For my son Augustine’s birthday, we spent a day at Disneyland, which was crowded but nevertheless a treat.
Our 2023 Disneyland Visit
We spent the night before at the Hyatt Regency Orange County down the street to avoid morning stress and arrived at the park at 9:00 am, just as it opened to non-hotel guests (those who purchase certain packages or are guests at a Disneyland on-site hotel can gain access to the park earlier in the day).
I knew Splash Mountain was closed for renovation (that’s a whole different issue that I will not opine on now) but was disappointed to see that Space Mountain was closed too, which is one of my favorite rides. It’s A Small World was also closed (in preparation for the holidays).
We started on Thunder Mountain then went to Indiana Jones Adventure, where the ride broke while we were in line…we decided to wait and thankfully it only took about 20 minutes to get it going again.
No trip to Disneyland would be complete without Pirates of the Caribbean.
It’s nice to see the Swiss Family Robinson Treehouse returning, which I remember from when I was a kid.
We did the Astro Orbitor and tried to get a family picture on it (failed), but both my kids love that ride.
I took Augustine on Star Tours, which he had never been on, and fooled him into thinking we were actually getting on a flight (I did the same thing when I took him on Space Mountain a couple of years ago). The whole airport/aircraft setup is great and he quite enjoyed the ride. It has also changed since I was last on it (many years ago…).
My daughter Claire Marie was not tall enough to go on Star Tours so she and Heidi did the Autopia.
We did something different and took a break in the afternoon at the Grand Californian Hotel, a hotel I now want to review on a future trip here. We just sat in the lobby and relaxed for what turned into two hours. There’s a nice patio as well.
I got some coffee for Heidi and me and got the kids ice cream cones at Salt & Straw in Downtown Disney. They sat contentedly in these cute little rocking chairs watching Disney cartoons and slurping on their treat.
We did not stay late because the park really got crowded after 4:00 pm and by 6:00 pm it was quite full…I think many people took the afternoon off and then came back ahead of the fireworks and the late opening (midnight).
My favorite part of the day was trying out the new Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway in Mickey’s Toontown. We had to wait nearly an hour to get on, but it was quite well-done and enjoyable.
Because of the crowds, we decided to depart before dinner and skipped Star Wars, Great Moments With Mr. Lincoln (another personal favorite), and the Jungle Cruise.
Our last ride of the day was the classic King Arthur Carrousel and it was actually the first time either of my kids had ever been on a carousel.
We used a locker during the day to avoid lugging bags around and it worked out well…this is highly recommended versus carrying everything.
CONCLUSION
Disneyland has always been a place I have loved visiting and it is now a joy to see my kids enjoy it too. We’ll return again next year, but I do think one day per year is enough.
I’m thankful that we could visit, but I could never trade a day here for a vacation…if it came to that tradeoff, I would never set foot here again. Considering tickets are $134 for adults and $127 kids (on a Tier 2 day, and those prices rise to $174-184 on a Tier 5 day), you really do have to run that calculation…
I am glad I got my kids to visit Disney a few times many years ago. I am long passed the time to take my kids there and Disney will never see my money again. There are way much better places to spend precious time with my kids than at Disney.
I am shocked at the prices! A family of 4 can be $700!
Is Tokyo Disneyland half the price?
$700? Did you look closely to the picture of the ice cream shop? $7.25 for a single scoop of ice cream. LOL! These people have lost their minds.
We got kids size! 😉
Not only is Tokyo Disneyland cheaper (between ticket prices and the Yen in relation to the dollar), but some may argue it is a superior experience especially if you have the chance to visit Tokyo DisneySea.
Growing up in SoCal, I’ve always preferred Disneyland vs Disney World mostly for the ability to easily go from one park to another and to/from hotels vs having to take a monorail/gondola/bus/ferry. But the overall experience has just become a money grab/miserable/woke experience. I’m all or inclusion and I’m not going to debate the whole preferred pronouns argument. But taking my daughter for the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique experience and being greeted by a guy with a beard, wearing a dress, etc and watching the way he was acting/interacting with people…..the whole thing was kinda ridiculous and there was no attempt to blend into the crowd or subtlety work the boutique, it was clearly being done for show and called attention to the individual rather than focusing on the kids that were having a $500+ experience. I’ve seen cast members wearing uniforms that were clearly for the opposite gender……but they were also a bit more subtle about it and tried to blend into the park environment than call attention to myself.
And at least TDL has an OG Splash Mountain…..the whole Tiana’s Bayou Adventure is just ridiculous. Sure they sell it as “removing references with racist themes,” but let’s be honest. No girl was running off SM into the Briar Patch gift shop wanting a Brer Rabbit or Brer Fox doll…..but surely if it was a Disney Princess that pretty much is $$$$bank.
Gosh, the Matterhorn is still there! At Disneyland prices trips to Zermatt to see the real mountain are most likely less expensive. As a child I preferred Knot’s Berry Farm. It seemed far less scripted and more authentic. Plus hitting it when the boysenberries were ripe was a real treat. Big yum.
I love that we have that in common. I also preferred Knott’s Berry Farm when I was young and went there 3-4 times a year. I’ve taken my kids to chicken dinner there, but never into the park. I wonder if the log ride and calico mine ride are still there…?
Things that are underrated! I so hope it has not declined. I was fortunate to have friends in the area.
I regret not having gone to Knotts when I am in the area, though I usually have opted for SFMM for my thrills.
That said, I have actually looked it up, and you can get a nicer actual hotel in Zermatt for hundreds of dollars a night cheaper than a Disneyland hotel. Plus, Zermatt is just more magical lmao
@Matthew – Pirates of the Caribbean before or after jack Sparrow? Enjoy the movies but I prefer pre.
The old one for sure. It may not be politically correct, but the pirates were chasing the women, not the other way around…
I’m so confused. Men chasing pirates?
Yeah, that came out wrong. Pirates chasing women.
Eons ago (1970s) I had grand parents in Florida about 90 minutes away from Disneyworld. It was one of the few vacations, other than going to the local beach, that we did. I loved Disney and have fond memories of it.
Went a couple of times as an adult and enjoyed it but we went last around 2018 and I could not get over the crowds. We were there supposedly during the slow week but it was a zoo. We paid extra for the late night Christmas (it was in November) event and only then were lines short. Sad that it is so crowded.
Went to Disneyland a couple of times when I was dating a lady in San Jose. It just is so small compared to Disneyworld. And yeah prices now are crazy.
If you have or ever get Disney streaming there are a lot of very good documentaries on various Disney things such as behind the attractions that explain their design and history. There are some involving the illustrators and songwriters that were very touching especially one on Fran and Ollie. Two coworkers that became lifetime friends and their families bought houses next to each other.
I thought as an adult I would have canceled Disney quickly but there are a lot of interesting, non cartoon, shows on it.
I have great memories of it but the cost and crowds now make it unpleasant. A week’s stay for a family could easily run $4-5K which is crazy.
The only thing at Disneyland that would interest me at all is Club 33. Don’t be silent!!
Last time I went to Disneyland was in the summer of 1987 when the price of admission and parking was still reasonable. When I was a kid I went several times when they charged a low admission price but charged for rides and had ticket books with ride tickets classified from “A” through “E” with the “E ticket” rides being the scariest or most popular such as the Matterhorn. My favourite ride “back in the day” was the flying elephants.