when you wish upon a star.

My cousin had never been to Disneyland before, so we thought it would be fun to take her as a reward for getting such good grades this past school year! It’s always fun to take a first-timer to Disneyland; it’s like you can feel their anticipation and excitement. I mean, c’mon, even when you’re a grown adult, you’re excited. Need proof? See picture below, haha.

Her first character meeting was with Mickey, but I don’t have that on my SLR. Those are all on G’s phone. How cool is that?! Meeting Mickey right when you enter the park!

The kiddo was super excited to drive! Who wouldn’t be excited to drive in Disneyland [especially when the wait time for Autopia was only ten minutes]?!

Below is a picture of us before doing Haunted Mansion. Surprisingly, the wait time for this ride was only five minutes. Yippee!

After Haunted Mansion, they all went on Splash Mountain [I always sit this one out].

You can’t go to Disneyland without taking the obligatory castle photo and playing in Fantasyland.

I love my cousin’s commentary on the It’s a Small World ride: “These dolls are creepy”. Gotta love a nine year old’s remarks!

We also played in the wacky Toon Town.

In hindsight, I should’ve taken more pictures. I kept forgetting to take the camera out. Argh! I guess there’s always next time. Anyway, here are a few more random photos from our day in Disneyland:

Yup, there you have it, K’s first time in Disneyland. She really enjoyed it, so I’m pretty sure we’ll be coming back with her again next year.

Wishing everyone a wonderful [and safe] 4th of July!

when you wish…

…upon a star, makes no difference who you are. The older I get, the more I find Disneyland to be more magical. I’ve always wanted to go to Disneyland during Halloween tIme, but I never got around to doing so. This was the first year that our schedules allowed, so we packed up and headed down South.

Here are some fun memories from our first day in the park:

We met up with one of my college besties, Alex. It’s been a couple years since we last hung out, so it was awesome to see her and her fiancee in Disneyland!

We loved how they decked out Haunted Mansion!

Early afternoon, we headed towards Toontown to line up for Mickey’s Halloween Party. By the time we got there, there was already a line. Mind you, we got there about an hour earlier, haha! I’m so glad we went though. It was way too much fun. We got to meet and greet with a ton of characters, including the villains. Plus, there’s tons of candy trails! Here are some pictures from Mickey’s Halloween Party:

…and our visit wouldn’t have been complete without a parade and a fireworks show, Halloween style, of course! We were so excited to finally see Donald in his Stormtrooper costume!

After the fireworks show, we hustled across the park to meet and greet with Jack and Sally!

What Dapper Dans?! During Halloween time, they turn into the Cadaver Dans! …and they sing Halloween songs, too!

Well, we weren’t satisfied with just one day, so we had to go a second. Glad that we did because we took the time to ride a lot of the rides. Here are some pictures from our second day:

After this trip, we may have to do Halloween there next year. I wouldn’t be opposed to it at all! 🙂