Let’s All Go to Disneyland – The Happiest Place on Earth
How are you enjoying your quarantine? You could use more reminders of Disney theme parks, right? Well, MickeyBlog is doing our part.
The site has published some virtual visits to Magic Kingdom, EPCOT, Disney’s Animal Kingdom, and Disney’s Hollywood Studios. We even traveled abroad, which is otherwise impossible right now.
We have only two parks left in America! Let’s pick the oldest one this time. Yes, let’s all go to Disneyland, the Happiest Place on Earth!
A Morning Walking in Walt’s Footsteps
I love Main Street, U.S.A. at Magic Kingdom, but let’s be real. Disneyland is the only place where you can walk down the same path as Walt Disney. You’re visiting his home, the spot where he looked at orange groves and somehow envisioned the ultimate park.
We should savor every moment walking on Main Street. Let’s watch the Dapper Dans perform:
and then ride the train around Disneyland:
We should check out Gibson Girl Ice Cream Parlour, too:
And we might as well visit Uncle Walt’s favorite restaurant while we’re there:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rz0Fue_zzy0
Finally, let’s take a spin on the Street Cars!
Isn’t Disneyland’s Main Street special? Still, we want to ride some stuff while we’re at the Happiest Place on Earth, right? So, let’s head to…
Fantasyland in the Morning
Nobody gets lost at Disneyland due to the hub-and-spokes design. Let’s not complicate our plan, though. Instead, let’s walk straight to Fantasyland, which features many attractions near and dear to Uncle Walt’s heart.
At Fantasyland, we can quickly tear through original attractions like Peter Pan’s Flight:
and Snow White’s Scary Adventure:
We could even ride something that’s older than Disneyland! King Arthur Carrousel dates back to 1922!
And while we’re here, we might as well try to pull the Sword from the Stone!
Of course, my favorite original attraction is the one that’s no longer at Magic Kingdom. Let’s take a spin on Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride!
Another ride that’s not at Magic Kingdom is Alice in Wonderland:
Pinocchio’s Daring Journey is another one that’s exclusive to Disneyland:
And then there’s It’s a Small World, which is just plain better at the Happiest Place on Earth.
The other old school attraction that’s slightly different at Disneyland is Mad Tea Party. Plus, we won’t get sick this way!
Still, we might as well take it easy after spinning ourselves nauseous. Let’s take a cruise on Storybook Land Canal Boats.
Then, before we leave the themed land, let’s do one of the coolest things possible. Let’s ride on the roller coaster that triggered the entire industry-wide search for the perfect thrill. Yes, we’re hopping on Matterhorn Bobsleds!
Tomorrowland and Lunch
Walt Disney envisioned Disneyland as multigenerational and insisted that the park keep an eye toward the future. Several of the attractions here walk the line between modern and futuristic. And they’re all fascinating.
For example, there’s Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage:
Did you realize you never submerged from your starting depth? It’s true! Did you know that Space Mountain is a two-seater here? Yup:
The Buzz Lightyear attraction is more detailed, too:
While we’re here, we might as well take in the classics. Here’s Autopia:
Of course, our vision for tomorrow evolves over time. Don’t believe me? Look at the 1957 idea for the Monsanto Home of the Future:
We’re ready for lunch now, so let’s cheat a little. Let’s teleport over to Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel & Spa for a meal at Storytellers Café:
If that doesn’t work for you, we could skip ahead to the next thing. How do you feel about vaguely defined meats? Assuming you’re okay with them, let’s visit Ronto Roasters.
Yeah, I have no idea what we just ate, but it tasted pretty good.
The Edge of the Galaxy and Critters near New Orleans
Since we spent so much time at Galaxy’s Edge at Hollywood Studios, we will only do a quick-hitter this time. Let’s hit two of the highlights. I mean the rides, not the unknown meats. We’ll start with Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance:
That’s even better when you don’t have to stress over a digital boarding pass, isn’t it?
Then, let’s compete for the highest score on Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run.
We totally crushed that last group, didn’t we? Okay, it’s time to circle the park a bit. We’re heading south to Critter Country, where we will burn some calories on Davy Crockett’s Explorer Canoes:
Then, we’ll head to Splash Mountain, which some people (wrongly) argue is better at Disneyland:
And since time doesn’t matter during our visit, let’s turn back to the clock to when Country Bear Jamboree was still available:
Now, we’ll travel to New Orleans Square for one of the highlights of our day. Did you know that Walt Disney worked on Haunted Mansion, even though it opened years after his death?
Of course, he never got to see its best version, the holiday one starring Jack Skellington:
But the real star is Pirates of the Caribbean, the last ride Uncle Walt prepped right before his death. When you ride it, you’re traveling the same path as the man who invented Disneyland.
Hey, since we’re already at New Orleans Square, we might as well visit the most exclusive restaurant, Club 33!
Oh wait, they don’t allow cameras in there. That’s totally fine. We’ll switch to Blue Bayou Restaurant instead.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m1qinCfIJwQ
Finishing Strong
Okay, we’ve already covered most of the highlights at Disneyland. However, we still have a few things to scratch off our to-do list. The most important one is at Adventureland. Yup, we’re going on Indiana Jones Adventure!
While we’re here, we’d be remiss if we didn’t take a tour of the legendary Jungle Cruise as well.
Of course, I prefer Jingle Cruise, especially at night:
Okay, now we’re ready to head north to Frontierland. While we’re here, we simply must ride Mark Twain Riverboat to view the gorgeous Rivers of America.
And I can’t turn down a chance to visit a Pirate’s Lair, can you?
Finally, let’s appreciate the glory of Big Thunder Mountain Railroad before we leave Frontierland:
That leaves us with only one themed land we haven’t visited yet. I’m speaking of Mickey’s Toontown, where we will knock the final ride off your checklist. Yup, our last stop is Roger Rabbit’s Car Toon Spin:
And with that done, we are totally ending the evening watching a show. Would you prefer Fantasmic!:
or Mickey’s Mix Magic?
I’ll go off the board with my vote and end with the Paint the Night parade:
Okay, if you had any doubt about Disneyland being the Happiest Place on Earth, you know better now. That was a lot of fun, wasn’t it?
Next time, I’m taking everyone to Radiator Springs!
