Disneyland is FUN

So I have to share this little gem first. This was a lady who was on our flight from Salt Lake to Oakland. It's like she got up one morning, saw the Christmas throw on the back of her couch, and thought, "Hmmm. That would look good on me!" Yeah, not so much...

Anywho, it's pathetic when you're 26 and have never been to Disneyland. Yes, I know. I was a deprived child. The drive down there was terrifying because the 5 was so crowded and most people in California don't understand the concept of slow lane/fast lane, but let's not focus on that. The very first ride we went on was Space Mountain. Great way to start the day, let me tell you! That ended up being my favorite ride in Disneyland.

I think this was my first time. Notice my death grip on the bar? ;) Ha ha

I did not like Star Tours. I almost threw up. It made me motion sick. It's A Small World was pretty neat since it was mixed in with some holiday songs and the inside was decorated with snow and jingle bells and a whole bunch of Christmas decorations. The Matterhorn was a bit of a disappointment. I think I had heard about it so much that I had built up all these expectations, and it just didn't measure up. After Space Mountain, Big Thunder Mountain Railroad was my next favorite. That is Chris's favorite. We ended up being on it at the end of the first day when the fireworks were going off, which was neat. As we were standing in line, we ended up being in line with a family from Northern Idaho who were also LDS, so it was fun to talk to them.

The longest line ever was at Indiana Jones. I wish we had figured out the Fast Pass sooner, but it wasn't until we stood in line for 2.5 hours and watched every single Fast Pass holder in the park get in ahead of us at Indiana Jones that we figured it out. Very helpful.

(Please excuse the fuzzy photos. I didn't want to carry a camera around the park, so all I had was my phone...)

Indiana Jones is all right. I thought I was going to fall out of the car! It's bumpy, but there's not much action until you almost get rolled over by a huge boulder!

Unfortunately, we were stupid and decided  to go on Splash Mountain as it was getting dark and cold. We got SOAKED. It was not good. My jeans dyed everything I had on blue. Sweatshirt, undershirt, underwear, everything. I managed to get it mostly out of my sweatshirt after washing it twice, but I am still the proud owner of a blue pair of G's... We looked like drowned rats after that ride!

Haunted Mansion was pretty cool as well. It was more like The Nightmare Before Christmas. As you go past the Banquet Hall, you can smell gingerbread! And as you go down into the graveyard, there's snow all over, and it's actually cold! It was neat.  I got my own set of Mickey Mouse ears too :) Pictures to come later; I have to get Chris to send them to me...

I also made Chris go on all the little kid rides ;) I figured that since it was my first time, we should. Alice in Wonderland, Peter Pan, Mr. Toad's Wild Ride. Good times. I loved Peter Pan. We ended up being at Disney land from about 8:30 am until the park closed at midnight! It was a very long day and our feet hurt so badly, but it was fun. The Christmas decorations all over the park are beautiful. Each different area has their own set of decorations. I can't imagine how long it takes to get all of that up and looking good. Even the castle gets a winter make-over and turns into an ice castle. Breathtaking.

 For Day 2, we hit Disneyland for a couple of hours before California Adventure opened. Of course we had to do Space Mountain again!

We headed over to California Adventure at 10 am. We were smart this time though, so we got a Fast Pass for Soarin' Over California and headed over to the Rapids. We didn't even get that wet, but at least we did it while it was sunny and we had time to dry!

Hollywood Tower of Terror was hilarious. Before I went on every ride for the first time, I would ask Chris what the ride was like, and he would tell me. Well, he refused to tell me on this one. Honestly, I was freaked out. The Twilight Zone music gives me the creeps anyways, and it was playing pretty consistently the entire lead up to the ride. We get in the elevator, and I was so nervous! I screamed pretty much the entire time! You have no idea where you're going or what will happen next. In the picture they take, I was death-gripping Chris's arm! Ha ha. That was fun. I had a small purse that I was wearing across my body, and at one point, it was floating right in front of my face...

The best ride ever though, is California Screamin'. That was my overall favorite. We went on it 5-6 times in one day! So awesome. You shoot up and down hills and through loops at 70 miles per hour. There is no slowing down. You're up and down so fast it easier to just scream than it is to try and hold your stomach down where it's supposed to be ;)

 

The other can't-miss ride at California Adventure is the Toy Story Midway ride. It's so cute! There's a huge Mr. Potato Head that talks to the crowd and even takes his own ear off. The little kids totally talk to him and interact. It's so funny! The ride is fun too. You have 3-D glasses, and you play midway games and score points. Shoot balls to break plates, throw darts at balloons, throw rings around aliens. It's really fun. We also toured a Mission Tortilla Factory, saw how sourdough bread is made, stood in line for over an hour for rice bowls, and had the best soft serve ice cream we've ever had!

We learned so much from our trip! I want to go back again (trying to talk my husband into DisneyWorld for graduation!) and we definitely want to take our kids, but we will not take our kids until the youngest is 7 or 8. And we want to stay in the actual Disneyland Resort with the kids and ride the monorail in every morning. We refuse to bring any strollers or deal with whiny kids. And if you're not old enough to carry your own souvenirs, you're not going. On a practical note, we also want them to be tall enough to go on the rides. And, 2 days is not enough time to do everything :) Can't wait to go again!