Lucky us! Marsha Takeda-Morrison of Sweatpantsmom is this week’s Uptake Los Angeles – Local Getaway Crew, and her post about visiting Disneyland makes me want to jump on a plane to Los Angeles right now! She loves everything about the holidays at Disneyland and even offers to sing us a song if we ask nice. Awww…

Okay, call me sappy, but one of the things that truly gets me in the seasonal mood is visiting Disneyland when they’re all decked out for the holidays. Well, that and my mom’s lime-green Jell-O, but that’s not for everyone.

Holidays at Disneyland - Small World

If there’s one thing Disneyland knows how to do it’s decorate. I’m wondering how many trips to Target their light technician had to make in order to get enough strings of lights to deck out It’s A Small World and Sleeping Beauty’s Winter Castle? Not to mention all of the work put in to decorating the floats for the Christmas Fantasy parade – I can’t even get my husband to nail up a wreath and a few boughs of holly without complaining.

And I might be alone here, but I say it’s never too early for holiday music, and there’s plenty of that wafting through the air at Disneyland this time of year. (Note: I’m one of those people that sets the car radio to the holiday station the day after Thanksgiving, and it stays there through December 25. I say don’t carpool with me unless you don’t mind hearing ‘Sleigh Bells’ every five minutes.)

Kids can even get the chance to see real reindeer at the Reindeer Round-Up. I like to take them here to commune with nature, even if it is in the shadow of a roller coaster and a churro cart. If your kids are like mine, they’ve grown up thinking reindeer are always either animated and named Rudolph, or made out of lights and standing in someone’s front yard. So to see a real reindeer is a real treat, and you’ll understand if my daughter keeps trying to plug it into an electrical socket.

Holiday Fireworks at Disneyland

The best part though, is the Holiday Magic fireworks show. I’ve always thought Disneyland had the best fireworks show around, and this special presentation always gets me sentimental. Let’s just say that by the time the snow is falling on Main Street and ‘White Christmas’ is playing over the speakers I’m a blubbering mess, hugging everyone around me and inviting them back to my place for shortbread and rum.

I know it isn’t even Thanksgiving yet, but if you want to get a headstart on the holidays and infuse yourself with some seasonal cheer, check out the sights at Disneyland. Then come on over to my place and I’ll put on some Christmas music.

Sleeping Beauty's Castle

This past weekend I took a short trip to visit one of my college friends who lives in Los Angeles. Once she picked me up from the airport she suggested that we spend a day at Disneyland. Disneyland will always be that magical place that used to entrance me when I was little, and even though I am in my twenties, I was very excited to visit. So, we woke up early on Saturday morning, put on our comfortable shoes and took the forty minute drive from Hollywood to Disneyland.

When we arrived at the park my happiness quickly diminished when we found out that the entry ticket to both parks was an outstanding $97! This ticket, which is also known as the Hopper Pass, allows you to visit both the Disneyland and California Park so it is expected to be more expensive. But even if you were going to visit only one park, the adult ticket is still $87. I think this is ridiculous! And I was just paying for one ticket, what about the parents that have a few children with them? And it isn’t only the entry fees that families have to consider because there is also food, drinks, souvenirs, etc. to calculate in.

So, is the trip worth the cost?

If your answer is ‘yes’ here are some tips that I feel are good to consider before visiting. First and foremost, I recommend taking kids that are old enough to enjoy the rides. Babies will have free admission into the park, but then you have to consider that one parent will have to sit on the side while the rest of the family goes and it will just become more of a hassle. So, I figure if you bring kids that are five or older it will be the perfect trip. Secondly, go during the weekday and definitely avoid any big holidays so the lines are shorter. When the lines are longer (which they were this past weekend) you are only riding a fraction of the rides so it wouldn’t be worth the outlandish ticket price. Thirdly, if you are not a local, take the time to look for cheap hotels near Disneyland so you don’t go over your set budget.

So, if you take my recommendations into account and look at other helpful budget saving tips, Disneyland once again becomes the “happiest place on earth”.

My last word of advice it to take the time to look through the Internet for any deals that may be happening during the time of your visit.

Here is one I found recently: “Give A Day. Get A Disney Day.”

This is a great program that Disney is doing where you can volunteer in your local community in exchange for free admission to the park. So, take a day with your family where you can all participate in a good cause, and in return, you can avoid the large fee of the entry tickets! But there are only one million tickets in total so if you are interested, do it soon!

Even though I do not agree with the prices they have stuck on the tickets, I do feel the trip is worth your time and money to bring your children to experience all the magic and wonder that Disneyland has to offer.

Related Posts:

7 Secrets about Disneyland

Disneyland Family Vacations: The Happiest Place on Earth

Photos (in order of appearance):

“Sb Castle” by myjedilightsaber

“Disneyland Fireworks” by myjedilightsaber

When I think of major sites of Germany, the castles of Neuschwanstein and Hohenschwangau are front and center. These two landmarks, located in the Bavarian Alps, in the southern-most part of Germany, are historical treasures and visited by millions of tourists each year.

Hohenschwangau Castle

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Need a break from the Christmas shopping and cookie baking?  Tired of shoveling snow?  December is the perfect time to visit many Southern California theme parks.  The weather runs from warm and sunny to cool and clear.  The only ice you will find is in the San Diego Zoo’s temporary ice rink.  Many Southern California attractions are spiffed up in their holiday best.  Christmas decorations are even more inspiring, when you didn’t have to climb up on a ladder to put them up.

Over the years our family as enjoyed holiday visits to many of Southern California’s  theme parks.  Here are some of our favorites:

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