A Day in the Most Magical Place on Earth: Disneyland

A dream is a wish your heart makes…

Disneyland – where all of my childhood dreams came true.

Buckle up. This is going to be a long one. We have 19 hours of adventure to cover.

Our day started out bright and early at 4 a.m. in Minneapolis, when we drove through the cool, dark morning toward the airport, and the start of our adventure!

Through time changes, flights, and layovers, Kaysey and I finally made it to Anaheim, California at around 10:30 a.m. We took an Uber to our AirBNB, which is where we hit our first travel roadblock in our trip.

When we booked our AirBNB, we knew we’d be getting in to Anaheim in the mid-morning, but our AirBNB check-in time wasn’t until 4 p.m. Kaysey had booked the room, so she reached out to the hosts and asked if we could check in early to drop off our bags and change.

However, when we got there, no one was home, and the hosts didn’t answer their phone – though Kaysey called them three times. So there we stood, in the driveway of a house on a random street in Anaheim, carrying our luggage, having no where to go. It wasn’t the last time we’d be in those shoes during this trip, but we didn’t know that then. Jet-lagged, tired, and craving In-N-Out, we were at a bit of a loss.

Kaysey sent our hosts a message via AirBNB, and we waited in their driveway for a response. Normally, a situation like this would flip me out. My Type A personality and hitches in the plan like this normally do not mix well together – but for some reason, I was initially pretty calm with the situation. I think knowing that I would later be going to Disneyland prevented me from losing my cool, because there was no way that I was going to be upset at the happiest place on Earth.

Eventually, Kaysey received a call from our hosts – they said we couldn’t check in to our room until 4 p.m. (even though they definitely said we could when they messaged Kaysey initially, before we departed on our trip. Because if they hadn’t, we definitely would have selected a different AirBNB to stay at). However, there was a lockable storage bench on their front porch that they gave us the combination to. There was just enough room for two carry-on suitcases, but not enough space for mine or Kaysey’s backpack, so we knew we would have to take them with us.

Having not done anything with our appearances for the day, since we’d spent all of it traveling to that point, we’d wanted to get changed and do our hair and makeup before heading to Disneyland. Since we couldn’t get into our AirBNB, we needed to readjust. So, we did a quick-change in the driveway, packed up our makeup and straighteners in our backpacks, and decided that we would get lunch at In-N-Out, and then find a Starbucks to get ready at, like the true Millennial backpackers we are (or were aspiring to be).

So we made our way to In-N-Out with half of our belongings on our backs.

Kaysey had never been to California before, and she’d definitely never had In-N-Out, so this was a very exciting time for her. We did the whole experience right – double doubles, milkshakes, and animal-style fries.

If you’ve eaten at In-N-Out and haven’t gotten your fries animal-style….there’s something wrong with you. And also congratulations on your unclogged arteries.

Ours were definitely very clogged after our meal, but we walked approximately ten thousand miles later that afternoon, so it probably evened out (or at least that’s what we told ourselves).

This was when we realized that the closest Starbucks was a drive through only, and we were approximately two miles from Disneyland. With several hours before we could check in to our AirBNB, we decided to just go ahead and begin our visit to Disneyland.

After purchasing overpriced sunscreen at a shady 7-Eleven nearby, we took a short Uber to the most magical place on Earth.

An Uber was as close to a magical carriage as we’d get.

But it wasn’t without its minor kinks in the plan.

When we finally made our way toward the entrance, we realized that we’d have to let the security guards check our bags, and they were packed to the brim with our belongings. As we unzipped our backpacks, we explained the AirBNB situation to the security guard, who told us he was going to have to look through everything. He had to check every tiny make-up bag and packing cube. Then, he came across a frisbee in my backpack, and told me he was going to have to confiscate it, as they don’t let people bring sporting goods into Disneyland, which frisbees are evidently considered.

I was pretty bummed – I’ve traveled with that frisbee everywhere, and have taken pictures of it in many of the locations I’ve gone to (It has my company’s logo on it, and we publish a section in our newsletter to show all of the places staff have taken their logo’d items in the world, so I’ve enjoyed adding my pictures to the collection). The security guard was super nice, though; he said due to our situation with the AirBNB, he’d ask the manager if they could make an exception.

I knew they wouldn’t, and if I were them, I definitely wouldn’t have made an exception for me, but I thought it was really nice that he asked. Of course, the manager said no, and the security guard seemed like he genuinely felt bad for our situation, which was pretty nice of him.

A few layers of security later, we were through. We were a bit confused on how to enter the park, with the split between Disney California Adventure, but eventually figured it out.

“Here you leave today and enter the world of yesterday, tomorrow, and fantasy.”

Absolutely love it.

The very first thing Kaysey and I did when we entered Disneyland was buy a pair of glittery, sequined Mickey ears, which we promptly and proudly placed upon our heads.

This picture was definitely taken post-Starbucks time – I’ll explain in a minute.

Before we’d purchased our Mickey ears, we decided to find a place to bunker down for a minute, charge our dying phones, buy some water, and do something about our appearances. We also agreed to enjoy the magic of Disneyland and get over the minor roadblocks we’d previously encountered.

But as we entered the park, we were immediately distracted by the pure magic of it all. A few steps in, Kaysey and I turned to one another, exclaimed “We’re in Disneyland!” grabbed each others’ hand, and began jumping up and down like a pair of five-year olds.

It was perfect. Everything about Disney was a dream.

Before we let ourselves get too carried away, we set upon our goal of finding a coffee shop, and we stumbled upon a Starbucks, where we purchased two water bottles, ordered Refreshers, and found the one corner of the shop that had a phone charger.

Let this be a lesson unto all you future Disneyland-goers: there are no outlets anywhere in Disneyland.

My theory is that this is because they want to sell you their portable phone chargers and not invest in charging stations when they could be making an extra buck.

However, there is a set of outlets in the right-hand side room of the Starbuck in Disneyland, right next to the fake wood-burning stove.

Here’s the exterior of the Starbucks – it’s been totally Disney-fied, but it is indeed a Starbucks.

So that’s where we found ourselves, doing our hair and makeup very publicly on the floor in the middle of the Disneyland Starbucks.

A few people stared, but we had no energy to care.

The night before, I’d made a comment to Kaysey about how people were going to pronounce my name properly at Disneyland because of Princess Anna from Frozen (even though her name is spelled wrong). Kaysey laughed and said “Is that what you think Disneyland is? A place where everyone will finally pronounce your name correctly?”

Of course it would! How could it be anything else? It’s Disneyland. It’s magic.

So anyway. I had a good laugh when I got my Starbucks cup, as Starbucks employees are notorious for spelling names wrong.

BUT NOT AT DISNEYLAND.

I was very pleased. Also, check out the cute Mickey ears on that little doodle.

Once we fixed our appearances, sipped our cold drinks, and charged up our phones, we headed across the street, where we were told we could get the tag cut off our Mickey ears, and where we also wanted to shop for sweatshirts.

Instead, we found something so much better.

Fanny packs.

Yes, that’s right. I said fanny packs.

Now, I’m not going to lie to you and say that I haven’t made fun of fanny packs and people who wear them for my whole life, because I definitely have.

But what. the. heck.

Fanny packs are so underrated!! They were amazing. In fact, throughout our entire trip, Kaysey and I would periodically turn to one another and comment on how wonderful and convenient fanny packs are. We were constantly pointing out to each other how nice it was to be hands-free all day, and to not worry about a purse or backpack.

Here you can see Kaysey’s fanny pack – we both purchased the same one: black, embroidered with three Mickey Mouses in various colored pants. Super freaking cute.

So once we’d purchased our fanny pack treasures, we rented a locker and stowed away our bulky backpacks, and feeling much lighter, explored the park.

Our first stop was obviously the pink castle.

And because it’s Disneyland, when we made our way to the castle, there was a marching band decked out in crisp white and navy uniforms, playing classic songs from Disney films.

We didn’t spend time waiting in line to get on rides, but instead explored most of the park. There was a lot to see, and just checking out the different areas and their variety of themes was really cool.

Of course, there was Tomorrowland.

Tomorrowland was full of Star Wars and Buzz Lightyear rides and apparel.

We also had to visit Toontown, naturally – the home of Mickey Mouse.

Toontown had an odd feel to it – and not because the buildings are shaped very cartoon-like. Kaysey and I both agreed that there was this weird sensation when you walked far enough in; a feeling like you had just walked into a dome. The sky was so consistently blue, lacking in clouds, and the green “trees” in the distance looked like cardboard cutouts against a fake blue background. Overall, you felt like you stepped out of reality and into a dome-like cartoon world. It was strange, but definitely fitting for the space.

We made our way to Mickey’s house, which was pretty fun to walk through. There were pictures of him with Pluto and Minnie, and oversized, cartoonish home decor pieces. We waited for 45 minutes, at which point our exhaustion began to catch up with us, but we kept trucking along.

Finally, it was our turn to meet Mickey!

I’d like to take this moment to point out that my shirt says, “Oh, Mickey, you’re so fine,” and I did, in fact, buy it just for this occasion.

Also, can we talk about how short Mickey is? I mean, I know he’s supposed to be a mouse, and I know I’m very tall, but he was so short. I wonder if that’s a requirement for the position or if Disneyland is breaking child labor laws.

Anyway, Mickey must have been at the end of his shift or waiting for his smoke break, because Kaysey felt like he hated her for some reason. Maybe he just didn’t like people coming into his home all day to take pictures with him. Maybe he’d seen one too many crying kids that afternoon. Who knows.

After successfully getting our picture with Mickey, we had to hit the classic.

It’s a small world.

Thank God for the Disney FastPass. The FastPass allows you to go through a much shorter line instead of waiting, and as Kaysey and I didn’t ride any other rides, we decided to use ours here, and ended up getting on the ride in about ten minutes, versus waiting for an hour.

And so we went!

The song was immediately stuck in my head, and Kaysey and I happily sang along for awhile.

The ride was pretty cute, and very brightly colored. It was fun to see the different places they covered, and how they tried to sneak in various Disney characters throughout the ride.

In the end, all of the various people from throughout the ride are united in the final display, where they’re all wearing matching outfits and dancing together. It was actually pretty cool. Someone should wheel Donald Trump through there, though he probably wouldn’t get it.

After our leisurely ride through It’s a Small World, we were pretty exhausted and hungry.

We’d been at Disneyland for about five hours at that point, and had been awake for about thirteen hours.

So we decided to head back to Tomorrowland, where they had a hilariously themed restaurant, seemingly owned by the Aliens from Toy Story – Alien Pizza Planet.

We weren’t sure if it was the best pizza we’d ever had, or if we were just starving, but it definitely hit the spot. I’d also like to once more remind you that if you’re looking for an outlet to charge your phone at Disneyland, you’re going to be hard-pressed. We saw exactly one outlet in this pizza joint, and it was off to the side, away from any tables, and it was in use by a girl sitting on the floor.

After taking a breather and relaxing for a few moments, we headed to Adventureland, where we tracked down the infamous Dole Whips for dessert.

I’d been waiting my whole life for this. Dole Whips are a Disneyland specialty, which is essentially a delicious pineapple-flavored ice cream treat. It was. so. good. Real dreams coming true, folks.

After enjoying our pineapple treats, we wandered through Adventureland – what a place. We ended up climbing Tarzan’s Treehouse, which was super cool. It was obviously created for children, like many things in Disneyland, but my inner child was so jazzed about it. The attention to detail was crazy – it made you feel like you were in the film itself.

It also had some pretty killer views of the rest of the park.

Welcome to Disneyland, folks.

We hit the top of the treehouse just before the infamous golden hour.

We also stopped at Disneyland’s Royal Hall, where I was hoping we could see Anna and Elsa, so I could get pictures with them and later make a witty Instagram post about hanging out with my sister, Elsa.

But alas, they weren’t there that day. Instead, they were at Disney California Adventure, which we didn’t have tickets to. There were a few princesses inside the Royal Hall, but the line was pretty lengthy, and there were still more adventures to be had! We did see Rapunzel and Flynn standing outside the castle chatting with some children, and Gaston was walking around the park making funny comments to children.

We also took a ride on the Columbia, a ship that Disney takes on tours through the park. The Columbia is a full-scale replica of the first American ship to circumnavigate the globe.

It was a pretty cool way to see several areas of the park! We passed through the New Orleans area, and got to scope out some of the areas we wanted to go later. The ride only took about 15 minutes, and the wait in line was pretty slim, as it can fit quite a few people on board.

The last item on our list was to see the fireworks at Disneyland. However, we had about an hour on our hands, and we were exhausted, with aching feet and dying cell phones. So, we headed back to our home-away-from-home at Disneyland, and reclaimed our corner of the Starbucks with the power outlet, and ordered some cold beverages.

We relaxed at Starbucks with other groups of Disney-goers, until there was about an hour before the fireworks started. I’d read online that you need to start lining up about an hour beforehand, as it gets pretty crowded.

I would honestly say it’s more like an hour and a half – the number of people already set up in front of the castle was pretty ridiculous, considering we were there a whole hour before the show. However, Kaysey and I simply purchased a few of Disney’s infamous churros, and deposited ourselves on the pavement, as close as we could get to the castle. Once the show started, everyone ended up clustering together, and we ended up getting a pretty central location for the show.

We met and chatted with a few groups of people before the show, who were all super nice Californians who asked us if we’d been driven away yet by any rude Californians or bad drivers, which we definitely had not. We hadn’t driven on the 405 yet – that would come later. They were super nice, and obviously frequent Disneyland attendees.

The show was incredible. The amount of work that must go into that show is insane, and the amount of money Disney plugs into it is probably just as crazy. In addition to fireworks, there was a montage of Disney music, accompanied by fun videos displayed on the castle itself. It was beautiful, and encapsulated the magic of Disney – we truly felt like kids again.

Once the show was over, we headed back in a huge stream of people toward the entrance of Disneyland. The park would stay open yet for a few more hours, but having been there for a total of 9 hours, Kaysey and I were ready for sleep, before our mini road trip to San Diego bright and early.

We had a magical time at Disneyland – it truly is the most magical place on Earth.