Day 3 September 25, 2023
Today we went to Disneyland! First thing we did was have our picture taken in front of the entrance flower garden which has a big picture of Mickey Mouse.
Once we went through the tunnel, we came out into Town Square. Katherine and I were booked to go on a tour to celebrate 100 years of the Walt Disney Company at 9:30am, so we decided to stay in Town Square and go and visit the Opera House where Great Moments with Mr Lincoln has been playing since 1965.
We then went over to the tours kiosk where we joined our walking tour. While the tour met in Disneyland, our first stop was actually over in Disney’s California Adventure as it has been built to reflect Hollywood of the early 1920’s when Walt Disney first arrived to set up his animation studio- Disney Brothers Cartoons. We got to go in a secret door in the Animation Building and go straight into a drawing class where we drew Ursula from the Little Mermaid!
We then walked back into Disneyland park and went back into the Opera House where we were earlier to look at the multiplane camera that Disney used to innovate depth of field in animated features.
The Mickey mouse face made of flowers at the entrance to Disneyland
The Disney 100 tour finished up near Sleeping Beauty’s Castle where a photographer was waiting to take our photos. Once the tour finished, Katherine and I walked into Fantasyland and up to the It’s a Small World ride.
After It’s a Small World, we walked across to the new Star Wars land called Galaxy’s Edge or using the Star Wars name- Black Spire Outpost. The really cool thing about Galaxy’s Edge is that there is a real Millennium Falcon, a real X-Wing, and Storm Troopers patrolling the outpost. We then went off-world back to Earth and walked to the Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh ride.
After the Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, it was time for the afternoon parade called Magic Happens! As a special addition to our morning tour, the tour guides had a reserved space for tour guests to watch the parade and eat our Disney100 giant cookie!
We then watched the Disney Marching Band perform near the Town Square flag pole as they had the flag retrieval ceremony. The first song they played was We don’t talk about Bruno from Encanto.
After the sun had gone down, we went back to New Orleans Square to go on the Jungle Cruise at night. It’s hard to see all the animals in the dark, so we are going to have to come back during the day time later in the week to see everything.
Just around the corner from the Jungle Cruise is Walt Disney’s Enchanted Tiki Room. It was only a short wait, so we stopped by to see the show!
Our last attraction of the evening was the Haunted Mansion. Katherine really loves the original Haunted Mansion ride, but she has never seen this version of the Haunted Mansion where Jack Skellington has decorated the whole mansion inside and out for Christmas!
It’s been a really long day, so Katherine and I are looking forward to some sleep.
Tomorrow, we are going back to Disney’s California Adventure!
Georgina Monster