Disneyland meets the Hoolys
Day 4 saw the Houlihan go to Disneyland. I think now that I have died and gone to heaven. Nobody reminded me of Star Tours, or the Jedi Training Academy...impressive - most impressive. But seriously, today we managed to get to Disneyland. We got to Disneyland about 10.00am, and all I can say is that it was awesome - and a little bit big - and a little bit busy. For those who have been to Disneyland before, you'll know what I'm talking about. For those that haven't, imagine Dreamworld and multiply it by about 5. And while you're there - multiply the crowds too. There were thousands there, but surprisingly, very well managed.
We visited Fantasyland, Adventureland, and Futureland (giving the last one a real workout). We watched the parade first, and somehow managed to get on the Disney Christmas Special. Whether we make the cut will be up to the guys doing the editing, so I suppose we won't know for sure until Christmas. Next we visited Fantasyland after Ethan spotted the massive castle (not hard to miss) and took a walk around. We then had a ride of the carosel which Ethan loved, followed shortly after him getting his photo taken with the old Wizard (he sure has the Felice gene when it comes to fantasy). We then visited a hat store and picked up some souveniers, and a few presents.
Next stop was Futureland as Ethan wanted to meet Buzz Lightyear. We didn't get to see him, but we did get a chance to go on the ride. Basically is a first person shooter, in rotating spaceships which run along a track. You get a ray gun and use it to shoot Aliens, Zurg, and his minions as they try to defeat the Space Rangers. OK, so you didn't need to know all that, but it was great fun. You get your photo taken, of which you can request it to be sent to you via e-mail. We asked, but it is yet to arrive.
We then wnt for lunch, and waited for the Jedi Training Academy. Ethan tried his first American quisine - you guessed it - peanut butter and jelly sandwitches. To our pleasure, he liked it for about a minute, and then dumped it for Felice's club sandwitch and carrot sticks. We watched the Training which was fun, and realised quickly that we were glad we didn't get Ethan up to take part. He's still not at the taking directions well stage, and probably would have attacked his fellow Padawans (yes they were given lightsabers). Chris, I'm sure you can attest.
We thwen went off to visit Star Tours. Yes, it was at that point that I realised that I had died and gone to heaven. It wasn't much of a ride, but it was cool. I don't know if Ethan really liked it - he said he did, and was a bit dazed afterwards - so who knows. We went and got some more souveniers (way too much spending going on here) and then walked around for a bit.
We then had a short stop at Adventureland. I say short because the lineups were huge. A passerby said it best - "This is my favourite part of Disneyland to crowd surf". We stopped for a drink, Felice looked at some shops, and we took a few more photos. We decided to give it a miss as Felice was very tired, Ethan was getting grumpy (no sleep for the little fella today) and I'd about had it with American crowds. So we walked through the park, back to the shuttle bus (which we waited for 40 minutes for) and then took some time out to relax and watch some more American TV.
I know it might seem like we are watching a lot of US television, but there is some much more choice here, and secondly there are some shows which are starting here that we haven't got yet - and look cool. That's our excuse, and we're sticking to it.
Anyway back to Disneyland. Thankfully we have a second day's pass, so we'll be going back for more on Monday.
On a side note, while at Disneyland, I realised something strange. People here are either way too trusting, or crime is a myth. I saw people leaving prams full of stuff outside of rides (because you can't take them in with you) and they wouldn't be touched. Perhaps I'm a little paranoid because of my (dare I say) previous profession, but I found this quite remarkable.
Well I'm a bit tired, and its an early start tomorrow as we are venturing off to Universal Studios. I'm quite excited about that one, so I'm sure I'll have much to report tomorrow. Goodnight, and as I've already said, when I work out how to upload photos, I'll post 'em.
We visited Fantasyland, Adventureland, and Futureland (giving the last one a real workout). We watched the parade first, and somehow managed to get on the Disney Christmas Special. Whether we make the cut will be up to the guys doing the editing, so I suppose we won't know for sure until Christmas. Next we visited Fantasyland after Ethan spotted the massive castle (not hard to miss) and took a walk around. We then had a ride of the carosel which Ethan loved, followed shortly after him getting his photo taken with the old Wizard (he sure has the Felice gene when it comes to fantasy). We then visited a hat store and picked up some souveniers, and a few presents.
Next stop was Futureland as Ethan wanted to meet Buzz Lightyear. We didn't get to see him, but we did get a chance to go on the ride. Basically is a first person shooter, in rotating spaceships which run along a track. You get a ray gun and use it to shoot Aliens, Zurg, and his minions as they try to defeat the Space Rangers. OK, so you didn't need to know all that, but it was great fun. You get your photo taken, of which you can request it to be sent to you via e-mail. We asked, but it is yet to arrive.
We then wnt for lunch, and waited for the Jedi Training Academy. Ethan tried his first American quisine - you guessed it - peanut butter and jelly sandwitches. To our pleasure, he liked it for about a minute, and then dumped it for Felice's club sandwitch and carrot sticks. We watched the Training which was fun, and realised quickly that we were glad we didn't get Ethan up to take part. He's still not at the taking directions well stage, and probably would have attacked his fellow Padawans (yes they were given lightsabers). Chris, I'm sure you can attest.
We thwen went off to visit Star Tours. Yes, it was at that point that I realised that I had died and gone to heaven. It wasn't much of a ride, but it was cool. I don't know if Ethan really liked it - he said he did, and was a bit dazed afterwards - so who knows. We went and got some more souveniers (way too much spending going on here) and then walked around for a bit.
We then had a short stop at Adventureland. I say short because the lineups were huge. A passerby said it best - "This is my favourite part of Disneyland to crowd surf". We stopped for a drink, Felice looked at some shops, and we took a few more photos. We decided to give it a miss as Felice was very tired, Ethan was getting grumpy (no sleep for the little fella today) and I'd about had it with American crowds. So we walked through the park, back to the shuttle bus (which we waited for 40 minutes for) and then took some time out to relax and watch some more American TV.
I know it might seem like we are watching a lot of US television, but there is some much more choice here, and secondly there are some shows which are starting here that we haven't got yet - and look cool. That's our excuse, and we're sticking to it.
Anyway back to Disneyland. Thankfully we have a second day's pass, so we'll be going back for more on Monday.
On a side note, while at Disneyland, I realised something strange. People here are either way too trusting, or crime is a myth. I saw people leaving prams full of stuff outside of rides (because you can't take them in with you) and they wouldn't be touched. Perhaps I'm a little paranoid because of my (dare I say) previous profession, but I found this quite remarkable.
Well I'm a bit tired, and its an early start tomorrow as we are venturing off to Universal Studios. I'm quite excited about that one, so I'm sure I'll have much to report tomorrow. Goodnight, and as I've already said, when I work out how to upload photos, I'll post 'em.