In three weeks, I’ll be hopping on a plane for Los Angeles to make my first trip to Disneyland in over 30 years.  A lot of things of changes in those 30 years but I’m sure some things have stayed the same as well.  I did this for my Walt Disney World trip, last November, and I think it’s fitting for this trip as well: Here’s what I’m looking forward to the most out of my trip to Disneyland.

1) World of Color

World of Color wasn’t even a hint in anyone’s imagination when I visited in the early 80’s.  Now, it is one of the must-see shows when at Disneyland.  To ensure good seating (I’ve heard too many bad rumors of the locals who just throw down a blanket and except to come to it untouched), I’ve booked one of the World of Color dining packages at the Wine Country Trattoria for lunch.  It’s probably going to a long time (hopefully not 30 years) before I make back out to Disneyland so I want to be able to see the show from a good vantage point.

2) Not worrying about the weather

August is the peak of the dry season in Southern California so worrying about wash-outs will not be an issue.  Another thing that won’t be an issue…..mid-day thunderstorms.  Even though, Disneyland is closer to the ocean than Walt Disney World, thunderstorms are never an issue in Disneyland.  The lack of that thunderstorm threat means that more time could be spent in the parks or at the resort pool instead of looking at the skies and trying to plan on the fly as the thunderstorms roll in like they do in Walt Disney World.

3) Different attractions

My daughter has been talking about the Matterhorn Bobsleds since we told her that we are going to Disneyland.  She even knows about the subtle differences between Splash Mountain and Space Mountain.  And she hasn’t dived into Radiator Springs Racers.  The concept of an “open-air” Mad Tea Party has blown her mind.  A lot of new attractions to take in.  Hopefully, we have time to take it all in.

4) Trying out a new rental car company

Since there is no Disney’s Magical Express in Disneyland like there is in Walt Disney World, we are renting a car for our stay in Disneyland.  We plan to make a one-day side trip to the other theme park in Los Angeles because we have a Minion’s obsessed child (and author) as well as wanting to check out Simpsons-Land.  For this trip, we are trying a new rental car company called Silvercar.   This company is only at a few airports around the country.  The service is completely wire-less and there is no waiting in line for service.  You simply let Silvercar know that your flight has arrived and you have your luggage and they will pick you up and drive you to the Silvercar pick-up.  Their car fleet is entirely Audi A4’s which are fitted with wifi, a GPS, and a toll collector for no extra charge outside of the collected tolls.

Now, your thinking, this has to be expensive.  It’s not.  It’s actually cheaper than some of the more mainstream rental car agencies like Hertz.  Our Silvercar is only costing us $59 per day compared to Hertz which wants $65 per day for an economy Chevy Spark.  This was a no-brainer decision and we get to see how an up-and-coming rental car company compares to the more known brands.

5) Roaming Characters

I’ve heard lots of rumors about how the Disneyland characters “roam the park” more than they do at Walt Disney World.  I’m hoping this rumor is true.  There is something magical about walking down the sidewalk and seeing your favorite character walking toward you.  There may be hundreds of people between the two of you but you feel like that character is walking directly toward you.  Plus, there are some, non-WDW, characters that I would like to meet such as Roger Rabbit and Oswald the Lucky Rabbit.

All in all, it is shaping up to be a fun-filled and exciting trip.  I hope we can do everything that we want to do in the short time we will be there.

Thanks for reading!