A Season of Happiness

They say that you don't know what you've got until you lose it. Disneyland is a perfect example. Living in southern California, Cheryl and I can get to "The Happiest place on Earth" in 35 minutes, enjoy an entire day in the "The Magic Kingdom", and sleep in our own bed at the end of an exhausting day. Unfortunately, as we've watched ticket prices increase over the years, we've come to the realization that there weren't many more Disneyland weekends in our future - or at least while we lived in SoCal; This was until I got a call from a good friend from back in Stockton.

Chris is an old roommate of mine who had taken on the hobby of running and had signed up for the annual Disneyland marathon. He had done it before and decided to make a vacation out of his trip down south. His plan was to spend a week in Aneheim with his girlfriend and had reserved a room at the Grand Californian Hotel right in the park - along with a pair six day park-hopper tickets. Unfortunately, his girlfriend waited until the weekend before the trip to breakup with him and, needless to say, he no longer needed 2 six-day passes. Unfortunately, he was only able to get a refund on the hotel room so, he gave us a proposition we couldn't refuse. If we bought him a single day park-hopper ticket, he would give us the 6 day passes in exchange. So, we headed to Disneyland and had a great time - as you'll soon see.

What both of us find amusing is that I can't get to the bank and back home again without a GPS, yet I can make my way around Disneyland blindfolded. What gives? Cheryl has the opposite problem and so once we step foot into the park, I become the navigator. This leads me to my next point - If your going to Disneyland to have some fun, good for you, but if you're going to Disneyland to have the MOST fun, you need a plan and you need to follow some rules. Rule #1 - Every minute that passes equals more people in the park. You want to go on a popular ride, GO EARLY. Indiana Jones (Adventureland), Space Mountain (Tomorrowland), The Matterhorn bobsleds (Fantasyland), Big Thunder Mountain Railroads (Frontierland), Haunted Mansion (New Orleans Square) and Splash Mountain (Critter County). Pretty much at least one MAJOR ride in each "land", and they're all fun.

Mark Twain's Riverboat

The Princess and the Frog musical show in New Orleans Square. You'll find talent in every corner of the park. This is why I love Disneyland, there is ALWAYS something to entertain you, even if your sitting on a bench enjoying the afternoon.

What a great suprise! Mickey and the gang started a parade from the castle.

A fun ride/game that Cheryl and I seem to enjoy...

...but brings out the evil in Chris.

Space Mountain. The idea is fun, but even after the major upgrades to the coaster tracks you still feel like you've gotten whiplash.

Oh yeah, I'm one of those people. I scream like a girl and I take pictures of the screen so I don't have to buy the picture.

I've got to give Disney credit. They took the lack luster underwater animatronic submarine ride and converted into a fun and fresh experience with the cast of Finding Nemo. That movie came out just in the nick of time.

The new facade of "It's a small small world" is a bit bland with it's white and gold, but at night, the entire wall including the giant clock come alive with color, music, and characters - pretty impressive.

The mysterious Club 33. The entrance to this exclusive upper level dining spot is cleverly blended into it's surrounds and the only indicator is the number 33 to the right of the door. Rumors say that this restaurant/lounge was built by Walt Disney as a place to bring his investors and special guests and wine and dine them. Centralized in the middle of the park (New Orleans Square), yet perfectly secluded. The only place in the entire park that serves alcohol, and is said to be called Club 33 because there were exactly 33 investors who heavily funded the construction of the park. This rumor is false; the exclusive spot is actually named after its address: 33. This makes it even more inconspicuous because all the shops have similar numbers over or beside their doors. The only way to get in is to know someone on the permanent guest list who can get you a reservation. Don't hold your breathe, the wait list is measured in months.

All this talk of food and drink. We headed over to downtown Disney and had lunch at the Rain-forest cafe, then headed over to the Grand Californian Hotel to check out Chris' room.

A Lodge-like feel with huge fireplaces and over sized furniture: what a warm and inviting feeling.

The great thing about the hotel was that you could take a quick nap in your room, and be back in the park before you got the sleepies out of your eyes. There is a private entrance to California Adventures Theme park right from the hotel lobby. Awesome!

The reason why this ride is called California Screamin' is because after the ride, you'll be screamin in pain. Whiplash, nausea, and deafness; Call me old, but I'm never riding this thing again.

Ariel's Grotto: A beautiful restaurant with great food. We haven't eaten there yet, but the reviews are great and apparently, you get an amazing view of the World of Color water show if you time it right. P.S. I think I got the same exact shot as the one on the website (except during the day of course).

Hey, if they didn't plan on people doing this, they should've made the letters smaller.

Nice. A community isn't complete until you have your local dentist. Who do you think keeps Mickey's smile so bright?

Once the sun goes down, you feel like your seeing the entire park for the first time.

No trip to Disneyland would be complete without a ride through pirate infested waters. Yo ho Yo ho a pirate's life for me.

My favorite part of Disneyland at night has got to be Main Street. So much charm and beauty.

We headed back to the room with our dinner just in time to watch the nightly fireworks show. It's like the fourth of July everyday of the year.

To end the night right, we reserved some tickets to see the World of Color show in California Adventures. Simply put, the most amazing water and color show Disney has ever made. Incredible.

Thanks to Chris' generosity, Cheryl and I were able to take the remaining balance of the six-day passes and put it towards 2 Annual passes. Now, Cheryl and I can come back any day of the year (with the exception of Saturdays and about 2.5 months during the summer), but hey we'll be gone by that time anyway.

Sweet dreams Sleeping Beauty.