Well friends, we finally made it back home, and as much as I love to travel it feels good to be back (I know I say this every time!) I figured today I would recap Saturday, the day we spent in the parks the day before the race. Then I will do my regular RWS feature Saturday, weekly recap Sunday, and my Disneyland half marathon recap Monday.
I already told you all about the Disneyland half marathon expo day one and day two.
I was able to see some friends on Friday night, check out me, Carissa, and Jenn!
Also got to see Kelly again!
Poor Bobby got stuck carrying my Bagallini all week! Such a good sport.
That night we were surprised with milk and cookies in our room, it was such a nice touch! It’s the little things people.
Saturday morning, we were up bright and early (we got up at 6:30 but in my time changed mind it was really 8:30!) and headed to Disneyland park for the extra magic hour. I was so excited to finally step foot in this park. All was quiet from our hotel balcony before we headed out.
We had a great room view. So spoiled this week!
I used my super-stalker zoom lens to get this next shot
My favorite thing about Disneyland was the walkability. It was SO NICE being at the Grand Californian and just walking right outside and through Downtown Disney and into the parks.
It also tripped me out how close together the two parks are. I am used to Disney World buses!
We had to wait about ten minutes to get in, but I am so glad we decided to use the extra magic hour for resort guests to our advantage before for that first hour the park was empty!
Walking where Walt himself walked was truly unforgettable. So much detail, beautiful landscaping, while a lot of things were similar to WDW, a lot were very different, and I loved looking for all the fun little details.
Bobby’s face when we turned onto main street and he saw how small the castle was. HAHA!
It took awhile to get used to the tiny castle, but it was charming.
We headed straight to the Matterhorn, and it was broken down momentarily. Boo! So we decided to try to knock out a bunch of Fantasyland rides while it was empty. We rode Alice in Wonderland, Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride, Pinocchio’s Daring Journey, and the Storybook canal boats. Them the Matterhorn opened back up and we rode it (very jerky!) Before heading over to the other side for Pirates of the Caribbean (which I LOVED compared to the WDW version!)
We rode a few more things before heading to Carnation Cafe for lunch. We snagged an awesome seat outside overlooking Main Street in our own little Gazebo.
Bobby got a burger and I had amazing potato soup
This post is getting a little long so I will save the rest of the day for my next recap post. If you made it this far thanks for reading!
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WINNER of the Sprigs Banjees wrist wallet giveaway: Meredith from Dare You To! Please email me at runningwithsass@gmail.com to claim your prize!
So who is ready to go to Disneyland? (or World or cruise line) I would love to help! heather@travelwiththemagic.com
QOTD: Have you been to Disneyland? Favorite ride? Any ride you like better at Disneyland compared to Disney World?
Pirates is SOOOOOO much cooler at Disneyland! I’m also a HUGE Indiana Jones fan and I prefer the ride to the show at Hollywood Studios.
Never been to Disneyland but as I stated recently, it’s my goal since we’re so close now. Gotta make it happen!
you must, great race, we made a great vacation out of it!
I’ve never been to Disneyland so I’m super jealous of your trip (I’ve been reading your other posts but haven’t responded). Looks like you guys had a great time, and I love the milk and cookies plate in your hotel room and how Bobby was such a good sport about carrying your bag!
Bobby wishes I would have gotten amore neutral colored bag ha!
When the family went in 2009, I hadn’t been to DL since I was 9, and all in between was WDW. The differences were very apparent, but I liked them all. I REALLY enjoyed how close everything is and how we could walk every where, even out of the parks for meals and when I walked to meet up with people at the finish line.
yes! It was so nice not getting on a bus!
Hooray! I absolutely love Disneyland 🙂
Love Indiana Jones. Hate to admit it but DLs Pirates and Space Mt. are better. Thanks for the recap. Getting me excited for Tink!
I’ve never been to Disneyland…only Disney World! I hope to go one day and run that half!! Sounds like you had a magical time…can’t wait to read more!
I have to agree with the comments that Pirates and Space Mountain are better at Disneyland. I also like that you can pick-up and move the guns at Buzz Lightyear! Isn’t amazing how you can just feel Walt’s spirit in that park?
This all looks like a dream – so much fun! Love Disney. I’ve only been to “World” so can’t compare to “Land.”
and YAY! Haha just made my friday. Thank you!
Aww that castle is so compact! haha It’s definitely not the same as DW but I’ve heard so many awesome things that are at DL that aren’t at DW. I can’t imagine loving anything more than I love DisneyWorld but I would love to visit DisneyLand some day.
I love the walkability of DL!! The Matterhorn is jerky but it is way more fun at night!! I love Pirates at DL. Sounds like a fun time at the park!
Disney is officially on my bucket list. I want to go back so bad and seeing all these pictures makes me wanna go even more! Disney never gets old…even as we get older! 🙂
Soooo I had the exact same view from my too. you must’ve been right by me! too funny!
Ahhh I wanted to try that potato soup! Great to catch up and thanks to your awesome photographer for capturing the moment 🙂 And I’ve been dreaming about those cookies from Grand Cali since I got back. They were awesome.
I love how you joke about the castle being tiny. I posted a picture on Facebook saying that Disney was actually selling a full size replica of the castle…
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=563214738935&set=p.563214738935&type=3&theater
🙂