Disneyland!

Today I took my family to Disneyland/California Adventure in Anaheim CA. We left at 6am in the morning to get there when the park opened, but it was so worth it. We hit every big ride in both parks, needless to say were were totally beat after that. You can peek at my last trip to Disneyland here

Some fun pictures from the day


Disneyland Railroad

I wish I got an envelope in the mail that had mickey balloons exploding out of it!


Yup...that's my dad. Sums him up in a nutshell, but I love him!
(photo is way overexposed..but hey I'm still new at this!)

My wonderful family (missing...my hubby!)


It was an amazing day filled with fun, laughter, screaming (from the roller coasters) and new memories. I wish this week would never end!!!!

In other news I checked today and I have 3 subscribers! YAY! thank you to those 3 whoever you are. I guess I should have mentioned that I can't see any personal information about you (hence I don't even know who those 3 are). FeedBurner is just a tool that I can use to make my blog better, not spy on you guys!

Disneyland last day - Second run!

Sunday was spent going on rides we missed and going on our favorite rides a second time.

-Check out how many rides we did before we left the park at 5:00

(* means it was the second time around)

*Space Mountain

Finding Nemo Submarine Adventure (great ride!)

*Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters

Indiania Jones

Jungle Cruise

Walt Disney's Enchanted Tiki Room

Big Thunder Mountain Rail Road

*Splash Mountain

*Haunted Mansion

*Pirates of the Carribean

Innoventions

Mr. Toads wild ride

*California Screamin'

*Toy Story Midway Mania

*Soarin' over California

-pretty good for 8 hours huh?

What an AMAZING weekend!

Disneyland Saturday - Disney's California Adventure!

Disney's California Adventure opened at 10am and so we got there at 9:30am and we were let into the main entrance of the park. The attendant told us that "Soarin" over California was actually already open so we walked right on that ride first thing! It was amazing! They put you into a row of chairs that they lift up off the ground 40ish feet and infront of a HUGE screen (kinda like an IMAX screen but a big circle) and they move the row to make it tilt and move as if you are hang-gilding.

Stock Photo, cool huh?

California adventure was a really fun park. There was a lot there that they don't have at Disney World (or didn't have last time I was there in 2002) They had lands dedicated to Hollywood, Condor flats, an old carnival pier, and a bug's life. The pier (named paradise pier had a really fun rollercoaster and one of the coolest rides I have ever been on Toy Story midway mania (more on that later...

Kyle and I in front of a movie backdrop

Wall-e!!!

Grizzly Bear Peak

One of the cooler things we found pretty much on accident was the Blue Sky cellar, which was a feature room that showcased all of the cool things that the imagineers are doing to improve the park. Over the next couple of years they are going to add a new land based on the movie Cars, a new ride based on the Little Mermaid and a new water show Called "Color of Wonder." They also had a lot of little exhibits showing how they made Toy Story Midway mania.

Above is the rendering of the Potato Head that entertains you while you are waiting in line. Below is the real thing!

Toy Story Midway mania is a 3-D ride where you are on a car (two to a car) each with a pull string gun that you use for shotting targets in 5 "Midway Style" games hosted by the different toy story characters (Ham Pig has an egg toss game and Bo-Peep has a balloon pop game etc) when you shoot with you gun it appears on the screen (videogame esk) and when you hit certain things they fly at you 3-D style or you get shot with air, water etc. You play against you car-mate for the higest score which Woody and Jessie tally at the end of the ride. Kyle and I went on twice. The first time I won, the second time he did.

Our vote for best ride of the weekend!

Kyle and I sporting our 3-D shades!

Weekend at Disneyland! - Friday at Disneyland

So friday morning we woke up around 5:45 (Both of our alarms went off around 5:15 but miracously no one got out of bed until almost 6:00) We got going around 6:15 and made it up to Anaheim around 7:45. The hotel we stayed at was about 7 minutes away from the front door of the park. We dropped our car and stuff at the hotel and arrived to the entrance of Disneyland right when the park opened at 8am. We walked directly to tomorrowland and walked on Space Mountain, a great way to start off the day! We were at the park from the beginning of the day until the fireworks show at 9pm.

Walking into the park

Astro-orbiter at Tomorrowland

Kyle at the entrance to Toontown!

I wanted to get my picture taken with Mickey Mouse so once we went into Toontown we went to Mickey's house. We got to walk through the whole thing and see pluto's bed and Mickey's chair next to his fireplace! So cute. Then they filed us into the backyard and into Mickey's "movie barn" where we can watch cartoons while we wait to get out picture taken. I was the only person there over the age of 6 who wanted to see Mickey but I didn't care!

Toontown fountain

Teacups!

Sleeping Beauty's Castle! (not as cool as cinderella's but still VERY cool) Inside was a neat walk through exhibit about the Sleeping Beauty story

California Adventure tomorrow!

It's time to remember the magic.....

Ok let's get one thing out in the open right now....

I LOVE DISNEY WORLD

I know everyone says that, but I am really not kidding. The first time I ever went to Disney World when I was 13, the ENTIRE YEAR before while my parents were saving $$ I was planning the trip. I mean I planned where we would eat, which park we would go which day, which ride had the shortest line at which time, the shortest path to the best viewpoint for the fireworks display. I knew the entire layout of all 4 parks before I even stepped off the plane in Orlando. I had read and re-read the unofficial guide to Walt Disney World so many times the spine of the book broke...I am really not kidding!

I was also lucky enough to go again a year later, with my high school marching band

Now next week Kyle will be on his pre-deployment leave. and I just so happen to have three days off of work right in a row....so where do you think I want to go???

"Hey Kyle....Disneyland is only two hours away......."

Now I have never been to the smaller Disney Park, but since I live in California...I can't NOT go!

We leave next Friday morning......