The five of us stayed at Disney's Paradise Pier Hotel. (more about that later) It's right across the street from Disney's new California Adventure. Disneyland is just a few blocks beyond that.
It was Chuck's and my first trip to Disneyland so we were anxious to compare it to Walt Disney World. We were very pleased to find that the outstanding Disney quality exists on the west coast, too. We loved every minute of it. However, we felt a little bit like we were in an alternate universe -- a sort of Bizarro World. Here is why: We are very familiar with Walt Disney World in Florida, having been there many, many times. Disneyland in California is almost the same as the Magic Kingdom in Florida, but there are subtle differences. For one thing, the distances between the different areas are slightly smaller at Disneyland than at Disney World. Consequently, there are slightly fewer attractions at Disneyland than at Disney's Magic Kingdom and you can get around the place slightly faster. Some of the areas have the exact same look while others are slightly different. That's why we felt we were in an alternate universe. At times we felt like we were at familar Walt Disney World and then we'd encounter something that didn't quite look right, thus reminding us we were actually in California.
Since we only had one day, we stuck to Disneyland only. We did not go to the California Adventure. We arrived about 9:00 am and stayed all day until about 10:00 pm! We were wiped by the end of the day.
ALL our Disney pictures are on Facebook here for those interested, but the abbreviated version follows below.
Near the front entrance:
Walt himself with the Sleeping Beauty castle in the background (much shorter than Cinderella's castle in Florida):
Tea Cups and the Matterhorn Bobsleds in Fantasyland:
Autopia in Tomorrowland:
Splash Mountain in Critter Country and Mr. Toad's Wild Ride in Fantasyland:
Main Street all decked out for Halloween -- people getting ready to watch a parade:
King Arthur's Carousel in Fantasyland and Rivers of America in Frontierland:
Walking around Adventureland and New Orleans Square:
The Haunted House in New Orleans Square -- all done up in Tim Burton's "A Nightmare Before Christmas" theme inside and out -- it was very, very cool
The monorail is much smaller here than at Walt Disney World. At WDW, it's a means of transporting large numbers of people between several of the parks. At Disneyland, it's an attraction that only goes a short distance.
Starting to get dark in Tomorrowland, then completely dark at It's A Small World (yes, Small World is EXACTLY the same inside here as in Florida. And once you go through it you STILL can't get that tune out of your head!)
Fair warning -- this is the "It's a Small World" theme -- view at your own risk
Because it was late when we got in on Friday night, and we were at the park ALL day Saturday, I finally took daytime pictures of the hotel on Sunday morning as we were leaving. Here's what it looked like. (forgot to take pictures inside our room but it was beautiful)
View from our room:
Fair warning -- this is the "It's a Small World" theme -- view at your own risk
Sleeping Beauty's castle lit up at night as well as a nighttime parade
People starting to gather for the fireworks display that would soon be occurring over the castle in the background.
The fireworks had a special Halloween theme and were excellent. Here's a couple of videos of those.
The fireworks had a special Halloween theme and were excellent. Here's a couple of videos of those.
Because it was late when we got in on Friday night, and we were at the park ALL day Saturday, I finally took daytime pictures of the hotel on Sunday morning as we were leaving. Here's what it looked like. (forgot to take pictures inside our room but it was beautiful)
View from our room:
View of California Adventure across the street from the hotel:
Lobby and elevator area:
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