{"id":558,"date":"2014-10-15T11:24:12","date_gmt":"2014-10-15T11:24:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.garrard.com.au\/usa\/?p=558"},"modified":"2015-02-23T22:21:02","modified_gmt":"2015-02-23T22:21:02","slug":"disneyland","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.garrard.com.au\/usa\/uncategorized\/disneyland\/","title":{"rendered":"Disneyland!!"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Well,<\/a>

Well, that face just about sums it up. We’re on our way to Disneyland!! Given our relatively short stay in LA, we were adopting the back-to-back theme park strategy (not a bad strategy with four enthusiastic kids!). \u00a0Steve and Brenna, having arrived in LA the previous evening, came with us\u00a0for this very long-awaited day.<\/p><\/div>\n

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\"Something<\/a>

Something that Erin and I had long ago planned to do was to score some Minnie ears swiftly upon our arrival at\u00a0Disneyland!<\/p><\/div>\n

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We actually spent three days crossing back and forth between Disneyland and Disney California Adventure Park, the entrances to which face each other and are only about 100 metres apart. \u00a0Park hopper passes are my recommendation, if you’re ever thinking of going. \u00a0We spent all of the first day\u00a0with Steve and Brenna at Disneyland, as they were only in LA for one more day. \u00a0For expediency’s sake, I’ve incorporated all our Disneyland pics into this one entry. \u00a0As it turned out, I didn’t get as many pics as I thought I would, as we were too busy racing around having fun! \u00a0Steve and Brenna took Disneyland at a slightly slower pace for the little ones’ sake.<\/p><\/div>\n

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We were welcomed to Disneyland by Bert of Mary Poppins’ fame, who very kindly explained (in a credible British accent) where to find what and when.<\/p><\/div>\n

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But first, a little necessary Mickey-kissing.<\/p><\/div>\n

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Here’s where it all started, with Walt and a mouse.<\/p><\/div>\n

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The original Sleeping Beauty castle. \u00a0It’s not as big as we thought it would be, but it’s still pretty impressive. \u00a0Wow, it was so much fun being there.<\/p><\/div>\n

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The Matterhorn!! \u00a0All these places I’d heard about all my life, and now we’re actually here!!<\/p><\/div>\n

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The Matterhorn was one of the first rides we went on as a family. \u00a0Old school, but super fun, except if you’re Natey… darn abominable snowmen!!<\/p><\/div>\n

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Autopia. \u00a0All of a sudden Xbox Disney Infinity makes sense now.<\/p><\/div>\n

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Andy loved, loved, loved it. \u00a0Anytime he can drive a car of his own, he’s one\u00a0very happy man.<\/p><\/div>\n

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The teacups. \u00a0The TEACUPS!! If that’s not quintessential Disneyland, I don’t know what is.<\/p><\/div>\n

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By this stage in our USA trip, we’d all buffed up a bit from all the walking and exercise we’d done over the weeks, and Disneyland was no exception to this pattern. \u00a0When our legs finally gave out, however, we were grateful to circumnavigate the park from the comfort of the Disneyland Railroad.<\/p><\/div>\n

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\".\"<\/a>

The Finding Nemo attraction. I remember seeing these seagulls in the film for the first time, and being BESIDE myself with laughter because I thought they were saying ‘mate mate mate’ (or more to the point ‘moit moit moit’), which I thought at the time was a singular stroke of linguistic genius based on our unique accent. \u00a0Of course I found out later they were saying ‘mine mine mine’, which wasn’t quite as funny, but still pretty clever.<\/p><\/div>\n

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Waiting, waiting, waiting to meet Tinkerbell.<\/p><\/div>\n

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The lads weren’t as besotted with the idea of meeting Tinkerbell, so they got teleported to Asgard instead. \u00a0Interestingly, Thor had quite an American accent…<\/p><\/div>\n

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Mickey’s Toontown, where we actually got to chill at Mickey’s house. \u00a0He’s very obliging to allow hundreds of tourists into his living room on a daily basis.<\/p><\/div>\n

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We visited Disneyland during the school term on a school day and the park was still crowded with people. \u00a0To meet Mickey at any time always required lining up for a significant period. \u00a0He’s very popular! \u00a0But even that was not as bad as meeting Anna and Elsa from Frozen. \u00a0Erin got a Fastpass (the day’s supply of which were claimed by\u00a0about 10am) and even then it was an hour long wait in the line. \u00a0She thought it was worth it, though. \u00a0Josh was kind enough to wait with her while the rest of us went off to play.<\/p><\/div>\n

\".\"<\/a>

Cruising the jungle in Adventureland. \u00a0It’s kind of funny seeing it in full crisp colour after imagining it in 1970’s ‘Wonderful World of Disney’ TV colour in my head.<\/p><\/div>\n

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Was I smiling or was I gritting my teeth as we launched down the watery precipice? \u00a0Whatever the case, Andy was definitely loving it.<\/p><\/div>\n

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Well, we really, really liked Disneyland.<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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