• About
  • Blog
  • Working together
  • Testimonials
  • Contact

Girl Gone Travel

Girl Gone Travel

North America, Travel
/
August 13, 2013

A Birthday in Disneyland, CA

Enjoyed this post? Give it some love and share!
Share

One of the highlights of our 2013 summer road trip for my kids was where we were ending it: at Disneyland Resort. It was here that we chose to celebrate our middle son’s 8th birthday. He waited two and a half weeks on the road for this moment and what resulted was a solid smile from the moment we arrived that lasted pretty much all day.

One of the things we knew going into Disneyland was that it was going to be a smaller park to explore. With 160 acres, as opposed to Disney World’s 30,000, we were confident that our one-day park hopper would get us through most of the Disneyland Resort area.

We were driving in from Caramillo (Disneyland is a two-hour drive from Los Angeles) to Anaheim, CA early in the morning getting there shortly after the park opened. The park hopper gave us access to both the Disneyland Park and Disney California Adventure Park. Disneyland Park is the original Walt Disney theme park, built in 1955 under his supervision and guidance.

We decided to start our day at Disneyland Park, which has eight themed destinations, or lands: Main Street, U.S.A., Tomorrowland, Fantasyland, Mickey’s Toontown, Frontierland, Critter Country, New Orleans Square, and Adventureland. We spent most of our time standing in line here, taking full advantage of the Fast Pass feature available for every ticket holder. This is the “oldest” part of the park, but nothing about it felt that way. We enjoyed walking through the streets and touring the shops.

Disneyland_girlgonetravelDisneyland_girlgonetravel

We spent the latter part of our day in California Adventure Park, which is also home to the two of the newest Disney attractions: Buena Vista Street and Cars Land. There are also other areas of fun: Condor Flats, Grizzly Peak, Paradise Pier, Pacific Wharf, “A Bug’s Land” inspired by Pixar’s A Bug’s Life, and Hollywood Land.

Disneyland_girlgonetravel

Disneyland_girlgonetravel

We loved Cars Land. Loved it. When we arrived the line for the ride was 90 minutes long and there were no Fast Passes available, but the boys endured. It was so worth the wait too, especially if you are a Cars fan like we are. The details in Cars Land made us giddy. It was like walking right into the movie. Visiting at night is even more fun.Disneyland_girlgonetravelDisneyland_girlgonetravelDisneyland_girlgonetravel

We were also huge fans of the boardwalk, where we rode Mickey’s Fun Wheel and California Screamin’ over and over again.

Disneyland_girlgonetravelDisneyland_girlgonetravelDisneyland_girlgonetravelWe rode the rocking car in Mickey’s Fun Wheel, and I have never laughed as hard as I did then at their expressions.

Because we only had one day to enjoy the park, we made sure to stay for the long haul and got to enjoy that World of Color light show. I would recommend that you get to the site at least 40 minutes before the show as the good viewing spots get crowded really fast. This colorful, musical display of Disney favorites kept us alert and entertained, and it was beautiful to witness.

Disneyland_girlgonetravelThe World of Color is so beautiful I would go see it again and again.

We didn’t have a chance to stay at any of the Disney resorts (though I really want to next time we visit), but there is a nice selection to choose from, three in total: Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel and Spa, the most premium accommodation, Disneyland Hotel, a classic Disney hotel, and Disney’s Paradise Pier Hotel, their boardwalk inspired hotel. Guests can also find off the park and nearby the hotels through the Disneyland website.

Though we were celebrating a birthday, we didn’t do the candle and cake thing (we reserved that for time with our family in Los Angeles), but our little boy didn’t mind. As a matter of fact, as far as birthday celebrations in Disney go, ours was really low key.  But the smile on his face was not only a sign of how happy he was, but also the greatest gift we could have gotten in turn.

Disneyland_girlgonetravelDisneyland_girlgonetravel

Before we left on our trip I had asked around if it was possible to tour both parks in one day and the feedback was split. I would say that if you visit during low season you will get shorter lines and see a lot more, which is not necessarily the case during the summer months. There’s always a reason to come back though. The fireworks in Disneyland Park alone are totally worth it as they change seasonally and the holiday celebrations are something special.

I wouldn’t say that we favor one park over another, because each experience has been such a unique one for us and each time we visit something new happens. But I will say we really enjoyed our Disneyland adventure and would definitely go back when visiting our West Coast family.

 

 

Related

Enjoyed this post? Give it some love and share!
Share
Pin this Post
Share this Post
Carol Cain

Brooklyn native Carol is happiest when on an adventure, close to home or farther away. In addition to creating Girl Gone Travel, she is the Founder and CEO of Brave World Media, a social media marketing, communications management, and brand development agency. She's mom to three wonderful sons and wife to a handsome Irish/Scot. She splits her time between her homes in New Jersey and Finger Lakes.

You May Also Like...

Christmas Tree Hunting in Long Island, NY

December 12, 2008

Fort Tryon Park, Washington Heights, NY

December 10, 2008

Winter afternoon in the Bronx Zoo, NY

December 16, 2008
2 Comments
  • The Handy Dandy Vandy Packing Packet PrintableBrittany
    August 22, 2013

    We loved Disneyland and my post is coming. It was not crowded but we could never do it all in one day, I guess because we go from park open to park close and really try to do it all 🙂 The parks are fantastic and we really enjoyed the smaller size.
    My recent post The Handy Dandy Vandy Packing Packet Printable

    Reply
    • caincarol
      The Handy Dandy Vandy Packing Packet PrintableBrittany
      August 22, 2013

      Oh, the smaller size is sooo nice, I agree. And yeah, next time I would like to stay longer. We were so rushed! Can't wait to read about your experience Brittany!

      Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Previous Post
A Walk Through Williamsburg, Brooklyn
Next Post
Travel Memories: It’s The Little Things

About me

Hi! I'm Carol! I am a communications professional, an award-winning travel blogger, a public speaker, CEO of a social media marketing, communications, and branding agency, a wife, and a mom of 3 sons and 2 puppies. Welcome to my blog where I share stories of my travels and professional public relations insights and advice. Thank you for reading!

Carol Cain

Categories

  • Asia5 Post(s)
  • Caribbean17 Post(s)
  • Central America4 Post(s)
  • Europe53 Post(s)
  • North America313 Post(s)
  • Oceana1 Post(s)

Contact

  • carol@girlgonetravel.com

Follow @girlgonetravel

Today we found out that Centerway Square, Corning, Today we found out that Centerway Square, Corning, NY’s public square was voted Best Public Square in the U.S. 2021 by USA Today @10best.

It felt appropriate to go and enjoy it on this beautiful evening. The added treat however, was in the amazing food and wine experience at the newly opened @thequincyexchange bistro only steps away!

The ambiance, the food, the service, the wine. 😚👌🏾

There’s so much awesome happening in the region, and I love how Corning is catering to both the local and visitor experience.

Make sure you stop here when visiting our beloved NY wine country.
.
.
.
#myflx #corningny #winecountry #fingerlakes #roadtrip #bestintheUS
Another snowy day. I do have to say, I love them. Another snowy day. I do have to say, I love them. I think they are blissful and pretty, and inspire me to want to make the yummiest dishes.
Started our day in nature and all is right with th Started our day in nature and all is right with the world.
.
.
.
#fingerlakes #myflx #countryhouse #naturelover #snowday
Our very first Valentine’s Day together was our Our very first Valentine’s Day together was our second date after we met. Up until that moment I never celebrated the holiday, even if I was seeing someone, except with girlfriends which was the only way I tolerated any of it. But this time, it felt like a thing to do because I had just met this guy that I really, REALLY liked and he had planned a night out. 

I was a single mom, and my oldest (then 4) was supposed to be with his dad - who called last minute to say he would be late. So, I had to bring him to the restaurant with me, on our second date (!) because reservations were tight (we were also going to watch a concert after).

As we were ordering dinner (to go for my kid), my ex shows up and instead of taking my son and leaving, he decides to pull up a chair and sit and embarrass me in such awful ways. After dinner, as we paid the bill, he got up, took our son, and said goodbye, pretty convinced he had done the damage he came to do.

I quietly got in the cab with @travisjcain and just broke out into ugly crying. Convinced this really nice guy, that I really liked, had seen enough and would never call again.

But he did. And he never left my side. And though on that night we both agreed that Valentine’s Day is the worst, what we had was not and it has only gotten better since. So, though we don’t celebrate, that is the V Day love story that always makes me love him more. Happy Valentine’s Day, you crazy kids. Live life never doubting you are deserving of love and kindness, however it may come your way.
.
.
.
#ValentinesDay #LoveStories #coupleselfie
Escaped to further seclude ourselves in nature and Escaped to further seclude ourselves in nature and found an even more wintery wonderland.
.
.
.
@theflxcottage #farmhouse #vineyards #fingerlakes #myflx #upstateny #winterwonderland
Travel scenes. I remember taking this photo quickl Travel scenes. I remember taking this photo quickly before any one of them noticed because I wanted to capture the realness of it. So much of our travel experiences have been this: waiting for planes, trains, buses, taxis, boats. And it is the realness of all of it that I like showing the most because the more real we can show travel to be, the more accessible it feels. The more our travel moments can become an inspiration for somebody else’s travel moment. 

In an industry so deeply steeped in privilege, exclusivity, and wealth, it’s nice to just be able to say, “Hey. So, we saved up our pennies for a road trip through France. It took us two years and then when we got there here are they ways we saved some money...like, not renting a car for when in Paris and taking public transportation.”

It’s nice that my family and I have been able to travel. It’s nicer if those stories inspire another to do the same.
.
.
.
#travelstories #travelmemories #parisfrance #travelstyle #familytravel

Copyright © 2021 Girl Gone Travel | Privacy Policy | Copyright Notice