Fall Trip to CA: Disneyland

Since our trip was a little on the lengthy side, I've broken it up into a series of posts; links to the additional posts can be found at the bottom of this one!

Disneyland opened in 1955 and the park is celebrating its 60^th anniversary this year, so we had really been looking forward to visiting!  The photos below were taken over a variety of days, and they're not organized in any particular way – just some of my favorites from the trip.

Sleeping Beauty Castle, while nowhere near as grandiose as Cinderella Castle in WDW, is completely and utterly charming and the decorations made it seem even more so.  I just love it!  The park itself was really crowded, but wait times were not terrible, which seems like a contradiction.  The only explanation I can come up with is the fact that there are so many annual pass holders who are experiencing more than the rides – compared with WDW, where when it is crowded, the wait times are unbearable.  Geographically speaking, Disneyland is smaller than Magic Kingdom, and frankly, it is much more poorly designed, so congestion is an issue, especially during parades and shows.

Despite these "flaws," the sense of magic permeates the park and we loved every moment.  The one thing I was most looking forward to was the new Paint the Night parade, and it was even better than I had imagined.  So beautiful with great music and colorful lights!  The highlight was Slinky.  The float was HUGE and Slinky was adorable!  I took an embarrassing number of photos of him.  Word on the street is that it will be making its debut in WDW sometime in the future, and I am already looking forward to that!

Something else that is unique to Disneyland is "it's a small world" and yes, I know they have a similar attraction in WDW!  In my opinion, the DL version is vastly superior.  From the beautiful exterior with the clock tower, numerous topiaries, and outdoor queue and loading area, to the hidden Disney characters throughout the ride, I think the DL version is better than the WDW in every imaginable way.  I have a very strong affinity for the ride in general, so I love both, but the one in DL is by far my favorite.  Sorry for the quality of the in-ride photos - some are very blurry!

Cinderella, Jaq, and Gus

Pinocchio

Jasmine and Aladdin

Mushu

Simba and Pumbaa

The Three Caballeros

Ariel and Flounder

Lilo and Stitch

Woody and Bullseye

Alice and the White Rabbit

Happiness

The monorail was odd.  In all of the times we've been there, it seems to be "out of service" more often than actually operating.  Maybe that's just bad luck on our part, but we had not gotten to ride on it over the last several trips.  It's strange.  I'll just say that.  First of all, it has open windows, and no air conditioning.  Maybe that's not as big a deal in California, but in Florida, air conditioning is a must.  Secondly, the interior of the cars is completely different, and not for the better.  Each car can carry on a handful of people and the attendants tell you which car to sit in.  So bizarre.  Thankfully, the monorail serves no real transportation purposes, because unlike the WDW, everything is in relatively close proximity and it is easy to walk everywhere.  We rode it once and that was more than enough!

Overall, WDW operations are simply much more efficient than at DL.  From security to the entrance gates to just navigating the park, WDW runs like a well-oiled machine.  DL?  Not so much.  To be fair, DL has so much less space than WDW and I think they are making the most of what they have, but things still seem rather disorganized, particularly during parade and fireworks shows.

However, the fact that Walt Disney himself walked in this park, and that it was the first of its kind – a true original – makes DL an unforgettable experience.  I greatly dislike the comparison of DL and WDW (even though I referenced that distinction several times in this very post), because they each have their own flair.  And the differences make them unique – whenever I am visiting one park, I always miss the things that are unique to the other (example:  when I'm in CA, I miss the Carousel of Progress; when I'm in FL, I miss Mr. Toad's Wild Ride).

I think it would be boring if both parks were identical!  Instead of saying one is better than the other, I like to think of DL as the original MK, and Magic Kingdom in WDW as MK 2.0.  Learn from the original, and make improvements in the next park, and I think that's exactly what Disney did!  But the original is definitely something to treasure!

That's it for this post!  Check out my other posts about our adventures on this trip...
~ Northern California
~ Los Angeles
~ Disneyland Hotel
~ Disney California Adventure
~ Mickey's Halloween Party
~ Disneyland Tours

Happy Tails to you!