Happy Monday! I’m so excited to be sharing some of my favorite photos from my trip to Disneyland today! As some of you may know, I spent the last week of May in California for the kick off of Disneyland’s 60th Anniversary Diamond Celebration! Since the celebration started May 22 and my mom’s birthday is May 23, we thought the timing was perfect for a quick trip (well, it wasn’t a “quick trip” since we spent 5 1/2 days at Disneyland and a few days in LA!) Like with my Disney World posts, I’ve decided to break the parks up, so California Adventure will have its own separate post! With Disneyland’s 60th Anniversary Diamond Celebration came an all new fireworks spectacular, Disneyland Forever and Paint the Night, the new electrical parade! Both were AMAZING but Disneyland Forever actually brought me to tears (to be fair, Disney fireworks always bring me to tears no matter how many times I’ve seen them!) The mix of Disney music, movie clips, fireworks and special effects just makes me really emotional!
Being a Disney passholder has been on my Disney Bucket List for as long as I can remember! Ever since I was a kid, my family basically visited Disney World annually. Although we visited a lot, it never made since to get annual passes since we only visited once a year. During my four years of college (2010-2014) I wasn’t able to visit Disney at all (things like tuition, travel expenses and books got in the way!) I went from going to Disney all the time to FOUR YEARS of no Disney! After graduation I made it my mission to make up for lost time! After visiting Disney World last Christmas, I decided that Disney was to much a part of my life to give up so easily! Who cares if Disney World is in Florida, Disneyland in California and I’m in Chicago? So during my May Disneyland trip I made a big decision: to get a Disney Premier Passport! A Disney Premier Passport is an annual pass (with NO blackout days) to Disney World AND Disneyland! I’m so excited because I have a Disney trip planned every other month until April (talk about making up for lost time!)
Ah Adventureland! Home to Indiana Jones, the Jungle Cruise and the highlight of any Disney goers day, DOLE WHIP! The Enchanted Tiki Room might not be everyone’s cup of tea (I find it charming,) but no one can deny the wonder that is Dole Whip! Soft serve or float, if it’s Dole Whip I’ll eat it!
Fun Fact: Roger Rabbit is THE scariest movie I’ve ever seen! Weird right? I don’t know why but as a kid nothing scared me more than watching that movie! The scene were Judge Doom becomes a toon STILL haunts my nightmares! For that reason I avoid Mickey’s Toontown for the most part (although I do like Roger Rabbit’s Car Toon Spin!) Since Toontown is pretty much aimed at kids (especially since Mickey and Minnie’s houses are in Toontown so you can meet them) I usually only spend 20-30 minutes there during the entire duration of any given Disneyland trip.
Even though Pirates of the Caribbean is my all-time favorite Disneyland ride (it holds so many sentimental memories) Splash Mountain is a close second (though at Disney World, Splash Mountain comes before Pirates!)
Although NOTHING compares to Cinderella’s Castle at Disney World, I do find Sleeping Beauty’s Castle very charming (it’s almost like a toy/pretend castle!) I love touring the inside of the castle (although Sleeping Beauty happens to be one of my least favorite Disney movies.)
Adventureland may be home to PERFECTION in a cup (aka Dole Whip) but there’s something else (besides Indiana Jones) that always keep me coming back: Tarzan’s Treehouse! Whenever the park seems extremely crowded and the lines become unbearable (which they really never do in my opinion,) I love to take a break and relax at Tarzan’s Treehouse! It’s so fun to climb and explore!
One of my favorite things about Tarzan’s Treehouse is the amazing view of New Orleans Square (can you see The Haunted Mansion?) and the Rivers of America that can be seen from the top of the treehouse!
After riding the Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage, my mom accidentally left her glasses in her seat and the workers were so helpful! They stopped the submarine before it took off with the next group of riders and let me quickly search the floor (luckily her glasses were easy to spot!) It’s little moments like that that really remind me of how magical Disney is!
One of the most exciting things about the Disneyland 60th Anniversary Diamond Celebration was the return (or reappearance) of the Hatbox ghost to the Haunted Mansion after a 46 year absence! You can check out a picture of the Hatbox Ghost on my Twitter!
As much as I LOVE the rides, it’s the parades, performances, shows and fireworks that really make me fall in love with Disney!
No trip to Disney is complete without a few souvenirs popcorn buckets and cups! This trip I took home the ADORABLE new Cinderella Carriage popcorn bucket, the 60th Anniversary Snow White popcorn bucket, the Red Mickey Ballon popcorn bucket (yes, I eat a lot of Disney popcorn) and four different Diamond Celebration souvenir cups!
My time at Disneyland may be over for now but the magic of Disney will always be with me, in my heart! I can’t wait to visit Disney World for TWO WEEKS this August and then it’s back to Disneyland in October for Halloween!
Any Disney fans out there? What’s your favorite thing about Disneyland (or Disney World?)