Disney-A Trip in Photos

Disneyland was pretty epic!  It really exceeded all of my expectations!

I stayed with some family friends at the Disneyland Hotel, which is quite literally a hop, skip and a jump from the two parks.  It made it so convenient because we were up pretty early to take advantage of the early entry on Saturday and Sunday.  Never in a million years would I have guessed a room full of women would have willingly and with smiles on our faces, talked seriously about getting up at 5:30am to get showered and ready to go.  This is vacation right!?!?  A Disney vacation is unlike any other I've ever experienced!  Leaving LA, I boarded the plane quite literally at the brink of exhaustion!

Saturday we spent most of our day at Disneyland taking pictures and checking out the attractions.  Since we took advantage of the early entry, we were actually done riding all the big rides (Indian Jones, Jungle Cruise, Space Mountain and Pirates) by 10:30am.  We also enjoyed the Matterhorn Bobsleds, the Tea Cups, Winnie the Pooh, Autopia, and the Haunted Mansion! 

I was the only first timer, so the other four did a great job of telling me all about the park itself, the hidden gems and the little known facts!  My favorite ride at Disneyland, hands down, was Indian Jones Adventure!  The kid ride that I enjoyed the most was Peter Pan's Flight!  If you can't act like a kid at Disney, where can you?

Just hanging with the Princesses.  No big deal.

I enjoyed my Dole Whip while watching the fireworks.  Both were AHH-mazing!

Sunday morning we hit the ground running, literally!  After busting through the gates of Disney California Adventure at 7:01am, we hot footed it to Radiator Springs... er, Cars Land!  Hands down, bar none, without question... I hope I'm making myself VERY clear... this was my FAVORITE place we visited at Disney!!  I loved every freakin' inch it!  It was quite literally like stepping through your TV screen during the movie Cars.  I've had a special attachment to Cars since I had to opportunity in 2006, as a camp counselor at Victory Junction Gang Camp, to go to the movie premiere at Charlotte Motor Speedway.  Working at VJGC that summer was simply one of the best things I've ever done and going to a movie premiere was just a wonderful perk!

Every last detail from the movie is brought to life on Rt. 66 in Radiator Springs!

After being drug out of leaving Cars Land we ventured deeper into DCA.  At that point in the morning, the lines were practically nonexistent!  We walked right on Ariel's Undersea Adventure and rode California Screamin' twice in a matter of 15 minutes.  The only ride we had to wait in line for was Toy Story Midway Mania and it was totally worth it!  Kelsey and I also rode Twilight Zone Tower of Terror.  Never. Again.  The sudden and unexpected drops had me as close to a panic attack as I'd ever experienced!

 

 Mr. Potato Head was out front entertaining the crowd.  And I totally bought a Bullseye pillow pet!

 We finally tracked down Mickey Mouse!

This trip was one for the books!  It was a whirlwind of excitement and fun for sure.  And now that I have my own embroidered MM ears, I have a perfect excuse to come back again for another visit.  Not to mention several of the classic rides (Thunder Mountain, It's a Small World and Splash Mountain) were closed.

I'm off to update my 30 by 30 list!  Check, check, check it off!