Having fun today, looking forward to tomorrow.
We saw that quote on a board at the end of the, “It’s a Small World” ride at Disneyland. And what a great quote it is. We have no idea who said it, or if it is even attributable to a single person. It is still, however, a meaningful line, and one we take to heart every day.
Today found us at Disneyland, in Anaheim California.
I cannot remember the only other time I was here. I was young, maybe 10 or 11, and was here with my parents. Karen had never been. We really weren’t sure what to expect.
The park was, in some ways, very similar to Magic Kingdom in Florida. Train depot at the entrance, Main Street to follow, and the princess castle as the center point. While the sights and sounds were familiar, the overall feeling was … smaller. Everything about the park felt smaller. Not lesser than Magic Kingdom, just smaller.
But every bit as magical!!
I hope that I never, ever, lose the feeling I have when I walk into a Disney park. I still get goosebumps when I see the train platform. I relish the smells walking down Main Street. And there is nothing that compares with the first view of the castle. I am a kid again.
We got to ride “Rise of the Resistance” in the Star Wars themed area, which was beyond description and super fun. Unfortunately our favorite ride, the “Haunted Mansion”, is down for an extended period due to major renovation. We were able to experience the Disney staples “Pirates of the Caribbean”, “Jungle Cruise”, and “It’s a Small World”. All in all it was a fun day of riding.
Eventually in mid-afternoon, the combination of high crowd levels and small park caught up with us, and we needed to get away from people. So we headed out of the park and into Downtown Disney, which is a much smaller but every bit as nice version of its Florida counterpart. We did some bar-hopping (hey, we weren’t driving!) and shopping at the Disney store.
We were traveling to and from the park on the Anaheim bus system, which sounded great on paper. The reality is – the traffic is REAL here, and pretty much left the bus schedule in disarray. We learned a lesson for sure!
Tomorrow is a rest day, and the first in this trip where we will not be driving somewhere or doing something away from the campground. We will likely relax and do some mid-trip cleaning and laundry. But we will still be having fun!!
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