Disneyland!! 🤩

I'm not even sure how to start this because I just don't have to words to describe how magical and amazing Disneyland was. I cried 3 times if that puts it into perspective for you. Amazing.

I arrived in LA on Wednesday night at 11:30PM and took an Uber to meet up with Calum at USC. That night (because it was so late already) was pretty chill. We got some food, met up with a couple of Calum's friends, and chatted for a bit. Pretty uneventful.

The next day, however, was Disneyland day, so definitely a contrast to the night before. It was a very busy day. The reason I'm in LA is to pick up my visa for going to Sri Lanka (in 7 days omg!!!), so that was my first priority on Thursday morning. It worked out well because Calum had class from 9 until 10 and the Sri Lankan embassy didn't open until 9 anyway. On the website with instructions for the visa, it said it normally takes a couple hours to process so I was expecting to have to go back the next day (Friday) to pick it up, but they came back 10 minutes later and said it was done. It was pretty awesome not having to worry about it and get it back straight away. It also made for a great start to my Disneyland day :) 

Unfortunately, because of everything we had to do in the morning we left for Disney pretty late. We arrived at the park at about 12:30, but I was so excited. The shops, the happy faces, the kids laughing, and the magic in the air instantly transported me back to being 10 years old again. The first ride we went on was the haunted mansion. Even though it wasn't supposed to be THAT scary, Calum and I were both screaming and having to close our eyes, it was intense... Or maybe we're just scaredy cats? Calum's friend Kyla is an annual pass holder so she knew her way around the park really well and knew all the insider tricks so it was really cool having her there to tell us what was worth doing/waiting in line for and which things were not as good. Space mountain wasn't open - which I'm told is one of the really good ones - so I was kind of bummed that I wasn't able to go on that, but we had a pretty packed day anyway so it wasn't that bad.

My favourite parts of Disneyland were the Indiana Jones ride, the parade, and the light show on the buildings at the end of the night. The light show and the parade were the parts that I cried at because I was so overwhelmed by how magical the whole experience was and how real it all seemed. The effort that Disney puts into making every single thing you do seem out of this world is, well, out of this world. Even the small attractions that you'd think would be boring had an element of the fantastical that was appealing to all ages. For example, we went to the Tiki hut show while we were waiting for the parade and at the beginning, I thought it was cool and stuff but I wasn't very impressed. UNTIL the totem poles started TALKING. It blew my mind. I don't know what it was about the totem poles talking but it just looked so realistic that I felt like they had actually been magically brought to life. Super cool!

Mickey Mouse beignet
Next topic of discussion: Disney food. Since we were going to a big theme park, I assumed that the food there would be your average amusement park food - tastes alright but not much flavour and kind of greasy. I was wrong. All the food I had there was amazing. It might have been because we had a tour guide (Kyla) who knew all the best places to go, but I enjoyed everything I ate. And let me tell you, I think I ate more on Thursday than I've ever eaten in my life. Somebody also recommended that I get the Dole Whip at Disney (kind of like soft serve but in pineapple sorbet type form) and it was really good. Creamy, but fresh tasting, and eating it under tiki torches and masks really made it feel like we were on a tropical getaway. Again - a very magical experience.

Overall Disneyland was amazing and I'm so excited that I'll be going back in May for Hayley's birthday! Being in LA was also really nice, especially catching up with Calum and seeing USC for the first time. On my last day there I got a nice coffee from Philz Coffee and then went to Santa Monica Pier. It was really fun doing some exploring and going out to the coast (which is much warmer right now than Oregon's coast). I did get my earrings stolen from me by a little Asian lady though which was not a very fun part... but it's all an experience right? The purpose of being in LA was to get my visa for Sri Lanka and it felt really good to get that accomplished. Now I just have to finish a couple of last bits and pieces for my trip before I leave. I can't believe it's only 7 days until I leave... crazy! 

I hope everybody is having an amazing weekend, I'll be posting again soon so keep an eye out!

Comments

  1. UnknownMarch 2, 2019 at 1:22 PM

    Gave a great time in Sri Lanka Sophie. Traveling in my twenties was the best thing i ever did and i still use much of. What i learnt in my life now. You will meet wonderful people and make lifelong connections. Have fun

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