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November 27, 2012 | in North America, Travel

The Happiest Place on Earth

Splash Mountain Disneyland

A friend recently got Mr. M & me Disneyland tickets at a super-discounted rate.  So super-discounted that I snapped them up and didn’t think twice about when we might possibly have a free day together in Southern California.  As it so happened, Thanksgiving weekend provided the perfect excuse.

Day #11,174: As obnoxious as it sounds, I can’t remember how many times I’ve been to Disneyland.  It’s almost an annual pilgrimage for school-age kids growing up in Southern California.  Regardless of how many times Mr. M & I have been to the Magical Kingdom, it somehow still manages to stay… well, magical.

Mr. M & I were particularly excited to hit up the Matterhorn bobsleds ride, as (1) we’d allegedly been to the real Matterhorn a few months ago (allegedly, as we never actually got to see the top of the peak)…

Matterhorn Disneyland
More of the Matterhorn than we saw on our recent trip to Switzerland!

…and (2) the bobsleds whip you through the mountain and right by two giant, roaring Abominable Snowmen.  The Mr. & I adore Abominable Snowmen and came thisclose to buying these cards to send out for Christmas 2012:

We loved this Christmas card but thought it might be a bit too… progressive (or awesome)… for some of our friends & family. :}

Next we took a spin through Tomorrow Land.  Mr. M remarked how distinctive the Tomorrow Land style has become; it was meant to highlight the technology of the future when it was built in 1966… in 2012, it’s fabulous, kitschy, and decidedly retro.

Space Mountain Disneyland
About to embark on Space Mountain, a ride into the future! Or the 1960s. Either way, SO much fun.  They take a picture of you mid-ride, and I looked like a happy dog with my head out the car window.

My favorite ‘land’ in Disneyland is New Orleans Square.  It’s amazing how accurately Disney is able to capture the essence of New Orleans.  It’s been a family tradition since I was young that we’d always stop at the French Market for mint juleps & apple fritters, and this trip was no different.

French Market Disneyland
Never you mind the shaky picture… I was Extremely Eager to get to eatin. :}  In the interest of full disclosure, the Powers That Be changed the recipe of both mint julep (it’s now a ghastly fluorescent green and is to mint julep what Sunny D is to fresh-squeezed OJ) and fritter (Mickey-shaped beignets that just squeezed by with my stamp of approval).

We sat a spell and took in a few minutes of jazz.

French Market Disneyland
This older gentleman seated in front was over-the-moon listening to this jazz band. He was clapping and head-bobbing and couldn’t get enough. So cute.

Of course, the best ride in the Land is the Haunted Mansion, which from November through January, is all dolled up for Christmas.

Haunted Mansion Disneyland
Actually, it’s Christmas in the form of the movie “The Nightmare Before Christmas,” so you end up getting two holidays for the price of one!  The inside of the ride is completely transformed to fit the creepy Christmas theme.

When the sun was at its zenith, we took our chances getting wet on Splash Mountain.

Splash Mountain Disneyland
Oh, we comin’ for ya, Brer Rabbit.

My personal favorite part of the ride comes after the splashy plummet, when you’re serenaded by can-can dancing chickens, a guitar-playing dog, and a fox in a three-piece suit.

Splash Mountain Disneyland
Singing, dancing animals in clothing is the fastest way to my heart.

Because my Disneyland deal happened to include Park-Hopper tickets, we were able to visit the California Adventure Theme Park that afternoon.  An unbiased word to the wise: if you’re coming from out of town, do not waste your vacation $$ on California Adventure.  Excuse my language, but it sucks balls.

Disney California Adventure
In fact, the best thing to do at Disney California Adventure is take pictures. This is a cool-looking boardwalk area called Paradise Pier.

Disney California Adventure

So as not to crap on the whole Disney California Adventure operation, I must admit they hold claim to two very magical and fantastic rides: Soaring Over California, a motion-simulator ride placed in front of an IMAX screen (best part: the evergreen scent as you fly through the CA redwoods) and the brand new Radiator Springs Racers ride based on the Pixar movie “Cars.”

Cars Land California Adventure
How cool is this? The Radiator Springs racers zoom through this desert landscape on ‘Route 66.’ Mr. M & I turned the corner and were hit with this beautiful, realistic view of the southwest. Crazy!

Actually, all of the new CarsLand was admittedly cool.

Disney California Adventure
I love this drive-in, car-themed diner!

Still… there wasn’t near enough to keep our attention, and after a sourdough bread bowl in faux San Francisco, Mr. M & I decided to head back to Classic Disneyland.  We headed for Fantasyland and the traditional children’s rides with the hope that most kids had turned cranky by that time and had been put on nap time-out.

King Arthur Carrousel
The King Arthur Carrousel all lit up at night. And markedly kid-free as compared with earlier in the day.

Aside from Peter Pan, which is the best ride ever, my next favorite ride in Fantasyland is Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride, based on the characters from Kenneth Grahame’s book “The Wind in the Willows.”

Mr. Toad's Wild Ride
My whole family, Sister S especially, loves this ride because the storyline is just so ridiculously funny.

You follow Toad as he takes a drunken joy ride through London (while I am not pro drunk-driving, the idea of a martini-guzzling toad causing chaos makes me laugh), lands himself in jail for being a drunken ass, and at the end of the ride is hit by a train (!) and ends up… wait for it… in Hell!  I’m surprised & not-so-secretly pleased that there exists a Disney ride in which you tour through Hell… complete with a goateed Satan, dancing imps, and a green dragon that tries to burn you to a crisp before the ride abruptly ends.  Moral of the story: Don’t drink and drive, kids.  Perhaps especially if you’re a toad.

Toad's Wild Ride Disneyland
Don’t look so innocent in your vest & bow tie, you drunken scamp!

Next up was The Jungle Cruise, which simulates a boat ride down the Zambezi, Amazon, and Nile Rivers.  We were amused to find that there was a new addition to the ride since our last visit: jumping, churning piranha, just like the one Mr. M caught in the actual Amazon!

Jungle Cruise Disneyland
This makes me want to plan some sort of Adventure Trip to Africa. Can one actually cruise down the Zambezi River? Must look into this for 2013…

While we were waiting in line at It’s A Small World, I got a text from one of my very dearest friends with a picture of her baby who’d just entered the world a few hours earlier.

It's A Small World
The lights, the lights, the lights!  It’s A Small World done up in Christmas splendor.

Shar just so happens to be the very first of my close friends to become a mom.  Shar & I have been friends since we were ten years old, lived across the street from each other all through high school, and I bawled tears of joy for an hour when I found out she was pregnant (I cried so much that I worried I was pregnant & on hormone overload).  It’s A Small World seemed somehow appropriate for news of this magnitude.

It's A Small World
This ride will forever remind me of my new “nephew.” :)

Perhaps we were a few days out from Thanksgiving, but there’s no time limit on feeling appreciative, and I suddenly felt very, very thankful for all the wonderful things in my life: for old friends & new family, for Mr. M & our life together (it takes a special man to root for those ‘abominable holiday’ cards), for the spirit of giving and love that the holidays seem to engender…

It seemed like a most appropriate time to be in the Happiest Place on Earth.

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Comments

  1. Rejoice For The Day November 27, 2012 Reply

    It has been years since I have been to Disneyland. You made it all sound so fun, just like my younger self remembered it! Last time we were in California, we passed on the California Dreams park, glad we didn't miss much. Amusement park hopping was quite a past time for my husband and I, and now that our boy is old / big enough to REALLY enjoy theme parks, we are looking into them again... Well, I am looking into them at least!

    • msdulce November 29, 2012 Reply

      Definitely a good move passing on California Adventure. That was a swing & a miss. Living in TN, Dollywood is close to you! I'm not sure how much your boy would enjoy it (not a lot of scary, rollercoaster rides), but it was SO much fun around Christmas.

  2. pamasaurus November 27, 2012 Reply

    I've never ever been to Disneyland. Thanks for 'taking me with you', haha. Seriously? How could you pass up those Christmas Cards? I want to buy them!

    • msdulce November 29, 2012 Reply

      Now you're totally making me wish we got the 'abominable holiday' cards! The cards we ended up with contain profanity and somehow were still deemed more appropriate than a beheaded Rudolph. :} I know you already have a (very adorable) photo card in the making, but if by chance the abominable cards make it into your hands, Mr. M & I want one!!

      • pamasaurus November 30, 2012 Reply

        Get them next year! They're so amazing. I've been trying to google them, but haven't had any luck. Did you find them online someplace? If you did... could you point me in the right direction? I definitely want to order some!! If I do get them, I'll send you one ;)

        • msdulce November 30, 2012 Reply

          http://www.etsy.com/listing/113447966/a-realists-holiday-classic-christmas Etsy! Where all wonderful things are born! They're sadly expensive, but he'll do a pack of 12 for $20. I love his very inappropriate sense of humor. He also has an extremely awesome card with Jesus riding a flying shark entitled "Best. Christmas. Ever." I need that on a t-shirt. :)

          • pamasaurus November 30, 2012

            I might have to buy a set. I have 60 people on my card list because I love sending cards, haha. So, it would be crazy to try to send these to everyone, but maybe just for a few people who I know would appreciate it!

  3. Ignatius November 30, 2012 Reply

    New Orleans Sqaure is my favorite too. What a cool coincidence! Going there always gives me a special happy feeling :)

    • msdulce November 30, 2012 Reply

      Isn't New Orleans Square so festive? Something about the music & the storefronts all done up N'Awlins style. :) It doesn't hurt that the best rides are there, too! (Pirates of the Caribbean & Haunted Mansion)

      • Ignatius December 1, 2012 Reply

        Not to mention the view onto the Rivers of America. The Tom Sawyer Island was a place of mystery for me for many years as I hadn't had the chance to go on it. Last year, I finally did. A dream realized at last, haha. Wonderful memories.

        • msdulce December 3, 2012 Reply

          Aww, such a neat story! I'm glad your Tom Sawyer dream came true. No matter how old I get, Disneyland makes me feel like a kid at Christmas. :)

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