The second day of our 3 parks in 3 days trip was the one I was looking forward to the most. It would be my son, Braden's, 1st trip to Disneyland and my 4th visit. I went for the first time when I was 5, then again at 14 and 28. I loved it more each time I went, and at age 41, still do believe it is the happiest place on earth. It's a place where anything is possible and you can feel the Disney Magic in the air. I couldn't wait to share it with my 10 year old son.
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| My son, Braden, in front of Sleeping Beauty's castle. |
We woke up in our super comfortable beds at the Disneyland Hotel and got ready for our exciting day. The park was to open at 8 am and we were planning to be there for opening. We wanted to take the monorail from Downtown Disney to Disneyland but it didn't open until 8 am. Instead, we walked through Downtown Disney, grabbed a delicious and nutritious Jamba Juice for theme park energy, and made it to the gates just as they were opening up.
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| Our favorite ride, Space Mountain. |
It was not quite 8 am yet so we couldn't go any further than Main Street. Then at 8 am on the Disney dot (they are so prompt!), we were allowed to enter the entire grand park. We both agreed that Space Mountain was our target and we hurried ourselves toward Tomorrowland. We happily walked right onto Space Mountain and we were one of the first of the day to ride it. It was so much more fun than I remembered and even seemed more intense than the one at Magic Kingdom in Florida. We got off the ride laughing and re-living the excitement of the ride.
Tomorrowland is Braden's favorite "land" in Magic Kingdom and after his first trip to Disneyland it's his favorite "land" there as well. For this reason, we hit most of the rest of the rides in Tomorrowland before moving on to another "land." (I knew it was a risk not to head straight to our next roller coaster!) We missed the PeopleMover from Magic Kingdom but enjoyed the futuristic inventions and Ironman's suit at Innoventions.
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| The famous statue of Walt Disney and Mickey Mouse |
After riding every ride in Tomorrowland except the Astro Orbitor, we journeyed on to Fantasyland for our next roller coaster, the Matterhorn Bobsleds. While we stood in line (which thankfully wasn't too long), I admired the Cast Member uniforms and the architecture around us, for both looked to be straight out of the Alps. The ride was fun but didn't quite have the thrill of Space Mountain, although my 10 year old loved it.
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| Braden in front with me right behind |
Next, it was time for our 2nd favorite ride, Splash Mountain. After getting lost a couple of times, we found it and were pleasantly surprised by another decent line length. We boarded our boat, after only a 10-15 minute wait and my anticipation heightened as I thought of the sharp drop (and in my mind, terrifying!) that was to come. It's a funny thing to go on a ride that is so serene in the beginning, with so many fun character scenes to admire, yet all the while knowing that the gentle boat ride will soon take a dive down a waterfall. I am both terrified by the drop and exhilarated by the adrenaline rush that Splash Mountain provides. We got off the boat soaking wet and laughing, then promptly grabbed a FASTPASS to ride again so we wouldn't have to wait in the building line.
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| "Dia del Los Muertos" in Frontierland for Halloween |
The prior day in California Adventure had been a perfect theme park day with ideal weather and short lines. This day in Disneyland was much the same. The sky was nothing but blue and the temperature was 85 degrees. The park was a little more crowded than the day before but the lines were all very manageable. We never waited longer than 15 minutes. This allowed us to ride roller coaster after roller coaster until our little hearts were content. But I think the best part of the day is when my son told me that this was his "best vacation ever." That was when I knew every penny I spent was worth it!
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| Big Thunder Mountain Railroad |
We rocked Disneyland that day. We rode on Big Thunder Mountain Railroad 5 times, Space Mountain 3 times, the Matterhorn Bobsleds 3 times, Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters 2 times, the Indiana Jones Adventure (one of my all time favorites!) 2 times and Splash Mountain 2 times. In addition we rode on Star Tours, Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage, Haunted Mansion, Pirates of the Caribbean, Sleeping Beauty Castle Walkthrough, and Autopia. We had the time of our lives and this was the day I think that I officially passed the "love of Disney torch" on to my son.
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| Disneyland was all decked out for Halloween in October |
We closed down the park which was easy to do since it was closing at 6 pm for Mickey's Halloween Party. Nevertheless, 10 hours of theme park excitement was enough to leave us exhausted. We walked through Downtown Disney looking for a good place for dinner. We found a fun looking Mexican restaurant called Tortilla Joe's. I was happy to find out there was not a wait and even happier to be seated upstairs with a view down into the first floor kitchen plus a view of the baseball playoffs on TV. Our waiter was very friendly and the food turned out to be delicious. A balloon artist came by our table and offered to make my son a balloon animal. Braden chose a penguin and he was extremely impressed as the artist skillfully made it right before our eyes.
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| Braden with his new balloon penguin, Comical |
We made it back to our hotel and for the 2nd night in a row Braden crashed out while watching TV. This is something I'd never seen him do before and I knew that like his mother, he plays hard while on vacation!
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| These smiles accurately reflect our awesome day! |
I hope you have enjoyed reading my entry from this Traveling Travel Agent's travels. I am a travel agent because I love to travel and I love helping other people travel! Through strategic partnerships, I offer my clients preferred rates, complimentary upgrades and extra amenities like wine or shipboard credit. If you would like to receive weekly travel offers from my agency, Purple Palm Vacations, please sign up for our Exclusive Travel Specials.
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