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Old 14 Oct 18, 07:33 PM  
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lumosq102
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Excited about Disney
 
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Join Date: Oct 15
Location: London
We quickly unpacked and freshened up before heading on out to the parks.



This was just outside our room. So cool!



Lift photo with accidentally coordinating ensembles.



Disneyland hotel from just inside Downtown Disney – we were staying in the tower on the right side.

Disneyland Hotel is at the other side of Downtown Disney, so you need to go through security and then walk through Downtown Disney before you reach the esplanade, on the right hand side is the entrance to Disney California Adventure, on the left side is the entrance to Disneyland Park. DCA was on what was the parking lot the last time R was here. You hear how close the 2 are to each other, but I don’t think I quite grasped just how close they were until I was stood in the esplanade, it’s a longer walk to the ferry dock at Magic Kingdom than the walk from Disneyland to DCA.

We quickly went through the turnstiles, having our photo taken by the Cast Member, which was checked every time we used our ticket.

And then we were in.



How perfect is that?

There were princesses meeting and greeting at either side of the train station, musicians playing in the background…

First stop was getting Max Pass added to our account (we had to do this through the app and could not add until we entered the park for the first time each day) and then we got our first photopass photos of the trip.



Train in the background!



We didn’t take advantage of this enough - it’s included with MaxPass along with ride photos. We didn’t ever add our ride photos to the app either, so just have crappy phone pictures of them that we really did intend to add later…

First Castle photo!



R was pretty ambivalent about the whole thing



The first look at the Fire Station. I am sure you are all aware, but Walt’s apartment in the park is above the Fire Station, and the lamp in the window there remains lit as a tribute to his presence in the park.



R was reunited with an old friend



There were tears. As first impressions go... it was just amazing. This place is pure magic. There are musicians everywhere, characters wandering around all over the place. The only way I can describe it is it’s the small town to Magic Kingdom’s big city. It feels so similar, but more intimate and personal.

Lets get a closer look at that castle



Thank you Walt



Lets take a moment to discuss the weather. It was in the high 20’s when we arrived, but the heat was in complete contrast to Florida. I was perfectly comfortable in my light sweater, my makeup wasn’t melting from my face (though I wasn’t sure I had much left at this point – it had been a long day already) and the sun felt so lovely on my skin. Its not a gentle sun though – we’ll do a little comparison in a couple of days when my hair is suddenly a few shades lighter.

I could happily live with this weather. I’d be blonde, but a happy California blonde.





Baby geese in the moat!



Paintings inside Sleeping beauty Castle





Tummies were calling – it was now 3pm, or 6pm Florida time – so we walked over to Frontierland to the restaurant that we had both been most excited about trying.

A few wilderness shots on our way





Mine Train!



Our destination – Rancho del Zocalo

Fun fact – it was an early iteration of this restaurant that led to Doritos. Really.



Just look how pretty the details are in this sign:



Stained glass on the way in

A

The cast members here were utterly charming and so helpful. As we were dining outside of the usual meal times it was pretty quiet which was helpful for a first visit, but everything was easily laid out and we headed straight to the enchilada station.

I ordered the Red Chile Enchilada Platter (Three Cheese Enchiladas topped with Red Chile Sauce served with Mexican Rice and Refried Beans - $12.99), R went with the Carne Asada & Red Chile Enchilada Platter (Succulent Beef cooked to perfection served with two Cheese Enchiladas, Mexican Rice and Refried Beans - $14.99). We also grabbed the crispy chips con Limon ($3.99) to share. Our eyes were bigger than tummies however and most of these went back to the hotel with us.

Worth noting – DVC discount of 10% was available here too. Handy! Our order was rounded out with a coke for me and a lemonade for R.

R’s plate:



My plate:



The chips



(creamer nabbed for our morning coffee also in shot)

In all honesty, this was possibly the best meal of the trip. I’m craving it now. Every element was utterly delicious. The plates were scraped clean. And lets take a moment for those plates – actual plates! With actual knives and forks! Can someone send me Rancho by courier?

The dining area was lovely too, although it was a little busy so I didn’t want to take any creepy photos of other people enjoying their food. It was right next to Big Thunder Mountain so we could hear the trains going around in the distance.

Whilst we were enjoying our food we booted up the Disneyland app to check wait times and to book our first fastpass of the day – Haunted Mansion at 4.30pm. We had little time to kill in the area first so we though we would head down to Pirates of the Caribbean first where the wait time was a very civilised 15 minutes.

As we walked along the Rivers of America down from Frontierland to New Orleans Square the Columbia was passing by







Before we made it to the entrance of Pirates. How pretty is that entrance?



We found this lovely fountain commemorating the first 30 years of the attraction



On to the ride!



It had just finished a long refurb just a week before we arrived so everything was looking gorgeous, and a few new elements had been added, such as this fabulous fellow:



Hopefully I have some better photos to come of him as the special effect is very cool.





Yes, they have the new redhead too; yes she is fabulous here as well













Its longer, has more details, more drops… I now completely understand why people say this is the best Pirates. My ranking, should anyone be interested, is

1. Disneyland
2. Disneyland Paris
3. Walt Disney World

It’s a triumph, and such a shame that WDW had to squeeze this ride into an area that was too small for it.

Edited at 09:23 PM.
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