I'm a bit behind on my review of my last trip to Disneyland. With Thanksgiving and upcoming holidays, it's been a busy time. But, the good news is that we were able to upgrade our tickets to APs! With the current 13 months for the price of 12 deal, I couldn't say no. So, we'll have another year of Disney to share with all of you, including D23 in July. It's going to be a great year!
So, for this past trip, we stayed the Sunday-Wednesday before Thanksgiving. We stayed at the Howard Johnson, but this time chose to go with the cheap basic level rooms. The room itself was a decent size and clean. However, as all the basic rooms are in the older, 2 story buildings, there were some signs of wear and tear. There were a few tiles cracked in the bathroom and a cracked fixture or two. It also wasn't quite as quiet as building 1. For the price, it was still comfortable and clean. But, I definitely prefer paying a bit more to be in building 1 with queen beds and slightly better upkeep.
Our first day was awesome and easily the least crowded of the days. I would call it "normal Sunday" in terms of crowds. It was a rainy day, which I think helped. We managed to go on Pirates, Haunted Mansion, Splash Mountain, and a handful of other rides before lunch. I am happy to say that my 6-year-old is finally brave. His new favorite rides are Splash Mountain and Indiana Jones! Thrilled that I finally have a companion for Splash Mountain as no one in my family enjoys it but me. Jingle Cruise was the favorite of the day among my almost-3-year-olds. The decorations seemed extra "in-your-face" on the ride and the jokes were...well, the same classic jokes we've all heard for years, but isn't that part of its charm?
After a quick lunch in Toontown, we decided to check into the hotel and take a break before coming back. The line for Small World was 45+ minutes and that was one of the shorter waits, so it was time for some down time anyway. Upon return, we picked up our Aladdin's Oasis to go meal for Paint the Night. Unfortunately, we didn't get to see PtN as it started raining, but the food in the meal was fairly good and worth the money, especially taking into account the parade had it been running. Much easier than having to wait 2 hours for a good spot for the parade.
As far as parades go, we were able to see the Christmas parade before the rain became too much for us (and the performers). I hadn't seen it in the evening before, usually opting for the earlier one. However, I will say after seeing it that the evening parade is the one to see. It's much more beautiful as the sun is going down and it starts getting dark out. Here are a few pictures:
So, that was it for day 1. Tomorrow, read about my day 2 adventure, or, a day with 3 kids and sick spouse.
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