As our 20th anniversary approached, I really wanted to do something, and I wanted to do it as near to our actual wedding date as possible, so I suggested to Scotty that we make a plan. We considered a few options and decided to go to Disneyland because A) we had Sky Miles, B) it’s close enough to make a quick trip, and C) it’s familiar enough that we don’t feel like we need to do every single thing there.
We ended up booking a really short trip (60 hours total - the only way we could make it happen during May), and with the help of our moms, we went to Disneyland! We flew out Saturday night after Eva’s baptism and came home Tuesday morning (following a three-hour flight delay due to the airplane needing a tire change).
The night we left (Top Gun vibes?)
Rainbow over Delta
Scotty and I had never been to Disneyland just the two of us, so we thought it would be an interesting marriage test. Luckily, we had a lot of fun and came home agreeing to stay married.
Since I’m an enthusiast for documenting events, here is the rundown of what we did for two days at Disneyland (yes, I kept notes. It's what I do):
DAY 1: Sunday
8:00 a.m. California Adventure
Rope dropped Guardians of the Galaxy (x2)
Breakfast at Pym Test Kitchen
Behold my tiny egg
Web Slingers
Soarin’ Over the World
Radiator Springs Racers
Food break (tacos, bread pudding, sourdough loaf)
Best Fast Sunday ever!
Little Mermaid
Incredicoaster
Midway Mania
Goofy’s Sky School
Soarin’ Over the World
PARK HOP: Disneyland
Jungle Cruise
Pirates of the Caribbean
Big Thunder Mountain Railroad
Food break: Golden Horseshoe (chicken tenders, mozzarella sticks, fries, peach cobbler sundae)
Splash Mountain
Haunted Mansion
Big Thunder Mountain Railroad
Food break: chimichanga
Snow White
Pinocchio
Magic Happens Parade
Small World
Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway
Food break (Scotty): cream cheese pretzel
Shopping (Britt): sweatshirt
Indiana Jones
Buzz
HyperSpace Mountain
Autopia
Train from Tomorrowland to Fantasy Land
Story Book Boats
Peter Pan
Total rides: 27
DAY 2: Monday
8:00 a.m. Disneyland
Rope dropped HyperSpace Mountain
Food break: breakfast chimichangas
Big Thunder Mountain Railroad
Pirates of the Caribbean
Food break: beignets
Jungle Cruise
Pirates of the Caribbean
Indiana Jones
Haunted Mansion
Splash Mountain
Big Thunder Mountain Railroad
Food break: hamburger (Britt), chimichanga (Scotty)
Alice
Mr. Toad
[Scotty nap on bench]
HyperSpace Mountain
Food break: pastries
Pastries
PARK HOP: California Adventure
Radiator Springs Racers
Midway Mania
Food break: Mickey pretzel (Britt)
Goofy’s Sky School
Guardians of the Galaxy
Monsters Inc
Food break: shawarma (Scotty)
Mater
Soarin’ Over the World
Little Mermaid
Incredicoaster
Food break: sourdough Mickey
Incredicoaster
Total rides: 22
On Tuesday we had to get up at 4:45 to catch a Lyft to the airport at 5:00. As previously mentioned, our flight ended up delayed for a few hours, but we were kid free, so it was tolerable.
Here are some comments and memories from the trip:
I discovered that I have a very distinct "woo" I do on rides. I also make a lot of sound effects throughout the day - especially "boop" and "wahwah." I didn't even realize that I did these things until I got away from my kids' constant noise for 60 hours and was left to face Scotty's and my noises. Speaking of which... Scotty whistles or hums constantly. I mean... I knew he whistled (Zoe does it, too) but I didn't realize how much!
Sunday was Goth Day at Disneyland and Monday was Star Wars Nite, so there were some great people watching opportunities. And so many lightsabers. So very many.
We officially rode Splash Mountain for the last time (since it is closing this month and will be renovated to Tiana's Bayou Adventure). I decided I'd go big and take the front seat. I've ridden in the front before, but this was definitely the wettest I've gotten! In fact, I never dried off.
Before
After
Back in 2016, I discovered that if you sit in the front seat on Incredicoaster (at the time it was California Screamin') at dusk, you will get hit in the face repeatedly by swarms of bugs. I can confirm that this is still true.
I'm deeply bothered by some of the impractical outfits people wear to Disneyland. Please wear proper footwear and secure your boobs. No one needs a nip slip on Guardians of the Galaxy.
I am also deeply bothered by the foul language I overheard in Disneyland. That hasn't been a major problem in the past, but holy moly! There were 'F' words flying all over the place. I'm finding more and more that people no longer hold their tongues around children. It makes me really sad.
I've always thought the food prices at Disney parks were atrocious, but now that the cost of everything has gone up so much everywhere else, Disney food doesn't seem so bad anymore. Even though Disney has raised prices for a lot of things, their food prices don't seem to have increased at the rate of everything else (when they read my blog, they'll raise everything. Just wait!)
Trying to stay soda sober at Disneyland was so hard! I love drinking Coke at Disneyland, and the second I walked in, I was tempted at every angle. I can't even tell you how many times I almost broke down and bought a Coke. Then, finally, during the last two hours at California Adventure, I made the decision that I was going to have a Coke. Just one. And I remembered something... they have paper straws. I hate paper straws and always take my own straws to Disney parks, but this time I didn't because I wasn't going to drink any soda. That is what got me through. My hate of paper straws is stronger than my love of Coke. Thus I remain 129 days soda sober.
During the last few years, while I've been away from Disneyland (my last trip was December 2019), I've been exposed to some "influencer Disney culture" (not even on purpose! I don't follow any of it - but you know how the algorithms be), and I started to get a tainted view of what Disneyland is like. I was worried that I'd get there, and it would be full of Disney Bounders and influencers, and that the whole place would be overrun by Tik Tok trends. I definitely saw some of that, but it was minimal, and I'm happy to report that Disneyland is still Disneyland... full of tired, screaming children; arguing spouses; and people who can't walk straight. And while I hate all that, I'm just happy that Disneyland is still full of normal people.
Speaking of arguing spouses...
Scotty and I hate Autopia, and we were like, "It's so nice not having the kids here because we don't have to ride stupid Autopia!" But then the sun went down, and I was like, "Hey, have we ever ridden Autopia in the dark?" and Scotty was like, "No! I don't think so!" so we decided to ride it. Suddenly we became an elderly couple arguing on the road for the entire ride! Scotty drove while I nagged him about following too close. We hit our twentieth anniversary and turned into Scotty's parents!
I've been to Disneyland somewhere between 22-25 times (I tried to figure it out while we were there, but I couldn't get an exact number), and I've never bought myself a clothing item from there. I didn't take a jacket, and I never dried from Splash Mountain, so I was freezing. I ended up buying my first Disneyland shirt ever! It's laughably low quality, and I look like a fruity, alcoholic beverage in it, but I have arrived!
After Splash Mountain got the best of me
We usually run into someone we know any time we go to Disneyland. This time we didn't, and we're still shocked. However, there was a man I walked past that I know I've seen before. I wish I would have seen his kids so I could see if I recognize them.
We didn't even step foot in Galaxy's Edge.
As you can see in one of the photos above, I took a word puzzle book in the park with me, and I was perfectly happy playing my word games while waiting in line. De. Light. Ful.
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And there you have my re-cap of what may be my 25th trip to Disneyland, but I really don't know. But for sure, it was my first trip to with just Scotty, and I'm not opposed to 24 more.
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