But here I am for a big update. We are in LA, at the place we started out- the Comfort Inn and Suites. The place with possible the best brekky of all, and good internet along with 3 big beds. But, to fill you in on the past three days....
We flew from Seattle, leaving at around 12 noon. It was amazing flying with Alaskan Airlines and I would recommend them to anyone. What a difference english speaking attendants make to start with, and the toilets etc were so clean. Not to mention the plane left on time. Bit of a shock to have to pay $20 per bag we checked in though...
We easily caught a shuttle to Anaheim, straight to our hotel, which after the Sheraton was a bit hard to get used to. Probably best to go low budget all the way, then you never know what you're missing! Anyway, it was adequate, with the best feature being that it was literally ACROSS the road from the Disneyland entrance and believe me, at 10 p.m. after 14 hours of walking that feature made up for everything that was not so great. We ate at Denny's that night.... gross.... always seems such a good idea but IT IS NOT.
We were up bright and early ready for our first day at Disneyland.... ($200/person.... just throw that in there... do the maths!!!!) and walked through the gates into the main park by about 8:30. It was so lovely being there at that time because it was really quiet and we could get a sense of the place without 20 trillion people in the way. The first thing that struck us was how TINY the castle is... it always seems so HUGE! I didn't really take photos on my phone to show that.. but will up load when I get home.
Anyway we were very lucky to be able to walk into a couple of rides without any wait at all so we went on the Pirates of the Carribean and the equivalent to Seaworld's flume ride.
We were sort of pinching ourselves, trying to comprehend that we were actually in DISNEYLAND... anyway, this ride was great! Apart from the fact that both Ellen and Thomas ended up soaked at the end, so Ellen was right to be looking like that! We spent a few hours then looking for new shorts for Thomas, who was wearing heavy denim pants and in serious danger of some chaffing...
Anyway, for the first hour and a half, we jammed in as many rides as we could before the crowds arrived and by 10 am, the crowds were quite overwhelming! The lines transformed from a 10 minute wait to 35-45 minutes, but we really didn't mind at all as all lines moved quickly, we had time for an iceblock or drink (it was hot) and the rides were so worth waiting for. Rides at home seem to be over in a flash, but these were really good value.
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| Ice Cream sandwich... everything looks like Mickey! |
A favourite was the Matterhorn Bobsled ride. When we went looking for the start of this line, we actually walked for 5 minutes or so around the mountain before finding it. It was one long line, but really quick and really worth it.
The day went quickly and before we knew it, it was time to get ready for the 6:30 parade.
The parade was fun to watch with all the popular Disney characters throughout the years. Everyone has so much energy and engaged so completely with the crowd.
After the parade we raced around to do another couple of rides, and got on the Thunder Mountain ride fairly quickly. That's not us, by the way, but just to give you an idea of the ride. Lots of fun!
Not so great at taking selfies.... but you get the idea.
After this ride, we took off to complete our souvenir shopping and got some good advice about where to sit for the fireworks so we hurried to the spot... to find a huge crowd already. We ended up sitting directly in front of the castle which was perfect and oh my goodness, what a show. I have never seen anything like it! Took heaps of pics and won't put many of them here but it was just.... breath taking!
We left very soon after this display, along with LOTS of others.
A couple of observations; Disneyland is CLEAN... no rubbish anywhere. Many people spend their day sweeping, wiping or cleaning up after guests... and because of that, I think people try to be cleaner.
People are happy. It's always pegged as being the happiest place on earth, and it kind of is. Given the huge volume of people there, you would expect some line rage or agro of some description, but people are happy... and courteous and considerate etc.
People wear strange hats, shirts etc. It seems that you get through the gate and any kind of consideration for fashion is gone. Lots of people wear Mickey/Minnie/Goofy ears, strange hats, Disney shirts, lanyards full of badges etc etc. It really is great.
We loved our day. Worth the big bucks. Truly. So happy we could do it. Will update more tomorrow which will be our rest day before we head home. Love to everyone and we will see you soonXX
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