Disney in the Daylight

Pedro and I went to Disneyland with my offspring, Kellen, their partner, Cameron, and their roommate, Dane. This is the obligatory feet-on-carpet photo from the Portland Airport. Yes…we are silly here.

So I promised y’all I would not inundate you with Disney photos, because I have done it before. We were doing a pretty good job of not taking any photos until we walked around at night and got so inspired by taking night photos that we collected a bunch.

It gave me the idea to post only twice: daytime and nighttime photos from the two parks: Disneyland and Disney California Adventure, both parks in Anaheim, California.

We arrived early at the airport, and had time to find funny Porland stuff. The Columbia Sportswear display of a man fighting a bear, and also the theatre. We were early, so Pedro and I went in and watched about five of the short movies till it was time for boarding to begin.

We are close enough to LA that a flight there was only 2 1/2 hours with no connections. We left in the afternoon and arrived early evening. Got an Uber to our AirBnb that was very close to the park so we could just walk there each morning.

This is how close we were! Sunday night, we watched the Disneyland fireworks from our back patio.

It was the final days of their 70th birthday celebration, so we got a few photos of us with the big “70th” signs. As you can see, the weather was so amazing we dressed light. We each got a slight sunburn, that healed right away and we soaked up the warmth. I have a T-shirt from visiting during the 60th, so this time I bought a 70th T-shirt.

In the photos above, there is one of Pedro with a giant piece of petrified wood. I am pretty sure I have never noticed this before, and I appreciate the history and set up of Disneyland for being able to surprise me even when I am here for the fourth time.

We rode the Mark Twain Riverboat twice: once in daylight and once at night.

We rode so many rides, like the Matterhorn bobselds and the Finding Nemo submarines, but Disney is so huge we did not have time to ride everything. (That’s why I have to keep going back!!)

We have hardly any photos of the kids. They are ages 28 and 29 and we barely saw them in four full days at the parks. We did receive photos now and then.

Here’s one Kellen sent after they watched Mikey’s PhilharMagic with Donald Duck.

Here’s one they sent from the Incredicoaster.

This is us at the Incredicoaster, too. We got this close…then the ride shut down! Argh. But we were invested, and we waited. Luckily…it started up again pretty soon after.

We did sleep in the same house with the kids, but came and went at different times. We met up for dinner twice, and on two occasions – only TWO! – we bumped into each other while walking around. The parks are really huge, and it was easy to lose track completely. But I am assured that everyone had a wonderful time.

Snow White’s Wishing Well and Grotto was installed in 1961 and is still pretty cute.

The hearse at the Haunted Mansion has a ghost horse hitched.

I absolutely love discovering the different worlds at these parks. How you can turn a corner and be at the beach on the East Coast, and then turn another corner…

And be in the futuristic make-believe world of San Fransokyo.

I guess I’m just easily amused. I think the way Disney does this is pure magic, and I’m happy to be absorbed into the dream. At Universal Studios park, not too far away from here, they were able to the do the same thing with the Wizarding World Harry Potter.

My favorite world is the Star Wars section, Galazy’s Edge. It’s the hugest and most immersive.

This is a pretty cool spot, used for character interactions and performances

One day we left the park in the middle of the day to see if a local market had something we were looking for. I showed interest in some macaws and the man saw his opportunity and draped me in the birds. Pedro was good enough to give him a few dollars for taking advantage of us. But I wasn’t too sorry to get suckered into it, as you can see.

Cheers from Disney California Adventure, near Ghiradelli Square!

Every March we do dry March, which worked out well for us in this place where things are exceptionally expensive. It was the beginning of the Wine&Food festival, however, and there were opportunities to drink all over the place. We were craving a drink, and began asking around until we found ONE place that served non-alcoholic beer. It was delicious, and we had two of them.