Disney = pure magic
Trip Start
Jul 03, 2009
1
2
Trip End
Jul 15, 2009
Anaheim, California
Saturday, July 4, 2009
Since we only purchased a 2 day park hopper, we had to make the most of it. I invested in Ridemax, which is US$14.95...what a very smart move. It planned our rides to the minute and juggled running back & forth to get fastpasses. If you follow it to the minute, it will not fail you. While others had to wait an hour for rides such as Indiana Jones...we were whizzing past using a fastpass collected first thing in the morning (instead of running straight to Nemo). I will be shouting its praises for a long time.
I enjoyed Disneyland more than Disney California, simply because of the 'magic' it does still have, even after all these years. The grounds are still perfection. Childish or not, we absolutely LOVED the Madhatter Tea Party ride - I'd say it was the best 'theme' ride - you really felt you were part of the original party lol.
The other very memorable part was the Fantasmic water show - we loved it so much, we went on both nights just to video it from another angle. The crowds were crazy, wardens had to turn away people telling them to come to the even later show, 10.30pm or 11.30pm ! Glad we managed to squeeze in. Really loved the part where the Disney princeses & princes were dancing on water float platforms...Snow White, Ariel and Beauty. Wow...that was cool.
We both really enjoyed riding the California Screaming rollercoaster, it was insane. Definitely nothing like that over in the original park. We've been to Gold Coast and the theme parks were much more memorable for the heart-stopping rides. Also really enjoyed the Pixar Play Parade and Aladdin show, very well done.
We stayed at the Anaheim Plaza Hotel, which is 5 minute walk from the park. Both days we had to go back for a rest, the heat was a killer.
Our favourite eatery had to be IHOP... only when we were leaving LA we realised it stood for 'International House of Pancakes'... if only we had tried some!! The prices were decent for dinner and had a great variety, whether you were after a light salad or full on steak. Also really liked the free drink refills.
Besides Disney, we did not do much in Anahem except visit a Walmart (twice haha - we loved the make - up deals so much). We used it as a base to get to Vegas (seperate blog!) and just to chill-out.
On our last day in Anaheim (while waiting for the shuttleback to LA) we discovered the Anaheim Garden Walk shopping mall..still at very new stages and very quiet. But really liked the atmosphere and believe it has heaps of potential. The California Pizza Kitchen there did mouth-watering BBQ chicken pizza... it's the best we've ever had.
