Disneyland - Trip of our Lifetime - 2007
This was not just any vacation for us.
This was one of those no holding back - trips of a lifetime!
Where else would we go? - California ... Disneyland!
Our trip started on May 4 leaving British Columbia in the afternoon
and driving to Seattle, staying two nights, and leaving on a 6:40 AM
flight to California.
Here we are before sunrise in Seatac Airport - waiting ... ... ▼
When we arrived in Ontario, California, we found our way to the airport
loading zone and loaded into a Super Shuttle (taxi van) for transportation
to our hotel beside Disneyland. Everything was reserved ahead of time
including the Super Shuttle.
Here we are in the Shuttle on a freeway. We are getting close ... ▼
... ... and even closer - road signs to Disneyland! ▼
We arrive at our hotel which is directly across the street from Disneyland.
This is a great place to stay. The rooms are great, the staff are great.
It has two pools and several different buildings. There is an onsite store for
all the things you may need and some great deals on Disney souvenirs.
We just walked down the street and into Disneyland or Disney's California
Adventure. The walk was maybe 10 minutes and never a problem.
We had two side by side top floor rooms with the best view possible.
That is our room on the left of the below photo. To the right, hanging off
the building is a web cam you can view from the internet. You can see a
live view of the area through the cam and even take temporary control of
the camera at the link below (it takes a minute to load).
http://www.hojoanaheim.com/mattercam.htm ▼
The view from the hotel room is spectacular! Here is part of Disney's
California Adventure park. There is the "Golden Gate Bridge" entrance;
Grizzly Peak with the raft ride; the Sun Wheel (looks like a sunset at this
angle); and part of California Screamin'. ▼
Here is the hotel room with a unique ceiling for the top floor rooms.
Although hard to see in the photo, the view is of Disneyland and the
Matterhorn is directly out the window. It is a great place to view the
fireworks, although we were usually in the park to watch for that. ▼
The esplanade area between Disneyland and Disney's California
Adventure is an open entrance area between the parks. Should we go
left or right first? ... or straight through to Downtown Disney? ▼
Disneyland of course!
A very thoughtful and discreet sign as you enter Disneyland. ▼
The castle with Walt and Mickey forever in front - as seen from the end of
Main Street - Central Hub area. ▼
One of many many rides on Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. ▼
Miranda in control of the Sailing Ship Columbia. ▼
What kind of candy or other treat do you want?
The Winnie the Pooh store in Critter Country. ▼
The Haunted Mansion. ▼
We rode Splash Mountain more times than I can count. ▼
View of the Sailing Ship Columbia and Big Thunder Mountain behind it. ▼
A nice relaxing view in New Orleans Square. ▼
A short pause and photo-op in New Orleans Square. ▼
The Crystal d'Orleans store in New Orleans Square. ▼
Pirates!
The premiere for Pirates of the Caribbean - At World's End was happening
while we were there. I so wanted to take the family to this special event
and be the first to see the movie - with the stars! It was just too much
money (even if most went to charity) and I think the crowds of people
would be too much for me. We did see the set up for the event that started
a week in advance, as well as some of the extra security measures... and
all the limousines. http://disney.go.com/disneypictures/pirates/ ▼
Here is the stage with screen set up on Tom Sawyer island (now with a
pirate's lair), and seating on the right of the photo for this premiere event.
It must have been quite a show with all the lights, speakers, and props that
were set up. ▼
Back to Disneyland fun ...
Jenifer and Danielle out for a drive together at Autopia. ▼
Miranda on her birthday with her friend Mickey. ▼
Melissa and Miranda with Goofy in Toontown. ▼
Shopping at the Gag Factory in Toontown. ▼
Over to Disney's California Adventure ...
One of my favourite attractions - the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror. ▼
And everyone's favourite especially on a hot day - Grizzly River Run.
Whether on the raft or walking the Grizzly Peak Recreational area
trails, the area can really make you feel you're in the mountains and no
where near a city. ▼
The sun sculpture and wave fountain in the Sunshine Plaza. ▼
A view from the Pacific Wharf - Golden State area with
Paradise Pier in the background. ▼
A day trip to Hollywood ...
The must have photo of the hillside sign. ▼
Instead of in the night sky, the stars are under your feet. ▼
Famous houses - this is the house used as the setting for the sitcom
Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. ▼
Another famous person's house in Bel-Air, but I can't remember who ... ▼
A day trip to Knott's Berry Farm ...
One of the many wild rides at Knott's. ▼
... and another one. ▼
We met some local permanent guests of Knotts. ▼
Knotts is nothing like Disneyland. It has more wild rides but not the
attractions like Disneyland. It seems to be more for the locals and is not
as clean or detailed. www.knotts.com
An evening of dining and
entertainment at Medieval Times ...
The King talks to the guests. ▼
The Red Knight . ▼
A quick visit to the Queen Mary ...
The ship is floating in a permanent location and is open as a hotel and
restaurant, and has a self guided tour and a ghost show.
It is located in Long Beach, California.
There is a lot of interesting history with the ship as well as ghost stories.
The Queen Mary is an interesting place to visit with some very interesting
history and areas of the ship. It does however, seem to be past its prime as
a tourist attraction, with many areas in serious need of maintenance and
repair. Much of the self-guided tour was confusing and unclear as to
where to go next, but it did work well in some areas. The shiny elevator
door that opened as I approached it, and there was no one there, had us
thinking of ghosts just a little. The adjacent submarine display and tour
was on a much smaller scale but very interesting.
A day trip to the San Diego Zoo ...
This was Danielle's favourite place and she guided us around the zoo
with the help of the site map.
The Giant Pandas were popular. ▼
The talking parrot got our attention. ▼
A lot of walking around the zoo. ▼
One day is not enough to properly see the entire zoo and all the animals.
There is lots to see there and it was more interesting and enjoyable than I
thought it would be. You need some good walking shoes and to be prepared
for a few hills. The only complaint I have is there was too many staff or
zoo vehicles on the same walkways as us (not counting the tour vehicles).
A day trip to Universal Studios ...
For me, this is a must do trip while in California. One day is not quite
enough time to see everything, but depending on the crowds it can be
adequate. There are many great rides and attractions including:
Terminator 2 3D; Jurassic Park (prepare to get wet); the Studio Tour;
Revenge of the Mummy (great scary indoor roller coaster but very short);
Shrek 4D; Waterworld; and Backdraft .
www.universalstudioshollywood.com
The trip was fantastic! Sharing all the experiences and making great
memories with the entire family - all six of us, was wonderful. I was
quite sad the last day there and had a hard time leaving.
We were in California 15 days and in one of the two Disney parks at
least part of 12 of those days. Total days away from home was 18 days.
This is only a small sample of the almost 2000 photos and video clips.
I am already dreaming about the next trip to Disneyland.
