The Sleeping Beauty Castle in the springtime, surrounded by flowers in bloom. During our Disneyland day, I had some solo time while my husband and kids rode a couple of rides. I spent some time taking photos of the castle, doing some thrill rides, and I even did the castle walk through! More on that below.
A day at the Happiest Place on Earth to soak up the magic and joy! There's no place like Disneyland to get all the happy feels and create sweet memories. It had been a few years since my family had visited and I couldn't wait to go again and do the things I hadn't yet done. Plus, there were some new things to check out since last time at both Disneyland and California Adventure Park, and even new things in Downtown Disney.
For the first time, we rope dropped the park, which meant we arrived when the park opened. We got through security at 7:30 and then by 8 am, we were in front of the castle waiting for the rope to drop for the day. It was busy, but nothing too crazy. The reason for going this early are the low crowds and the wait times for the rides are super short or they're walk on rides, which means no wait. Our plan was to head through the castle, go straight through Fantasyland, take a left by It's a Small World, and then visit ToonTown to meet Mickey!
We did exactly that and the wait to meet Mickey was just ten minutes. He meets guests in front of his house, and it's too cute! Minnie's house is next door, and you can also explore her house. It was so fun to pose with Mickey and get some great photos! Then we rode Mickey and Minnie's Runaway Railway which had no wait at all. We rode this ride in Hollywood Studios before and it's such a delightful and fun ride!
The castle looked beautiful, especially with the 70th celebration decor adorning it! I will be doing a 70th Anniversary of the Disneyland Resort post soon! Disneyland opened in 1955, and the resort is celebrating its birthday from May 2025 until August 2026! We tried some of the70th snacks and got to check out the parades and nighttime spectaculars at both parks for the celebration.
I love this whimsical fountain with Mickey and Minnie at the entrance to ToonTown!
Mickey's house, where he greets guests in front of!
Say cheese! My first time meeting Mickey! It was so fun and I loved his outfit.
After riding Mickey and Minnie's Runaway Railway, we went back to Fantasyland and waited just fifteen minutes to ride Alice and Wonderland. I had to pose in front of the attraction since I was wearing an Alice in Wonderland shirt!
Then my husband took the kids to go ride Haunted Mansion and I rode Space Mountain and Star Tours. I got to ride Single Rider for Space Mountain, which meant I went to a separate line by the ride exit, got a card, handed it to a cast member and got on the attraction with no wait. This was my first time riding it and it was so exhilarating!
Then I went rode Star Tours which was just a fifteen-minute wait. This was a fun screen-based ride with 3D glasses. A Star Wars ride that was pretty fun and I liked how my seat moved like crazy!
After those two rides, I walked around a bit more and had a nice lady take my photo. I walked around Adventureland and tried to ride Indiana Jones, but it wasn't currently running. I tried later in the afternoon again, but they didn't have any single rider cards available, and it was a 45-minute wait.
After meeting back up with my family we got Mickey Beignets at the Mint Julep Bar and then we hopped on the Disneyland Railroad attraction. This is an original attraction which opened in 1955 and goes around the whole park, where you can get on and off at each station. The train stops at Main Street U.S.A, New Orleans Square where we boarded, ToonTown, and Tomorrowland. This was a relaxing way to see the whole park and rest your feet!
After the train ride we grabbed a churro from one of the many carts around the park.
After lunch at Bengal BBQ, which I'll show all three meals on our Disneyland day in my next post, my husband and son were tired, so they walked back to our hotel for a mid-day rest. That gave my other son and me some time together to explore more of Adventureland, do some shopping on Main St. U.S.A, and watch the Celebrate Happy Cavalcade, the short and super cute parade which I'll show in my 70th Anniversary post.
We went to the Tropical Hideaway in Adventure land and treated ourselves to a Dole Whip! My son got an original Dole Whip and I tried the Pineapple Upside Down Cake Sundae, available for a limited time. This was so tasty and would have been enough for two people. It tasted tropical and had some nice textures from the cake pieces, juicy pineapple chunks, and the caramel sauce. It all paired so well with the pineapple dole whip! If you see this on the menu, grab one!
After indulging in a little dessert, we did the Adventureland Treehouse! This is such a classic and nostalgic attraction for me, as I remember climbing the stairs to this when I was a kid. The views from up top of Disneyland were fantastic. We ended up climbing up again with my other son later in the evening when the sun was setting.
The views from on top of the Adventureland Treehouse! This was early afternoon on a Wednesday in April, and it was getting busy for the day.
After exploring Adventureland, shopping on Main St. U.S.A, and watching the parade, my son and I were really tired and had sore feet. We walked back to the hotel and took a two-hour break. When our family walked back to the park after our break, it was really busy. My husband took our sons to ride It's a Small World and I did some more solo time. All of the rides were around 45 minutes, so I decided to do the castle walk-through.
This attraction is underrated and not many know about it. It's located in the back of the castle, and you'll see the door to the right. This walk-through attraction is Sleeping Beauty themed, and you can walk around reading the displays from the classic fairy tale, while staying out of the heat and even climbing a staircase of two. I was the only one inside the castle and it was a nice way to avoid the crowds while still doing something that felt magical and cool. Right after, I saw some Magic Pass Photographers in front of the castle and the line wasn't too long. I decided to hop in line and figured by the time I reached the front my family could join me.
You'll see cast members with cameras all over the park in front of the main attractions or doing character meet and greets. You can hand your camera or phone to the Photopass Photographer and they'll take your photo. You do not need to pay for the photo package if you don't want to. This costs a few hundred bucks, and it not necessary if you already have a nice camera. I took my Nikon with me on the trip and packed it around for all of the days. For me as a photographer this is worth it, and I took a ton of photos!
When it was my turn with the photographer my family hadn't returned yet, so I decided to get some of just myself. Right when he was done, my family appeared and they were able to jump in the frame! He took a bunch of family photos and even some of just my husband and me. The cast members at Disney are incredible, going the extra mile and adding so much magic to the day!
After eating dinner at Cafe Orleans, which I'll cover next in my meals post, we walked through Frontierland and headed to Star Wars Galaxy's Edge to ride Rise of the Resistance! This was our first time, and it was incredible! Now we know why people say this is their fav Disney ride.
On the walk to Galaxy's Edge, we saw the Mark Twain riverboat go by. It looked so nice!
The classic shot of the Stormtroopers all lined up on the Rise of the Resistance attraction!
Of course, I had to take a shot of the iconic view of the Millennial Falcon in Galaxy's Edge.
My son wanted some popcorn before the Paint the Night Parade! I'll cover this wonderful parade in my 70th Anniversary post!
We didn't ride Pirates of the Caribbean on this trip, but how pretty does it look as the sun went down?!
The castle also looked so pretty as it got dark!
My sons each wanted a Mickey Ice Cream Sandwich to eat while we waited for the parade!
After the parade my sons and I were so tired! We headed back to the hotel to sleep. Luckily, we had a rest day the next day. What a wonderful day at Disneyland!
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