What is it about vacations that make you come home more tired when you left? Can it really be called a vacation then?
We began our trip to California, arriving in Los Angelas around noon local time, and immediatly knew that our trip was off to a good start. When we arrived at baggage claim, our bags were already waiting for us. Tell me the last time that happened at O'Hare. We boarded a bus to Disney land, and the "vacation" could really begin.
Lets talk a minute about Disneyland. It is definately not Walt Disney World. If you have ever checked into a resort at WDW, you know that there are plenty of agents waiting to check you in. They are all wearing the same costume. Everything goes smoothly. This is not the case in Disneyland. When we walked into the Paradise Pier Hotel, there was a line of maybe five people. There were only 2 agents working the desk, and neither was moving very quickly. After a while, two more agents arrived, and began helping, however, they were not wearing the same costume as the others. I already knew that I would miss WDW terribly this trip. After finally checking in, our room was not ready, so we left our things and began the walk across the street to Disney's new theme park in Anaheim, Disney's California Adventure.
As we walked across the street, passing through Disney's Grand Californian Hotel, we noticed another thing you wouldn't see in WDW. Cast members off work, waslking through the hotel grounds with their costumes untucked, unbuttoned, and just plain sloppy. Wow. Not very Disney.
Finally, we arrived at DCA, and entered the new park. This was pretty exciting for me. My first ''new" Disney in a long time. From what I understood, the highlight of this park is the Aladdin show, so thats where we headed. As we walked through the park, I was suprised at how much space there was. Not from the size of the park, mind you. But from the lack of people. Where is everyone? We found the Aladdin show didn't start until later, so we checked out the rest of the park. Overall, not very impressed. We were able to ride all the rides we wanted, and see the Aladdin show in just over 4 hours. The rides were neat. They have a coaster called Califnornia Screamin' which was really cool (and long for a coaster). We rode Soarin' Over Califrnia which is incredible. The Tower or Terror is actually cooler that in MGM in WDW. They hit you with a drop before you ever would expect it. And the Aladdin show was phenomenal. But thats it. Nothing else much to do. A bunch of small rides that you can get on at any Six Flags, and a few kids rides. Not much of a Disney theme park though.
After DCA, we went back to get in our room and had some dinner at Downtown Disney, which was again in walking distance. We then headed into Disneyland to see the fireworks. While waiting, we tried to check out a few other things. This is when I found out where everyone was. Disneyland. This place was packed. We decided we didn't want to fight crowds, sowe headed into the Jungle Cruise, which is great after dark if you've never been on it then, and headed back to Main Street for fireworks. Another difference presented itself to us. The pen you up like cattle here. Ropes and blocked off aisles and little enclosed areas to stand. It was nuts. However, the fireworks show made it all worth while. It was a great show. Well worth the crowds. After this, we decided to call it a night.
The next morning, we headed back to Disneyland, and found that the park was celebrating its 53rd birthday. That was cool. We also found that the park was empty first thing in the morning. We rode everything. Indiana Jones, The Matterhorn Bobsleds, Mr Toad (yes they still have Mr Toad!) I even tried to pull the sword from the stone, only to be denied. I later some some little kid yank it out as if it were a feather. Needless to say, that kid won't be attending the Magic Kingdom again anytime soon. Around noon, our cousin Mike and his girlfriend Julie came to meet us. They had been to the park several times in the past months, but we were able to ride some things that they hadn't been on before. After about 6 pm, we were beat, and all decided to call it a day.
Disneyland that day was a complete turn around from the day before. If I had to choose, I would take Disneyland Park over the Magic Kingdom in WDW anytime. Its bigger, the rides are cooler, and there is something to be said about walking down a street that Walt Disney himself wasled down. Everything about that place is Disney, and we really enjoyed ourselves. Stacy even bought herself a Mickey Mouse sweatshirt, something she swore she would never do. (I even have video proof).
Mike and Julie then took us out to their home in Venice, and to a little restaurant by the beach for dinner where the first bit of relaxation on our vacation finally occurred. Overall, LA was a nice little trip, however I am not sure anyone would consider what we did those two days a vacation.
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