We've never celebrated the a new year in the parks. To kick off our annual passes, we spent 4 days in Anaheim to do just that. Along with my family of 5, DW's parents and our nephew accompanied.
Dec. 30 & 31
The kids know opportunities to ice skate are not frequent, so they weren't about to let the rain, wind, and cold stop them. Since passes weren't to be activated until the morning of the 31st, we spent a few hours the night of the 30th in Downtown Disney.
I was deliberate about getting little Walt (now 3yo and having just passed the 40 inch threshold) on Soarin' first thing since it'll soon be going away for a while. He wasn't quite as impressed as I anticipated. Or maybe he had Splash Mtn. on the brain - it's about all he's talked about for weeks leading up to the trip. We rode it next. Once wasn't enough for the little fella so once more into the breach we went. It's an instant classic for the little guy. He's going to have to go without for awhile because this one, too, is nearly in shutdown mode.
Since it also will be unavailable soon, lunch at Hungry Bear was a no-brainer. I spied the Florida State Marching Band on my way out of Disneyland and snapped a pic. This, the day before their Rose Bowl game versus Oregon.
Back to the Anaheim RV Park for naps and dinner before heading to DCA for New Year's Eve festivities. Aladdin. Redwood Creek. Fiddler, Fifer, & Practical for some Starbucks, Frozen Fun, Mater's Junkyard Jamboree. Was a great, albeit cold, night of fun highlighted by our stop at the Corn Dog Castle. This completed the return to Disneyland Resort for me. Sorry, it may not seem like much but devouring my second dinner (at 10:30 - a hot link dog) was like a welcome home. Father in law couldn't resist and got one too, and my oldest son and nephew each went for the non hot link variety.
The non-night owls headed back around 11:00, when DD and I ventured to Disneyland at last. I had a pocketful of Space Mountain fastpasses good 11:30 to 12:30 that I had retrieved about 12 hours earlier. The walk from turnstiles to Space that usually takes 5 minutes took 15 - it was that crowded. People were camped on Main St. and not budging as they awaited fireworks.
We rode Space both before and after the midnight festivities. We're tired by now but not about to let up. Disneyland stays open until 2 am almost never so we weren't about to call it a night. Pirates. Thunder - our first time on the refurbished; loved it. Matterhorn. Jingle Cruise, which I thought is really really cool and don't recall ever seeing this overlay before. A churro on the way out for DD at Main Street Square. Great morning and night, and morning again.
Let's see, and youngest rode a whole lists of firsts today: Soarin', Splash, Star Tours 2, Tower of Terror (check out the pic below, lol), Silly Symphony Swings.
The full photo collage is here
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