An Adult Day at Disneyland

There are those who are obsessed with all things Disney. They decorate their house with Disney items, vacation at all of the Disney parks and wear Disney clothes. There are travel bloggers who get yearly passes and visit Disney every week. Or sometimes every day. They instagram all things Disney. They basically live, breathe and eat Disney. I'm not one of those people. Though, I do love to visit Disney parks - I've been to Walt Disney World in Florida many times over, I visited Tokyo Disney Sea for a day and I've now been to Disneyland in California twice - the most recent for a day on the Mystery Trip that we took our adult daughter on after her graduation from grad school (and the first being some 30 years ago when we visited Mr. UR's sister when she lived in California), I would never consider myself obsessed.

Of our three kids, our oldest daughter loves Disney the most so when I was planning her Mystery Trip to Southern California, I knew that the main event - other than visiting family - would be to take her to her first visit to Disneyland. It would be the cherry on top of a fun 10 days in the Los Angeles area and I was hoping she would be excited for it. She was. I checked several Disney Crowd Calenders and picked the Monday of the week we would be there to visit - other days were more crowded with Grad Nite's and Memorial Day Visitors. We bought One Day Park Hopper Passes so we could visit Disneyland and California Adventure - it's super easy to go between parks as they are right across from each other. Our daughter downloaded the app - we purchased our tickets through the app and also downloaded the controversial MaxPass which allows you all the photos taken in the park and Fastpasses. This app costs $10 per person so many people are opposed to paying for fast passes - though you receive all your photos also - but we found it to be extremely wonderful. We took advantage of our hotel's shuttle bus for transportation to and from the park and it picked us up right out front with no worries about parking. We took the first shuttle of the day and were in line to get in by 8:30 am for a 9 am opening - but they opened early, at 8:45, so we were in by 9am.









 And we were off and running down Main Street - well, we didn't actually run - to get photos in front of the castle. We even got photos of the castle with no one in front of it! We visited Disneyland and California Adventure for the rest of the day with a visit to Trader Sam's in Downtown Disney for dinner. We used our Fast Passes to go on various rides - including Space Mountain twice - and I don't think anything that we wanted to do was left undone. We had planned on staying for the full day until closing but by the time the fireworks rolled around, we decided to beat the crowds and call it a day. A very successful and fun grown-up day at Disneyland! 































Know before you go:
- You can purchase any type of pass from one day to 7 day including park hopper passes which means that you can go from one park to another. With our Park Hopper pass we were able to go from Disneyland to California Adventure seamlessly all day long.
- MaxPass is the controversial Photo/FastPass app that costs $10 per person. You download the app to your phone and you then receive access to all photos taken by the park photographers and -what we wanted it for - you can access Fast Passes on your phone (Disneyland still uses paper fast passes as opposed to the Magic Bands of Walt Disney World in Florida) By using the app, we were able to sign up for Fast Passes while in either park to use at either park. (An example: We could sign up for a Fast Pass for Space Mountain while in California Adventure without running through the park and into Disneyland to the Space Mountain ride) I give this a two thumbs up! We went on every ride that we wanted to without a wait - and even on Space Mountain twice with no wait while the regular wait was 90 minutes. 
-We chose a nearby hotel - Holiday Inn Express - and didn't use a package. But Disney offer discounts on their hotels along with Park tickets as a bundle. 
- Our hotel had a shuttle available for park guests which cost $5 round trip. Pick-up was directly in front of the hotel. Parking at the park cost $17 per day so we didn't save much money but had ease and convenience going for us. 
- There is no alcohol served at Disneyland but there is at California Adventure. The Wine Country Trattoria offers wine tastings, a bistro and wine by the glass. If the downstairs patio is crowded, head upstairs for table service on the balcony. Located in the Pacific Wharf section of the park. 
- If eating all things Disney is your objective you can get Mickey shaped beignets at the Mint Julep Cafe in New Orleans in Disneyland and the Plaza Inn has mickey shaped snacks. You can also visit www.disneyfoodblog.com to feed your disney food needs.
- If your visit coincides with a special event, you can obtain a special events button - catered to your own event - at Guest Services at City Hall in Disneyland or the Chamber of Commerce in California Adventure. Our daughter got a Just Graduated button to wear.
- There are many, many websites to visit with lots of information pertaining to your visit to help with your planning process. A few that I used  are: www.disneylanddaily.com, www.parksavers.com, www.mousehacking.com, www.touringplans.com, www.themouseforless.com and the excellent, www.travelcaffeine.com. 
- Downtown Disney containing stores, restaurants and even a bowling alley, is walkable from both Disneyland and California Adventure. We walked to Trader Sam's Enchanted Tiki Bar, located outside of the Disneyland Hotel, for an early dinner. The interior of the bar is small and was quite crowded so we opted for patio seating. It's geared towards adults - it is a bar/restaurant after all - and serves tropical drinks and food.




How about you? Are you a Disney nut? Have you been?



Linking up with: Women Around the World at Communal Global, The Weekend Wanderlust Travel Blog Party and The Weekly Postcard at Travel Notes and Beyond!








Comments

  1. Yes, Jill, I'm a Disney nut! I love seeing your photos and knowing you had a fabulous day there! I've been with my grown children and it's just as much fun as when they were young, as you experienced. Last year we had a pass and went several times with my grown kids and my 4 young grandkids, and my husband and I went by ourselves when the grands were in school. EVERY time was so fun! I'm glad you had such a great day!

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    1. It will be awhile before I get back to Disneyland - I live on the East Coast so it's pretty far - but I certainly enjoyed my day there. It sounds like you enjoy all of your visits there, also! My next goal is to get to Disney Paris but I think that will be a good long while before I get there :)

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  2. I don't consider myself a Disney Nut, but I do have a soft spot in my heart for some things Disney. LOL! I've not been to Disneyland, but I've been to Disney World three times - once as a kid in the 1970s and twice as an adult (at age 22 with my aunt and at age 35 with my mom). I had a great time visiting as an adult. (I don't remember much about my visit when I was 5, but I'm assuming I had a great time then, too!)

    #TheWeeklyPostcard

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    1. I visited Disney World for the first time as a kid in the 1970's, too! And I don't remember it either but I assume I had a fun time, also! Thanks for visiting, Ericka!

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  3. I took my kids to Disneyland multiple times but I don't think I'm a Disney nut. However, I did have a Disney decorated bathroom and was at the last running of the Electric Light Parade at Disneyland.

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    1. There's always a little fun with Disney even if you're not a Disney nut, isn't there? Thanks for stopping by, Rhonda!

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  4. My kids are still in their teenage years and I enjoy going to the parks once every three years or so. However, I pretty much feel maxed out by the experience after a day or so and can't wait to leave. I can't imagine being one of those people that go all the time (the people that breathe all things Disney, as you said!). But, I guess it makes them happy and it's how they want to spend their money. It looks like you guys had fun!

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    1. We had a great day - and it was only one day - but I get you're "maxed out" feeling. After awhile, the crowds and lines get to me, too. But I'll always go back - just with a little time in between visits :) Thanks for visiting The Unpaved Road!

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  5. I've never been big on Disney, but it looks like lots of fun. But I must say Disney have made some really good family movies over the years. Have a fabulous week and thank you for stopping by my blog this week.

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    1. We had a great time - and I tend to forget how much fun Disney is! Thanks for visiting The Unpaved Road, Jill!

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