There is nowhere in the world quite like Disneyland, and we hadn’t visited the happiest place on earth since 2019. You know, before that pesky pandemic and lockdown… ah, what a time to be alive. So you can imagine we were aching to get back for a hit of Disney magic.
Anytime you’re in the US it’s essential to pay a visit – but it was truly incredible to see how much has been added since our last time. While both the Disneyland and California Adventures parks constantly grow and evolve, they really strike the perfect balance of moving with the times without losing any of their classic charm and nostalgia.
Our visit fell right at the start of Halloween season, so it was so cool to see the entire park decked out in an eerie, haunted style. Pumpkins with all the famous characters carved into them, spooky decorations everywhere and many of the rides and attractions adapted to fit the season. It was brilliant to see the park in a whole new light.
The Haunted Mansion was so much fun, with its seasonal transformation taking inspiration from Tim Burton’s ‘Nightmare Before Christmas’. There was also an incredible nightly show highlighting all the Disney villains, with projections onto the castle as huge jets of fire shot into the evening sky.
Our favourite new permanent addition to the park would have to be Star Wars: Galaxies Edge. Walking around this land makes you feel as if you’ve been transported into the films. This is as immersive and grand as theme park attractions get. The scale has to be seen to be believed.
The Rise Of The Resistance ride is an exciting battle against the first order, with legions of Storm Troopers. This is an exciting new height in theme park rides. Elsewhere, the Smugglers Run ride allows you to be in control in the cockpit as you fly the Millennium Falcon. Another awesome new area is Avengers Campus, with the new Spiderman web slingers ride where you get to unleash your inner super hero.
A handy new feature at Disneyland is the “Genie+” service – a new evolution of the former Fast Pass system which allowed visitors to bypass queues and get onto their chosen rides without lengthy wait times. Now using the Disneyland app on your phone, purchasing the Genie Pass allows you to schedule the rides you’d like to prioritise and at your chosen time you scan your phone at the gate and get to skip the line. This allowed us to get onto every ride we wanted and move around the park much quicker. It was a hot day on our visit, so this also meant it was easier to keep our cool. We can’t recommend the Genie Pass highly enough – this is something you definitely want to add to your ticket.
Disneyland really brings out the child in everyone. It’s impossible to walk around and not be swept up by the magic. There’s something for everyone and the magical feeling stays long after you’ve left the park. For more info or to book your visit, log onto https://disneyparks.disney.go.com/au/disneyland/