True story: In my 30 years, I have never been to Disney World or Disneyland. Until 2 weeks ago that is. I like Disney, but I was never someone who is Disney obsessed, and when my husband and I go on a vacation we would always choose another trip over going to Disney. We traveled to California a few weeks ago to see our San Jose Sharks play, and since we were spending a few days in the LA area, we used our free day to spend at Disneyland and I am so glad we did.
Disneyland appeals to me because it is much smaller and takes very little planning, and it also requires less time to visit. Also, it has Sleeping Beauty’s Castle! The one Disney-related thing I am obsessed with is Sleeping Beauty. She was always my favorite princess, the movie always was and still is my favorite Disney movie, and it is even my favorite ballet. So, you can imagine how devastated I was (and still am) that Sleeping Beauty’s Castle is undergoing refurbishment. I knew the project was starting 2 months prior to us going and up until we left I was Googling on a weekly basis to see if the refurbishment was complete. It was not, and instead of seeing the castle all I saw was a fence and a scrim with a picture of the castle. There is a large mural of Prince Philip fighting Maleficent on the back of the castle which was a fun detail that I did enjoy, so that made up for it a bit. I did not get the iconic photo in front of the castle and did not get to do the walk-through. Devastating, but it is what it is!
When buying tickets, we debated on buying tickets to just Disneyland, or buying the Park Hopper tickets to both Disneyland and California Adventure Park. We decided to buy tickets to just Disneyland and it ended up being the right choice for us. We got to the park a little before 10:00 am (that traffic from LA to Anaheim is no joke) and we left around 8:30 pm. If we stayed at the park from open to close and were a little more strategic, we could have finished everything we wanted to do, but we were looking for more of a relaxed experience. We went on a Wednesday in March, so there was a decent crowd but it was still very manageable. We tried to do the Fast Pass for the rides that it made sense for. We did it for Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, Star Tours, and Matterhorn Bobsleds. Sometimes the time slot for the ride was as far as 5 hours later, so it wasn’t even worth it, but overall it was useful.
Walking around all day is enjoyable because of the exquisite landscaping, the fun themed lands, and also the general excitement you feel throughout the day. Yes, if we are being honest, Disney is a cash cow and it definitely is an expensive place. From $25 to park and $8 for one slice of pizza at Pizza Planet, you aren’t getting away with a cheap day, but for me that was completely expected. The highlights of my visit were:
- the Dole Whip (it truly is as delicious as people say)
- meeting Gaston because he was hilarious
- Space Mountain because it is fun even if I did lose my Minnie ears on it
- Matterhorn Bobsleds because I love that Yeti
- Pirates of the Caribbean because it is very well-done and the pirates look like legitimate real people
- It’s a Small World because I think it is absolutely adorable
Adam and I have already decided that we will go back because I NEED to see the castle. I also want to revisit because we didn’t get a chance to go into the Royal Hall and we also want to spend time at California Adventure Park. Has anyone else ever been to Disneyland? I would love to hear your favorite things about it below!
