After a lovely morning and afternoon at California Adventure, we finished our three days in Disneyland the best way you can – where the magic of the parks began in the first place. We park-hopped back over to Disneyland proper and soaked in every last moment before we had to say good-bye.
We went on our favorite rides again, ate delicious ice cream off of Main Street, and just enjoyed the quieter spots. One of my favorite moments was getting to ride Storybook Land a second time. We had ridden it at night on Day 1, when all of the mini-scenes are lit by spotlight. They have pretty twinkle lights that you go under in your boat and it is all quite romantic. But it is an entirely different experience when you ride it during the day and you can see absolutely everything.
Storybook Land is made up of several gorgeous, intricate miniature castles and houses from our favorite fairy tales. You ride a boat around a loop looking at all of the beautiful work that makes this ride so charming. Check it out in my video below (even though the video is nothing compared to seeing it in person).
As night crept in and we realized we were in our final few hours at one of our favorite places in the world, we wanted to get every last inch of Disney we could since we didn’t know when we would be returning. We had planned this to be our “cheap” vacation that would hold us over until we could go to Disney World for our 2-year anniversary. After riding Rise of the Resistance, we decided to forget that plan, and just go wild enjoying ourselves. We ate at expensive restaurants, bought way too many pricey souvenirs (2 Lightsabers and a droid start to add up), and we went to Disneyland 3 days instead of our normal 2. We definitely got swept away in the Disney magic.
We have NEVER regretted that we went nuts on this trip. In fact, it’s a perfect example of how you should always live life to the fullest. What we didn’t realize when we were there in January 2020, was that Disneyland and Disney World would be shut down in March 2020 due Covid-19. As of writing this in February 2021, Disneyland has still not re-opened.
Adam and I have barely left our house in a year. There have been no other great adventures or fancy trips since the world went into quarantine. We look back at this trip with love, fondness, and deep gratitude. So many people had to cancel or postpone their Disney trips, but we had the opportunity to enjoy ours to the fullest. There are no masks in these pictures, no social distancing, no real worry. It is the Happiest Place on Earth to us and not just because of marketing… actually, Disney is really good at marketing, so maybe… Hmm…
Anyway, as we left the parks on our last day in Southern California, Adam said something that struck me as both hilarious and sad.
“Oh, man… My escapism is wearing off. In there, I was a Jedi. Out here, I am a man who spent a lot of money on plastic and metal. There is homelessness and war and my Lightsaber can’t do anything to stop it… I just made myself so depressed.”
Adam and I are privileged to lead extraordinary, fun-filled lives. We are fortunate enough to have found each other and get opportunities to share amazing adventures. Whether it be trips to Disney or home-renovations, it’s important to never forget how blessed we are and to never stop trying to make the world a better place in big and small ways. After all, in our world it is regular people, not Jedi, that make incredible things happen.