A couple weeks ago, me and my family decided to take a short "last summer hurrah" trip to California and back. Just a quick two day trip. One day at the beach and one full day at Disneyland. I, being the dis-nerd that I am and the photographer I am, was instantly excited of course. As the day drew nearer however, I started to get concerned, "One day?" I thought, "that's not a lot is it?". But I shushed that and told myself that I was happy to even be going at all. The night before we ate at the "Tangaroa Terrace" at the Disneyland hotel, one of our favorites due to how quiet and calm it is, especially at night. The day finally came, after dinner and a night of treating sunburns, trying to get shifts at work covered and a good sleep. I was ready to take on the day like never before, and I was very excited to be going "home".
Now, I thought me and my family wouldn't get much done, spend most of the time in well-chosen rides and eating snacks, and my family waiting for me to go and take pictures. This was not the case. That was my favorite day at Disneyland. Hands. Down. I wouldn't trade it for some of my previous trips. We got around 15 rides done and ate all three meals in the park. We stayed almost from opening to closing, we switched parks six times that day. We of course weren't able to make it on a few rides due to wait times and lack of time, but for one day, we did really good. I took around 2000 pictures, a normal number for me, and we were all happy to be there most all of the time. I got my usual stacks of maps and fastpasses, and other stuff that I think I need to "collect", as well as my usual few pins and such.
Now, I was worried from my feelings on my last trip that with all the changes and expansions going on that Disneyland had lost some of its magic. I am glad to report, that the Magic of Disneyland is not gone, it's very much alive. Its still Walt's park, and is still a lovely and happy place to be. Some of the new changes are pretty great too. For example the changes to Adventureland to make that bottleneck just a little bit bigger have actually worked for the most part, you can now pass through there if you are the width of a human being rather than a popsicle stick. I have mixed feelings to report that "Guardians of the Galaxy; Mission: Breakout!" is actually pretty great. Its no Tower of Terror, and never will be, but it is pretty good for what it is and is also pretty well done. (This is coming from a Die-Hard Tower of Terror fan, so it's trustworthy). We also tried the new "Maxpass" system at the park. The "Maxpass" system is similar to the "Fastpass Plus" system at Disney World, but they don't use braclets at Disneyland (yet). Instead you use your phone or tickets. Instead of a normal "Fastpass" coming out of the machine, you get a "Fastpass Reminder" which is still cool. As a bonus you get all the "Photopass" pictures from rides and "Photopass" photographers. It's a great system and I definitely recommend it, despite the extra $10 a day per person. It was also nice to be able to go back on Tom Sawyer Island and see the trains running again, as well as see the new Big Thunder Trail. Which I am happy to report is still a quiet and unpopular trail and yet somehow eases the crowds in a huge way despite having covered entrances to Galaxy's Edge (Star Wars Land).
Overall I had a fabulous time. It was a great experience to go full out for one day, and not care how much my feet hurt the next day, or try to save some energy for the next day. I actually recommend one day at Disneyland with a park hopper if you are just doing a quick trip. But a longer trip is always just as much fun. It was also glad to see that the park is still as magical and wondrous as ever, despite the changes and updates. Those imagineers know what they are doing. Me being me I am still a little skeptical towards the changes, but I still love Disneyland as much as ever, and am glad to be lucky enough to go as often as I do. Thanks Disneyland for the wonderful new memories, and I'll be back for more just as soon as I can. :)