My Disneyland Trip
Posted: Wed Nov 26, 2003 11:08 pm
Well, on Monday I drove up north from San Diego to Disneyland with a few of my pals and got some annual passes. Practically everything was open, although a few of the best rides were shut down: Space Mountain and Big Thunder. However, we got to do pretty much everything we wanted.
I hadn't been on Jungle Cruise nor Tom Sawyer's Island since I was 7, and for the first time I rode them again. Very fun. Nowadays, I can't get enough of New Orleans square. I just love being inside it with all the great shops, and cool looking buildings, + the two best rides in the park: Haunted Mansion and Pirates of the Caribbean. We were joking about how Pirates must have air left over from 60s down underground because of the unique smell - my friend joked that Walt's fart was probably stuck down there from the first time he rode it, and we should take a bottle, scoop it through the air, and then sell it on Ebay as "Walt's gas". (come on, you know its funny).
But the moment that really meant the most to me was walking into Fantasyland. After being a little boy who was very much into Disney, I fell out of interest for it, for many years, and only got back into it recently. Walking through the castle gates into Fantasyland and hearing "When you wish apon a star" almost brought a lump to my throught. It was almost like I was 5 years old again - it was just pure Disney magic, and its especially wonderful when something as simple as that can remove you from all the problems in the world these days.
But enough about me. My friend is 24 years old, and it was his first time to Disneyland despite having grown up in L.A. as a kid (he lived with a single mom who was very low on money, and he still is now that he's living alone). We all pitched in to help him afford an an annual pass to come with us, and it was neat to see someone enjoying it for the first time. I'm glad he could go with us.
I wanted to pick up the Disneyland soundtrack, and they DID have it, but it was 15 songs for $19.95, which I felt was a tad pricey, so I think I'll wait till next time just in case they lower it after Christmas (unlikely, I know, but what have I got to lose?). I ended up getting an Alice in Wonderland figurine set made up of Alice, the Queen, the Rabbit, the March Hare, the Mad Hatter, the Chesher Cat, and some mushrooms for $12 (a good price, and they look cool). I also got a very nice snowglobe of the rose from Beauty and the Beast, with Beast and Bell huddling around it.
ABOUT CALIFORNIA ADVENTURE: I went to it for the first time. First off, the Soarin over California attraction is really a worth-while ride. It truly feels like your flying, you can't see the corners of the screen when you're lifted up, and it smells like whatever you are seeing. That being said, I wasn't really impressed with the park. It had a very bland style to it, and only scattered areas actually had atmosphere to it. I liked the Disney Animation and Aladdin attractions, and the new Tower of Terror ride should be fun, but other than that there wasn't much that was truly interesting.
I hadn't been on Jungle Cruise nor Tom Sawyer's Island since I was 7, and for the first time I rode them again. Very fun. Nowadays, I can't get enough of New Orleans square. I just love being inside it with all the great shops, and cool looking buildings, + the two best rides in the park: Haunted Mansion and Pirates of the Caribbean. We were joking about how Pirates must have air left over from 60s down underground because of the unique smell - my friend joked that Walt's fart was probably stuck down there from the first time he rode it, and we should take a bottle, scoop it through the air, and then sell it on Ebay as "Walt's gas". (come on, you know its funny).
But the moment that really meant the most to me was walking into Fantasyland. After being a little boy who was very much into Disney, I fell out of interest for it, for many years, and only got back into it recently. Walking through the castle gates into Fantasyland and hearing "When you wish apon a star" almost brought a lump to my throught. It was almost like I was 5 years old again - it was just pure Disney magic, and its especially wonderful when something as simple as that can remove you from all the problems in the world these days.
But enough about me. My friend is 24 years old, and it was his first time to Disneyland despite having grown up in L.A. as a kid (he lived with a single mom who was very low on money, and he still is now that he's living alone). We all pitched in to help him afford an an annual pass to come with us, and it was neat to see someone enjoying it for the first time. I'm glad he could go with us.
I wanted to pick up the Disneyland soundtrack, and they DID have it, but it was 15 songs for $19.95, which I felt was a tad pricey, so I think I'll wait till next time just in case they lower it after Christmas (unlikely, I know, but what have I got to lose?). I ended up getting an Alice in Wonderland figurine set made up of Alice, the Queen, the Rabbit, the March Hare, the Mad Hatter, the Chesher Cat, and some mushrooms for $12 (a good price, and they look cool). I also got a very nice snowglobe of the rose from Beauty and the Beast, with Beast and Bell huddling around it.
ABOUT CALIFORNIA ADVENTURE: I went to it for the first time. First off, the Soarin over California attraction is really a worth-while ride. It truly feels like your flying, you can't see the corners of the screen when you're lifted up, and it smells like whatever you are seeing. That being said, I wasn't really impressed with the park. It had a very bland style to it, and only scattered areas actually had atmosphere to it. I liked the Disney Animation and Aladdin attractions, and the new Tower of Terror ride should be fun, but other than that there wasn't much that was truly interesting.
