Disclosure- I went on an all expense paid trip on behalf of Disney to cover the Blu-ray release of Tomorrowland and Aladdin as well as Disneyland’s 60th Anniversary. All opinions are my own.
Being a Florida girl I have gone to Walt Disney World MANY times over the years starting at the age of 5 when we moved down from NY. On my trips to WDW I would see all the people with the “1st Visit” buttons and I would be a little secretly jealous because my first time at WDW was so long ago and I never got one of those buttons. That all changed last week when I earned my “1st Visit” button at Disneyland Resort!!! Yes, in my 41 years and all my trips to California, I had never been to Disneyland. At the park I found out that all you need to do to get one of these awesome buttons FOR FREE is to ask at guest services or any of the shops. They also have ones for those celebrating other things like birthdays and anniversaries and most of the shops have all of the different button types behind the counter so make sure to ask for one if you’re celebrating or if it is your first time at the park.
When you go to Disneyland or Walt Disney World make sure to grab a FREE button if you’re celebrating!
Going to Disneyland Resort right now is the perfect time because they are celebrating their 60th Anniversary Diamond Celebration. Can you believe that this magical place has been around for 60 years?!?! There are lots of diamonds all around the park in celebration of the Diamond Anniversary Celebration. When you first enter the park there is an entire store dedicated to the celebration so you’ll be sure to find something you’ll like. There is truly something for everyone.
Throughout the park there are over 500 special merchandise items that have been created just for the Diamond Celebration including apparel, accessories, art, collectibles, headwear, jewelry, and so much more.
I was excited to grab this shirt for myself. Isn’t it pretty?
And for my girls who collect Disney pins I bought these beauties. I bought one for myself, too, because they were so pretty.
Disney sent us home with these beautiful mugs, too, as part of our blogger trip!As part of our blogger trip we were treated to a lunch and photo opp with the big mouse himself and his first lady, Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse! They were all decked out in their special Diamond Celebration attire. So cute!
It’s Mickey and Minnie!
Leave it to Disney to have everything themed down to the containers for our special lunch. These containers were shaped like, what else, DIAMONDS! The bottom compartment had our lunch and there was a neatly wrapped cookie on top. How adorable!!!
There is so much excitement around Disneyland’s Diamond Anniversary celebration including Disneyland Diamond Days including a text-in-for-a-chance-to-win sweepstakes with daily and weekly prizes including a one-carat diamond, a stay in the Disneyland Dream Suite, and lots more! For more details go to http://Disneyland.com/DiamondDays. In addition Mickey Mouse and some of his friends have dressed up for the celebration in sparkling new Diamond Celebration costumes that you will only see during the celebration. There are also lots of beautiful displays all over the park. In Disney California Adventure there is also an after-dark “Diamond Mad T Party” featuring sparkling new decor, interactive fun, dancing, as well as food and drinks.
Right now at Disneyland there is a new beautiful Paint the Night electrical parade, new Disneyland Forever fireworks spectacular show, and an all-new “World of Color” show which all combine creativity, beauty, and technology. The Paint the Night parade is 3 years in the making. It is the first ever almost entirely lit by LED lights.
Including video screens, the Paint the Night Parade contains more than 1.5 mllion sources of light with more than 500 strobes!
Here are just a few pictures from the Paint the Night parade:
Photo credit for parade photos below-
Here are just a few pictures of the amazing fireworks show. If you get the chance to see this show make sure to look up in the sky next to the castle to see a special surprise swim around. (HINT- see if you can FIND this orange and white clownfish.)
I had an amazing time at Disneyland. A few months ago I went to Walt Disney World with a blogger friend from California. She had never been to WDW and she kept on saying how different but the same it was to what she was used to, Disneyland. She was saying how things felt like they had been moved around from what she was used to. I didn’t totally understand what she meant until last week. Main Street in Disneyland had the same feel as Main Street in WDW but it wasn’t the same. Things were familiar but different. Many of the rides in Disneyland were familiar but different. It was sort of an out of body experience. Here’s just a glimpse of some of the things I saw at Disneyland.
I went on a submarine to find Nemo!
Marlin and Dory!
And churros!!! I love this time of year!!!
Yes, the “song” was in my head for days after I got of this iconic ride!
I kicked some alien butt on this one!!!
The most different of all was my favorite Disney ride of all time, the Haunted Mansion. Every time I go to WDW I make sure to go to the Haunted Mansion so of course it was one of the first things I did at Disneyland. The Haunted Mansion at Disneyland is SOOO different than the one in WDW though. It is a mix of Halloween and Christmas and has a Nightmare Before Christmas theme. I loved every minute of it. It still had some familiar parts to it but I loved all the differences.
My Favorite Disney Ride- The Haunted Mansion
I can’t wait for the day that I go back to Disneyland and bring my family so they an experience it all, too! I highly recommend going to both parks yourself and seeing how it is so much the same yet so different.
Here are some fun facts we learned during our trip to Disneyland:
- Disney brought in a NASA astronaut into Space Mountain to consult and help make it feel realistic.
- There are over 300 animated children in It’s a Small World.
- The outside of It’s a Small World represents places around the world joining together.
- There are 10 Disney Ambassadors around the world.
- Disneyland will never be complete as long as there is imagination.