Have you seen the latest Disney movie Frozen yet? It was awesome for me, especially the old Mickey skit in front, Olaf the Snowman and all that singing! Hehe. Most of all, it just brought me back to my latest Disneyland adventure with the cousins near Los Angeles :) You see when I went there, it was already Christmas-themed and well, I didn't really grasp the Frozen decoration parts in the park until now. I could have gotten an Olaf plushie or something now that he's so cute in my eyes! Haha. There was also the (almost) best part of Disney California Adventure which was the World of Color Winter Dreams Edition (I didn't get to watch it in full *sigh..., debuted a week before we went!) - definitely a must-watch when you go here. If you're a music fan, a die-hard romantic or a theme park / fountain / light show / Christmas song / Disney magic addict like me, you'd love it! Let me give you a glimpse of the happiest place on earth in Anaheim, California during the best time of the year. ;)
One fun Friday night (my last one for this month-long USA trip), my younger cousins took me to Disneyland (what a reversal of roles, right?)! Hehe. This day was for us youngsters and young-at-heart to bond like never before =) They're so lucky Disneyland is just around 30 minutes away by car.... It just makes sense to buy an Annual Unlimited Disneyland Pass! Parking was also free (for Premium Annual passes) at the massive Mickey & Friends Parking Structure. We rode a tram (free) from the huge parking buildings to all the way to Downtown Disney District - a short walk from the Main Entrance Plaza of Disney California Adventure (Disney & Pixar stories, showcases California so this is a must-visit when you come here!) and Disneyland Park (original theme park like in Hong Kong and Tokyo Disney Resort).
I bought tickets to the Disney California Adventure first for $92 (1-Day 1-Park Ticket) then just upgraded (to 1-Day Park Hopper, add $45) later on for the 2nd resort. You can also buy the Disney Resort tickets online. The normal park hours of California Adventure is 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. (there's a 10:15 p.m. show though so weird...maybe you can only go in until 10 p.m.) while Disneyland Park is 9 a.m. to 11 p.m. so you know where you'll spend the extra hour after the other one closes haha.
Since it was 6 p.m., the first thing we did was to go to Disney California Adventure. We passed by the Buena Vista Street and had our picture taken by the PhotoPass service personnel (annual pass holder perks). Annual pass holders have a separate line for FastPass and can get earlier show tickets for the World of Color (get them before they run out).
We got our show passes from the Grizzly River Run FastPass Machines..
The color indicated, in my case "Yellow", is the roped area where you can enter (come early to look for your color area and to find a good spot and bring food already! haha) and watch the 30-minute show (no chairs, open area with option to get wet side). Don't ever lose your Entrance tickets as you need to show them from time to time for entrance and the show. Time for some churros! Haha.
After we got our show passes, we headed towards the Paradise Pier.
There's one of my childhood memories in front of me - Mickey's Fun Wheel!
Oh, what a wonderful experience to see it again and note down that this is inside the Disney California Adventure in Anaheim and nowhere else! I just found out that you can fight for control of the colors of the wheel haha. I'll show you later below.
Our first ride was the California Screamin' and it's the best one there in my opinion!
It's intense, outdoor and longer than the other rides. I was screaming and laughing my heart out in no time hahaha.
I love the Christmas decors. It just gets me in a very happy mood hehe. Since it's the Ber months and we were gonna be here for a while at night, I was pretty relieved that I wore a warm Columbia waterproof and windproof jacket, a scarf, my bonnet, gloves (in case) and my Columbia all-weather high boots hahaha.
We passed by the Mad T Party section and it was the first time I'd seen it.
This is the adult part of this park and you can actually get drinks here, hang out and dance to party music.
I guess all the madness comes alive at night when there are less kiddies around! Haha.
We crossed over to the Disneyland Park.
I just love the Main Street and Cinderella's Castle! I've been here a lot in my lifetime coz it's almost the same in all Disneylands but it's a different sight at night.
We were to supposed to go to a restaurant with the "best garlic fries" (Cafe Orleans if I'm not mistaken) but then it was full so we settled for this cold Lobster Roll.
I honestly think this made us all sick (for me the next day). Coz the Splash Mountain ride won't give you a tummyache haha.
We rushed to the World of Color again (park attendants will be there) and played with the Fun Wheel Challenge while waiting.
You have to be at the viewing area and logged into the PierGames WIFI to play a memory game.
If you win against other players, you get to control the color of the wheel! Check out the details and FAQs here.
The World of Color is the first of its kind I've seen so far with the mix of video with floating faces, cartoons, fairies, snowflakes, colors, lights, music and fountains. Well, I only got to see the first part (coz it broke down for our timeslot) but it was so wonderful and I loved it immediately. Just imagine them bringing the world together in a virtual concert.
I would love to take J with me here to see it in full one day. I would get me one of those Glow with the Show Ears too (lights with the music, you can see them in the video below)! If you want a spoiler, here's a full video of the World of Color Winter Dreams show below hehe. It's close but when you're there and you see the things light up from one end to another in full view and coming to life in front of you, it's really borderline magical....
There's one of my childhood memories in front of me - Mickey's Fun Wheel!
Our first ride was the California Screamin' and it's the best one there in my opinion!
It's intense, outdoor and longer than the other rides. I was screaming and laughing my heart out in no time hahaha.
I love the Christmas decors. It just gets me in a very happy mood hehe. Since it's the Ber months and we were gonna be here for a while at night, I was pretty relieved that I wore a warm Columbia waterproof and windproof jacket, a scarf, my bonnet, gloves (in case) and my Columbia all-weather high boots hahaha.
We passed by the Mad T Party section and it was the first time I'd seen it.
I guess all the madness comes alive at night when there are less kiddies around! Haha.
We crossed over to the Disneyland Park.
You have to be at the viewing area and logged into the PierGames WIFI to play a memory game.
If you win against other players, you get to control the color of the wheel! Check out the details and FAQs here.
The World of Color is the first of its kind I've seen so far with the mix of video with floating faces, cartoons, fairies, snowflakes, colors, lights, music and fountains. Well, I only got to see the first part (coz it broke down for our timeslot) but it was so wonderful and I loved it immediately. Just imagine them bringing the world together in a virtual concert.
I would love to take J with me here to see it in full one day. I would get me one of those Glow with the Show Ears too (lights with the music, you can see them in the video below)! If you want a spoiler, here's a full video of the World of Color Winter Dreams show below hehe. It's close but when you're there and you see the things light up from one end to another in full view and coming to life in front of you, it's really borderline magical....
To end the perfect night, we went and screamed some more
inside The Hollywood Tower Hotel
and kicked some alien b*tt with the Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters (Disneyland Park).
I think that's the highest score I've got so far haha. Space Scout! Woo-hoo!
We delved right into Space Mountain for our last ride. The line wasn't that long (perks of late-night Disney-hopping mwahaha).
I would never get tired of roller coasters (even in pitch black situations) haha.
As for stores and shopping (which I also have fun doing when in Disneyland), you can have more of that when you walk outside the parks too.
The World of Disney Store at the Downtown Disney District is HUGE (some things I didn't even see inside the parks).
and kicked some alien b*tt with the Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters (Disneyland Park).
I look so serious in this picture I emailed myself LOL.
We delved right into Space Mountain for our last ride. The line wasn't that long (perks of late-night Disney-hopping mwahaha).
I would never get tired of roller coasters (even in pitch black situations) haha.
As for stores and shopping (which I also have fun doing when in Disneyland), you can have more of that when you walk outside the parks too.
The World of Disney Store at the Downtown Disney District is HUGE (some things I didn't even see inside the parks).
Well, that's it for this Disney Resort now! Not bad for a 6 p.m. to 12 p.m. thing to do when you find yourself in Los Angeles. One's really never too old for Disneyland period and I'll never tire of going back. Hehe. It's a tradition that I can pass on to the future generations. It brings back memories of my childhood, makes me focus on the now (and how happy I get with the rides and spectacular shows) and gets me excited for their future attractions!
The company makes all the difference though. You have to go with folks who are as crazy as you are haha.
We just had to stop by for some drive-thru after the churros, lobster roll, turkey leg and hot cocoa at Disney. LOL.
Next time let's stop over at that blueberry donut place in Anaheim you told me about that's open only at night ;)
I can't wait to watch Saving Mr. Banks! It's showing soon and it's the untold story in the Walt Disney office, played by Tom Hanks and the creator of Mary Poppins and filmed in Disneyland! Hehe. There's also Malificent which will be played by my all-time favorite Angelina Jolie!
Frozen World of Color Show, Winter Dreams at Disney California Adventure Park & Disneyland Park in Anaheim, California!
Frozen World of Color Show, Winter Dreams at Disney California Adventure Park & Disneyland Park in Anaheim, California!