Bonus Episode: Disneyland

And you thought Christmas was over! Alice and Tom gave us a uniqe present this year: a trip to Disneyland in California - WOW!!! We spent three nights at the Disneyland Hotel and four *magical* days at Disneyland and Disney's California Adventure.


Big thrills were on the remodeled Space Mountain and Mr. Toad's Wild Ride (I'd never been on it!), and The Matterhorn (the world's first steel-tube coaster). It's A Small World was closed (no one cried) while they removed the holiday decorations. In California Adventure, the California Screamin' roller coaster looked like a large wooden coaster, but was realy a steel coaster with a loop! The Sun Wheel was a ferris wheel derivation with cabs that moved around as it spun--an experience you have to feel to understand.

Points of difference between Disneyland and the Walt Disney World parks:

• "land" is in California and was built first.
  
• "World" is in Florida and is waaaay bigger.
  
• The Haunted Mansion in CA was decorated in "the Nightmare Before Christmas" motif--never seen the movie, but it was much more interesting!
• The CA Tower of Terror was much shorter and didn't give the background story as much.
• While on the Pirates of the Carribean in Disnyeland, you float by an actual restaurant, the Blue Bayou, where we had dinner one night!

Big thanks to Alice and Tom for the most relaxing and "vacation" vacation we've had since our honeymoon! Of course, we have no more vacation time for the year, but it was worth it!