Disneyland

Another family visit to one of our favorite destinations, the Disneyland Resort in Anaheim. We like to visit once a year and have a blast every time. We enjoyed coming last year for the Christmas Holiday we decided to do it again. The weather was glorious, getting into the high 70s to mid 80s every day. No rain this year. Weird fog rolled in on New Years Eve night which messed up the light show, but we still had a blast. The downside of the Holidays is that the crowds are heinous. But we got in early, relaxed in the afternoon, and finished strong to closing time at midnight. With this pattern and optimal use of fast passes we got in plenty of rides and wasted minimal time in line.



Diane got to see her favorite Tinkerbell!



Pluto was definitely in the holiday spirit.



Traditional family picture with Whinnie the Pooh.



This year we decided to rank our top 10 favorites from this trip. Here they are:


Honorable Mention: Small World Holiday - This classic ride is redone for the Holidays. The ride is very Christmasy, but the neatest part is the way the outside is decorated. Beautiful!



10. Davey Crockett's Explorer Canoes - Simple self paddle ride around the Rivers of America. Lots of fun! The boys do a better job every year.



9. Splash Mountain - Splash Mountain #9. What????? Well the water is very cold and its not fun waiting to dry out without getting too much of a chill. Only took one ride and got soaked. Definitely one of our favorites in warmer times of year.




8. Pirates of the Caribbean - Another one of our traditional favorites. But this trip it just didn't rank that high. Maybe its the lack of holiday decorations.



7. Star Tours - Usually wouldn't make the list, but it was refurbished last year and this was our first time on the new ride. The new high-resolution 3-D show and simulator are outstanding. I also have a tradition of getting off this thing feeling nauseous. Didn't happen on the new ride.



6. Buzz Lightyear Astro Blaster - A great source of family competition. Bart's the family master of this one although he did come in second a few times. I managed to beat him once with a score above 600,000. The lines dwindle to nothing late at night allowing multiple competitions. One of our favorites every visit.



5. Haunted Mansion Holiday - Jack Skellington has take over the Haunted Mansion and the result is Holiday fun. This year we got to meet him.



4. Matterhorn - Always a great ride, with long lines. But we tried to go first thing in the morning and its not too bad.



3. Indiana Jones - This is always a great ride, but a fast pass is a must. As you can see in the picture, the wait time was 3 hours. Crazy. In times like this we head back to the hotel. There are no lines for the pool and hot tub. The ride went down a number of times but we got plenty of rides.



2. Big Thunder Mountain Railroad (BTMRR) - "Its the wildest ride in the wilderness". Always one of our favorites and we worked hard to get the last car this year, which is the best ride. A short line in the morning and fast pass at night allowed us to ride this one a couple time a day. Life is good.



1. Space Mountain - This year there was something different and better about Space Mountain. Thats why it ranks #1. We think it was darker and there were more stars projected in the room. Really had the feeling that you were flying through space. Wonderful!