Day 15 Disneyland!!! Many of you are probably wondering why we chose Disney over Universal Studios. Well, we love Disney and with limited time we decided we would rather spend our day at the happiest and most magical place on earth. We also had nearly $500.00 of Disney cash – so the visit was basically free! Fellow Disney fans out there are, no doubt, waiting for my comparison of Land vs. World. Don’t worry, I’ll get there.
We began our day by hopping on the shuttle at 7:00 am. We were at the Disneyland park by 7:15 and it opened at 8:00. We attacked our day by visiting attractions not available at Disney World, that we hadn’t experienced before and/or have long waits. Then we hit some of our faves. After riding Finding Nemo, Matterhorn Bobsleds, Alice in Wonderland, Pinocchio’s Daring Adventure, Mr. Toads Wild Ride and Indiana Jones, we went across the street to the only other park, California Adventure. There we rode Toy Story, Mickey’s Fun Wheel, California Screamin’, Soarin’ and Monster’s Inc.; after which we went back to Disneyland, got fast passes for Buzz Lightyear and rode Winnie the Pooh.
Finally, it was time for lunch! We ate in New Orleans Square at the Blue Bayou Restaurant. Here the atmosphere is that of a dinner along the river in New Orleans at night. Paper lanterns and candles light the room, while the boats from Pirates of the Caribbean ride sail by. This was one of the day’s highlights for sure!
After a spin on Buzz Lightyear, we got fast passes for Splash Mountain and returned to our hotel room for a much needed nap. Had we not set the alarm for 5:30, we most certainly would have slept through the rest of our night! After dinner in the hotel lounge (also free!) we returned to California Adventure to catch the stage musical, Aladdin, which was fantastic. We especially enjoyed Genie (hilarious) and when the characters rode the flying carpet up to the balcony and mezzanine levels.
We then returned to Disneyland for Storybook Land (which we found is best seen at night, when all lit up!) and It’s A Small World. Here Christina found a hidden Mickey which was formed by the shadow cast by a light shining on three balloons that were part of the set. So cool!
We then rode Splash Mountain and Pirates before settling down for a great view of Fantasmic on the Rivers of America. We warmed up with hot cocoa and popcorn while waiting for the show to begin. Believe or not, we have never seen Fantasmic – we loved it! We completed our evening by riding the train to Tommorowland, taking one last spin on Buzz and doing a little shopping. We left the park at midnight and crashed as soon as we hit the beds! I think that’s everything but maybe not. This is a really long post so my Land vs. World comparison will have to come later. But if you’re a Disney fan and you’re considering a trip to the Land, don’t miss my review!
© Nichole Liza Q.
Lightning Bug 
We LOVE Disneyland and after living right there and having season passes, we’re a bit partial to that location! We really think Disneyland has the best of everything without needing to transport between all of the different parks – it’s a quick and easy move between the parks just by walking across the short brick street… I am totally curious what you think of the differences… looking forward to reading your next posts! We love AZ as well (though maybe not all the “brown” everywhere 😉 haha – hope you enjoy your time there!
Indiana Jones rocks at Disneyland. I’m surprised it doesn’t exist in the Florida park. We’ve been there twice and road it multiple times both visits. Splash Mountain was a skinny log flume ride, one person behind the next. When we rode that it was first thing in the day and with jeans it took hours to dry out! WDW is much bigger but we were glad we got to visit Disneyland too.