Disneyland: a First Timer's Viewpoint

As you know from Ashley’s past articles, she is a frequent visitor of Disney World in Orlando, Florida and visited Disneyland in Anaheim, California for the first time last summer. As for me, I had only dreamed of what it would be like to walk through the gates of the “happiest place on earth.” Ashley was determined to get me to Disneyland; she knew that was the main thing I had been looking forward to while on our trip to California. Disney was only 7 minutes from Ally’s home in California so we were able to get there early, get fast passes, and do everything on our list for Disneyland Park, Disney California Adventure Park, and Downtown Disney. Ashley told me that she was happy that I got to experience the smaller of the two parks (Disneyland) first because Disney World is wayyy better, but let me tell you…Disneyland didn’t disappoint.

The first ride we did was Soarin’ and it was one of my favorites. Ashley was so excited for me to ride this one so we did it as soon as we arrived! It takes you on a virtual hang glider tour of the Wonders of the World and other beautiful locations. It’s so realistic and feels like you’re actually flying over these amazing places.

Disneyland does fast passes the “old-fashioned way.” They don’t have the MagicBand technology yet that Ashley talked about in her Disney World blog posts. We definitely had a 40,000-step day running from park to park for our fast passes!

The Matterhorn Bobsleds was a fun roller coaster ride that simulated a bobsled ride through the mountains!

The new Cars ride takes you through the mountains of Radiator Springs.

The cool thing about Disney is that parades just spontaneously happen throughout the parks! This was a Monsters University parade down Sunset Boulevard in Disney’s California Adventure Park. Ashley and I are considering trying out for the cheer team at MU.. 😉

As I walked through the gates for the very first time, I felt like you could see my heart pounding out of my chest, just like Mickey when he laid eyes on Minnie in the classic cartoons. I am not ashamed to admit that I totally teared up because I knew I was fulfilling a lifelong dream. Though Ashley gave me choices on things to do and asked what I wanted to do, I trusted her 100% to give me the best Disney experience, and she didn’t disappoint. I am sure she will share more of her Disney secrets with you soon.

We had dinner at Flo’s V8 Cafe! It was so cute AND YUMMY! 🙂

To my surprise, she packed sparkly Minnie ears for me to wear so I could have the full experience. We enjoyed some amazing rides, got to see many characters, and enjoyed the sights around us. My favorite part of Disney was Radiator Springs, located in Disney’s California Adventure; it was Ashley’s too. It felt like I was literally walking down Route 66; we even caught a glimpse of Lightening McQueen as he drove away. We were able to obtain fast passes to ride one of the newest rides at Disney’s California Adventure, Radiator Springs Racers. The line was really long if you didn’t have a fast pass (a few hours long) all day. This ride was so cute! It took you through Radiator Springs, then out on the track through the mountains as you raced against another car! We won! Ashley says it was kind of like the Cars version of Test Track at Disney World’s Epcot. We’ve attached a video of the end of the ride (the race part) in the video section of our blog for those of you that are Disney fans and want to check it out! 🙂 Another one of my favorites to walk through was A Bug’s Life. Mainly because it reminded me of when my brother and I were little; it was Jay’s favorite movie.

As we were walking from one ride to another, I caught a glimpse of the cutest guy I have ever seen, Mickey Mouse. Now friends, I am not all about kissing and telling, buttttttt he totally kissed me. Sorry Minnie.

Disneyland has an entire Star Wars Launch Bay in Tomorrowland, where I met another cutie and favorite character of mine– Chewbacca! We wrapped up the night watching the famous Electric Parade on Main Street and finished with fireworks over Aurora’s Castle; it was a perfect day. We stopped by Downtown Disney before leaving, which is like Disney for adults with little shops and restaurants! I am so thankful that I got to experience my childhood dream with my childhood best friend, <3!