Disneyland

We recently took a trip to the "happiest place on earth," and I have to say, I was pleasantly surprised. Jacob needed to go to California for a few days for work, so we made a mini vacation out of it. We, of course, had to see the beach and although Venice beach was on our to do list, we were too far away to see it in time before the night fell, so we headed to Newport beach instead. We saw some really fun houses along Newport beach, and I thought about how amazing it would be to walk out the door and have the beach as your front yard. The timing of our beach visit was perfect. The sun had set, and the overcast sky emitted the most ethereal, dream-like, periwinkle glow. It was stunning.



Even the frigid Pacific couldn't stop the surfers from lining up.

The next day, we visited Disneyland and California Adventures. Surprisingly, this was something totally new and unprecedented for me. In my 26 years of existence, I had never been to Disneyland, Disneyworld, Universal Studios, or Sea World. (You can thank my theme-park hating parents). I imagined the parks would be overcrowded and congested and resemble the Minnesota State Fair. However, I was pleasantly surprised as the ride lines weren't too long and the streets were in pristine condition. I don't recall seeing one piece of garbage or litter on the ground because the staff members work hard to keep the park so clean. It was also on this day that I fell in love with Minnie Mouse. When I saw Mickey and Minnie in person, I felt like a 5-year-old. I stood in line to meet Minnie, but before I could get to my turn, her agent said she had to take a break and would be back in a few hours. My heart sank, and I never did end up meeting her. Such a classy lady, that Minnie Mouse. At the end of the day I even bought Minnie ears to take home. Needless the say, I've been wearing them around the house whenever the urge arises.

Tower of Terror
On this ride you step into an elevator and listen to creepy twilight music as it shoots you up and down from floor to floor before plummeting to the ground in total darkness. It dropped so fast I couldn't even scream because the free fall took my breath away.



"It's tough to be a bug!"



 



Cars Land was one of our favorite rides. A car takes you on a fun adventure through 
scenes in the movie and finishes off by having you race the car next to you. 



 

Wearing our cool shades for the 3-D rides

This little adventure of a ride nearly made us lose our breakfast. Once around was enough.

Although this is probably meant for 5-yr olds, I loved The Little Mermaid exhibit. 
We felt like we were under the sea with all the fish and sea creatures.

 

 

Dug from Up
"Squirrel!"

Jacob really wanted my picture with this "record catch" sign. I was flattered
 he posted that I was his "record catch,"....aside from the 7.5 ton weight.

Monster's University

Jacob getting nervous to enter the Tower of Terror.

The infamous Disney castle. The firework show at night was really something 
amazing and was one our favorite parts of the whole experience.

Although we will likely not return until we have kids, at the ripe age of 26, my first Disney experience was a success. I even ended up going home with Minnie Mouse ears, which I will probably use for Halloween this year.