{"id":5678,"date":"2012-01-25T15:18:25","date_gmt":"2012-01-25T05:18:25","guid":{"rendered":"\/\/www.lastminute.com.au\/vc\/blog\/?p=5678"},"modified":"2015-03-23T11:50:13","modified_gmt":"2015-03-23T01:50:13","slug":"disneyland-not-just-for-the-kids","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lastminute.co.nz\/vc\/blog\/disneyland-not-just-for-the-kids\/","title":{"rendered":"Disneyland: not just for the kids"},"content":{"rendered":"

Think you need to be a child to have fun at Disneyland? Think again. In fact, our guest blogger Melanie Hearse reckons she and her hubby had a much better time than many of the kids (and the stressed out parents!) they encountered.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

<\/strong><\/p>\n

I\u2019ll be honest, the sheer volume of ladies of a certain age contentedly wearing Minnie Mouse ears irked me in the same way grown women wearing Hello Kitty clothing in public does, but that aside, the three days spent pushing our way through Disneyland did not disappoint.<\/p>\n

Since our last visit twelve years ago, Disneyland has added a whole second park \u2013 you can either walk in the gates on the right and visit the traditional Disneyland, or you can walk across the way to your left and see the newly created, and largely still under construction, Disney California Adventures. We opted for the best of both worlds.
\nOld school \u2013 Downtown Disney <\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

From the second we walked in flashing our three day pass, the crowds, the loud Disney-esque music and the scrumptious smell of hot popcorn and pretzels ticked all the right boxes.<\/p>\n

\"Lucky<\/a>

Lucky I don’t mind crowds!”<\/p><\/div>\n

Some quick tips for the uninitiated:
\n\u2022 Make the most of your \u2018one magic morning\u2019 \u2013 a three day pass includes one for free, and get in an hour before the hoi polloi to avoid the serious queues on all the rides.
\n\u2022 Pre-pick what rides are on your \u2018must-do list\u2019 and get straight to it. We crammed in Splash Mountain, It\u2019s a Small World and the Pirates of the Caribbean before the rides hit their customary 90 minute to two hour wait. Success, I\u2019d say!<\/p>\n

As the popular rides started to fill up, we jumped on the Disney Express and took a much needed rest as we chugged along the outskirts of the park (mentally compiling a list of rides to run to early the following morning). The hours flew by quickly as we walked around the park, taking in all there was to see.
\nNew and still improving- Disney California Adventure<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

\"It's<\/a>

It’s a bug’s life. Good, classic fun.”<\/p><\/div>\n

If you don\u2019t mind kiddie rides and hate queues, my top tip is to skip over to the California Adventure side of the park in the late afternoon \u2013 lots of the rides have shorter queues, especially in the Bug\u2019s Life section.<\/p>\n

The \u2018watermelon\u2019 ride, as we dubbed it, involved a trip through a variety of half eaten plastic foods (and the world\u2019s most annoying voice over!), but the teacups and the swirling noodle box rides were good classic fun.<\/p>\n

Onwards and upwards, we walked up to the massive area that recreates Coney Island with a mammoth rollercoaster and ferris wheel ride, and plenty of great restaurants. Be warned though the queues in this area border on 90 minutes plus.
\nAs a health conscious lass, I did find the offerings a little on the greasy side (I guess you don\u2019t go to Disneyland to eat diet friendly foods), and the coffee isn\u2019t great, but I did manage to find some healthier options.<\/p>\n

You don\u2019t have to be a kid to enjoy Disneyland, in fact I think adults are better placed to be patient with the queues and soak up the adventure for what it is (no tantrums included).<\/p>\n

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