A Dazzling Diamond Celebration

[jrpar]

Hello All,

Welcome to my first Disney trip report. I did a pre-trip report with Disney Movie Nights leading up to our trip to Disneyland. That PTR can be found here. My fiance and I decided to take a celebratory trip to Disneyland. We wanted to celebrate our recent engagement along with Disneyland's 60th Anniversary. This was our first trip to Disneyland together. I had spent one day at Disneyland Park with my sister a few years ago and he had never been. We have both been to Walt Disney World with our families many years ago. Our love of Disney has grown a lot in the last few years we've been together. When we realized that we could make this vacation work with our schedules and budget we jumped on it. So let's get on to the fun stuff.

Cast:



This is me, Jessica. The self-proclaimed Disney nut. I love all things Disney. After my one day trip to Disneyland Park I became slightly obsessed with the Disney Parks. I wanted to learn as much as I could about Disney Parks and Disney in general. I think everyone should be a kid at heart and Disney helps me accomplish that. I have been dreaming about the time that I could go back to a Disney Park. I found it to be very fitting that we got to go back to Walt's original first as a couple.

Favorite Ride: The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror
Favorite Disney Movie: Peter Pan
Favorite Disney Character: Minnie Mouse



This is my fiance, Kyle. He loves Disney as well, just maybe not quite as much as me. I have definitely helped increase his love of Disney over the last few years. I've also increased his Disney knowledge. He told me several times in the months leading up to our trip that if he would have known we were going to Disneyland this summer he would have waiting to propose until we were at Disneyland. I think that would have made our vacation even more magical but I loved the way he did it regardless. Plus knowing that we were there to celebrate our engagement made the trip even more special.

Favorite Ride: Toy Story Midway Mania
Favorite Disney Movie: The Lion King
Favorite Disney Character: Pumbaa

When & Where:

Our trip was from August 27, 2015 to August 31, 2015. We picked these dates because it happened to fall over our 3 year anniversary so we also got to celebrate that.



We stayed at Castle Inn & Suites which is one of the Good Neighbor Hotels. We were about 2 blocks away from Disneyland so we walked there and back each day. The room was nice and the air conditioning was amazing especially when we came back from the parks. We really were just there to sleep so it fit our needs. We would definitely stay there again.

Can't wait to share the rest of our vacation with you.
See Ya Real Soon

 

[Woodskeeper]

Sounds like fun! I can't wait to hear about your adventures!

 

[kaoden39]

Yay! I look forward to reading all about your trip!

 

[jrpar]

Chapter List:

1) Introduction
2) California or Bust
3) Dreams Do Come True
4) A World of Fantasy; A World of Fantasy Cont.; A World of Fantasy Cont. Again
5) Avengers Assemble
6) Journey to the Land of Tomorrow
7) Can I have S'more?
8) When Can We Do This Again?
9) Disneyland Forever
10) Daily Recap: 8/27/15
11) Back in Walt's Day
12) Do You Wanna Build a Snowman?
13) We Scare Because We Care
14) It's Tough to Be a Bug
15) Life is a Highway; Life is a Highway Cont.
16) The Art of Animation
17) Headed to the Tip Top Club
18) Now Premiering: Our Carthay Circle Lunch
19) Ahh..Monsters & Bugs
20) Under By The Sea
21) Exploring the Wilderness
22) I Scream, You Scream...
23) Sh-Boom
24) Let's Go Soarin'
25) World of Color
26) Daily Recap: 8/28/15
Off to Neverland
Exploring New Lands
Happy Un-Birthday to You
Gonna Take You Down to the Bayou
A True Anniversary Celebration
We're Hopping - Park Hopping That Is
A Whole New World
You've Got a Friend in Me
DJ's Dance Party
Everything's Better on a Red Car Trolley
Back to the Happiest Place on Earth
Daily Recap: 8/29/15

 

[TheMaxRebo]

joining in - and congratulations on your engagement!

 

[jrpar]

California or Bust

We started out our vacation by waking up at 3:30 am to get ready and head to the airport for our 6 am flight. We stayed at Kyle's parent's house so we would only have a 25 minute drive to the airport. We were flying out of Milwaukee since we wanted to fly Southwest and they don't fly out of Madison. We got to the airport by 4:30 am and just had to check our bags since we had done online check in to get good boarding positions. My hope was to get some Starbucks before getting on our flight but the Starbucks was before going through security so that wasn't going to happen. But we did grab some juice and muffins to eat before we boarded. Our first flight was fairly uneventful from Milwaukee to Phoenix...granted all of our flights were pretty uneventful. We ended up getting in early on all of our flights. We found our next gate in Phoenix and shortly afterward we were boarding our flight to Orange County. We decided to fly into Orange County rather than LAX since in would be a shorter drive to and from our hotel. Here are a few photos during our flights.







When we arrived in Orange County we grabbed our luggage and connected with the Karmel Shuttle that would be taking us to and from our hotel. We arrived at the hotel and found out that they had a room available so we could check in right away instead of having to come back from Downtown Disney to do so later in the afternoon. We took our stuff up to the room and unpacked. I like not have to live out of a suitcase when spending time at any hotel. Once we were unpacked we headed towards Downtown Disney for some lunch before hitting up Disneyland.













For lunch we headed to the opposite end of Downtown Disney to Earl of Sandwich. I got the Holiday Dinner Sandwich and Kyle got the Full Montaug. We both thoroughly enjoyed them and would definitely go back.





Once our bellies were full we headed out to check out all of the stores we had passed on the way to Earl of Sandwich. We did a little souvenir shopping as well. We each got a pin lanyard and some pins along with a Duffy dressed in an Disneyland 60th outfit. We also got a picture frame that I saw when they released pics of the Diamond Celebration souvenirs back in May. Here are the pics taking in Downtown Disney.




We waited forever for that lady and her friend to get out of the way so we could get a pic of this. Granted it wasn't really forever...just felt like it. We had places to see and things to do.






The stain glass mural in the World of Disney store. I could spend hours in that store...there is just so much to see.





After spending a couple hours in Downtown Disney we made our way to Disneyland to start celebrating the magic together.

 

[kaoden39]

I love World of Disney!! I can spend so much time in there.

 

[jrpar]

Dreams Do Come True

After spending some time at Downtown Disney we figured it was time to head to Disneyland. This is where my picture taking took over. I have more than enough to pick from. We enjoyed just taking it all in. This first day we didn't really have a plan for what we were going to do besides our dinner and watching the Paint the Night parade along with the fireworks. We were just going to see where the day took us. But first pictures of Main Street, the Partners statues and Sleeping Beauty Castle. I'll just let the pictures do the talking from here.










We did stop by City Hall (which is also Guest Information) and get some "Just Engaged" pins along with a First Visit pin for Kyle.




First really good view of the castle and it was definitely dazzling.








The Partners Statues had to be one of our first stops when we got to Disneyland. It is such an iconic spot.


After we got our photo we had to go around and get pictures of all the other statues.


















Sleeping Beauty Castle dazzled brightly in the California sun.


We decided to walk through the castle into Fantasyland to start our trip off right in a world of fantasy.

 

[jrpar]

A World of Fantasy

We thought it would only be fitting to walk through Sleeping Beauty Castle first. Which we did very much enjoy being out of the sun and in some air conditioning...that was a theme of our trip.











We walked around to see Snow White's Wishing Well...didn't make a wish even though it is on my Disney Bucket List. We saw Ariel out greeting but didn't feel like waiting in her long line. Prior to leaving for Disneyland we were reading The Disneyland Story and all of the marble statues by the wishing well are the same height so they used forced perspective (one of the key elements in Disney parks) to make it seem as though Snow White was taller than the Dwarves.



Next up was a ride honoring Walt Disney's first feature film.





So I guessed we would ride on Doc and Kyle guessed Sneezy but we ended up with...Grumpy.






Even though this photo is blurry we both agreed that it turned out to be pretty cool.




Had to get a photo of the Evil Queen peaking out of the window. Then Kyle tried to pull the sword from the stone.


We had no luck with the sword so we moved on to Pinocchio's Daring Journey.












Next up was a wild ride with Mr. Toad.






Myself and Mr. Toad are pretty crazy drivers but we got back safe. Well I'll be continuing Fantasyland fun in the next post.

 

[jrpar]

A World of Fantasy Cont.

We left off when we had finished our wild ride with Mr. Toad. Next up a ride on King Arthur's Carrousel.



Now my goal was to be able to ride Jingles...its on my bucket list for Disneyland. When we got in the queue there were already a few people talking about getting to Jingles for a ride. So we decided instead of racing to Jingles we would settle for just a picture...maybe next time we'll get a chance.



The gate opened and we were off to pick some horses. It was a lovely ride...we were able to just take in the atmosphere and people watch.









Next up we were off to see an elephant fly!!








This last photo was kinda difficult to get. We wanted to be able to get the Dumbo behind us so you could tell what ride we were on so we had to do a funky angle but I think it ended up being one of my favorite ride photos on us. After the ride on Dumbo we decided to take on a slower ride...the Storybook Land Canals. We enjoyed looking at the miniatures from some of our favorite fairytales. I'll let the photos do the talking. But I have to say that the details are amazing...you think the characters are just going to step right out of the houses/cottages/castles.










Agrabah from Aladdin.


This is the Dwarves Cottage from Snow White.




This is Cinderella's castle. I love the pumpkin carriage that was going up the hill.




Arendale...this was the best picture I could get. Side story--See that lady with the blue baseball hat, when we were finished with our ride and the skipper was docking so we could get off he accidentally hit her hat and it fell off into the water. They were able to grab it but it was soaked.


This was the last minature...Eric's castle from The Little Mermaid.

I like to keep all the photos from one ride together so I'll continue the last of Fantasyland in the next post.

 

[jrpar]

A World of Fantasy Cont. Again

We left off heading to a ride that will notoriously get you singing one song all day long...you guessed it It's a Small World. I think it is a must do when at Disney. I know some people hate the song but it is iconic. We had a lot of fun finding the Disney characters dispersed throughout the ride and of course, singing along...the whole ride. Plus it was nice to get out of the sun and heat.






Alice and the White Rabbit-They were the first characters we saw.


We took this picture specifically for my sister and her boyfriend who are going to Ireland in February.




We loved that Bullseye had a bunch of little bullseyes all over him.








We loved looking at all the postcards at the end. Our last ride in Fantasyland was the Matterhorn...our first real thrill ride of the trip. Luckily we were able to make it through our sled ride without getting caught by the Yeti.


I took about 5 photos to get this one with the monorail in it.




We were done in Fantasyland for now but no fear we'd be back because there were some rides we still wanted to go on here that we passed up our first day. But now we were heading to the future.

 

[jrpar]

Avengers Assemble

Kyle is a huge Avengers fan so I knew we would definitely have to make time to visit Innoventions to meet some of the Avengers and see Iron Man Tech. I was kinda sad when I heard they closed it because I know that it would have been a highlight of the trip for Kyle. I was thrilled to hear the Captain America and Thor would still be greeting guests so I knew that they would be on our must meet character list. On our way into Tomorrowland I pulled up my Disneyland app and saw that Captain America was out so we headed that way. We got in line and were probably 3-4 groups away from meeting with him and then he had to take a break. We heard that he was going to get Thor. This would begin our insane luck with meeting characters during our trip. So Thor and Captain America came out about 5 minutes or so later. We loved getting to see their interactions with other guests. Then it was our turn.

Thor was up first. He noticed our "Just Engaged" buttons and asked Kyle how he proposed. Kyle explained that he recreated our first date to propose. Thor then told us that if he were to propose that way Jane would have had to hit him with a car to recreate their first date. He then had me put my rock up on the hammer for our photos.





Up next was Captain America. We don't have any cool interaction stories with Captain America so I'll jump right into the photos.





We both agreed that these guys were some great first character meetings for our trip. We were even more excited that we got to meet them both rather than just one or the other. Next up we explore some more of Tomorrowland before we head to our dinner.

 

[jrpar]

Journey to the Land of Tomorrow

After we assembled with some Avengers we decided to try some rides in Tomorrowland. First up was a trip out to sea with Nemo. I got some pretty cool photos with the Matterhorn in the background.





Then we boarded our submarine, the Argonaut and headed out for a sea adventure.




Lookout!! It's Darla










I loved the bubbles so I was very happy when this photo turned out.



After the Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage we wanted to help Buzz Lightyear defeat the Evil Emperor Zurg...that's right we headed to Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters.


Can you see the line we had to wait in?? It took forever...just kidding we basically walked on.






Getting a pep talk from our leader Buzz Lightyear.




Kyle was so serious about the task Buzz Lightyear gave us.


I, on the other hand, was not. Just so happy to be at Disneyland. Maybe that's why I lost every time we took on Zurg.

Next up was a Star Tour. This ride was closed when my sister and I were at Disneyland back in 2011. I really had no idea what to expect from this ride. But we both agreed that it was pretty awesome and a must do again attraction.








After our Star Tour we headed over to Frontierland for some BBQ.

 

[jrpar]

Can I Have S'more?

Our first ADR at Disneyland was at Big Thunder Ranch Barbecue in Frontierland. We would definitely recommend it especially if you like to eat. It is an all-you-care-to-eat table service restaurant that is served family style with entertainment. Big Thunder Ranch is found back behind Big Thunder Mountain Railroad...it is very secluded and allows you to step away from the hustle and bustle of the rest of the park.






We checked in and while we were waiting for our buzzer to go off we saw several people get turned away because they were booked for the rest of the night.




We got seated at our table with a nice family of four right in front by the stage. As we were waiting to get our drinks Tex Tumbleweed and Miss Chris sang us a few songs. We loved how they interacted with the guests. It was just a great atmosphere.




Then our food came out and we were more than ready to eat.

For dinner everyone gets BBQ chicken, ribs and smoked sausage; coleslaw; ranch beans; corn cob wheels and cornbread. Everything was delicious. I knew from my research that we definitely wanted to give the S'mores Bake a chance. We knew we probably wouldn't be able to eat it all but we wanted it for our dessert.


It did not disappoint. It has a brownie layer on the bottom with roasted marshmallows and graham crackers on top. They give you hot fudge to drizzle over the top. We were able to eat about half of it. Our waiter said that we did better than a table of six had done earlier. Granted we didn't get a second serving of any of the other food for dinner so that probably helped us. We paid our bill and emptied our bladders then we were on a mission to find a spot for the Paint the Night parade. My hope was to get a spot in front of Plaza Inn but with what I had been reading that was going to be a tough one because of people claim spots several hours before the start of the parade. We walked through the hub and realized that it was going to be impossible to get a good spot there so we decided to head over toward It's a Small World and see if we could get a spot there. We ended up with a nice spot with a cool view of the Matterhorn. Then we discussed whether we should stay there for the fireworks or try to find a different spot with a castle view or try to just watch them a different night. You'll have to wait and see what we decided on. I'll leave you with our view of the Matterhorn and It's a Small World from after the parade.

 

[jrpar]

When Can We Do This Again?

The Paint the Night Parade was the one parade I was most excited about. I had seen pictures and parts of videos. I resisted watching the entire thing on Youtube because I wanted to enjoy it in person and not know what was coming next. We both LOVED this parade. The music was great and it was just overall fun to watch. It was the first time we both got teary-eyed just realizing that we were there...we were at the Happiest Place on Earth...we were finally on a vacation that we had dreamed about going on for a quite some time. This post will have mostly photos and not much narration...which I don't really think it needs. So just scroll and enjoy



























Wasn't that fun...it was an awesome parade. We debated just following the parade to the hub in hopes of finding a good spot to watch the fireworks because I really wanted to see the castle for them. We ultimately decided to cut through Fantasyland and Frontierland to find a spot on the left side of the hub. I know not ideal but I still got my photos and we got to watch the projections on the castle.

 

[jrpar]

Disneyland Forever

Once we found our spot we waited for the Disneyland Forever Fireworks to begin. Now we both love fireworks but there is something different when it comes to fireworks at Disney. They just seem so much more magical than fireworks you see at home. We didn't have the best view but knowing that there was a good chance we wouldn't be able to see them any other time on our trip I am glad we made the choice to make it in front of the castle to watch them.


Our view for the Disneyland Forever Fireworks.


The castle sparkled during the day but it definitely dazzled at night.



After the finale we made our way towards the Partners Statue to get photos of the castle head on and with the Partners Statue.







What happens after every fireworks display at Disney, a mass exit. This photo is looking towards the train station and down Main Street USA.


You can never have enough photos of the castle.


Good Night Walt...Thanks for a great first day. We definitely wanted a photo of the lantern lit in the window of Walt's apartment above the fire station. We decided to get one as we exited the park in the dark. I just loved the way it turned out. Another thing we wanted to check out was the enchanted windows at the Emporium. They had Peter Pan, Cinderella and The Princess and the Frog.


Come On Nana


Bibbidi Bobbidi Boo


So This is Love


Down in New Orleans


Friends on the Other Side


One last castle photo before we made our way back to the hotel to collapse in our bed until the next morning when we went on an adventure, a California Adventure to be exact.

 

[jrpar]

Daily Recap: 8/27/15
So I figured I would do a daily recap to go over each of our top 3 things from the day, our favorite food we ate that day and our fitbit tally for the day.

Jessica's Top 3:
1) Paint the Night Parade
2) Disneyland Forever Fireworks
3) Being able to experience Kyle's first time at Disneyland

Kyle's Top 3:
1) Paint the Night Parade
2) Being at Disneyland for the first time
3) Disneyland Forever Fireworks

Jessica's Favorite Food: Holiday Dinner Sandwich from Earl of Sandwich

Kyle's Favorite Food: All the food from Big Thunder Ranch Barbecue

Fitbit Tally: 19,854 steps; 8.54 miles

 

[ALEXandFAB]

What a great first day you had! I'm in

 

[2SillyBirds]

Thanks for sharing your trip with us. Can't wait to read more.

 

[jrpar]

Back in Walt's Day

Our first full day at Disneyland was spent at Disney's California Adventure. So this was a new park for both of us. We ate breakfast at the hotel...we packed cereal and had that to eat for breakfast every morning so we wouldn't have to buy breakfast every morning.



We got to the gates around 8:30...it was extra magic morning at California Adventure that morning. We were waiting by the gates and one of the cast members asked what we were waiting for and we told her we were waiting for regular park hours. She said that we could go in now because they were letting everyone in. Ah...the Disney magic.

While everyone else seemed to be racing towards the Radiator Springs Racers Fastpass machines we were taking in Buena Vista Street and Hollywood Land.




First sighting of the Red Trolley Car.


Walking down Buena Vista Street takes you back to a different era. Back to Walt's Day.


Couldn't wait to head back here for lunch later in the day.


See the Grand Californian in the back.






We loved the storyteller's statue.




Now we were heading down to Hollywood Land in order to meet the residents of Arendelle.


We went into the Animation Building and we could have spent hours in there watching all the screens and listening to some great Disney music.




After we gazed in amazement at the artwork of one of our favorite movies, Up we got in the 'long' line to meet a sister duo. More about that in the next post.