Christmas at the Merriest Place on Earth

Posted by Alison Lea 12/16/2015 08:26:00 PM

Christmas at the Merriest Place on Earth

We LOVE Disneyland. And I mean we may be a bit obsessed. We were hoping to get to Disneyland at some point during the Diamond Celebration, so we figured that Christmas and Eric's Birthday would be the perfect time to go - not to mention that it came right at the end of my semester. We went three years ago for Eric's birthday and have been dreaming about going back for Christmas ever since - it is truly magical during the holidays. We flew to Long Beach late Tuesday night and had planned to take Uber to our hotel, but Long Beach no longer allows ride-sharing. We recovered quickly and found a shuttle that took us to our hotel. We stayed on Harbor Boulevard within walking distance of the park at the Hotel Menage. It was a fine hotel - we would probably stay there again. I was so excited to go to Disneyland that I had a hard time sleeping on Tuesday. We ended up getting up pretty early and heading straight to the park well before it opened. To prepare for the trip Eric changed his apple watch face and I purchased Disney Vans with Mickey Mouse.

We got to the park at 7:30, 30 minutes before the park opened. We took pictures on Main Street, got a locker for our jackets and tripod, and just enjoyed being at the Happiest Place on Earth. Walking down Main Street for the first time during a trip is a surreal experience. It's one of my favorite things about Disney. They had the end of Main Street roped off until the park opened. Cast Members were talking to guests and everyone was just having a great morning at the park. At about 7:55, they moved the ropes and told all the guests that once they moved the ropes there would be an "invisible barrier" that we couldn't cross. It amazes me that at Disney people are so willing to listen - it's like the opposite of Black Friday. At 8:00 they played a message and told the guests to "walk with a purpose" and not run. Sure enough - everyone obeyed. It's like they have the force.

We headed to Space Mountain first, but the ride was off to a slow start that morning and they hadn't opened yet. We thought about going to Peter Pan, but a pretty big line had already formed there so we rode the Matterhorn first. It was a great ride. They've changed it for the Diamond Celebration and it's fantastic. The yeti is more animatronic. It was a great way to start the morning. After the Matterhorn, we went to Alice in Wonderland, Pirates of the Caribbean, and the Haunted Mansion. The Haunted Mansion is different for Halloween and Christmas - it's like a completely different ride. Instead of the 999 happy haunts, Jack Skellington took over the mansion and everything is the Nightmare Before Christmas. It's fantastic.

First ride

We continued riding our favorite rides and then headed to the Plaza Inn for lunch. The Plaza Inn is our favorite meal in Disneyland. The fried chicken is seriously the best-fried chicken I've ever had. We also got a Yule Log, which is delicious as well. Yule Logs are a holiday tradition at Disneyland so we had to try them. It did not disappoint.

After lunch, we rode more of our favorite rides including Hyperspace Mountain. Disney changed Tomorrowland to "Season of the Force" to celebrate the new Star Wars. Instead of the traditional music for Space Mountain, there was Star Wars Music and fighting. It was really cool. They are also playing "Path of the Jedi" which is a 10-minute recap of all the Star Wars Movies and then Star Tours plays a scene from the new movie. Needless to say, Tomorrowland was busy the whole time we were there!

We also went on the Jingle Cruise. The premise is that there were shipments of Christmas decorations that got lost in the Jungle so the skippers are trying to get them back. It was a funny twist on a classic Disney ride. We also went on Splash Mountain three times in a row. Splash Mountain had pretty short lines the entire time we were there since it was a bit chilly. It's such a great ride - we love how happy it is and the big drop is always tons of fun! It was a great part of the afternoon.

Next year all of the rides and attractions around the Rivers of America will be closed while Disney builds Star Wars land. We made it a priority to take advantage of these rides and attractions while they are still open. On Wednesday we made our first trip over to Tom Sawyer Island. It was not our favorite attraction, but we had fun exploring and we can see why it would be an awesome place for kids to play.

For dinner, Eric got a corn dog from the Stage Door Cafe and I got Lobster Bisque in a bread bowl from the Harbor Galley. We love the food at Disneyland so we decided to be foodies this trip. The corn dogs are delicious and I don't even like corn dogs! The lobster bisque was a bit fishy, but still pretty good, but the Clam Chowder I've had on previous trips is better.

After dinner, we went over to It's a Small World and took some pictures. It's a Small World is so great for the holidays - they play Jingle Bells and Deck the Halls in addition to the classic It's a Small World Song. At night it's gorgeous! Eric set up his camera on the tripod to get some pictures and set it on a timer so we could get some together.

After It's a Small World we headed over to Main Street and set up for the Paint the Night Parade. This parade is so great. It's new for the Diamond Celebration so this was the first time we've seen it. I loved it. It was definitely a highlight of the trip. It's a high-energy parade with great music, lights, and dancing. After Paint the Night the fireworks came on. They were also great. It's called Disneyland Forever for the Diamond Celebration. It focuses on classic Disney movies and Walt's vision for Disneyland. I absolutely adored it! By the time fireworks were over, we were pretty tired (we walked over 12 miles!) and I was really cold. The temperatures dropped below 40 and I only had my light jacket and impractical shoes so I was freezing. By the next days I figured out how to layer properly for the weather and I didn't get cold again. Eric made fun of me though for wearing two jackets at the same time at night, but I wasn't cold!