The Original
Tommy and I had been to Walt Disney World many times but had always wanted to visit Disneyland. I wanted to be able to walk in the park where Walt himself spent so much time. I wanted to see it through his eyes and walk in his footsteps. Being a runner, Tommy had always wanted to run the Coast to Coast Challenge. It had been a dream of his since he started running with runDisney. The Coast to Coast Challenge consists of running at least a ten mile race or longer at both Walt Disney World and Disneyland within a calendar year. Tommy chose to run the marathon at Walt Disney World during Marathon Weekend in January and then the Half Marathon in Disneyland in February. That is 39.3 miles of pounding the pavement!! We also wanted to bring Emily to Disneyland since she had also never been. We knew that it would take a combination of driving and flying to make this work so we began to plan our trip. We made a plan to drive the twelve or so hours to Walt Disney World and back and then fly out early the next morning with Emily to Anaheim, California for a fun filled week at the Original House of Mouse. I also wanted to make sure I could experience anything Walt related so I checked out the special tours. I booked us for Walt’s Main Street Story which is a guided tour that discusses the history of Walt’s Main Street and ends in a visit to his private apartment above the Disneyland Fire Station. We were so excited and could not wait!!
Into the car we go for twelve or so hours to Walt Disney World for the first leg of the trip. We enjoyed a few days at our favorite spot and I cheered on Tommy as he crossed the finish line.
Even though this trip to Walt Disney World was short and mostly about running, we enjoyed our time as we always do. We stayed at Coronado Springs. It was our first time staying at this resort and we really enjoyed it. We had dinner at Toledo, which is on the top floor of the Gran Destino Tower at Coronado Springs. The food was very good and the restaurant was beautiful with a gorgeous ceiling that changed colors. We also enjoyed another dinner at Three Bridges, another restaurant on the water at Coronado Springs.
A long twelve hour drive home to sleep for a few hours and then we are up and arriving at the airport for our flight to Anaheim. This was in late January and Mother Nature decided to step in and disrupt our carefully laid plan. There were thunderstorms across much of the southern part of the country that day which caused major delays everywhere and we had to choose a different flight at the last minute. We flew from Memphis, Tennessee to Charlotte, North Carolina to Anaheim, California. We flew across the entire country!! We finally arrived in Anaheim late that evening. After our twelve hour drive home from Orlando, a few hours of sleep and all the next day flying, we were exhausted and so glad to finally arrive at the hotel.
It was all worth it though. We loved our trip to Disneyland and it is now one of our favorite parks to visit. It is so special to me and I will always want to go back to visit. We loved how everything was close together at Disneyland and how that made it easy to see and do it all. Walt’s Main Street Tour was everything I had wished for. We learned history and details about Main Street that I had not heard of. The experience of being in Walt’s apartment is hard to put into words. He and his family would hang out up there while the park was open. Walt was even known to spend many nights there as well. There is a lamp that is always on in the apartment. It never goes out. It is a reminder that Walt will always be with us.
Tommy finished his Coast to Coast Challenge when he crossed the finish line at the Disneyland Half Marathon. I was so proud of him for accomplishing his goal.
Disney California Adventure reminded me of Hollywood Studios. We really enjoyed getting to meet all of the Marvel characters that roamed around Avengers Campus. I especially loved riding The Incredicoaster. It is a real steel roller coaster and not a screen ride. It has one flip and no barrel rolls. It is the perfect coaster for me. I rode it so many times, I lost count!
We enjoyed our trip so much and we cannot wait to go back!! They now have an exhibit with Walt as an animatronic!! I am sure that one will make me cry!!
Leave a comment about your own first time Disneyland memories. I would love to read all about them!!
If you would like to plan your own Disneyland trip and need a little help, reach out to Tommy here and let him help you today!!