I had my first Disneyland visit this past Wednesday. Yes, I just spent an awesome week in Disney World, but I had never been to the original theme park here in CA.

Lindsey and Sofia are visiting, and invited me to go with them, ("them" being, Lindsey, Sofia, Jordan, Spencer, Ellie, their insanely adorable newborn Eve, Taylor, Mary Jo and Stu). I had so much fun. Because I had just been to Disney World, I couldn't help but compare, out loud, the differences. I'm sure everyone around me heard me say "in Disney World it's this way but here it's this way" like fifty times, but I couldn't help it.

All in all, I'd say they are equal. Here is my assessment:

Disneyland
Pros
It's the original
Disney Characters are implemented into "Small World"
Pirates of the Caribbean is AWESOME (it's bigger than in DW)
Amazing weather that enhances the experience
Very cool "House of Tomorrow" built by the same people that do "Extreme Home Makeover"

Cons
Tiny Castle
Only Magic Kingdom and California adventure (as opposed to Disney World's five awesome parks)
Feels smaller

Disney World
Pros
Big Castle!
Huge park with an additional four parks
Has "All the President's Men"
The first 3/4's of "The Wheel of Progress"

Cons
The insanely hot/humid weather
The last 1/4 of "The Wheel of Progress"
Country Bear Jamboree

Now, this isn't an entirely fair review. This trip was geared more towards the kids, so we stuck to attractions that didn't require you to be taller than 2 feet. All in all, I think it ends up being an even trade off. EPCOT is still the best of all of them. 

The first ride we went on was the Jungle Cruise. I had never been on it so I was really excited. The boat is kind of small, so I sat in between Lindz and a plastic block, with my knees touching the knees of the kids across from me.

The kid across from me was killing me. He was about seven, and as soon as we took off on our jungle cruise he grabbed his mom's knees and started screaming and crying like he was a passenger on the bus in the movie Speed. He was obviously scared of dying, and I totally sympathized because I was that way as a kid. When I was five (?) my parents first took me and my brother to Disney World. I was scared out of my mind and I only cared about three things: 1.) Are there sharks on this ride? 2.) Will it go upside down? and 3.) Are we going to die? My parents assured me no, no and no, but I was still scared. So I felt bad for the kid. The funny thing was that his mom was smiling. I think she was either in denial, or this was one of the kid's good days. She kept trying to point out the cute lion cubs, elephants, etc., to which he just got more scared (but still tried to look at the stuff). At his lowest point the mom pointed out the Piranhas we were passing. They were even a little creepy to me. I was surprised that the mom would point out man-eating-fish to her crying child, but she did. And he reacted appropriately. Screaming bloody murder. As soon as we pulled up to the dock he was trying like mad to get off the boat. I'm sure if it wasn't for his mom holding on to him he would have gone straight off the boat into the water.

After returning from our Jungle Cruise we visited the Enchanted Tiki Room. It was as awesome as I remembered it. Man those birds can sing! And who knew totem poles could be so harmonious?

Next we stopped for lunch. The lunch spot that I got my "Chicken Breast Nuggets" at was half super efficient, half confused. They only sold baskets of chicken nuggets and fries (and funnel cakes, which Taylor and I split) which allowed them to be very prepared. Behind the cashiers there were like, baskets and baskets of chicken and fries, which they would hand you after you ordered. So I ordered a chicken and fries basket and a drink. For whatever reason, before getting me my food he took the order of the huge group of 15 behind me. And I was so hungry! So I'm eyeballing him, hoping he'll see me. And then I see him getting their drinks! I was like "uh, you're getting my food before you do that huge order that was after me, right?" and he had obviously forgotten about me because he said "oh, yeah, uh, I just have to wait for the food to be ready" as he had 1,000 baskets of chicken and fries behind him. I was like "oh, well, those baskets..." and then he handed me one. Yay!

I have to mention the Winnie the Pooh ride. Or as I like to call it I-might-be-on-drugs-because-this-ride-is-super-creepy-and-isn't-making-sense ride. I remember watching the Pooh movie as a kid and I was creeped out by the Humpa-lumps. So this ride was basically that scene, but in ride form. But at one point Pooh leaves his body (it looks like he just died), and at another point you're in this scary neon spiderweb colored elephant room. Before you know it, he's coming out of a honey pot literally as though he was on drugs, talking incoherently about honey, ... I don't know what was going on. Don't get me wrong, it was a very interesting ride, I'm just confused as to how someone put that ride together and said "yeah, this will be good for kids!". Here are a few scary video clips I took while on the ride:

We hit Toontown afterwards. Sofi had lost her barrette (a super cute one that I had gotten her a day earlier). Mary Jo and I went looking for it, yes, on the sidewalks of Disneyland, and we found it.

DL's Tomorrowland was cool. Pretty much the same as DW's except that it has a "Dream Home of Tomorrow" instead of the "Wheel of Progress", and it has an outdoor dance floor. Sofi was loving it. She is quite the dancer so Lindz would take her back and forth to the floor. Ellie made it out there as well. It was an awesome mix of teens doing club dancing and toddlers shaking their torsos.

We ended the day with DL's night show, "Summer Nightastic!", another difference between the two parks. We couldn't see all of it because we were enjoying a very delicious dinner at the "French Market", but it's like, on the lake right across from where we were eating. So I got to see the tops of things. From what I saw, there was a mix of good Disney characters, and Disney villians. At one point a ship went across and I know it was Peter Pan and Hook fighting because I could hear them, but I couldn't see them. The finale was when the dragon from Snow White (?) came out of the water, that was cool, and then Mickey came over with a wand and was like, all high pitched, "oh yeah? hehe!" and hit it on the neck. It must have been a powerful stick because the dragon died and fell into the water.

After the show they had fireworks, which I love. I especially loved it because I was holding Sofia and she fell asleep on me. She is so cute. I also loved it because when we were in DW we were all (except for me and my mom) too tired to stay and watch.

Lindsey drove back with me so I didn't have to go alone. I feel very blessed to have friends like them in my life. It's so fun to see their kids and how they're so much like their parents! Below are some pics from the day. Taylor, myself, Lindz and Sof getting ready to enter the scary Pooh Bear ride, Taylor, Jordan and Ellie (who was such a trooper the whole day even though she had a cold) getting ready to ride Dumbo, Jordan holidng Eve (masquerading as a 40's actress with her hat), Sofia with her first Mouse ears, and the Disneyland castle. Thanks for including me in your Disneyland adventure!