Erik's Vacation - Day Three: Disneyland!!!

Erik and I got up early as we were going to Disneyland today. Erik is a big time Disney fan but since he's never been to Southern California he's never been to Disneyland and I know this was one of the big things he wanted to do while down here.

So after a pancake breakfast we made our way to Disneyland. We got there around 9:15am, made our way to the tram and was at the entrance and in line for Disneyland at 9:30. They were letting folks in but only into main street. The park didn't officially open until 10am so we went over to Guest Services to get Erik a "First Time" to Disneyland button. And I guess the lady didn't want me to feel left out so she gave me a Honorary Citizen of Disneyland button to wear. :)

We then got in line with everyone else and waited for the park to open. Since this was Erik's first time I wanted to make sure he rode rides that they didn't have a Disney World. So up first was one of my favorites.. The Indiana Jones Adventure Ride, Temple of the Forbidden Eye. Like me Erik is a big Indiana Jones fan so I knew he would like this ride and I was right. It was so much fun going on this ride with him as he really got into it and even better we were in the front row and Erik got to sit behind the steering wheel.

After Indiana Jones we headed over to The Pirates of the Caribbean ride, though there is a Pirates at Disney World this one is a bit different. I enjoyed hearing Erik's commentary on the difference between the two.

Next we went to The Haunted Mansion. Again they have one of these at Disney World but like with Pirates it's similar but different. Erik mentioned that the Disney World Haunted Mansion doesn't have the extending room at the beginning and that the overall ride here at Disneyland is darker.

Splash Mountain is closed and being refurbished and the only other ride over in that area is The Winnie the Pooh ride. I have done that once but thought it was extremely trippy with all the crazy neon colors. Erik wanted to give it a go and I'm happy to say that he felt the same way as me. Pooh's honey induced trip is crazy.

We then walked through Frontierland but with Big Thunder Mountain closed there wasn't much to do. So we continued on and walked through Fairytale land next. And I know Fairytale land at Disney World is much larger then it is here at Disneyland.

We took our picture in front of the magic castle before walking through it into Fantasyland. All the rides here are for kids but the lines are crazy long so we opted to just walk through it and come back to it later. We made our way to The Matterhorn Bobsleds as this ride doesn't exist at Disney World. This was our longest wait.. just over 45 minutes. After the ride Erik said that this ride felt like Space Mountain at Disney World.

Hunger set in and we went over to the Little Red Wagon to get a Corn Dog. Erik has never had a Disney World corn dog and it's a must when you come to Disneyland. He seemed to like it as it was devoured within a few minutes.

After lunch we headed to one of my favorite rides Star Tours. Now they have the exact same ride at Disney World but the cues are a bit different. Once we were done with Star Tours we made our way to Space Mountain. As I mentioned they do have a Space Mountain at Disney World but from thesound of it, it's completely different. We waited in line for about 20 minutes, which wasn't bad. I could tell that Erik was loving this ride and he's very audible with his screams and laughs... it was some good times.

The next ride we got on was Buzz Lightyear's Astro Blasters and then we rode Autopia. They don't have this at Disney World. Erik got a slower car as I kept having to stop and wait for him to catch up. It was fun as we did the longer track which I haven't done in a while.

We were  tired of being on our feet so we got on the Train and rode it all the way around the park back to Tomorrowland. We picked up a fast pass for Space Mountain before checking out Innovations.

On our way to Toon Town we grabbed some corn on the cob to snack on. We got to Toon Town and the line for Roger Rabbit ride was super long as it normally is so we got a fast pass for it. We walked around Toon Town for a bit and then headed back to Space Mountain as it as time to use our fast pass. We had fun with the picture this time around.

We went back to Toon Town to use our Roger Rabbit fast pass before heading back to Fantasyland to try and do a few rides there. First up was Mister Toad's Wild Ride, they don't have this at Disney World and it's been a few years since I had ridden it.

Next we did the Pinocchio and Snow White rides which honestly I don't know if I have ever done them before. I may have done them as a kid but I didn't even know these rides existed.

We finished up our night back in Adventureland as we rode The Jungle Cruise at night and then for our final ride of the night Erik wanted to do the Indiana Jones Ride for a second time and this time we got to sit in the very back of the car and wow what a difference it makes. The ride is alot more crazy bumpy in the back.. so much fun.

We grabbed some dinner at a Mexican Restaurant in Downtown Disney before calling it a night.

I had an fantastic time getting to share the experience of Disneyland with Erik. From his reactions I'd have to say he had an amazing time. And what is even better is the Disney magic is not over yet.. tomorrow we do DCA (Disney California Adventures)... woohoo!!!!