Disneyland Seasonal Adventures Trip Report - Part II

Welcome back Disney fans! 8:}

This is a very special trip to Disneyland! 

It's now Christmastime in Anaheim! That means AMAZING CHRISTMAS-Y DISNEY MERRIMENT.

  

It's also my first Disney visit with Sean!

In this picture I'm saying "Look! Look! Aren't you glad we did the Monorail entrance?!"

Disneyland is best enjoyed with someone special. :}

SMALL WORLD HOLIDAY OMG I CAN'T EVEN I'M SO EXCITED WAAAAH!

It's a beautiful and warm day here in SoCal. :}

Gone is Ghost Galaxy! The superior Space Mountain overlay hath retun'd!

#SpaceSelfie #HashtagHyperspace

Here Sean demonstrates how a six-and-a-half-foot person can semi-comfortably fit inside the new bobs on Matterhorn. Row 1 and row 4 only! :}

*indistinguishable noises of unfiltered excitement*

Before we take on small world, we have some business to take care of in Toontown.

We're here to do something I haven't done in at least 15 years!

Gadget's Go Coaster!

We're here because A) Sean needs the credit and B) I honestly love this ride. 

Ahh! This brings back memories! I remember bouncing in Goofy's house when it was still new!

We also enjoyed a ride on one of Disney's most underrated attractions, Roger Rabbit's CarToon Spin!

Ok now it's time for small world. :}

small world HOLIDAY, that is!

I am so excited. I might cry.

*more indistinguishable noises of unfiltered excitement*

Sean's face when I pointed at the little Dutch girl and said

"Look. Dat u."


(Also Sean is from Holland. This is an important piece of information.)

*"He's making a list! And checking it twice!"*

*"He's gon––"*

IT'S SO BEAUTIFUL!!!

Wait ok ok ok. Where was I...

*"Jingle bells! Jingle bells! Jingle all the way!"*

*"Oh what fun it is to ride on a one-horse open sleigh!"*

(Not that I would know. Or most normal people.)

*"Jingle bells! JingOHMYGOSH YOU GUYS THIS TREE IS AMAZING!!"*

LOOK AT THE NEW YEARS FIRECRACKERS!!

LOOOOK AT THIS ICE SCULPTURE!!

LOOK HOW HAPPY AND CUTE EVERYTHING IS GUYS.

*indistinguishable noises of under-the-sea excitement*

*"Mele Kalikimaka is a thing to say on a bright, Hawaiian Christmas Day!"*

*"AL:SKJ:IFHA:LIHWKLVHASHSHSHGHHGHGHGHAAAGGGAHHHHMAZING!"*

*Exaggerated expression of excitement*

*-<]:}



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(Me with a Christmas hat on)

*"Joy to the World! The Lord is come!"*

We'll be caroling our way through happiest holiday cruise to ever sail the world again later! You have to ride a few times to really see everything!

Obligatory shot inside my favorite store at Disney, the small world toy shop. :}

My addiction to Disney's caesar salad has now been passed onto Sean.

Signature holiday castle shot. :}

Sean's never been up in Tarzan's Treehouse! We'll be fixing that later.

New Orlean's Square is extra jazzed-up for Christmas. :}

Big Thunder doesn't seem to have any Christmas decorations but we love it anyway. :}

Disneyland Paris's Big Thunder just opened from an 18-month rehab project! And now that Disney World's Big Thunder is finished with its rehab project, all Big Thunders around the world are now open!

Star Wars Land is really starting to take shape behind Anaheim's Big Thunder! So excited. :}

Today I discovered the little walkway around Splash Mountain's far turnaround. 

It doesn't offer as many vantage points as Disney World's Splash Mountain, but it's still a nice spot. :}

Ornaments and snow and icicles! Oh my!

While walking through Fantasyland we witnessed a reenactment of Alfred Hitchcock's  The Birds.

A quick stop at Toad Hall. :}

Let's take a moment to appreciate that in the opening sequence of Mr. Toad's Wild Ride guests drive through a lit fireplace.

D'aww.

Evening ride on Splash. :}

Ok so in a world where attractions like Hyperspace Mountain, Haunted Mansion Holiday, and small world holiday contribute in no small way to millions of Disneyland's annual visits, a logical assumption would be that any ride overlay is worth a shot, right?

Wrong. 

Jingle Cruise certainly means well, but its flimsy premise and inferior skipper dialogue are more bewildering than anything. Some of the scenes are cute, however. 

Obligatory lights-on-Rivers-of-America shot.

Holiday New Orleans Square: where Christmas and Mardi Gras collide!

#lit

Main Street's Christmas tree is lovely, even when obscured by Mickey balloons.

Evening Matterhorn rides for the win!

At various points during the day Sean also got his first rides on Peter Pan's Flight and The Storybook Land Canal Boats! #abouttime

*swoon*

It just doesn't get any better than this. :}

What happened next was an interesting story.

As Sean and I approached the entrance to small world, a cast member stopped us and said the ride was now closed. We were shocked + saddened by this as we'd only had our one ride, and the firework show wasn't for another hour. 

We watched as what was left of the small world line trickle into the ride for a few minutes.

*Insert jealous feelings here*

As we were leaving we heard the same cast member tell other guests "Sorry folks! The line for small world closed at 7:45pm."

As we neared Matterhorn I checked my watch. It had only just been 7:47pm! It was more that ten minutes since we'd showed up to ride small world! We should not have been denied a ride if the line technically didn't close until 7:45pm!

I was furious. 

I went straight to guest services and was "that customer." I told the cast member exactly what happened and unapologetically threw the offending cast member under the bus. Whether she meant to or not, she made it apparent that the line closed earlier than it was supposed to, thus screwing several people out of their final small world rides of the night. 

The cast member was thorough in explaining why the ride had to close early for the night (although closing an hour before the firework show is excessive when your line isn't more than a few dispatches long), however he could not offer up any solace in regards to being denied our ride prematurely. 

I am an Annual Passholder, Sean is not. It's not as easy for him to get into the park as it is for me. I pleaded to the cast member to make this right. The best he could do for us was 2 any-ride FastPasses, but with no plans to return to the park that year it felt like a hollow victory. 

I left feeling very frustrated at the situation. 

You might've guessed that two days later we bit the bullet and came back. We couldn't help ourselves. :}

Sean and I weren't really sure what to do with ourselves on a Wednesday in SoCal during the offseason. After sleeping in and toying around with some various options, we finally decided that we couldn't resist another Disney day.

Fortunately a one-day ticket was at its very cheapest ($95), being that it was an off-peak day. Sean and I split the cost, graciously accepted our comp FastPasses from Guest Services, and then went forth to paint the land red. :}

We caught the park during the filming of its Christmas special.

The amazing holiday parade was in progress as we made our way down to small world. 

:} All is right with the world. :}

OHMIGOSH FROZEN!

OMG HI ANNA!!!!!!! :D :D :D

HI GINGERBREAD GIRL!!!!!!! :D :D :D

HI EVIL STEP FAMILY!!!!!! D: D: D:

*gasp*

I KNOW WHEN I'M BEING MOCKED. 

small world help Cinderella's family is mean.

This picture is quintessential Disneyland to me.

Who's ready for small world holiday round II!?!?

Nothing in the world was more satisfying than this particular ride on small world. The natural order has been restored!

 "We wish you a Joyeuses Fêtes! we wish you a Joyeuses Fêtes! we wish you a Joyeuses Fêtes! And a happy * insert French translation of "New Year" here*.

The British Soldiers wish you a Happy Christmas in the name of the Queen!

I suppose every day that isn't December 25th is Un-Christmas in Wonderland, right Alice?

This is the part where Sean gets excited because it's written in Dutch.

Everyone feast your eyes on Sean's home country. 

Fun fact: The Italian flag is Christmas-themed all year round.

Who wants to go to the Christmas markets in Germany with me? :}

Aladdin's Magic Carpet becomes a Magic Tree skirt for the holidays.

Who's excited for the new year!?

Not as excited as these puppets I bet. ;}

Glowing dragon ice sculpture is my new favorite small world prop.

Why bother with Jingle Cruise when you have small world holiday's Africa room? :}

*"FELIZ NAVIDAD! FELIZ NAVIDAD! FELIZ NAVIDAD! PRÓSPERO AÑO Y FELICIDAD!!!"* 

TREE PIÑATA! Best idea ever!!

Feliz Navidad from the Three Caballeros! 

Mele Kalikimaka from Lilo and Stitch!

In a ride full of precious things, I still think it's especially precious that there's a scene here for the rainforest. :}

It's a cowboy Christmas in small world holiday U.S.A.!

Traffic jam! But it's ok because that just means more time in the holiday finale room!

I never want to leave this place.

*"Oh Holy Night. The stars are brightly shining."*

*"Ave Maria, gratia plena."*

*"Grandma got run over by a reindeer"*

And so ends another wonderful cruise. :}

Big Thunder! Because...why not?

Sean and I got some yummy snacks from Pooh Corner.

Look at this amazing cookie!

Here's something I've not taken a picture of in all my visits to Disneyland! The Zip-A-Dee Lady!

Okay so we're back for more small world but it's SUPER CROWDED because it closes 4 damn hours early today so everyone is here.

Thanks to small world's 2nd job as a stage backdrop, it's now going to serve as one for the TV special they're filming today.

(Sean and I ended up watching the special a week later. It was cute but a little obnoxious)

Pro tip: When the line splits, DO NOT go to the left. It's the wheel chair entrance and your wait will last for about 37 eternities. 

That baby is really excited for small world holiday!

Castle magic. :}

There's no photographic evidence this time, but Sean and I went on the Indiana Jones Adventure three times today!

We also went up into Tarzan's Treehouse!

There are some really amazing views up here.

Big Thunder vs Matterhorn! WHO WIN???

A trail of lights to Haunted Mansion Holiday. :}

The next time I'm here I need to get the french onion soup. If its anything like the stuff they serve at Be Our Guest in Orlando, then I'm all for it!

Nighttime Splash. :}

In a perfect world I would be able to capture the castle and its reflection in the moat (like I did at WDW). However the world is not perfect so this will have to do. :}

Here! Have a Peter Pan picture, since we rode it earlier. We also did Pinocchio's Daring Journey (another new one for Sean) and Snow White's Scary Adventures (because you can't do it in Orlando anymore).

Sean and I decided to go for a nighttime spin on the Monorail!

It's been a while since I've ridden it out of the park. I usually only ride it in. :}

It should be illegal for any ride to look this appealing and also be closed.

<3

I should do the subs again at some point. It's been a while. :}

This is as close as we're getting to California Adventure this time! But we'll be back before you know it to check out Guardians of the Galaxy!

Goodnight Fantasyland!

Goodnight small world holiday. :}

More Holiday excitement is on the way!


The good times in SoCal keep on rollin' with our small park, cre-hoing exposé! And after that we attend one of the most anticipated events of the year: Dollywood's Smoky Mountain Winterfest! 


See you soon. :}