So, California....warm, sunny, full of great views, expensive houses & eccentric people...also in the case of Los Angeles...traffic...horrendous traffic....awful, horrendous traffic...traffic so bad the news people dedicated half the week to something called 'Carmageddon' where traffic would have some kind of complete meltdown due to one road being closed leading to chaos of 'Bruce Willis' proportions.
Such was the legend of 'Carmageddon' my sister & I instead moved from Santa Monica to Anaheim to do battle with hyperactive, sugar filled children, their overwrought, stressed out parents & repetitive music coming from every rock & tree standing in the 'Happiest Place on Earth'
Disneyland California...the castle is so diddy compared to the one in Florida...here's my version of one of the most photographed man & mouse...ever...
Trying to make the castle appear bigger
Oh, there was 'weather' while we were at Disney...this is the low pressure from the former Tropical Storm Miriam passing overhead....
The famous Matterhorn...A nice roller coaster with an unfortunate queue time of 70mins on average
The new(ish) Finding Nemo ride...which eagle eyed viewers will notice is in fact the old 20,000 leagues under the sea ride....even Disney on a budget these days apparently.
A favourite ride which has disappeared from Florida, but largely resembles my actual driving technique
The haunted Mansion, done up all special like for Halloween in a 'Nightmare before Christmas' theme
Much like the version in Florida, this Haunted ride is sometimes stopped by the spirits which inhabit the house...it did mean I could grab a quick piccie however...
All together now...#It's a small world after all....it's a small world after all...# ...kill it...kill it with fire...
Splash Mountain
Tarzan's Treehouse...aka the old Swiss Family Robinson tree house re-imagined...like I said Disney doing their bit to bring down the deficit.
Huckleberry Finn Island
One of my all time favourites
As is this one....
Pirate Chic...all the rage in 2012
Disney village
Disneyland at night...still trying to make the castle look bigger...
Mad Hatter tea cup ride...I did this once when I was a kid in Florida...never, ever again...& especially not after cookies & ice cream
Tomorrowland.....Home to....
....a Galaxy far, far away....
& the resurrected Michael Jackson 3D 'spectacular' aka music video...also Space Mountain with a demonic twist...not the wait time of 72 minutes...but the Halloween theme
A trip to Disney wouldn't be complete without a spectacular display of coloured explosives
Did I mentioned the Halloween themes...even though it was actually late September...looks nice though, innit.
And if that wasn't all fun & shenanigans one person can take...Disney has a second park within walking distance in an attempt set the record for the most exhausted guests in any theme park.
Disney's Californian Adventure...first stop Paradise Park...
Let's go on the Ferris Wheel my sister said....after I wouldn't go on the rollercoaster (I'm not fond of big drops)...it'll be sedate & fun...she said....we can get great views of the park...she said...
So we went of the Ferris Wheel & the views were great...until the car we were riding in started to roll & sway....they are in fact on metal rails (see above pic) the car then uses gravity to travel along these rails swinging out at a right angle as they go round the corner of the rail. Now this wouldn't be so much of a problem, but we weren't strapped in & the arc of the swing was such that you felt like you were going to fall off your seat at any moment...There were more screams coming from the Ferris Wheel than the roller coaster....& they weren't all coming from me! ;-)
One of the other rides I refuse to go on...I sent my sister off on her own while I relaxed in the sunshine & watched Goofy dancing crazy...I have enough trouble with travelling in lifts on a daily basis without this adding to my nightmare...
This was more my speed...Monsters Inc, the ride....the strange look on the faces of the folks in the car is because to darn thing broke down while we were on it & I snapped the picture while all the lights were on as we were escorted through by a 'cast memeber'
All new, Cars Land was a highlight...really well done as you walk though Radiator Springs to the ride....
You 'race' with another car after driving through the 'mountains'...fyi our hotel was the other side of those mountains...kinda ruins the illusion when you wake up to see the hoarding/scaffolding in the morning
This ride and the whole of Cars Land was awesome and totally worth the
epic wait time...folks, like all the people who actually live in California,
decided to do this at the same time us Brits were visiting...they should in
fact designate the queues to how far people have travelled to get
there...ie, we get on way before those from East LA...just a thought
Disney bigwigs.
Mater!!
Lightening McQueen!!
Um...the Fire Engine Guy!!
Ah, the water ride...I was dubious about going on this one...I had a bad experience in Florida last year....
'Doesn't matter if you get wet' my sister had said 'You will dry off in no time' she had said....
I had in fact got so wet on the same ride in Florida that I may have well just jumped straight into the water fully clothed..& I think I should've been given a plaque next to the ride by Disney for getting the most wet that any person will ever get on the ride! as a glutton for punishment I did go on the ride...this time my sister brought water proof ponchos...& yes, had we not been wearing them we would have been somewhere between very damp & drenched ;-)
And once again...Disney at night is a sight to be seen
Radiator Springs (empty of people as we had stayed for the World of Colour display & didn't rush to leave the park after)
Back at the hub of the park & that bloody Ferris Wheel of doom....waiting for the World of Colour display...
An amazing display..which isn't condusive to capturing on film unfortunately due to all the moving water & lights...in the dark....I did however managed to capture this during the finale...
So there you go Bognorian does Disney California...it was a lot of fun but utterly exhausting...luckily we had another week of the holiday which promised to be the complete opposite....To Be Continued
