While the majority of the rest of my Disneyland 2011 trip was spent traipsing through the D23 Expo, we did have one additional evening and a little over a half day in the Park… it definitely didn’t seem like enough time, but it was still wonderful, and I’m glad we had at least a little extra time.

On Saturday evening we finally had to surrender to the chaos at the Expo and head over to Disneyland, however, as is to be expected on a Saturday night, in the middle of the summer, the Park wasn’t without chaos either.  However, we ended up having a very relaxing evening, even if we were too tired to last long. 🙂

I was really excited for the new Mary Blair exhibit at The Disney Gallery, so we made the Gallery our first stop of the evening.  I’m so glad we were able to make it in there because the original art was amazing and there were even a few pieces I had never seen before.  Not to mention the assortment of other fabulous prints and art pieces that the Gallery always has on hand.  After the requisite trip through The Disneyland Story, with a nod to Walt’s Bench, we were on our way to wander through the stores on Main Street and make our way into Fantasyland.

We had slightly unforunate timing in our trek back to Fantasyland, as Mickey’s Soundsational Parade was just making it’s way through the park, but we were happy for the opportunity to see more bits and pieces of the parade, and we even managed to make it back to It’s a Small World – in honor of our Mary Blair gallery viewing – in time to see the clock count off a new hour and with a very small line.  I know that Small World has the reputation of being, perhaps, the most annoying Disney attraction, but time after time, year after year, I find it to be a charming glance into the innocence of youth.  Heck, I even have a soft spot for the most catchy song in the Disney Songbook! 😀

Our evening in the Park was a quick one, as we were exhausted from a crazy day at the Expo, but I could definitely get used to hopping over to Disneyland for a few hours on a warm Saturday evening.

Our last Expo day didn’t bring any Park time for us, but we did have an amazing Character Breakfast at the Storyteller’s Cafe in the Grand Californian, and a fun night in Downtown Disney.  In fact, it was at breakfast that morning that we saw both Roshon Fegan from Disney Channel’s Shake it Up and Camp Rock, as well as, the incomparable John Lasseter.  It was interesting to see Lasseter come in with his entourage, including his personal secret services, complete with black suit and discreet earpiece.  It was also enchanting to watch the Storyteller’s resident park ranger possibly get his shot at his dreams, as he entertained Lasseter with his best joke-telling, plastic fish-flinging antics.

On our last day in California, we were able to spend the morning and nearly the entire afternoon in the Park, taking in everything we possibly could and making sure we hit all of our must-sees.  In the limited amount of time we had, we managed to get a Mickey Waffle at the Carnation Cafe, make it on Peter Pan’s Flight, Alice in Wonderland, and Buzz Lightyear, grab a Dole Whip and catch a show in the Tiki Room, and even take a flight to Tatooine and the Death Star on Star Tours.  It was a really great day – despite a run-in with some very un-magical guests on Star Tours – and we got in everything we had hoped to see.  So, it was with heavy hearts that we got in a shuttle to take us back to the Orange County airport that afternoon and said good-bye to our Happy Place for another year.

© 2011, Rays of Disneyland. All rights reserved.