Day 14. Tuesday 6th October
This morning, I got up full of expectation. The reason? We were going for a full days visit to Disneyland, the first of Walt Disney's theme parks, opened in 1955 with 18 attractions, and, at the time of our visit, boasting 60 plus.
After checking the flight times on the notice board again, at 9:00 we boarded the Holiday Inn shuttle bus for the short journey. We were given instructions that the last return journey would leave at 5:05, but that buses would leave at 5 minutes past every hour, from our arrival onward. The wait in the expectant crowd, at the lower end of Main Street U.S.A. and looking up towards the 'Sleeping Beauty Castle', stretched from not long after 9:00, to 10:00, when Disneyland opened. From then onward, we experienced some of the most enchanting things, some directly relating to the Disney remembered from childhood, some not so familiar, and some downright scary.
Entering Tomorrowland first, we had a short wait for the 'Circle Vision' 'Wonders of China' film. The introduction, a humorous animated diorama spread around the walls of an ante room, in the middle of which we sat on square padded buffets, highlighted the many countries and peoples of the world. The film itself, actually encompassing 360 degrees of vision, was a visual ride through all of the sights, sounds and mystique of China. One stands in rows separated by rails, all the better to turn around to look at the various things unfolding on the screen.
Next, after another wait, we entered the 'Magic Eye Theater' for the 'Captain Eo' 3D musical space adventure. This delightful film featured Michael Jackson as the hero, and really exploited the 3 dimensional film makers art.
We wandered along Main Street, looking in each of the shops, especially the 'Emporium', a retail outlet amongst many selling literally everything connected with the Disney experience, from novelty pencil erasers to clothing and videos. From this time on, the chronology gets a bit muddled, so the following attractions are probably not in the order in which we visited.
The Disneyland Railroad runs around the entire park, and is a set of open carriages pulled by a 'steam' train. The 'Jungle Cruise' transports one along the world's tropical rivers complete with roaring animals. 'Star Tours' is a spin-off from the 'Star Wars' films and uses the film maker's art in conjunction with flight simulator technology. The bucking and pitching of the ride can at times be most disconcerting. Even so, I enjoyed the experiences.
At 12.00, the 'Main Street U.S.A. Parade' began. This is an opportunity to see all of the old favourites, along with some of the more modern Disney 'names', from Mickey and Minnie Mouse, Pluto, Donald Duck and Goofy, though to Beauty and the Beast. The parade lasted approximately 10 minutes, after which we headed for the next attraction on our list.
'Pirates of the Carribean' is a water borne night ride through the world of the 17th century pirate, with such sights as wrecked galleons, treasure chests, drunken sea dogs and 'serving wenches'. This really is a delight. 'Frontierland' is a recreation of the American West of yesterday, with log cabins. The 'Rivers of America Cruise' on the 'Mark Twain' steamboat, a most leisurely ride around the history of the U.S.A., with native American villages and the like along the riverbank.
After a meal, at about 2:00, we went back for more of the same, but, far too soon, 3:45 and leaving time came round, so we decided to make our way out, as I was going out on a shopping expedition in the evening. We left Disneyland on the 4:05 bus back to the Holiday Inn.
At 6:30, I arrived at the hotel's reception to leave for 'Mainplace Santa Ana', a shopping Mall with 190 stores. My main reason for the trip was the search for a belt and buckle, like the one I'd seen in Solvang, seemingly weeks earlier. This type of shopping experience is really tiring, especially if one doesn't plan one's route around the various stores, as I didn't. Back at the hotel, I calculated our remaining finances before finally succumbing to sleep, this at 9:45!