Tag Archives: disneyland

Disney Queen

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I may have started off the trip as a naive first timer [they gave me a pin and everything], but by the end I’d learned a thing or two. I’d ridden the rides, found the good food, seen the secret Indiana Jones Eeyore and Mary Poppins. I’d EXPERIENCED things.  Just look at this comparison.

Before:

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Getting ready for my first ride, Toy Story.

After:

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DON’T EVEN TRY TO TELL ME WHEN TO USE MY FAST PASSES, CARS GUY.

Some Disney essentials I learned on this trip included: Embrace the fanny pack lifestyle. Buy your t-shirts before the trip, but buy your ears at the park. Find a hotel within walking distance. Don’t be afraid to pin trade. Bring extra hair ties. Have fun people with you to keep you entertained in line.

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On some things though, we just got lucky. Like that time I lost my fast pass, but they let me on anyway. Or the time people just gave us five fast passes. Or the first night we were on the storybook land canal boats as the fireworks went off. They stopped the ride and we got to watch them from the boats. If you can manage to do this on purpose I recommend it, they’re pretty great seats for the show.

In fact, one of the biggest surprises to me was how fun Disney was after dark. Even though I was always starting to get tired by that point, there was something extra fun about the atmosphere at night. I mean just look at these California Adventure neon signs.

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One of my trip highlights was seeing the World of Colors Saturday night. It’s an amazing lights and water display by the pier.

Here’s a picture of the pier by daylight.

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Here’s a picture of the pier all lit up for the light show. These pictures in no way do it justice. The show itself, I didn’t even attempt to capture photographically, you’ll have to see it for yourself.

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While I feel a little bit older and wiser and after this whole Disney experience, I do realize I still have much to learn. I mean It’s A Small World was closed. There’s no way I can consider myself an expert yet. I guess I’ll just have to go again. Till’ next time Disney!

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BUT I LOOK LIKE A PRO, RIGHT? I mean, check out that fanny pack.

Currently: Watching iZombie while getting pumped for Christmas, as contradictory as those two activities are …

Minnie Mouse Club

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Enter the skeptic. A woman eroded by time, the woes of modern life, and the 10 o’ clock news. Yet, somehow this girl found herself sitting on a plane to the “happiest” place on earth. Yes, me, on my way to Disneyland after 28 years of ignorance, indifference, and suspicion toward the big castle, Don Mickey and his loyal consiglieres [read here for more details]. Sure, I’d been told of the delight and the dole whips, but I also couldn’t turn a blind eye to the the crowds and the costs. Maybe Disney is a game best left to children and nostalgia riddled adults. Maybe it was too late.

But there was one brave soul who made me an offer I couldn’t refuse.

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A Disney veteran so invested she’s practically a mouseketeer. But she couldn’t do it alone. I was extremely fortunate to be surrounded by people who knew what to do, where to eat, and how to guide me through said crowds. They took this little skeptic and showed her the time of her life. We dubbed it Ghouls Weekend 2016 and had 72 hours of greatness.

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Why Ghouls Weekend? Well our trip happened to fall on Halloween weekend. We didn’t go to Mickey’s special Halloween party, but even so Disneyland was no slouch when it came to Halloween.

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Even the cups were Halloween themed. Seriously, aren’t they adorable?

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Some of the rides also got in the Halloween spirit. The Haunted Mansion was taken over by Nightmare Before Christmas and Space Mountain was Ghost Galaxy.

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Every ride I went on seemed better than the last. In the end my top rides were the ones that combined an immersive experience with a little bit of thrill. Indiana Jones stole the top slot, but Pirates of the Caribbean and Cars were also great contenders.

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Living our best lives on the Cars ride.

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Tomorrowland

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Sam and Taylor on Peter Pan. This was a ride that really surprised me. It’s not very fast, so I didn’t expect it to live up to the hype. But there is just something magical about flying over starlight London.

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Jungle Cruise Crew. At first thought our driver was kind of quiet, but she turned out to be hilarious. She had a very dry sense of humor.

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This wasn’t a ride, but I couldn’t pass up a picture of a tribute to my favorite Disney Princess, Ariel. I did go on her actual ride later and witnessed some weird animatronic hairstyles.

I also learned that Disney has no end of Mickey shaped treats and food to try. And can I just say, THE CHURROS GUYS, THE CHURROS.

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Of course, one of these treats included the infamous Dole Whip.

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Heidi, Ben, and I had to EARN these pretzels. There was quite a long line since the both that sold them was also the place you could buy beer.

We also ate at a restaurant in the New Orleans part of the park, where I had a delicious Monte Cristo sandwich.

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Emily with the infamous Monte Cristo.

It was fun checking off all the classic Disney things I’ve heard of and so many things that I hadn’t ever heard of. While I will probably never match the level of enthusiasm of my die hard Disney friends, I can honestly say I had an amazing time and would recommend it to others, even the skeptics.

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Thanks for the good times Disney.

Currently: Enjoying the Gilmore Girls Revival. I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Disneyland as told by someone who’s never been to Disneyland

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This post is dedicated to @emilymackay1138, @courtcoconey, and #GetPaigeonTwitter. This is what you’ve done to my brain friends.

In my time on this planet I’ve learned a few important survival skills: look both ways before you cross the street, don’t run with scissors, always have a zombie apocalypse plan, and never, EVER, say something as cavalier and dangerous as “I don’t care for Disneyland.”

Mob behavior will ensue.

And whatever you do, don’t say that as a 26 year old adult you’ve never been to Disneyland.* The other participant of your conversation will look at you as though you are one half of a Nicholas Sparks couple that just found out you can never be with your true love for some cruel, destiny related reason. This look is slowly wiped away and replaced with a fire of determination within their soul to help get you there.

I’ve decided it’s time to collect and document these Disney stories. That way when I do finally go I’ll be able to compare legend with fact. So, without further ado, here is what I believe Disneyland consists of:

Rides

There are four rides you will ride at Disney Land:

  • Space Mountain. This is the best ride ever. If you don’t ride this ride you’re living life wrong and will probably be banned for life if you ever try to enter the park again.
  • Indiana Jones. This is also the best ride ever and totally represents everything good about your childhood.
  • The Teacups. Honestly I’m not sure when anyone actually gets to go on this ride as I imagine it is constantly being ridden exclusively by overjoyed children who are being filmed for DisneyLand commercials.
  • It’s A Small World. This is where you are required to sacrifice part of your soul in order to set balance to the Disney scales. Thought Disney collects American money at the gate, this is the true cost of entry; no one can pass through the gates and not enter enter this ride. But I hear having that song stuck in your head for the rest of your life is a small price to pay for all the other greatness given.

Characters

This is your one chance to snap a picture with your childhood idol, be it Ariel or Aladdin. Don’t screw it up. Also, do not ask them for directions. I have a vivid memory of a Full House episode where costumed characters kept trying to reunite DJ and Steve and failing due to their terrible gesture skills. This may sound trivial, but it was actually a big deal [The screen time given was equal to the time given when Michelle got amnesia from falling off that horse and was forced to re-live the fact that her mother was dead. Yikes.].

Dole Whips

Ah the Dole Whip, delicacy of the Royal? Nectar of the Gods? None of these descriptors can prepare you for the reaction of a room at the mention of this treat. It is an awed hush of reverence followed by loud, joyful squeals of excitement and yearning. After seeing the outrage and pain of America at the near extinction of the Twinkie, a mere road trip snack food, I would shudder to see the devastating consequences if someone threatened the existence of the Dole Whip. From what I can tell the Dole Whip is made of pineapple, sugar, and just a pinch of cocaine. It is chilled and formed on the top of Mount Olympus before it is brought to the common people, a gift no one can properly explain. Upon eating it you are transformed from a normal, run of the mill, average joe to a person with shiny, long flowing hair and a glimmer of greatness.

Children

I first thought Disneyland was designed purely for children, but now I know it is the opposite. Children cry, have temper tantrums, need you to supply constant nourishment, are sensitive to the elements, and hog all the face time with characters [Except for when you went of course, you were an angel princess among a sea of toddler peasants]. Disneyland is for grown ups who know how to enjoy it properly. Come back when you can be grateful children.

Fast Passes

Unless you want to wait in a desert of joyless, rideless-ness you should get a fast pass. I think these are different for each ride, so really you should get all the fast passes. My only confusion is if everyone gets a fast pass how are they faster??? Someone explain this to me later.

Parades

All day, every day. With fireworks.

Disney Stars and Star-lets

Remember back in the day when all our favorite sitcom darlings went to Disney Land for a To Be Continued series of episodes that delighted and amazed (If not see my recap of the Full House dilemma given under Characters)? I can only hope this still happens. Although I’m worried I may not recognize it when I see it. What if I accidentally bump into some random kid and she says, “Oh, no need to be coy, here’s my autograph.” Only for me not to have recognized the new star of The Suite Life of Hannah Montana goes to High School Musical as directed by Tim Burton????

Side note: If there was not a crossover episode where Hannah Montana accidentally dated both of the Suite Life twins with them thinking she was two different people and her thinking they were one person who knew her secret, that was a lost opportunity Disney.

Performances

I’m pretty sure there is always at least one high school/middle school choir or drill team performing at or near Disneyland at all times. Most of my friends have done this at some time and it seems to be a great experience. They do not offer this option to members of the AP art class or Spanish National Honor Society [However, to be fair, most guests probably do not want to watch some punk kids paint a mural or conjugate verbs.].

Propaganda, er, I mean, Merch.

Everyone I know comes back with some sort of token from their stay, be it Mickey Mouse Ears or a t-shirt. They will use this to try and subtly brainwash you into going one day. I’m completely on board with this. I know when I’m old and alzheimer-y I can’t count on some old, wrinkled version of Ryan Gosling to jog my memory [Dang Nicholas Sparks, how did you get in this post again?]. Instead I will look at my hot pink sweatshirt with Cozumel emblazoned on the chest to remember I went places and influenced society. Men = unpredictable. Sweatshirts are forever!

Feel free to correct what I’m sure are loads of factual misrepresentations. If I do manage to make it to the Magic Kingdom anytime soon I will be sure to give you a comparison post.

Currently: So happy I got to spend last weekend with my family celebrating Camie’s wedding!

*Disclaimer: I did go to Disneyland Paris while on study abroad in 2009, which according to everyone doesn’t count.