I honestly thought I would never make it out to California. I was on a business trip and decided to take two days and have an adventure, and it was grand. I started in Palm Springs, drove to Los Angeles, went over to Long Beach and drove down the west coast to Laguna Beach. Then went back up to Anaheim to Downtown Disney, and got to spend a day in the parks. It was a great time.
Los Angeles/Hollywood Boulevard
These were my first stops out of Palm Springs. The traffic was crazy. I was in search for Amy’s star and found it rather quickly by looking up the address for it! If you are ever on Hollywood Boulevard and you’re looking for a specific star you can look up the address here: http://www.walkoffame.com/ I also snapped a picture of Mickey’s and Drew Barrymore’s.
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Hollywood Sign
This was an adventure to find. There are several spots that people and blogs recommend to get a picture with the famous Hollywood sign. But of course I wanted to find the closest one that was legal to get too. The picture doesn’t do it justice. The sign was really cool to get to see, but the scenery and landscape was breath taking.
Laguna Beach
This is probably one of the prettiest and coolest places I have ever been. The views here were gorgeous, the Pacific Ocean is dynamite blue, there are palm trees everywhere, and it is such a peaceful place. I ate lunch at a place called The Cliff that was perched over the bay with an excellent view of the waves crashing into the bay.
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Disneyland
This is where is all the magic began! I definitely got this feeling as I entered Disneyland. It feels a little tighter here in California, but I loved that about the park. It felt like characters were everywhere and roaming wherever they wanted. I ran in Snow White on accident and snapped a picture with her. I met Hollywood Mickey, Anna and Else, and of course my favorite Goofy. Characters were everywhere and the lines were rather short. There are several duplicated rides here that are also in Disney World, but some are different. I enjoyed Space Mountain in Disneyland more than the one in Disney World. The seats were more comfortable, you have speakers in the back of your headrests, and the experience was thrilling. The Indiana Jones Adventure was probably my favorite ride here. I have always been an Indiana fan and loved this ride. I did the classic rides like Haunted Mansion, Pinocchio’s Daring Journey, Snow White’s Scary Adventures, and Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride. They were great. But when I got off the Matterhorn Bobsleds coaster I felt like someone had beat me with a bat. It was rough to say the least. Storybook Land Canal Boats was also one of my favorites! This was one of the rides that Walt worked on by himself. At the end of the ride you can see a tree that was planted by Walt himself. That was pretty cool!
The Mickey’s Soundsational Parade at night is a must see! I felt like it went on forever. My favorite part was from Mary Poppins with the chimney sweep guys.
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California Adventure
Cars Land was awesome. It was just like stepping into the movie. Radiator Springs Racers is a fun ride and you can get on quick if you go to the Single Rider Service line. I really wanted to see the Aladdin show but the theater was down for refurbishment. California Screamin’ is also great. It too has a single rider line. I rode in the very back and loved the experience.
You must come back at night to this park to see The World of Color. In my opinion, it blows Fantasmic! out of the water…literally, lol.
chadwmurphy 