Lynch's Take Disneyland Day 2~ Christmas Eve

Being here it officially feels like Christmas. The hotel and the parks are all decorated and the mornings and evenings have a definate December chill to them.

This is the first time I have been to land in 10 years and the first time I have been to Disney since Chris and I got enagaged in 2008, so the parks def. have a different feel to them. This is going to sound extremely lame and cliche, but there is a sense of magic here.

We went into Disneyland first and walked around Main Street, U.S.A. Main Street, U.S.A. is the gateway to Disneyland Park. We took a stroll down the street where turn-of-the-century architecture and transportation recreate the quintessential small town of Middle America in the early 1900's. We saw Walt's suite, located above the Firestation and there is always a light on in the window to remind you that Walt is always watching (in a non creepy way). 


Preserved in just the order he left it, Walt's own apartment is located on the second floor above the firehouse. An antique-style lamp sits in the window in honor of his memory throughout the year, replaced by a Christmas tree during the holiday season. While it used to be lit to let Cast Members know when Walt was in residence, it's now a special symbol of Walt's continued presence in the Park. 


We did some more souvenir shopping, had our silhouettes done (the woman was amazing! She cut them out by hand in a matter of second. I can't even cut out snowflakes!) and headed to do some rides.

First on my Disney agenda was Tomorrow Land which is home to Space Mountain! Here in Tomorrowland, the future is today! It's a spaceport where your imagination lands each day to glimpse otherworldly wonders, embark on fantastic voyages, and witness the pioneering of the human spirit. Being a Disney pro I knew there would be a hellacious line, so I grabbed us some Fast Passes. 


Before we could blase off from Space Station 77 into the inky outer reaches of the universe on Space Mountain, we helped save the galaxy when Buzz Lightyear recruited us as Space Rangers to thwart the Evil Emporer Zurg on Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters. We still had some time before we could use our Fast Passes so we submerged ourselves in an aquatic exploration when we embarked on the Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage (which I am pretty sure used to be called 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea). 


It was finally time for us to ride Space Mountain! 

The bay welcomes you with its sweeping overhead lights and shiny metallic interior as imposing machinery captures your attention from above. Once you and your fellow space travelers are scanned and prepared by the control crews, you board a sleek shuttle rocket and receive a safety check in the cockpit.

Once you are secured for take-off, your shuttle then enters the power generation room and the airlock is activated. Energy transfers from the power globes to your shuttle to prepare it for launch. As the universe dissolves before your eyes, Mission Control counts down…

Five…four…three…two…one…zero…!

The galaxy implodes before you, spiraling into a black hole! Hang on tight as your space craft dips and careens at supersonic speeds. So fun! Well for me it was, Chris had is eyes closed the entire time. I had no idea he didn't like roller coasters. My bad ;P


Just a short walk away was Star Tours. In this ride android Rex accidentally jettisons you into a battle with the Empire. 


Man it feels good to be able to act like a kid again!

Helpin' Buzz beat the bad guys!

Can you guess whose score's whose?

We finished up all the rides in Tomorrow and walked through Fantasy Land, more for lil kids, and after a quick lunch, we made our way to take our picture with Santa and his real-life reindeer at Santa's Reindeer Roundup in Frontierland. We forged onward into the rugged region of Frontierland! From the heights of Big Thunder Mountain to the rippling waters of the Rivers of America, this land celebrates the trailblazers, settlers and other heroes of the Old West. Since Chris isn't a big ride guy, he took a break while I rode Big Thunder Mountain but it was too cold to get wet on Splash Mountain.

Frontierland embodies the tremendous expansion into the West starting with the Louisiana Purchase until the Gold Rush of 1849. The rugged fort that greets you at the entrance, the Mark Twain Riverboat and "trading posts" all highlight the pioneering spirit of the Old West.

There's a sense of adventure and taste of authentic history at every turn. For example, the Sailing Ship Columbia is based on a true 18th-century schooner named theColumbia Redidiva. And the flags that line the fort are replicas of actual flags from the revolutionary period, prior to the creation of the familiar "stars and stripes." Come see all the ways that Disney makes history the story in Frontierland!

Can you find the hidden Mickey?

Mrs. Claus has been busy!

He was a good lookin' Santa. One of the kids in line, bless his heart, went up to Santa and told him to leave his presents at their hotel because they aren't going to be home!

We left the park around 3 p.m., but not before I got an ice cream sundae the size of my face, to take a nap and get ready for dinner at Napa Rose, which is located in our hotel.

Rested and dressed in our Christmas Eve finest we made our way to dinner, but stopped to take a picture infront of the pretty tree in the lobby.

For starters we got feasant dumplings, which looked more like empanadas and for dinner I got a yummy porkchop with a cannolini bean ragu and Chris got a lamb porterhouse with a mushroom pasta. We licked out plates clean!

After another wardrobe change, it is COLD here, we went back into the park to watch the Believe in Holiday Magic show. The lights in the park dim and Snow White's castle gets lit up. The best part of this show is it snows in select spots! It may be our first "white" Christmas in three years!

Not quite ready to throw in the towel, Chris and I went into the castle, it was way to chaotic with all the strollers and lil kids earlier, and scoped out the area and took probably my favorite two pics of the entire trip.

Backside of Sleeping Beauty's abode.

Giving it his best effort.

Nope. It's in there pretty good.

It is impossible to stick to a diet here because there are goodies where ever you turn. As we were making our way down Main Street USA and out of the park the candy store called our name. They even have an open kitchen where you can see them make the goods.