As I said before, spending your birthday at Disneyland is great fun no matter how old you are! And of course, two days at Disney is even better than one. But want to know what beats that?
An annual passport to the Happiest Place on Earth.
An annual passport to the Happiest Place on Earth.
Yes, it's true--Matt and I are now proud owners of Disneyland's Southern California resident annual passports and can go to Disneyland whenever our hearts desire! Except for blackout dates, but whatever. And want to know the best part? Thanks to our Give a Day, Get a Day vouchers, our passports cost us a mere $100 each--for a whole year of Disney! Happy birthday to me is right. So we kicked off our visit with a photo-op for our prized cards and then headed out to conquer the park! Thanks to our passports, there's no pressure to get as many rides in as possible so we just took it easy and hit up our most favorite attractions. The Matterhorn and Buzz were our first stops.
Fantasyland was another highlight of the day, since pretty much every ride in Fantasyland makes the favorite list as well. People just don't appreciate the greatness that is the old fashioned attractions like Mr. Toad's Wild Ride or Snow White's Scary Adventure!
The next morning, we met up with Mickey first thing and then went to outer space.
Then we were off to Frontierland, where we rode a train around Big Thunder Mountain and paddled our Davy Crockett canoe all the way around Tom Sawyer Island.
Of course, no trip to Disneyland is complete without Splash Mountain! This time, we basically took a shower in the laughing place. Seriously, check out the before/during/after picture. We were drenched! And my hair was a goner.
Oh, and don't forget about California Adventure. We rode all the big rides, watched Aladdin pick Jasmine up on a magic carpet, and learned that Matt is Tarzan and I'm Ariel... minus the bright red hair, of course.
We also enjoyed the nighttime lights at Disneyland and caught both a fireworks show and World of Color, but we'll get to all of that next time. For now, I'll leave you with our final round of Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters. I was super excited to become a Ranger 1st Class!
Someday, Matt and I are going to be galactic heroes.
I am SO jealous! I had a pass from ages 10-18 and LOVED it. Loved going whenever I wanted to go. Then I moved away. Have fun with your passes :)
ReplyDeleteI am all for the charm of the old-fashion themed rides! Sure the new attractions are great, but what made Disneyland the happiest place on Earth in the first place, were the romantic fairy tales, and the adventures of Peter Pan and the lost boys, King Arthur and Merlin, along with a couple of rascals named Tom and Huck. It's the tradition of magic, adventure and memories, that make Disneyland so unique and special! I am very glad it is now becoming one of your regular adventures!
ReplyDeletep.s. I still miss the Swiss Family Robinson Tree!
ReplyDeleteAhhhhh, this looks like SO much fun!!! I love Disneyland, and California adventure too! That is awesome the pass includes both. What a great birthday present... The gift that keeps on giving!
ReplyDeleteYou guys always have so much fun with each other no matter where you go. It's great to really take the time and years to enjoy each other early on in your marriage. Eagerly awaiting more of your adventures to come!
ReplyDeleteYou've sold me on Disney equals fun. I've officially put take my kids to Disney Land on my bucket list.
ReplyDeleteI want to go back! Disneyland is magical. Our neighbors told me they go every year after Christmas and it's not too crowded. It would be fun to see it all decorated for Christmas (and Halloween). You're lucky that you can see it whenever you want!
ReplyDeleteSydna,
ReplyDeleteIf you remember our family did go right after Christmas and stayed through New Years back in 2007. It was incredible! We still enjoyed the Christmas atmosphere of the park, but also got to take part in "Club Disney" as we rang in the New Year! Plus the park was hardly crowded! I highly recommend going around that time, we sure would love to go again!
Sydna & Heidi-- Just to clarify, our family went from Dec. 31st through like January 4th a few years ago. The days immediately after Christmas are historically insanely crowded (second only to Thanksgiving), so I wouldn't recommend going then. But New Year's Eve is a party that is worth the crowds and after that, everyone goes back to school and the crowds disappear. They keep the Christmas decorations up through the first week of January, and it really is magical! I'm excited to go during the holidays again.
ReplyDeleteJulie-- What an awesome childhood! Disney's fun at any age, but I bet it was especially exciting having annual passes when you were younger.
Oh and Tobi, you have to go! Your kids would LOVE it! Maybe a family trip when Joel gets home :-)? Disneyland is the most fun and the most magical when you have young kids to share it with. It just comes alive for them and it's so fun to see their excitement.
ReplyDeleteOn my last flight from SLC to LAX, there was the sweetest little 3- or 4-year-old girl who was going to Disneyland for her first time. She had the cutest little voice and just chattered away the entire flight about it! "And then I'm going to meet Cinderella, and then Mickey will give me a hug, and I'm going to wear my Belle dress, and I get to see Sleeping Beauty, and..." It was so, so adorable. Her mom said that ever since they told her about their vacation plans, she'd ask every day if they could go right then. They had to tell her that the airplanes were broken for like 3 weeks straight because she just didn't get the waiting concept haha.