Getting In My Disneyland Fix (or One Last Bit Of Christmas Time In The New Year)

This past Sunday, I made a trip down to Disneyland with my friend Lupe and her son Diego. Lupe and I have been trying to get together for a Disneyland trip for a long time, and finally our days off matched (and our annual passes weren’t blacked out)!

We got to the parks just before 10am. It wasn’t too crowded, which surprised me since it was a Sunday and the last day of the Christmas decorations at Disneyland. Some of the seasonal rides (like Haunted Mansion Holiday) had huge lines, but most of the other rides had pretty reasonable wait times. I use a pass at Disneyland that allows me to wait off to the side while waiting for my ride (standing for a long period of time without moving really aggravates my hip). But our wait times for most rides were about 30 minutes (after waiting our time, we are led onto the ride, but it’s not instant access).

A lot of our day was just looking around at how gorgeous the day was. We couldn’t have asked for better weather.

But of course, we went on a bunch of rides. We did Haunted Mansion Holiday and got stuck on it for a minute at the graveyard scene. But that did allow me to take this pretty cool picture (and for those of you who hate people who take pictures in the dark rides, this was done without a flash).

We also rode the train around the park, only to get stuck at the train station in Tomorrowland (there was some issue with the trains and they couldn’t keep running).

I wanted to ride the submarines, but they are closed down for a long refurbishment. They haven’t drained the lagoon yet, but the waterfall stopped running and you could see a little bit inside the show building (I dream of getting stuck on that ride inside the show building so I could look around and see behind the scenes!).

We rode the monorail around as well. Lupe and Diego had no idea that you could ride in the nosecone with the driver, so we did that. They used to give you a co-pilot’s license as a little souvenir, but now they give you a boarding pass (I actually think the boarding pass is better).

We also went on Star Tours, Space Mountain, and Pirates of The Caribbean before heading over to California Adventure to ride my one of my favorite rides, Radiator Springs Racers. Our car won the race in case you cared.

This was the first time I had been in Cars Land during Christmas time. They have so many cute Christmas trees decorated in Cars themes in that area. I had to get a picture with one.

At this point, I was starting to be in a lot of pain and I forgot to bring my painkillers with me. So we decided to head back home.

It was a great trip with a great friend. I’m glad I made it to the parks before all the decorations were gone. And of course, I love getting to go on the rides.

My pass expires pretty soon. I know I’ll be renewing it, it’s just an issue of when. My original plan was to wait until the spring when my parents are here (we are going to spend a day in the parks). But with my (f)unemployment probably starting in about a month, I might want my pass to be good then so I can go on those free days. I haven’t had the chance to recycle enough ink to pay for a new pass, so I’ll have to see how to budget it. I know that Disneyland does monthly payment plans, but I don’t know if I want another monthly bill.

Either way, I know I’ll be back in the parks soon. I’m hoping to fit in one more quick visit before my pass expires!

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