Ok, as promised, here is the extended Disneyland post. Friday morning we left Orlando at the crack of dawn so we could get a full day in the park. Patrick and I had a flight through Houston while the others were on a non-stop but, we ended up at the hotel around the same time. We arrived to Paradise Pier, our Disney Hotel, around 11:30 and after checking in and leaving our bags with bell services, we went to Downtown Disney and grabbed a quick lunch at Tortilla Joe’s. Then guess what folks, we went to Disneyland! After a short wait for our Main Gates to clear, we entered the world of fantasy and on to Main Street, USA. First impressions? Main Street is so wide, so full of life but what’s missing at the end of Main Street? A castle. Where was the castle, oh wait, there it is in the trees. Yes, I knew that Disneyland’s Castle is small but I didn’t expect the trees to be bigger than it! Despite the size, I still think that Sleeping Beauty Castle is enchanting and magical. Moving on though, we went and did It’s a Small World and got it out of the way, guess what though, it’s like amazing and way longer than the Walt Disney World version. After that, we walked around a bit and went back to the hotel to get our bags and our exact room. Once situated, we came back to Disneyland for Walt Disney’s Parade of Dreams and Remember, Dreams Come True…. Fireworks.

Ok, before moving on with this post, I need to explain their parade. It’s freakin’ amazing. The parade has 6 sections/floats but, it has show stops that will knock your socks off. The Pinocchio float for example has real russian dancers that do flips in mid air just like the movie. Another example is the Alice in Wonderland float with the marching cards doing flips on a giant trampoline. The other neat part is the music in this one. When the parade stops, each float has a special show they put on for the audience but the music is this. It starts with Walt Disney saying “To all who come to this happy place, Welcome.” and then it breaks in to Welcome to our Family from Brother Bear. Loves it! As for the Fireworks, Tinkerbell flies everywhere! Not just down a line but up, down, around and back. The theme for the fireworks is Wishes from the Magic Kingdom but, it breaks in to E-Tickets in the sky and takes you on your favorite Disneyland attractions via music and fireworks. Just in plain english, go see these.

Day two was more Disneyland and more attractions. We also went over to Disney’s California Adventure and checked out that park. Not much to report there other than California Screamin’ rocks. Saturday also was the tour that Clay had booked for Patrick and Me. We got a nice overview of the park and even got to go in to the lobby of Club 33! Also on Saturday, we got to see Fantasmic which isn’t one of my favorite shows here at WDW but, I loved theirs. It even h as Peter Pan! So much is different out there but it is so similar. I just simply love Disneyland. Anyways, moving on. Sunday, we went back to the parks again but left early to meet up with some family for dinner at their place in Newport Beach. Carol and Ed made us a great dinner and allowed us the privilege of running on the beach despite the rain. I so love California.

So some general observations, I love Disneyland. It is now my favorite Disney Theme park. Couple other things. Their Haunted Mansion turns in to Haunted Mansion Holiday in October with the Nightmare Before Christmas. Love this overlay. Not a HUGE fan of the movie but loved this touch. Space Mountain out there is like Walt Disney World’s Rockin’ Roller Coaster at the Disney-MGM Studios but with a hint of Mission:SPACE. Again, great reopening and refurbishment for the 50th Anniversary (Space Mountain has been down for two years). Fantasyland is amazing out there. It is smaller than Magic Kingdom but, it has more attractions and still has Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride plus The Matterhorn, Alice and Pinochhio. Toontown is also way better. Another fun thing was that on our last day, Joe, Patrick and I met Matt Ouimet, the President of Disneyland Resort. He was pretty cool and fun to chat with and really makes me want to work my way up to the top.

I could go on for a long time about Disneyalnd but I wont. You can look at my pictures at http://web.mac.com/twebster/iWeb/.Mac/Disneyland%202005.html or on Patrick’s Xanga