Disneyland & California Adventure
Day 1, April 22, 2008

See the pre-trip report here.

The day started for me at 3am Eastern Time, which is midnight Disneyland, ahem, Pacific Time! I finished packing my stuff and got ready to go to Disneyland! I took a cab to the airport; the driver appeared to be in a big hurry because we got from the central Bronx to JFK in about a half hour.

Check in was a piece of cake. I walked right up to the kiosk and got my boarding pass right away. I did not need to check any luggage on the way down.

Here in New York, there’s this tv ad for some lottery game. In the ad, this guy is going through airport security and he’s got all this silver on him. He keeps beeping and holding up the line. Well, the guy in front of me in the security line was just like the guy on tv. Except instead of silver like on tv, the guy was covered in gold. He kept walking through the thing and beeping, and TSA just kept sending him back. This guy actually said “I don’t have any metal on me” while I’m standing right behind him looking at his bracelet, his chain, his multiple rings, his belt, etc. The TSA guy let me pass him but he told me first “you have to wait until your things are in the machine”. I told him that my things are already THROUGH the machine and waiting for me on the other side. I wonder if Metal Man made it through security.

My flight was scheduled to leave at 7:30am. We pushed back from the gate a few minutes BEFORE that. I was stunned. Of course, it was almost 8 when we took off because we had to wait on a long line to get to the runway.

The flight was great. I would totally fly this airline again. Each seat had a tv that was touch screen. You could watch tv (free), a movie (pay), listen to their radio (free, and they had several channels), listen to music (free, search by artist), watch the map (free), play games (free), chat with other passengers (free), or order food (pay). Drinks (non-alcoholic) were free, but food was not. I knew this ahead of time and brought plenty of my own snacks. There were also electrical outlets in the cabin. They were under the two middle armrests, so there were 2 outlets for every 3 people. This was great because I got to use my laptop for a large portion of the flight. There is also a remote for the tv (I found this amusing since the tv is about 10 inches from your face) but on the back of the remote is a qwerty keyboard/game console to use for the chat and game features.

One other thing that was cool about the flight was that since it was Earth Day, we all got a free reusable bag and a sample of Method’s cleaning wipes. They are organic or something. That was a nice touch.

My flight was scheduled to land at 10:45am, but we got in EARLY and landed at 10:20. I don’t think I have EVER arrived early on a flight from or to any NYC area airport. I had only carry-on luggage and a pre-paid voucher for Super Shuttle, so I headed straight out to the shuttle spot and the van was there within 10 minutes. I got to the Candy Cane Inn around 11:45. My mom was already there and she had gone to the Subway across the street so I quickly ate lunch, took some photos of the room, and got my park stuff together. We were inside Disneyland shortly after 12noon.

We walked down Main Street, keeping an eye out for the Mad Hatter because I wanted to get a hat at the beginning of my trip. Well, we didn’t see it and I sure wasn’t about to walk BACK down Main Street when all those rides were waiting! We started out on Buzz because there was really no line. Unfortunately, it broke down while we were riding it. We went to Space Mountain next. The line was short but we also picked up a fast pass so we could ride it twice. The Disneyland version is awesome. The beginning is disorienting, and the rest is very dark. You really can’t see the track like you can at WDW. I really enjoyed this ride! After Space, we rode Star Tours. This is identical to the WDW version, but it’s a classic and I like it. After Star Tours, we decided to just walk around for a little bit and get our bearings. The line for Nemo was about an hour long, but everything else was pretty short. We rode the Fantasyland side of the Matterhorn, which was a lot of fun. I really wish WDW had a Matterhorn. (Swiss Pavilion, anyone?) We walked around and took some photos of the castle. They were setting up for something in front of the castle, so we couldn’t take direct shots. We found out that on Thursday night they were having a special Quinceanera celebration for 15 girls from around the country who had won a contest. We wandered and found the Carnation Gardens on the left side of the castle and got some good shots from there.

Of course, it was time for a Mickey Bar. Food is more expensive at Disneyland than at WDW; one example is found in the Mickey Bar prices. They are $2.50 at WDW and $4.00 at DLR. Cost aside, we each HAD to have one so we enjoyed one at a table overlooking the river near Pirates of the Caribbean. After our refreshing snack we walked around New Orleans Square and then we went to the Tiki Room (NOT under new management!)

We started to head over to California Adventure so we could watch the 5:15 Pixar Play Parade. On the way out, I found (well, I asked about) the Mad Hatter so I could get my hat. We then hopped over to CA. We went to Pacific Wharf Café and I got Broccoli Cheese soup in a bread bowl and my mom got Corn Chowder in a bread bowl. We both liked the food.

The parade was fun. They like water and bubbles. The floats squirt water and they have people walking around with squirt bottles spraying water at people, sometimes from close range.

After the parade we went to the Animation Academy. We were only going to do this one time. In WDW, at MGM (okay, DHS), they let the group choose by voting what character to draw. At CA, they have a schedule. We were there for Dopey. So, we draw Dopey and on the way out they say, “If you want to draw Tigger, come back in 10 minutes!” Well, I just HAD to draw Tigger. So, we went back for a 2nd try at the Animation Academy. On the way out of THAT session, they say “If you want to draw Mickey, come back in 10 minutes!” I want to draw Mickey. Badly. However, my mom does not. Fair enough. We ask at the podium when they will draw Mickey again. Apparently, every day starts with Mickey at 11a, so we will come back.

We headed to Downtown in an attempt to find beignets but we barely get to World of Disney (right near the front of DTD) when we realized we are both exhausted. I decided I didn’t care about beignets, especially since I didn’t even know where Ralph Brennan’s was. (Turns out it’s on the far end of DTD.) We turned around and go back to the hotel. It was 7:30p when we left DTD and we were in bed by 8:30. I thought I’d get up pretty early but I slept all the way through until 6a when the alarm clock woke me up.

Click here for all of my (uploaded) Day 1 Photos.