It's been years since I've visited the park. I think the last time was when Foster came for her 3rd birthday. I think she turned 14 this year. A lot has changed. The whole California Adventure and Downtown Disney area has taken over the old parking lot. Now there is a shuttle network that takes you from various hotels in Anaheim to the park. Harbor Blvd. has become completely inundated with hotels and restaurants catering to visitors. This visit was to accompany my sis' family. Neve is almost 4 and Mason is 1 1/2. This visit was mostly for Neve. She's particularly into the princesses. Apparently there is a whole princess marketing phenomenon that has successfully infiltrated the minds of young girls all across America. They bring their princess dress to wear in the park and the sizes and skin tones of the various young 'princesses' is rather remarkable. We did two princess-y themed activities. The first was the Princess Fantasy Faire which has taken over the old theatre next to Small World. You line up for an hour or more to spend quality time with 3 different princesses. We saw Belle, Mulan (I didn't even realize she was a princess) and Cinderella. Neve was particularly excited about her! The second princess themed event was lunch at Ariel's Grotto. You meet Ariel before you sit at your table and then during lunch 4 different princesses come to meet you. Cinderella and Belle made repeat appearances (same actresses as yesterday) plus Snow White and Aurora (Sleeping Beauty). I do have to give props to the young women who played the princesses and who must smile for long periods of time, and were particularly sensitive to noting a camera aimed in their direction. The food was okay and actually pretty reasonably priced considering the cost and quality of food elsewhere in the park.
The other unique thing we did this visit was to have lunch at Club 33. This is a private club within Disneyland and the only place in the park that serves alcohol. I didn't even know it existed. It's a rather formal place and quite pricey but you get buffet appetizers including crab claws, choice of entree, and a dessert buffet. The quality of the food is very good and they have some of the best raspberry lemonade around. The kids got apple juice in a plastic cup with a straw that changes colour when the cold liquid hits it. I'm not sure it was quite worth the cost, but it was a quiet air-conditioned oasis.
Aside from the princesses, Mason quite enjoyed the Carousel (he rode it twice) and Neve liked Small World (she requested a second go around on day two and we were actually glad to oblige given that it is dark and air conditioned inside). We spent half a day in California Adventure (very sparsely populated) and we all got a kick out of the Heimlich train there. He's the caterpiller in A Bug's Life and the mini train takes you through a giant watermelon where you get sprayed with 'watermelon juice' (photo above) and animal crackers (complete with scent) and candy corn.
Disney critters were in abundance all over the park, however lines formed quickly to get face-to-face meetings and autographs. We viewed most from afar. The park is very loud, with constant noise and music from loudspeakers. And as I mentioned food is of poor quality, high in calories and very expensive. The nice thing about going with young children is that the rides they favour tend to be less popular and have shorter lines. They do get a little overstimulated and there is so much Disney paraphernalia being pushed at them. It's amazing the number of items you can make into mouse ear shapes!
2 comments:
I still remember the visit with Foster, that was 1999 when she turned 4. This sounds like generally a very successful visit! We took Maia last spring with some friends, it was only ok because we discovered the Lucy is terrified of the rides. Even It's a Small World and the Carousel! She clinged to me for dear life. Poor thing, makes me wonder if she has a tendency to motion sickness. Maia on the other hand got bolder with each ride and by the end of the day she and I were spinning in the Mad Hatter's tea cups. We tried to avoid the princessy stuff as much as possible but did fork out a small for tune for a face paint fit for a princess. We may not try it again until Maia is 7 or 8 and Lucy is 4 or 5, maybe by then she'll be into it.
Edie, I'm sorry to hear Lucy didn't enjoy herself. Neve started off a little tentative. She wasn't all that convinced about the carousel and Small World. She was getting bolder by the second go round and apparently really started warming up to the place by the 3rd day. Mason, on the other hand, was pretty much game for anything. Every kid is different.
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