Our Visit to The Happiest Place on Earth!

So we finally made it to Disneyland AKA "The Happiest Place on Earth." The weather was perfect and we survived without our jackets until the evening. BEWARE! I am about to overload you with tons of pictures from our Disneyland trip!! We had a great time and I want to share our experience with all of you!

Both parks were super busy but we expected it due to the holidays. This was the wait just to get through the security check before you can even enter the parks. Don't forget that I am Black Friday shopper so I can handle the crowds! If you are familiar with the parks and know your way around, that also makes life easier on busy days. The parks are decorated so beautifully during Christmas time and there is just so much to take in. There is just no way that you can see it all in just one day. Some of my favorite things to see at Disneyland are the huge Christmas tree, Sleeping Beauty's Castle and the Firework Show and the falling snow on Main Street.

We bought 4-Day Hopper tickets from Costco so we still have three visits left to see everything that missed. We had not been to Disneyland for almost two years and so many new and exciting changes have taken place since then. The main purpose of our visit was to visit Cars Land which opened about six months ago. My son has been wanting to go since June and I promised him that we would go before the end of the year. My son doesn't like taking pictures all that much but I bargain with him to take pictures with us before he can get on the rides. No trip to Disneyland would be complete without a picture with Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck right?

We were only able to get on four rides at California Adventure because all of the waits were at least an hour long. By the time we arrived at the park at 10:00 am, all of the Fast Passes to many of the rides were already gone. Our favorite ride at California Adventure was by far the Radiator Springs Racers! The wait was about three hours long but so worth it! This ride is a must do if you go to the California Adventure Park. My hair was flying all over the place as you can see in the picture and we had a blast! I wish we could have experienced it a second time.

My son also convinced me to buy him this souvenir cup that he so desperately needed! I have to admit that it was pretty cute but pricey. Everything is so expensive at Disneyland but you have no choice! 

We also went on the Luigi's Flying Tires, California Screamin' and Toy Story Mania.

I passed on California Screamin' but these two tackled it on their own and had a blast!

We headed over to Disneyland about 3:00 p.m and stayed in the park until the end of the evening. We ate dinner and rode just a few rides to pass the time before the firework show started at 9:30 pm. We were able to get on It's a Small World, The Matterhorn Bobsleds and Indiana Jones. 

The plan was to stay until the fireworks show and then return on another day that was less busy. After the fireworks, we rushed out of the park to beat the long tram lines and the rush to get out of the parking structure. SUCCESS! We had a great time and cannot wait to go back and experience some of the other attractions that the crowds did not allow for.

We are even considering upgrading our tickets to annual passes since I am planning on running the Disneyland Half Marathon again this year. It would be nice to have the annual passes so we can visit the park while we are there taking care of other important business, like running races!

Have you ever been to Disneyland/California Adventure? What is your favorite ride or thing to do when you visit the parks?

I think my new favorite ride is the Radiator Springs Racers! I love the end of the ride when you get to race against another car full of people! We actually lost the race but it was a ton of fun!! If you have never been to Disneyland you have to add it to your Bucket List.