So after we'd checked into our very spacious handicap hotel room, we were able to experience all the magic of Disneyland at Christmas time. We rode the classics like Space Mountain, Star Tours, Mr. Toad's Wild Ride, Splash Mountain, the Matterhorn, Indiana Jones, Pirates of the Caribbean, and It's a Small World. However, there were a lot of new attractions to experience this time. Disneyland is transformed into a wonderland of holiday lights, garland, Christmas trees, and holiday magic at Christmas time! The Haunted Mansion is transformed into a ride with a The Nightmare Before Christmas theme. WE LOVED IT! My favorite part was where you suddenly smell gingerbread and you look down and see a gingerbread man rising from a coffin with little x's for his eyes. As I describe it, I guess it sounds a little morbid, but it really was just very clever and hilarious. I only wish they'd keep the theme for the whole year, but it probably wouldn't be as special and cool...needless to say, we rode the ride several...okay, okay, A LOT of times.
However, our first ride on it was the absolute best and couldn't be beat, at least in my opinion. When we walked into the first room of the house (where they shut the doors, turn off the lights, and the walls begin to get taller), the lights turned off and a scary man started talking. As we heard the first sound of thunder crash, a little boy behind us let out a piercing shriek and burst into tears. The incident only became more entertaining as his parents tried to console him by telling him to look at the cool pictures on the walls, which just happened to be the same horrifying pictures that were growing taller before our eyes. The boy became hysterical and gasping between sobs he screamed, “I DON’T WANT TO BE IN THIS HOUSE ANYMORE!” It was just too must amusement for us to handle. Me, Jeff, and his dad laughed the whole time at this poor child’s traumatic experience. As the doors opened, the boy said he wanted to leave, but before his mom could try to dissuade him, Jeff’s dad turns around and says, “Oh, you’ve got to stay because you’r
e making the ride so much more enjoyable for us.” We also were able to go to California Adventures, which had most of my highlights for the trip. The ride SOARIN’ is absolutely the best ride in both parks. It’s not scary or super thrilling, but it is exhilarating and breathtaking. The best is being on the top hang gliders because you can’t see anyone’s feet above you. My favorite part of this ride was the smells! Really I think all amusement park rides should use smells. They are so wonderful. You smell oranges and pine trees during this ride! Yummm! The ride is indescribable. You just have to experience it for yourself in all its awesomeness. Really, I want that ride in my own home someday. It’s just that awesome. California Adventures also has two cool tours. The Mission tortilla tour is great because they give you a hot tortilla at the end, but I loved the Boudin bread tour the most. They give you a sample of the bread at the beginning, but you also learn the secret of the delicious sourness of Boudin – they use part of the starter dough that was first used 200 years ago! No wonder! The mystery has been solved! (Plus it was lunch time when we had the tour, so we all got Boudin bread bowls after the tour!)
We learned on our trip that at Disneyland you can also see celebrities. Who knew? Triple D (Guy Fieri) happened to be there from the Food Network. He was filming a show in one of the Disney candy shops, and we could see him through the window. Jeff’s dad had a perfect view above the crowd since he’s a towering 6’4”. He is a huge Triple D fan, so he throws up his hands, makes the rock on sign, and screams, “Yeah Triple D!” We got a good laugh at it, but we all were surprised when Triple D stopped what he was doing, looks out the window, and makes the rock on sign back! A Disneyland worker that was on crowd control informed Jeff’s dad that they will cut that out of the segment for sure (I guess some people think it’s fun to try and ruin people’s days). Travis quickly responded, “He doesn’t care. That’s not why he did it.” And it was true. He didn’t care.
Out of all the crazy fun adventures, I think the most magical part was when they lit up Sleeping Beauty’s castle for the fireworks. For Christmas the castle was decorated to look like there was snow and icicles on it. After they light up the castle, they start playing a song about believing and then suddenly snow starts to fall. You look up and realize it’s coming from the rooftops of the shops on Main St. and that it’s not actually snow but soap suds. Jeff’s mom said she thought it was so magical she almost started crying. So I mean really…how much more magical can you get? However, you could tell most the people at the park were Californians because when the snow started to land on people they quickly brushed it off. Ahh…true Californians – snow haters.
Basically, we loved Disneyland at Christmas time and we can’t wait to go back!
