Walt Disney World has been my "home" park since the day I was born. We visited every few years growing up, regularly leaving at 2 a.m. to get a head start on the traffic. Those early years, we visited in the RV (I still remember the bunk beds), then stayed at the Disney campground in the pop-up. The last trip or two as a family were in hotels. Not that it mattered much where we stayed. We were in the parks from open to close.
Paul and I took our first Disney trip a few years after we were married, and the kids have both been there twice now. But this summer marked all of our first trips to Disneyland, the original Disney park in California.
What can I say? I liked it. Disneyland is comprised of two parks, whose entrances our separated by a mere esplanade. That's a big change from Walt Disney World's four parks, most of which you have to board a bus to travel between. Nevertheless, Land has a few more rides than World overall.
Some of those rides are the same but just a little different. Pirates of the Caribbean was noticeably different but with several identical scenes. Space Mountain has seats beside each other at Disneyland, but in front of each other at Disney World. Splash Mountain was just the opposite.
Cars Land at California Adventure was totally new to us, and Radiator Springs Racers became a family favorite, and maybe our favorite ride overall that isn't at Walt Disney World. The kids also rode their share of roller coasters -- they were afraid at first of Space Mountain and especially Incredicoaster (which goes upside down), but they ended up being some of their favorite rides. The lines were so short that we rode both over and over again.
Park hopping was a breeze -- we would spend the morning in one park and walk to the other for a late lunch. And our hotel was SO CLOSE. Despite staying off property (California doesn't have nearly the selection of Disney hotels as Florida), we could be in the parks in 10 or 15 minutes, including going through security and the front gates. No bus needed, which was extremely nice.
Of course, Paul and Atticus enjoyed the Star Wars area, and it's easy to see why Rise of the Resistance is such a popular ride. One of my favorite memories, however, is how we rode the Storybook Land Canal Boats just as the evening fireworks began, and the boats pause during the show. Our guide timed it to give us the perfect view from the water.
Walt Disney World will always hold some of my favorite childhood memories, but I enjoyed Disneyland even more than I expected. Maybe we'll be in California again before we know it.
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