I haven't been to Disneyland in years, but since I was in California I decided to spend a couple days there. Courtney flew out and joined me for the weekend. We stayed at the Camelot Inn, literally right across the street from both Disneyland and California Adventure. Lucky thing, because it rained for a good part of Saturday. But wearing our ponchos (mine was green for St Patrick's Day) we went over to Disneyland when the gates opened at 8:00 am, and walked right onto the most popular rides in the park. Evidently, the best time to go to Disneyland and beat the crowds is during a rain storm. In the 2 days we were there, we only waited in line for a ride twice. Unfortunately, I got caught up in the excitement and jumped on
Space Mountain before I remembered that I'm not that wild about roller coasters to begin with, and
Space Mountain might as well be nicknamed the
Vomit Comet.
In the afternoon, we went back to the hotel for a shower, dry clothes, and a nap, but we headed back to California Adventure in the evening. It's not nearly as good as Disneyland (they seemed to be undergoing a lot of construction), but we got to see some interesting shows, including a complete presentation of
Aladdin at the Hyperion Theater and the
World of Color water and light show that would probably rival the Bellagio fountains in Las Vegas. The other interesting thing about California Adventure is that they sell beer and wine. That's probably a concession to all the poor parents who have been dealing with children on a constant sugar high.
Every time we passed a Disney character, I made poor Courtney stand next to them for a photo.
Star Tours was probably my favorite ride (we went on it twice), though it's amazing how many of the rides have been upgraded with 3D effects. Courtney liked the submarine. It's the same submarine Walt Disney installed in the 50's, but it's been upgraded with 3D
Finding Nemo characters. They are building a whole new section of the park based on Route 66 and the movie
Cars. One of the new rides (
Luigi's Flying Tires) will be a futuristic, hovercraft version of bumper cars.
