Since the Haunted Mansion was closed and we were near a train station, we decided to ride the train all the way around the park - not something we would have done had the park been crowded. It was great though - we got to relax and see the Grand Canyon diorama and Primeval World; two displays that don't exist at Walt Disney World.
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| The French Market across from the depot. We'll come back here. |
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| Todd on the train. Notice that the seats face to the side instead of forward. |
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| The Little Mermaid/Princess Ariel in human form poses for picture near the front of the park. In the background you can see the Hollywood Tower of Terror at the California Adventure park. |
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| The monorail and park entrance. In Florida the monorail is used primarily as transportation. Here it just circles the park with a stop in Tomorrowland and one in Downtown Disney. |
When we had circled the entire park and ended back at the New Orleans Square station, we disembarked. We walked over to the Mint Julep Bar at the French Market and ordered beignets and mint juleps (non-alcoholic mint/lime drinks here at Disneyland). Delicious and refreshing.
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| What could be better? |
Next came a 20 minute wait for Splash Mountain (my pro tip: bring a zip-lock bag for your phone and wallet). Luckily we didn't get too wet.
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| Another look at Tom Sawyer Island. A dragon lives there...on weekends. :( |
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| The Columbia |
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| Splash Mountain |
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| Into the briar patch |
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| So this was kinda sad: across from Splash Mountain was a meet-and-greet area for Eeyore and Winnie the Pooh. Eeyore had a line of people waiting to see him, but poor Pooh had no one. |
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| Walking back past the entrance to the queue for Pirates of the Caribbean |
After Splash Mountain came Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, which had a 15 minute line and a really cool lift hill lined with burning fuses and a big explosion after you passed the top.
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| Big Thunder Mountain Railroad |
Next came Pinocchio's Daring Journey, Roger Rabbit's Car Toon Spin, and Storybook Land Canal Boats.
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| Another attraction that's not at WDW in Florida. A cute dark ride through the Pinocchio story. This makes me want to break out the ol' Walt Disney's Story Land book and re-read it. |
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| A peek at Pinocchio as the doors open |
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| Here's another Disneyland exclusive. Roger Rabbit's Car Toon Spin: "Steer and spin a runaway taxicab through the wacky streets of Toontown as you follow the adventures of Roger Rabbit." |
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| Benny the cab. Or Bennys the cab I guess is appropriate. You control how much he spins with the wheel. Watch for the amazing portable hole effect at the end of the ride. |
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| A gentle boat ride through miniature lands |
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| Our journey begins by being swallowed by Monstro the whale |
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| Into the maw |
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| I forget who lived here |
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| Agrabah from Aladdin |
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| The seven dwarfs cottage with their mine in the background |
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| Beast's castle from Beauty and the Beast |
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| Mr. Toad was not in residence. He was galavanting around Mr. Toad's Wild Ride in his motorcar. We didn't ride that ride. |
We then headed back over to Indiana Jones for another go and to get the blood pumping before dinner. Afterwards we walked over to New Orleans square and checked in for our 6:30 dinner reservation. The interior of the restaurant is designed to look like the outside patio/garden of a stately Louisiana mansion at night. Along one side is the evening bayou where the Pirates of the Caribbean boats drift by before beginning their adventures.
For dinner I started with a shrimp cocktail then had the slow-roasted beef strip loin: "Carved to order served with crispy shoestring onions, Blue Bayou au gratin potatoes, seasonal vegetables, and green peppercorn Armagnac sauce." For dessert: Meyer lemon creme brûlée tart with a white chocolate diamond in honor of the 60th anniversary. All of it was so good
After dinner we debated whether we should watch the nighttime Paint the Night parade or ride a couple of rides while everyone else was occupied. We had already done everything we wanted, so it was a bit of a toss-up. In the end we headed to the front of the park to Market House (Starbucks) on Main Street U.S.A. There I picked up a Starbucks Disneyland "You are Here" mug as a souvenir.
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| What can I say? I like Starbucks. |
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| The inside of the mug is the same blue as the box |
We then decided to watch the parade and fireworks, but to get out of the crush of people trying to get positions right in front of the castle. So we walked over by the Matterhorn and found a great spot along the street behind some people who stayed seated the whole time.
The Paint the Night parade is really something. It's the successor to the Main Street Electrical Parade and features up to date technology, sounds and lights. Plus it's set to a rocking extended version of
When Can I See You Again by Owl City (from Wreck-it Ralph). You can find the parade on YouTube - take a look when you get a chance.
After the parade we stayed put and watched the fireworks. Not the best spot as we couldn't see the castle, but we had a great view of the Matterhorn. Throughout the show various projections were shown on the mountain. The best of these was when the entire mountain was transformed into Mount Wannahockaloogie from Finding Nemo. As the tribal chanting intensified, projected lava began streaming down the mountain. Then Nemo was flying through the air on wires toward the mountain. As he neared the summit the volcano erupted belching fire and smoke into the night sky.
When the fireworks were over it was 9pm and the park was closed. We found a place to sit and waited for the crowds to dissipate - no use fighting all those people just to bottleneck at the front. Once the people had thinned out a little bit (about 15 minutes later), we took a stroll one more time around the park before heading to the exit.
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| King Arthur Carousel. |
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| Big Thunder Mountain Railroad |
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| Goodnight Disneyland |
We left the park and headed through Downtown Disney and back to the hotel. On the way we stopped at the Pin Traders kiosk and picked up our free lanyards and 60th anniversary pins that came with staying in the Disneyland Hotel. We also had a coupon for a free ride photo, but we wanted to save that for tomorrow and Radiator Springs Racers in Cars Land at the California Adventure park.
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| Neat |
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| "Free" |
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