Wondering what it would be like going to Disneyland without children; would we enjoy ourselves?
My wife and I are both in our early 60’s or at least I am, my wife is still 39 at last count. We are spending the winter in Winterhaven which is in southern California, about 2 miles away from Yuma, Arizona. On a good day it is about a 4 1/2 hr drive from Anaheim to where Disneyland is located. We made arrangements to meet Irene’s younger brother and his wife at Disneyland, they were flying down from Nanaimo, British Columbia, Canada to meet us.
Wednesday, the day of our departure we left sunny skies in Yuma and after filling the motorhome up with gas and propane we headed west. First to San Diego which is a different way than we normally would have traveled. We traveled west until catching I5 and then headed north. As we were going through the mountains on the east side of San Diego we hit some really strong wind gusts. The motorhome reacted like it was a big white sail. In order to stay safe I slowed to between 40~45mph and still we were being blown around, also before reaching San Diego we were traveling through clouds and torrential rains. This slowed traffic considerably, my windshield wipers were on high and in may places we were driving through standing water. We turned on the radio and the announcer was issuing a tornado warning and warning people out of low lying places with the threat of flash flooding. Lots of very close lightning and thunder was lighting up the sky. Driving up the I5 was very slow like it normally would be in rush hour. As we were driving up the coast the clouds cleared enough to treat us to a glorious sunset. It was quite brief and then were back into the rain again which carried on right up in to Los Angeles, where we did hit rush hour. Don’t know what time we finally reached our destination but am sure total travel time was double of what it would have been on a good day.
We reached the RV Park after hours and they had our information taped to their door, so we followed their instructions to get to our site and set up. We exercised the dogs and were just starting to relax when we heard some loud bangs that made us look out the window where we watched an incredible fireworks display from the comfort of our couch and it must have continued for a good 15 minutes. We went to bed shortly after that and fell asleep to some very heavy rain beating down on the roof.
The next morning was Thursday and the rain had subsided, we made sure we had a good breakfast, and walked to Disneyland. (they told us when we made the reservation at the RV Park that it was about 1/2 mile, I would be surprised if it was under a mile. When you go into the front entrance they check whatever you maybe carrying, my case was a camera bag. After that they have a secondary inspection similar to an airports. I had no idea and had to surrender a small pocket knife, or the other option was to walk all the way back to the RV Park and back.
Once inside we purchased our tickets; we opted for the 2 day Park Hopper tickets which were $225.00 ea. At the outset it seems pretty pricey but once you are inside, you pay nothing for anything other than food, drink and of course memorabilia. There are 2 sides to the park; Disneyland & California Adventure, the park hopper tickets allow access to both sides. Disneyland has more of the older themes like Mickey Mouse and Splash Mountain,
whereas California Adventure has newer themes like Cars ,A Bugs Life & a large roller coaster.
We met up with Irene’s Brother and Sister In Law and entered the Disneyland side, since it was a Thursday morning it wasn’t as busy, so we were able to get on quite a few rides and go through a number of shops.
In the early afternoonwe had to leave and go back to the motor home so we could exercise the dogs, it was at this time we purchased bus tickets. We hopped on the #6 bus which we were directed to at the front gate and were dropped off at the wrong RV Park. We had to wait another 1/2 hour for the bus to return and take us back to Disneyland to catch the proper #10 bus.
By the time we had returned in the late afternoon after exercising the dogs the crowd had swollen which made for much longer line-ups with increased wait times. We still managed to wonder around the park through the shops
until the parade started which I can say it was well worth the wait. It was fun watching the faces of the crowd while the parade was on, you could see they were enjoying it immensely.
Day 2 was Friday and we met up again with Irene’s brother and Sister in Law, the crowds were bigger and started earlier so we didn’t get on quite as many rides in the California Adventure side. The themes on this side are a little more modern with many of them being the same as what our Grandchildren have watched and were able to recognize.
In the afternoon we again had to go back to the RV so that the dogs could be exercised, this gave us a break from the crowds and allowed us to recharge a little bit. We returned fairly late and didn’t meet up with Irene’s brother right away, but were going to meet up with them and watch the laser light show.
Little did we know that it required tickets which we didn’t have, so Irene and I wandered off and went back into the “Cars” area where there was a ride we wanted to go on but there was a 90 minute line-up. We decided to call it
an early night, hopped back onto the bus and made it back to the RV Park in time to see the fireworks that again were fabulous.
It was great fun being there with Irene’s brother and his wife, they have been at Disneyland a few times and were able to act like tour guides, which also made it easier for us to get to best spots. To answer my earlier question; we were able to really enjoy ourselves even though we were not accompanied by children.
A few thoughts for when you do go to Disneyland;
Eat a good breakfast before going because food and drink is very expensive inside the gates, wear sturdy footwear because you will be doing tons of walking and standing all day.
Careful what you carry inside the gates, there is lots of security and they are not afraid of confiscating anything they don’t like.
Merchandise like Mouse Ears and T-Shirts are expensive and there are lots to choose from.
(Art) Shuttle Buses were $5.00/ person/ day, and in my mind worth it. If you go to an attraction ask about getting a “Fast Pass” that may enable you to return when the line-up is shorter and get on right away.
Anaheim Harbor RV Park;
Located about 3/4 mile of a mile from the entrance to Disneyland, nice clean park with all driving surfaces paved
our cost was $32.00 / night in January which is more than likely “off season”
Road Scene 