Travel Throwback #3: Disneyland

One thing people might not know about me is that I'm a certified Disney freak! My mom took me to Disneyland for the first time when I was two-years-old, and after that I went to Disneyland two or three times a year, most years I even had an annual pass. As one can imagine, I have a lot of Disneyland memories with my mom and my fellow Disney girl, Amy.

For this travel throwback I thought I would take the opportunity to share some of these with you. I dedicate this post to my fellow Disney girls, my mom and Amy, who made so many of these memories with me!

Disneyland Girls in New Orleans Square (April 2010)

First off, let me start by saying that one of the things I love about Disneyland is that everyone has their own unique traditions when they visit The Happiest Place on Earth!

One of my Disneyland traditions starts the night before, when I would watch Disney's Sing Along Songs' Disneyland Fun. My mom bought me the VHS before one of my trip to Disneyland to help explain where we were going. Later on we bought it on DVD and now you can watch it here in all its 90's glory thanks to YouTube!

This tradition still stands, I even made Luke watch it with me before our first trip to Disneyland together in April 2010.

  The second of my traditions is getting a picture taken in front of the White Rabbit from Alice In Wonderland's door. The door is located to the side of The Mad Hatter in Fantasyland. My earlier photographs prior to age fourteen are unfortunately still at my mom's house but I do have a number from my trips throughout high school and beyond.  

Selection of photographs in front of the White Rabbit's door in Disneyland

  Now, you don't become a Disney freak without learning a few secrets about Disneyland over the years. Rather than keep these secrets for myself, I decided to stop being so selfish and share some of these secrets with you! So here are my top 5 Disneyland secrets:
1. There is a secret members-only club in Disneyland known as Club 33. Walt Disney had it built to entertain his guests.

Dining at Club 33 in Disneyland

2. In the nursery on Peter Pan's Flight, the blocks on the floor spell out "Disney" and "Pan" but look quickly, you'll soon be flying off to Never Never Land!

3. If you are visiting Disneyland for the first time or celebrating a birthday there, then pop over to City Hall in Mainstreet U.S.A. to receive a "Disneyland 1st Visit" or "Happy Birthday" badge!  

My step brother proudly showing off his "Disneyland 1st Visit" badge!

3. The statuettes in Snow White's Grotto were gifted to Disneyland anonymously. All the statuettes are the same size but thanks to a little Disney magic (forced-perspective) Snow White appears bigger than the dwarves.  

Visiting Snow White's Grotto during our 8th Grade Disneyland trip!

  4. Walt Disney reportedly wanted to use real animals in Disneyland's Jungle Cruise but was advised against it. As a special BONUS secret, apparently Kevin Costner (one of my mom's favourite actors for some reason) used to be a Jungle Cruise Skipper! I'm assuming this was before his Dancing With Wolves days.  

This Jungle Cruise photograph would be so different with real animals.

  5. There are dead bodies in Disneyland! There have been reports of several families attempting to scatter their loved ones' ashes in the Haunted Mansion. Well, they did say there was "room for one more".  

Q: Have you ever been to Disneyland? Do you have any traditions or fun facts?

For more travel throwback fun, be sure to read my previous travel throwback posts to Windsor Castle and London.

Erin x

Welcome Summer!

BREAKING NEWS: Summer is officially here! 

The past few weekends have been lovely but unfortunately Luke and I have not been able to enjoy them as we've been stuck inside decorating and doing DIY fun! It has been worth it but both of us are tired and going to take a break for the summer. This weekend was the first weekend where we didn't touch a paintbrush and man did it feel good!

Facebook

On Saturday we spent the day the Milton Keynes Rugby 7s Beer and Cider Festival. Luke's team, The Convicts, had entered nearly ten weeks ago and he has been looking forward to it ever since. Seriously, he was like a child on Christmas morning! 

Milton Keynes Rugby 7s Social Tournament Champions 2014: The Convicts

Luke was confident that his team would win the social tournament, in fact he stated "if The Convicts don't win, I'll do a lap of the rugby pitch naked." Thankfully The Convicts did win and he didn't have to treat the nearly 1,000 people to a laugh! Their winnings equalled £100 in beer money plus a package of beer from Marston's Brewery. Considering most of the team couldn't stay at the club late and they still had £80 left over from the kitty that meant a lot of celebratory drinks to go around.

Sunday left some of us feeling a little worse for wear, but that didn't stop us from enjoying the day.  Luke and I headed to our friends' new house for the first official barbecue of summer! This was not before a group shopping trip to Aldi. For those of you who aren't in the "know", Aldi is a supermarket that sells cheaper alternatives to name brands. I'll admit it, I've been a bit of a snob about going there, but in the past few weeks have found it amazing! You can find such great bargains, like Luke found a neoprene rugby ball there yesterday for £2.99 and he's already gotten his money's worth of use.

Sorry I digressed a bit there on my love of Aldi. Anyway, the point is we had an amazing barbecue filled with sun, sausages and a few gin and tonics. After our barbecue we went for a walk around the neighbourhood through the parks and around the lake. The perfect ending to a lovely weekend!

I leave you with this parting question...

Q: Who wore it best? Luke with his blue shirt and plain t-shirt or Pete with his blue shirt and print?

Erin x