Back in November my mom turned the big 6-0!
My sister and I made plans...
back in August...
to surprise her with a trip to
Disneyland...
just us girls!
We have never done a trip with just us girls,
and it had been FOREVER since we had been
to Disneyland...
so we figured what better way to celebrate your birthday?
Well, my Dad ended up having foot surgery
right after her birthday, the weekend we were supposed to go,
so we had to post-pone it until the first part of December.
Our first stop...
Downtown Disney for some
cupcakes from...
I didn't get a picture of them because we ate them
without even thinking twice. :)
They were yummy.
The next morning we got up
and headed to the park.
Our first line of the day...
Yup, nothing says, "Welcome to Disneyland"
like waiting 20-30 minutes to get into the parking structure.
We followed everyone's advice
and went straight to California Adventure first
to ride the new Cars ride.
So, I have to admit that at first,
I thought the ride was kind of boring...
but then...
the racing part at the end...
oh my goodness...
We spent a couple of hours
in California Adventure...
and then made our way to Disneyland!
Here are Kait and I in line for the Matterhorn.
Disneyland was pretty crowded.
We've seen it worse...
don't ever go between Christmas and New Year's...
but we've also seen it a lot less crowded.
What didn't help was that most of the big rides
kept getting shut down.
At one point in time Pirates of the Caribbean,
Indiana Jones, and Big Thunder Mountain Railroad
were all closed at the same time.
No bueno!
We made our way to "It's A Small World"
right when they turned on the Christmas lights.
So pretty!
My sister gave me a bad time
for making us stop and take this picture.
Her exact words were,
"So, we are going to be THOSE people
right now?"
Yup.
We sure were. :)
We were never able to ride Indiana Jones,
due to all of the times it was shut down...
no joke, at LEAST 5 times during the day.
But we were able to hit everything else.
The "new" 3D Star Tours...
and by FAR the best ride...
Hyperspace Mountain!
Oh my goodness...
so fast and so much fun.
If you don't believe me...
just look at Mom's face in this
picture.
Side note...
I was laughing so hard when we
saw this that I nearly peed my pants.
No joke. :)
It was a fun filled day.
We were able to make it through
both parks in one day...
it was a little "touch and go" towards the end. :)
We got our fill of churros,
tried beignets for the first time,
had our fair share of crowds,
and enjoyed the beauty that is
Disneyland during the holidays.
See you next time, Disneyland!
A few fun tips for anyone that doesn't know...
who is still reading now that the pictures have stopped :)...
1. The Disneyland App gives you "approximate" waitlines for the various rides. It will also drain the battery life of your phone. No joke. My phone can normally go all day and be fine. Well, by 11:00am I was down to 15%.
2. There is a vending machine where you can buy a battery charger!
Yes, true story!!! It is $30 and only gives you one charge, but you can exchange it out as many times as you want. I went through three of them in one day. I got one before we left the park and now I have it...you can recharge it with your charger...to use whenever. The vending machine is in Tomorrowland, in between Space Mountain and the large gift shop. :)
3. We stayed at Candlewood Suites and we would highly recommend it...especially if you are doing a family trip. It is close to the park...definitely not walking distance...but a short 5-minute drive. Each room has a kitchenette with a stove, oven, full size fridge, toaster, coffee maker, dishes, silverware, etc. The one downfall is they don't offer breakfast...BUT...they have a little "market" in the lobby where you can buy food, they even have an area where you can borrow a variety of appliances that aren't in your room...like a crock-pot! Here is a link to their Expedia listing:
