Recently my daughter and I were given the opportunity to go to Anaheim, California home of Disneyland! Neither of us had ever been to California so this was to be a big adventure for us going all the way across the U.S. and getting to spend five full days together!
The trip from our humble homes in Florida and South Georgia took almost all day. We left before the sun was fully up, went to Dallas, Phoenix, and finally Santa Ana. Then we took a shuttle from the John Wayne Airport for our 45 minute drive into Anaheim. Like a phoenix rising from the ashes The Grand Californian Resort appeared in all of its glory with delightful staff members running around to attend to your every need! Yep, you guessed right, I LOVE all things Disney!
Growing up in Florida with DisneyWorld practically in our back yard we were always familiar with all things Disney, however, I didn’t set foot on that property until I was well into adulthood. From that moment on I was hooked! I love the mouse that started it all, I love the history of Walt Disney’s life, I love Space Mountain and yelling on roller coasters. I even love the over priced tee-shirts and hot dogs! For me, it is pure magic!
As you can imagine, The Grand Californian Resort and DisneyLand were a true dream come true! Honestly, I never thought I’d get to go there because it’s so far away and it’s so expensive but lo and behold, my daughters work conference took us both there! She had to work a lot while I got to play a lot! Everything – from the hotel to the park – was more than I could have ever imagined. Disney, in all of its parts, is masterful at detail and making every step of your visit simply enchanting. To put it simply, we were both totally awed by everything!
We ate spectacular meals and had delicious drinks at the hotel, relished in massages at the resort spa, enjoyed chocolates on our pillows at night, and room service breakfasts. Each staff person we encountered was nicer than the one before and seemed happy to be there! It was like nothing I’ve ever experienced!
I’ll be completely honest with you, I love theme parks, from the simplest to the most elaborate and DisneyLand (don’t hate me Florida) was a zillion times better than my home states park. It is much much much smaller which made it easier to maneuver around, the crowds were intense but everything moved along smoothly, and the outside temperature was pretty comfortable most of the day. We rode every ride we wanted, played Buzz Lightyear games (“To infinity and beyond!”), had our pictures taken with famous characters, and ate hot dogs. What a perfect day it was!
The biggest highlight, of course, was getting to do all of this with my sweet girl! I am always so impressed with her – she’s bright, she’s kind, she cares about others, and (like me) she still believes in a little bit of magic in life! Seeing this park through her eyes was sheer joy for me!
Our last night in Anaheim, we went to dinner at the DisneyLand Hotel, then walked back through Downtown Disney to our hotel. We made it a leisurely stroll so we could take in all the sights, sounds, and colors of our final night there. It was a beautiful thing to hear the sounds of a thousand different accents and languages and to hear that laughter in any language sounds joyful. It was beautiful to see the bright colors of Pixar illuminated across the dark sky. It was beautiful to see so many happily weary people leaving the parks for home. It is a treasured time that I will always remember and tear-up a bit each time I think of it!
It will always be one of my life’s great joys to have gotten to share this with my baby girl!
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