The Minimal-ish Mama

Brian’s Birthday Trip

in Family, marriage on

For the first time in my life, I went to Disneyland, “the happiest place on earth” over Presidents’ Day weekend. I have my family to thank, because for his birthday, Brian asked for money to take me to Disney since I’d never been before. Is that sweet or what?!

Day 1: Disneyland
It was rainy, which meant short lines! It helped immensely that my sister in law Andrea is a Disney guru, and knew when to get fast passed for rides we’d ride later, and where to go next, since I was lost most of the day. It all was overwhelming, so much to see! I took a lot of pictures, but don’t worry, I won’t post them all in this post. I”ll just share the good ones.

What’s a road trip without Starbucks? We had a safe trip over, although we were both falling asleep in the car before we got to Andrea’s. And yes, Brian’s birthday pin says “3rd,” not “23rd.” Everywhere we went people wished Brian a happy birthday.

I loved the Storybook ride (bottom left). I love miniatures, and these were so detailed, down to the little tiny plants. And then there was the occasional full sized duck in the midst, and other boats with real sized people.

The Small World ride was really neat too with all the animated figures, but the song did get kinda old after a few rooms! I think I had it stuck in my head the rest of the day.

The sun came out for a little while when we rode the tea cups. This is one of my favorite pictures from the weekend.

We watched the retiring of the flag ceremony in the square. They honored every branch of the military by playing their song, and members of the branches came forward and stood around the flag. A barbershop quartet sang and everyone joined on the “Star Spangled Banner.”
I’m not a big fan of roller coasters, and after riding the mountain one with my eyes closed the whole time, I was really nervous about Space Mountain. So of course, Brian and I got front row seats! If you’ve never ridden Space Mountain, it’s like riding a roller coaster inside a planetarium. Stars are spinning all around you, and you’re shooting and swerving through the dark. I got dizzy, but it was still really fun! We got fast passes again and rode on it a second time  because I loved it so much!
Notice how I’m squeezing Brian’s hand.
The rain did have it’s perks, but because of it, the fireworks were canceled and they didn’t do the Fantasmic show. But we did get to enjoy the stores, the bakery, and even short lines to the Peter Pan ride. 
I got to see several princesses, and Minnie!
That’s Belle in the middle, if you couldn’t tell.
I loved the castle. 
And the carousel. 
The steamboat by night.
And since I always like to take pictures of food:

Day 2: California Adventure
 Before we got to go to California Adventure, I had to finish two papers. So it was right around lunch time when we got there. The sun was shining and the weather was beautiful, so it was packed! We’d been spoiled by all the short lines the day before, but we weren’t so lucky today. Somehow, we still managed to squeeze in plenty of rides.

The bear mountain
Bug’s Life
Soaring Over California was one of my favorite rides. You go in and sit in rows that are similar to those for those roller coasters where the tracks are over your head and your feet are dangling. When the ride starts, the rows lift up and move forward, towards the huge screen, which shows footage of flying over California. It tricks your eyes into thinking that you’re actually moving, and it’s pretty crazy. Breezes blow on you, and it’s even scented like oranges or pine depending on where you’re flying. Sometimes it almost looks like you’re going to crash or turn sideways.  
Silly Symphony Swings
This is us on the Tower of Terror. After you go through all the spooky stuff, you get into the service elevator and put on your seat belt. The bad thing about it being a service elevator is that you can see through the sides and see how fast you’re going. The it goes way up to a big window where you can look out over the park, and drops. And drops. And goes up, and drops. 
I might look like I’m smiling, but I’m just imagining my life ending differently. Seriously, I thought I wasn’t going to survive it! I couldn’t breathe the whole time we were on it, and afterwards Brian had to pry my hands off the seat and practically carry me out as I hyperventilated and clung to his arm.
I had another near death experience on the Screamer roller coaster. I didn’t want to ride it, and so of course we got the front row again.

I cried a little bit. Just a little.
Both Toy Story rides were fun, but Toy Story Mania was my favorite.
The pier was so beautiful at night.
We got to see the World of Color show, and booked it back to Disneyland in time for Fantasmic! It was… absolutely incredible. Especially World of Color. If you ever get a chance to see it, do. You won’t be sorry.

It’s pretty unbelievable!

Well, that was our trip!

Have you been to Disneyland? What’s your favorite ride? 

Comments

  1. KEZ says

    This was actually a really interesting post, for me. I'm a Florida girl – grew up roughly 2 hours away from Disney World. I've been so many times, I can't even count. It was fun to compare and contrast Land-to-World. And you're braver than me…I still have yet to go on Space Mountain. I'm too chicken. And tower of terror? Wow! I think I really would just die on the spot. Good for you, girl!

  2. melaina says

    i've never been to Disneyland, but my family went to Disney World this past year and it was so fun! We stayed at a resort on the park, so we got to go to the "Extra Magic Hours" at the parks, where they stayed open late for resort guests only. Tower of Terror was our favorite ride, and the night we were there for "extra magic hours" we rode it so many times. They had just brought the Soaring ride to Disney World and we rode it too. i liked it, but i couldn't ride it a lot because the scents they sprayed on us made my head hurt.
    Sounds like you had a fun time. What a fun birthday. 🙂

  3. withoutadornment says

    It looks like you all had so much fun! That's so sweet of Brian to ask to take you to Disneyland for his birthday!

    I went to Disneyland when I was two years old, so I don't remember anything about it. I imagine it has changed a lot since then!

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