I mentioned before as a preface to my D23 Expo Primer guest post by Carrie Hayward that I was visiting Disneyland for the first time during our journey out west to see the Expo. Not only was it my first time visiting California and the Disneyland Resort, it was my first time flying since 1997! So, I was a bit nervous, but I survived and actually liked it!
Now usually, I am a photo-holic and take pictures of any and everything when I visit a place for the first time. However in this instance, I was so completely overwhelmed by the experience, that I found myself without photos of a lot of what we saw when I returned home. (I still have quite a few, and I’ll be posting them over the next few weeks.)
That said, I wouldn’t change it for the world. I’ve seen tons of photos of Disneyland, even ride videos, but nothing compares to walking down Main Street, U.S.A. that first time and seeing it all before you in living, breathing color. So while I’m still sharing our memories here with you, my real purpose in writing this post is to implore, even beg any Disney fan that has not yet made the pilgrimage to the “motherland” to do so. If you’re anything like my friends and me, it will change your life.
Now first, a little backstory. I decided to make this journey westward thanks to an amazing friend of mine, Nicole Siscaretti. She is not only a wonderful, caring person, but she’s also going to be a star some day, so you can watch these videos and say later, “ahh, I knew her when…” Nicole was part of our team for the D23 WDW Scavenger Hunt we did a few months back and it was then that I really got to know what a special person she was. After spending the last few months hanging out and “planning” our conquest of Disneyland (I say that in quotes because this was probably the least planned trip either of us had ever taken), she is like a little sister to me. In addition, she loves making fun videos on her iPhone andlooks WAY better on camera than me, so I’m pleased to be able to share a highlight reel of our Disneyland adventures thanks to her.
Before sharing her Disneyland video, I must explain one other thing. Nicole actually embarked on a quest that most people don’t even dream of – visiting all 6 Disney Parks in the US in one day. Nicole had asked me to join her and I was all set to do so before a last minute meeting had to happen at 9 on the morning we left for California. So I got to take the easy way out and only went to the 2 west coast parks. Nicole persevered and accomplished her goal. You can see her Six Parks One Day adventure on YouTube!
And now, without further ado, here are just a handful of our amazing Disneyland memories, shared with local Florida friends, west coast friends and new friends from all over! Disney fans may recognize the famous Scott Otis (@otisney on twitter) and the equally famous Michael Crawford from ProgressCityUSA.com (@ProgressCityUSA on twitter), two great friends from whom we were lucky enough to get amazing Disneyland history and backstory as we toured the lands!
I hope you enjoyed our video and if you’ve never been, do make plans to get to Disneyland some day soon, it is simply incredible!
Awesome!! So glad you all had such a wonderful trip!! It is so cool to get to see someone experience it for the first time. 🙂 Disneyland is our home, and we still love it just as much every single time. My 4 year old had a blast watching the video, I think we’re going to have to make a trip this week! Thanks for sharing your experience!! I was following ya’ll on Twitter throughout the Expo, it was great to experience it in some way.
Aw, thank you so much! I’m glad it came across the right way. We both just had such an amazingly magical time, we are in love with Disneyland and can’t wait to return! I’m jealous you get to go this week!! 😉 Thanks so much for watching!
OK…I have to say this … I’m barely 2 minutes into this video and you both made me cry when you said “there’s a castle!!!” …. how exciting!!!
Oh I LOVED this video! Y’all had so much fun wish I could have been a part of it! 🙂
Disneyland is my neck of the woods! Â I so wish I would have run into you at D23 Expo. ;D I know what you mean about photos. I was so busy looking at everything that I forgot to take a lot of photos at the expo.
Loved the video! So fun seeing all the cool adventures you went on.Too cute! It was an experience of a lifetime. I can’t wait to go back to Disneyland! 🙂
Oh my gosh… I think it’s so awesome when people visit DL for the 1st time, and I get all giddy just watching… I have NO clue how many times I’ve been there this year alone. At least 40-50 already?? Always save my Mickey and Friends tickets. Can you believe I’ve never been to World?? Cute video!