The Happiest Place on Earth

Walt Disney World® Resort has always been a part of my life.

I know that sounds cliché, but I have many memories of trips to central Florida with my family growing up, and they are all very special.

My wife and I honeymooned aboard Disney Cruise Line® and at Walt Disney World® Resort; and we have taken countless family trips there together over the past 10 years of our marriage.

There isn’t a room in our home that you can’t find mouse ears close by.

By most people’s standards, we are what you would call “Disneyphiles’.

Yet, one Disney Destination remained distant in our household, Disneyland® Resort in Anaheim, California.

Sure, we knew and acknowledged Disneyland® Resort was out on the west coast, yet it was more of a historical landmark than a vacation destination to our family. Of course we were well aware of the rich history of Disneyland® Resort, the only park that Walt Disney actually walked through. It just wasn’t somewhere that was worth the trek from the Southeast.

In a way, Disneyland® Resort had been shaped in our mind as kind of the ‘step-brother’ to the grand Walt Disney World® Resort. It was a smaller property. It had fewer attractions. It was older. As most Walt Disney World® Resort purists would have told us, it would have been a disappointment to ‘World lovers’ like us.

Fast-forward ten years.

Last week our family of four walked under the Main Street, U.S.A. train station bridge into the ‘Happiest Place on Earth.’

It was amazing.

We got to walk in Walt’s footsteps down Main Street, U.S.A. We were able to see the bench that Walt sat on when he ‘dreamed up’ this magical place while sitting in Griffith Park. We rode a loop around Disneyland Park in the Lilly Belle, a train car that Walt used to conduct meetings in. We were able to see the small Christmas tree lit in the window of Walt’s apartment over the Disneyland Fire Dept.

For a Disney nerds like us, it was all so surreal.

More than experiencing ‘Walt’s Park’, we found something even grander. We found an unbelievable, walkable, family vacation destination. Utilizing around 500 acres, Disneyland® Resort consists of two parks, three resort hotels and the Downtown Disney® District; all within walking distance of each other.

From our accommodations at Disney’s Paradise Pier® Hotel, we were no more than a 10 minute walk from Disneyland® Park or Disney California Adventure® Park, with two kids in tow (ages 5 and 2). Not having to fold a stroller to fit in a trunk, board a bus or ride a tram was, well, simply magical.

Once inside Disneyland® Park or Disney California Adventure® Park you quickly realize you have stepped into a magical place. Despite the city ambience surrounding the parks, you are still quickly transported to another time and place, full of wonder.

Over the next several weeks as a part of our Neverland News, we will be taking you on a journey through Disneyland® Resort. What we hope you will soon find is that Disneyland® Resort is a fantastic vacation destination, with many amazing attractions and fantastic amenities that is worth the ‘commute’, even from the East coast.

With Disneyland® Resort currently offering early 2014 resort discounts, now is the perfect time to plan your trip to the ‘Happiest Place on Earth!’ Contact your Magic Maker® today to help you plan the magic!

Neverland News is written by Kyle Froman, Director of Marketing and Agent Care for Off to Neverland Travel.