|
June 2015 Disneyland
Daily Blog
Click here to
see a sampling of pictures - June 2015
“To all who come to
this happy place, welcome. Disneyland is
your land.” –Walt Disney
Today’s the day -- we’re going to Disneyland
for the very first time! Having spent the
last 15 years vacationing at Walt Disney
World, we decided to travel to Disneyland
this summer as well. We have lots of big
milestones to celebrate in 2015, with Bonnie
and Neil’s 25th
Wedding Anniversary, Courtney’s 21st
Birthday, Megan’s 18th
Birthday, Megan’s graduation from high
school at the end of May, and Courtney’s
early graduation from college this upcoming
December. We thought that coast-to-coast
Disney trips during the summer would be the
perfect way to celebrate. We have always
wanted to see Walt’s original park, and
Disneyland is celebrating their 60th
Anniversary Diamond Celebration this summer.
We left for the airport bright and early and
flew into John Wayne Airport. When we
arrived in California, we took a taxi to the
Disneyland Hotel, our home for the week. We
were extremely excited to be staying at this
resort, because the theme is Disney! The
lobby is filled with Disney heritage photos,
and the chairs are even shaped like teacups.
After checking in at the front desk, we were
excited to find out that our room was in our
requested location, the Fantasy Tower, and
that it was ready! We went up to our
beautiful room which is filled with Disney
details. There are pillows that say “a dream
is a wish your heart makes” and “when you’re
fast asleep.” The headboard is absolutely
stunning, with Sleeping Beauty Castle carved
into the wood. There is a switch that turns
on the light-up fireworks and plays an
instrumental version of A Dream is a Wish
Your Heart Makes.
We spent some time taking pictures of the
room and unpacking before heading to
Downtown Disney. We went to Naples for
lunch, which is the sister restaurant of
Epcot’s Via Napoli, one of our favorites in
Walt Disney World. We had a great lunch, and
then did some shopping at World of Disney.
Megan was excited to visit Marceline’s
Confectionery and watch the Cast Members
making treats in the show kitchen. Courtney
was excited to see Disneyland's Vacation
Planning Booths. When we came back to our
hotel, Goofy was at the entrance! This was
so neat for us because in Walt Disney World,
they don’t have any character meet and
greets in the hotel lobbies.
We freshened up and walked around our hotel,
before going to explore Disneyland’s other
two hotels, Disney’s Paradise Pier Hotel and
Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel and Spa. We
walked around and took some pictures, before
going back to our hotel for a character
dinner at Goofy’s Kitchen. Goofy was waiting
for us when we arrived, and Minnie, Chip,
Dale, and Pluto visited our tables. The food
was buffet and everything we had was great.
Some of our favorites were the prime rib,
fried shrimp, carved turkey, and the dessert
bar. We had really fun character
interactions at this meal, the favorite
being when Dale helped Courtney and Megan
pick our filters for their Snapchats. We
also had a really awesome waiter. One
different thing about Disneyland’s character
meals is that they give out neat buttons
featuring the main character and the
restaurant’s name. After a wonderful dinner,
we went back up to our room to get a good
night’s sleep for our first day in the
parks!
6/10/15
We woke up extremely excited for our first
day in Disneyland!! We just have a short
walk from our hotel to the esplanade, where
both parks are located. We arrived at
Disneyland before rope drop. It was an
amazing feeling to walk down Disneyland’s
Main Street for the first time. Disneyland
is the only Disney park that Walt actually
created and enjoyed, since he passed away
before Walt Disney World opened. We got to
see Sleeping Beauty Castle for the first
time, and while it is much smaller than
Cinderella Castle in Florida, it is
beautiful in its own way. Our first
attraction in Disneyland was Space Mountain,
which in our opinion, was much better than
Walt Disney World’s version. It was really
neat because it had music and a more
intensely designed track. We also liked that
the rows are two-seater, instead of one-seater.
After our journey through space, we went to
Fantasyland to enjoy some attractions unique
to Disneyland, Alice in Wonderland and Mr.
Toad’s Wild Ride. We took some photos in
front of Sleeping Beauty Castle and then
went over to Frontierland to ride Big
Thunder Mountain Railroad, which is similar
to Walt Disney World’s but has a smoother
track.
We then decided to have a
classic Disneyland treat for breakfast,
Mickey beignets in New Orleans Square, which
were delicious! As we walked back through
the park, we had our first of what we would
learn to be a common occurrence, spontaneous
character meet and greets! In Walt Disney
World, all of the meet and greets are very
structured and scheduled. Here in
Disneyland, some are scheduled, but lots are
random! We found Mary Poppins and Bert, and
they wished us a jolly holiday here in
Disneyland! We were excited to head back to
Mickey’s Toontown, because we no longer have
this area in Walt Disney World. We went on
Roger Rabbit’s Car Toon Spin, and then
visited Mickey Mouse in his house. After
taking some pictures, we park hopped over to
Disney California Adventure. Park hopping is
extremely easy in Disneyland, because the
two parks are just steps away from each
other. We had lunch in Cars Land at Flo’s V8
Café, where we enjoyed French dip sandwiches
and ribs. We had an incredible view from our
table overlooking the Radiator Springs
attraction. We explored Cars Land and went
on Mater’s Junkyard Jamboree. Afterwards, we
went on Soarin’, a favorite of ours which
was recently refurbished to HD screens. This
enhancement made the experience even more
amazing, and we can’t wait until Soarin’ in
Epcot receives the same upgrade. We went
over to the Paradise Pier section and rode
the Golden Zephyr.
After that, Courtney and
Megan convinced Neil to ride California
Screamin’ with them, a huge high-speed
coaster with a loop. We went to meet our
favorite snowman, Olaf, which we were very
excited about since he is only in
California. Then we went on the Monster’s
Inc. Mike and Sulley to the Rescue
attraction. We walked around and took some
pictures, and found Jake from Disney Junior.
Then we went to the Hyperion Theater to see
Disney’s Aladdin: A Musical Spectacular.
This show was absolutely incredible, with
neat special effects like the Genie
appearing from the ground and Jasmine and
Aladdin flying through the theater on a
magic carpet. The Genie is one of the best
parts of the show, mixing hilarious pop
culture references into the show. After the
musical, we went back to the hotel to change
and then returned to Disney California
Adventure. We had dinner at the Paradise
Pier Boardwalk, which includes Boardwalk
Pizza and Pasta and Paradise Garden Grill.
After our meal, we got to see our friend
Jess, who is currently doing a Disneyland
Summer Alumni College Program. We were so
glad we got to visit with her! Then we
entered our Fastpass viewing section for
World of Color, a nighttime spectacular
featuring colored, synchronized fountains.
This special version, Celebrate, is hosted
by Mickey Mouse and Neil Patrick Harris as
they honor Walt Disney’s legacy and 60 years
of Disney Parks. It was an amazing show and
a wonderful way to end our first full day in
Disneyland.
6/11/15
Today began with the resort guest Extra
Magic Hours at Disneyland Park. We headed
straight for a Disneyland classic, the
Matterhorn. We found Peter Pan roaming
around Sleeping Beauty Castle, and he loved
that our green shirts matched his outfit!
Then we went and had breakfast at the Market
House Starbucks on Main Street before
checking in for our guided tour. Today we
went on the Walk in Walt’s Disneyland
Footsteps Tour, a journey through Walt’s own
park, exploring the history, heritage, and
legacy that still lives on today. We had an
awesome tour guide, Phillip, who did a
wonderful job of leading us through the park
and sharing lots of exclusive stories and
trivia. One of the neatest parts was that as
we were walking from land to land, we got to
hear audio clips through our headsets,
mainly of Walt speaking. This really helped
to put what we were seeing in perspective.
We got to stand underneath Walt’s apartment
in Town Square and hear him give the
Dedication Day speech, which was an
emotional experience.
Our tour included a private lunch at the
Jolly Holiday Bakery Cafe, where we enjoyed
delicious sandwiches. We also received what
is now one of the best pins in our
collection. It has the name of the tour and
a photo of Walt walking through Disneyland
on the front. When you open the pin, there
is a silhouette of the Partners Statue and a
quote from Walt about his intentions for
Disneyland on the left. On the right, there
is a replica of the Dedication Day plaque.
After lunch, we got to tour the Disneyland
Dream Suite above Pirates of the Caribbean
in New Orleans Square. This incredible
executive suite was originally planned by
Walt to have a place for his family to stay
in the park. He worked with an artist to
create renderings of the suite, but when he
passed away, the suite was never completed.
In the past few years, Imagineers have
worked to take Walt’s original renderings
and make his Dream Suite a reality. The
rooms are absolutely incredible and filled
with Disney magic. We got to take a photo in
the main living room before the conclusion
of the tour.
We boarded the Disneyland Monorail in
Tomorrowland, which took us to the Downtown
Disney station right near our hotel. Bonnie,
Courtney, and Megan went to enjoy the
incredible pool, which is themed to the
monorail system.
After some fun in the sun, we got
ready for our dinner at one of the signature
restaurants, Steakhouse 55, which is located
in our hotel. We began our meal with Caesar
salads and onion soup, and enjoyed amazing
filet mignons. After a fabulous dinner, we
went back over to Disneyland to enjoy the
brand new Paint the Night Parade and
Disneyland Forever Fireworks Spectacular.
Both of the shows are outstanding and really
showcase the magic of Disney. The technology
used is revolutionary and we absolutely
loved both nighttime experiences.
6/12/15
We
started off in Disney California Adventure
and got fastpasses for Radiator Springs
Racers, before riding California Screamin’.
We went to A Bug’s Land and rode the Tuck
and Roll bumper cars. We then went over to
the Hollywood Land section to say hello to
our favorite Arendelle friends, Olaf, Anna,
and Elsa. We went over to Buena Vista Street
to meet Oswald for the very first time.
Oswald was Walt’s character before Mickey
Mouse, but lost the rights to him due to a
loophole in a contract. When Bob Iger became
CEO, he reacquired the rights to Oswald to
restore a piece of history into the Disney
family. We also got to see the News Boys
Trolley Show and see Mickey and Minnie in
their Hollywood outfits. We had lunch at
Smokejumper’s Grill, where we enjoyed
chicken and hamburgers. We went back to Cars
Land to use our Radiator Springs Racers
fastpass, which was an amazing attraction,
before returning to our hotel.
We rested and relaxed,
then went to Disneyland to see the daytime
parade, Soundsational. We went to
Fantasyland and rode Pinocchio’s Daring
Journey and It’s a Small World. The entrance
for It’s a Small World here is absolutely
beautiful, and the attraction even includes
Disney characters as dolls, in the location
where they are from. Dinner tonight was at
the Plaza Inn, a restaurant famous for their
fried chicken. The restaurant is beautiful,
and the food was incredible. We walked
around Main Street before finding a spot to
watch Paint the Night and Disneyland
Forever. After the nighttime shows, we had a
very special meet and greet with Mickey,
Minnie, and Goofy in their brand new outfits
for the 60th
Diamond Celebration. It was an awesome
opportunity to meet these three characters
together and we got fantastic photos with
them. It was the perfect way to end another
great day in Disneyland!
6/13/15
We started off the morning
at Disneyland by meeting Daisy in her
Diamond Celebration outfit. We went back to
New Orleans Square to ride Pirates of the
Caribbean and enjoy more Mickey beignets. We
took some photos as we made our way over to
Tomorrowland to meet some of the Avengers,
Thor and Captain America. We then rode
another classic Disneyland ride, the Autopia
cars. Following our ride, we went over to
Main Street where we rode some of the
vehicles, the Omnibus and a Horse-drawn
Street Car. After our leisurely rides, we
rode Indiana Jones Adventure, an awesome
ride travelling through the Temple of the
Forbidden Eye. We had lunch at The Golden
Horseshoe, which is actually where Walt and
Lillian had an anniversary party, just days
before Disneyland opened. We got to enjoy
The Laughing Stock Company show while we ate
our lunch.
After lunch, we went back
to the Big Thunder Ranch where we got to
visit the Disneyland goats. We went to
Fantasyland where we saw Ariel, and got a
snack of cotton candy. We went to the
Fantasyland Theatre to see a musical, Mickey
and the Magical Map. This show combines
favorite Disney songs and wonderful dancers
as Mickey tries to complete the last piece
of his map. Afterwards, we went back to
Mickey’s Toontown to take some photos before
taking the monorail back to our hotel. After
relaxing, we went to have dinner at Downtown
Disney. Neil and Bonnie had shrimp po-boys
from Ralph Brennan’s Jazz Kitchen, and
Courtney and Megan had sandwiches from Earl
of Sandwich. We went back to Disneyland
where we visited the Disney Gallery. This
gallery had lots of awesome displays about
Walt and an exhibit called Drawing
Disneyland: The Early Years. They also had
the actual bench from Griffith Park, the
local amusement park where Walt would take
his two daughters on Saturdays. He wished
that there was a place where he could have
fun with his daughters, instead of sitting
to the side and watching them have fun, so
he dreamed up Disneyland. It was really neat
to see this bench! We went to Critter
Country and rode The Many Adventures of
Winnie the Pooh. Afterwards, we went to the
fastpass viewing section for Fantasmic on
the Rivers of America. This show was awesome
and while it is similar, it had lots of neat
elements that Walt Disney World’s version
doesn’t have. We saw the Disneyland Forever
fireworks before heading back to our hotel
for the night.
6/14/15
We were sad that this was already our last
day in the parks, but we were ready to make
it a fun and memorable day! We started off
at Disney California Adventure for the
resort guest Extra Magic Hours. We went
straight to Cars Land to ride Radiator
Springs Racers. After riding, we got to meet
Lightning McQueen and Mater. Then, we went
to Pacific Wharf to do the Boudin Bakery
Tour, where you get to see how they make
sourdough bread and sample it. The bread was
delicious, and we even bought a really neat
Mickey-shaped loaf of sourdough bread to
bring home with us. We ate breakfast at the
Pacific Wharf Café, where we got to have
their famous bread bowl breakfasts and
cinnamon rolls.
After that, we went to
Paradise Pier, where we rode the Silly
Symphony Swings. Then we went on Mickey’s
Fun Wheel, the giant ferris wheel which is
the centerpiece of Paradise Pier. This isn’t
just any ferris wheel, because you can
choose to ride on the swinging gondolas,
which intensely slide as your bucket moves
around the wheel. We met Sailor Donald and
rode California Screamin’ one more time.
Then we took some photos on the pier and met
Flik in A Bug’s Land. We finished up taking
the last of the map pictures that we needed
for the website, and then had Asian stir-fry
for lunch at Lucky Fortune Cookery. We got
to meet Goofy, Chip and Dale in their
Hollywood outfits, who were all very
energetic and fun to see. We had sundaes at
Clarabelle’s Ice Cream before hopping over
to Disneyland.
We took some pictures in
front of the train station and also got to
meet Snow White. When we got inside the
park, we saw Cruella de Vil, a character
that we have not met in years. As we walked
down Main Street, we found Alice and the Mad
Hatter at the Corner Café. We loved how
different the character experience was from
Walt Disney World, seeing such rare
characters or characters meeting in random
locations such as restaurants. We did a
photo shoot in front of Sleeping Beauty
Castle, and then did the castle walkthrough
experience which highlights the story of
Sleeping Beauty. We walked around and took
the last photos that we still needed for the
website, and then headed back to the hotel
to relax. We came back to Disneyland for the
evening and had dinner at Carnation Café on
Main Street USA. We all enjoyed salads and
the chicken-fried chicken, but what really
made our dinner here so fantastic was the
service. Our waiters Abdul and Tim were
absolutely wonderful, and really made our
experience at Carnation Café so amazing. We
made sure to tell their manager and Guest
Relations about the amazing guest service we
received. After dinner, we went back to
Fantasyland to ride the Mad Tea Party. We
ended the night by watching the Paint the
Night Parade and the Disneyland Forever
Fireworks. We headed back to our hotel, sad
to be leaving this magical place, but
thankful for a wonderful trip!
We started off our last
morning in Disneyland by attending the
Disney Vacation Club Royal Member Gathering.
This members-exclusive event was held in a
ballroom at our hotel. We had pastries and
coffee, got to mingle with other members
through fun activities, and even had a
surprise visit from Mickey Mouse! As a thank
you for attending, we received a pin from
the event and we each got DVC hats! After
the DVC gathering, we went over to Disney’s
Paradise Pier Hotel for a character
breakfast at Disney’s PCH Grill. The
breakfast theme was Surf’s Up and we got to
see Lifeguard Mickey as we entered. Minnie,
Daisy, Pluto, and Stitch visited our table
during the meal. The breakfast buffet was
wonderful and we all really enjoyed the
omelet station.
We finished packing up
our room, took some more pictures around the
resort, and even found Goofy in the lobby!
We also did some final shopping in Downtown
Disney. After we checked out, we took a taxi
to LAX airport for our flight back to Texas.
While we already miss Disneyland, we won’t
be away from the magic for too long as we
will be in Walt Disney World in less than a
month! We hope you enjoyed reading about our
first experience in Disneyland! While Walt
Disney World is still our home, we
absolutely loved exploring Disneyland,
finally visiting Walt’s original park, and
getting to experience the 60th
Anniversary Diamond Celebration. It was a
magical vacation filled with lots of
memories and fun!
Until next month,
The Suchart's
Email us with questions or
comments.
|
