Colour’ at Disney’s California Adventure (the second park) that night, but luckily it was 21 degrees even at 7pm so I was ok.

The second day we started at California Adventure and got in lots of early rides. We then headed over to Disneyland as we had finally got a lightning lane/fast pass for the new Star Wars ride that hadn’t quite opened when we were last here, called Rise of the Resistance. I’m not even a Star Wars fan and I thought it was great, you really felt like you were in that world. With the new rides they’ve been making recently, they seem to want to make the queue a story and have different sections you take part in. Eg on this one we first went into a spaceship before then eventually getting into a cart that went on a magnetic track. We watched the parade again. We headed back to California Adventure later in the day and eventually got stuck on the big rollercoaster over there, the Incredicoaster, due to it breaking down. We had to sit about 30m off the ground in our cart in the sun with the music blaring until staff made their way up there and maintenance freed us. That was a new one! But we were lucky we were 90% of the way through the ride, as some other riders got stuck early on up a big hill. We then had a fairly early night after doing some shopping on the way out. I got a really nice new T shirt!

Today was our final day. We started off at Disneyland and got in a few rides without fast pass early such as Peter Pan and then the new ride Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway which was excellent, and the first ride in Disneyland history that actually features Mickey and friends. Then we popped over to California Adventure briefly, had lunch outside the main gate and came back to Disneyland to ride lots of favourites one last time. We went back to the hotel for a break before coming back to watch Fantasmic and the fireworks. It was so crowded at this point that we gave up on Fantasmic as we’ve seen it before and that area was really congested, so we went and found a spot for the fireworks and castle projections instead. They were beautiful as always.

It’s hard to encapsulate how much this place means to me and what a wonderful experience it is visiting. You walk around with a smile on your face, the park is spotless and the staff are friendly. Even on our second day (Friday) and more so our final day (Saturday) when the park was insanely full, things ran smoothly and it was still a lovely experience (other than finding a spot for the night shows!). You go on classics such as Space Mountain, Thunder Mountain, Splash Mountain, Small World, Pirates and Haunted Mansion, and they make you smile and laugh every time. It gives you so much nostalgia and holds a special place in my heart knowing Nan and Pa brought Mum here, Grandma and Grandpa brought Dad here, Mum and Dad brought Adam and I here, and now Rob and I have shared it together twice too.

We had a few other cool experiences. We saw a proposal and saw some random school bands parading down Main Street. We went on some new rides we had never done before such as the Mark Twain Riverboat and as previously mentioned the new Star Wars and Mickey and Minnie as well as a fun new Spider-Man ride in the second park. We saw a new show about ‘The Lion King’. We got to experience the original Haunted Mansion (it was Christmas themed last time and not as good) and the original Soarin’ Over California in the second park. They changed this to Soarin’ Around the World when they opened Shanghai Disney in 2016, and it’s still good but I love the local character the California one brings. We loved it so much we went on it once every day. It was on at the moment due to the ‘California Food and Wine Festival’ taking place in the second park. I also had fun finding some specific things around the park people had mentioned in a Vintage Disneyland group I’m in, such as a petrified tree Walt gifted his wife that she then made him keep at the park, hidden ‘Easter eggs’ (special things) within different rides and a section of three fences that join within the park containing the only section of fencing from the 50s when the park opened that remains. I know Rob isn’t as big a Disney fan as me, but he was so patient and lovely and willing to walk around and find them too. I think he had a really good time again and he particularly enjoyed the new Star Wars ride saying “that was the best ride I’ve ever been on” as well as Space Mountain.

Speaking of enjoying things, we got to enjoy lots of Disneyland specific treats we hadn’t had for a while, the main one being Dole Whip which is pineapple soft serve outside of the Enchanted Tiki Room. It is DELICIOUS. If you are ever here you must have it! We also enjoyed some churros and some Mickey and Minnie shaped cake pops.

As well as the hustle and bustle of the rides and shows, we once again enjoyed exploring quieter areas like Main Street where you can see Great Moments with Mr Lincoln, the gallery of which had an interesting display in honour of the Disney company’s 100th anniversary this year. We also watched some old cartoons in the cinema.

As always, I’m very sad to leave. Last time when we visited we knew we would be coming back in 2023. It’s probable that we won’t be here for a while and that the next time we are here we will have some kids with us! I hate to think how expensive it’ll be to enter the park by then……!

Tomorrow we are heading off to Seattle by plane.

Love to all
Claire
Xoxox

PS: Apologies in advance for how many photos there are. This is three days worth!