Last Sunday (Nov. 11) I headed west to California for a work conference in San Diego. The conference lasted until Wednesday just before lunch and there was no way I could get that close to Disneyland and not go and check it out for a few days. I took the Amtrak north to Anaheim on Wednesday, arriving at around 1pm, and stayed until Saturday morning (and when I say Saturday morning, I mean my shuttle picked me up from my hotel at 3:30am to make my 6:30am flight out of LAX). I wish John and Jocelyn would have been able to come with me but the price of airfare was pretty steep and I just couldn't justify it. She got to spend a few days with Grandpa and Grandma Cherri in San Antonio while I was gone and John was at work and she had a great time. So glad she got to spend the time with her grandparents. I missed her like crazy and was so excited to be home!
San Diego was beautiful and I stayed at a hotel right on the bay. The time change hit me pretty hard my arrival day and I was asleep by 8pm (California time) on Sunday night. The conference was really good and I felt like I brought a lot of good information and a great big 'To-Do" list back with me.
Disneyland was really neat and I'm glad I went and experienced it for the first time. It is a very different feel than Walt Disney World, but not much beats the holiday season at a Disney park. The castle was much smaller than the one in the Magic Kingdom in Disney World, but there are a few things that I thought Disneyland did better than Disney World (It's a Small World, Pirates of the Caribbean and the Haunted Mansion).
The parks were decorated beautifully and the Christmas parade was awesome. Totally got me in the holiday spirit. It was a little odd eating at restaurants all by myself, but the cast members were really nice and helpful and never made me feel out of place. There were so many rides and activities that I know Jocelyn would have loved (that are not at Disney World) and there were some that I know she would not like because they'd be "too dark" as she would say. I stayed at a "good neighbor hotel" just a few blocks from the parks. In the mornings the walk wasn't too bad at all, but by the end of the day my feet were tired and I didn't want to make the trek. Luckily there was a parking lot right across the street from the hotel that had a shuttle straight to the entrance of Disneyland (the Toy Story Lot), so I'd take the bus in the evenings and make the short walk across the street. So glad Disney was lenient on who used the buses and didn't require proof of parking in the lot...thank you Disney! Here are some pictures from my trip. I'd love to go back...and take my family with me now that I know the lay of the land.
No comments:
Post a Comment