Walt and Mickey in front of the castle at twilight. This statue is called, “Partners”…after all, it all started with a mouse and one man’s dreams
My husband and I LOVE Disneyland. To borrow a phrase from Song of the South, “it’s our laughing place.” We’ve had annual passes for 26 years now. We jokingly call it our 2nd home, but it’s really kind of true. It’s our place to escape to. It’s our place to relax and play. It’s our place to meet up with dear friends and family to make memories. It’s a place we have gone to when the world has gotten us down. It’s a place we’ve sat and shared our dreams with each other as we shared a meal or sat and people watched. It’s so much more then an amusement park to us. It’s inspired us. It’s made us laugh when we were sad. It’s stirred up in us our own creative dreams.
We have never gone to another Disney Park. We hope to one day, but if we never do, we are so happy Disneyland is the park we went to. It’s the only park that Walt himself orchestrated it’s creation, walked it’s lands, had his own apartment, hosted a tv show of and where it all began. Without Disneyland there wouldn’t be any other Disney parks. It’s where the magic started.
For my husband and I, we feel Walt’s spirit at Disneyland. We’ve read a lot of biographies about Walt. We grew up watching his movies and Walt Disney’s Wonderful World of Color. We love Walt. That is another big reason we adore Disneyland. We’ve gone through some hard things and going to Disneyland always helped us regroup and begin to dream again. We relate to Walt. He didn’t have it easy making his dreams a reality. Many didn’t believe in his vision for Disneyland. He fought an uphill battle to get it built. He had many setbacks even before Disneyland. He just got up and brushed himself off and tried again. We love that he was true to himself and what he wanted to do with his life. He had a passion for his dreams and he worked hard to bring them to be. That inspires us so much. We’ve felt a kinship with Walt as we pursue our dreams and try to be the unique people we were made to be.
Our Walt Disney biography shelf
The next weeks on the blog will be dedicated to all things Disneyland and Disney. I’m going to share some of my favorite places to eat and shop at. The foods we enjoy eating. The things I love to collect from Disneyland.
Some of the wonderful things to eat and drink at Disneyland. First row on left, going top to bottom: The Grey Stuff, Raspberry and Pistachio Macaroons (all time fav are the Raspberry ones), Mint Julep and Monte Cristo Sandwich. Middle photo: Bakery shelves at Christmas time. Right row from top to bottom: Loaded Potato Soup, Dole Whip Float, Tea Party Desserts, Apple Funnel Cake.
I joke that shopping is my favorite ride, but it’s kind of true. I love to shop at the park. Here are a few of my favorite things.
I will share my favorite places and rides as well. We all have our favorites, don’t we? The ride we ALWAYS go on. Some trivia about the park and nostalgia, too. Our park routines and tips to make a day trip easier.
Rides starting with left first row, from top to bottom: It’s a Small World, Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride, The Mark Twain. Middle row from top to bottom: Thunder Mountain. Disneyland Railroad, The Haunted Mansion. The last row, from top to bottom: The Jungle Cruise, Pirates of the Caribbean, Storybook Boats.
The Mountains are Calling…Splash, Space, Thunder and Matterhorn
Our Disneyland adventures are some of our best days. We love visiting the House of the Mouse. (sadly, the time on the Paris clock is wrong. One of the hands of this clock needs to be repaired) … for us any time is the right time to go.
To get Disney Days started I want to share a Disney party I did a few years ago. This is the first in four I will be sharing. You can go here:
Link to: Dumbo’s Big Top Party
and see it.
