Disneyland Date
- Spencer
- Jan 31
- 3 min read
Updated: Feb 1
I was fortunate to grow up 90 minutes to Orlando by car. And my parents were kind enough to indulge my childhood fantasies by bringing me to Disney World countless times.
At a certain age, the allure starts to fade. After many years of annual theme parks, resorts and rides, I grew up and branched out. I found love, marriage and the greater world.
But those early Disney impressions remain indelible. So I was especially happy and excited to revisit this fantasy world with my wife. While living in Arizona, we decided to go to Disneyland Park in Anaheim.
We took a short flight from Phoenix to the John Wayne Airport / Orange County Airport. Rather than spend exorbitant money at a Disney resort, we stayed at the nice and comfortable Hyatt Regency Orange County. They offer a free shuttle to the hub between the two parks (Disneyland and California Adventure).
Being staunch Star Wars fans, we targeted that area first. Galaxy's Edge did not disappoint. You are immersed in a land of droids, stormtroopers, starfighters and friendly aliens. We loved both rides - Rise of the Resistance and Smuggler's Run. Definitely get Lightning Lane passes for these. There are fun food and drink options. We enjoyed the blue milk and came back later in the day to Oga's Cantina - a spectacular droid and alien bar right out of Tatooine.
Just like the Magic Kingdom back east, Disneyland is divided into different lands. We tried to do a bit in each one. So after Galaxy's Edge, we headed to New Orleans Square for lunch. Cafe Orleans gave us tasty and fun bites, including the Monte Cristo sandwich and drinking chocolate with Mickey marshmallow. Afterward, still in New Orleans Square, we rode the historic Pirates of the Caribbean and Haunted Mansion. Nikki made note of the awfully-scary-for-a-kid animated, drunken pirates.
Next, to lighten the mood, we took the relaxing Mark Twain Riverboat and Disneyland Railroad, enjoying scenery of nature and American landmarks.
In Tomorrowland Star Tours is a fun outlier, including several of the characters from the original trilogy. We hoped to ride Space Mountain, but there was only so much the Lightning Lane could do for us - that will be saved for next time.
We hopped on the Disneyland Monorail, trying to pass the time until our Autopia slot came up. The monorail is old-fashioned and lackluster, with dirty windows and nothing special to offer - it can definitely be skipped. However, Autopia is still a fun ride after all these years.
Next came our coveted dinner at Oga's Cantina, back in Galaxy's Edge. It was indeed spectacular to look at. But the service, food and drinks were odd. We were given a booth, shared with two other groups. We had a 45-60 minute timeslot, two-drink max and only a limited number of themed food items. Nikki had a cocktail and I had a tasty ube-flavored beer. We shared their version of galactic guacamole and edamame. At the end, we gave ourselves ample time to roam around the bar and take it all in.
Walking down Main Street at night is a sight, all lit up. We were able to take the same free shuttle back to our great hotel, with a nightcap recap at VITA Bar.
Although Nikki did not live the Disney life growing up, she definitely enjoyed the day (she likes to joke that her big day trip would be to exotic Great Falls, Montana). Disneyland is heartily entertaining, even for adults sans kids. We look foward to more Disney dates, just the two of us.
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