The Conclusion of Being an Annual Passholder

It always was my dream to be a Disneyland Annual Passholder, and since I got one last October it has been every bit as awesome as I had anticipated it to be. Being able to go to the park any day or time for as little or as long as I liked was an amazing feeling. Plus the discount on food and merchandise was nice.

However my pass has expired now and I've decided not to renew it. I've concluded that I'd rather go to Disneyland just once a year and make it a special trip, as opposed to going 5 times in year. I thought I'd never hear myself say this but Disneyland just isn't quite as special when you make it too familiar. Just like a favorite song, if you listen to it over and over, it's not quite the same. I want to preserve the magic and splendor of Disneyland, I don't want it to lose its sparkle and shine.

So for that reason I've put my (albeit short lived) annual passholder-ness to rest.

Our last trip in September was pretty amazing though. My aunt pulled some strings with people in high-er (than us) places and got us a deal at the Grand Californian. I never ever thought in a million years I'd get to stay at that hotel!!! Being able to walk from the hotel directly into the parks and vice versa (especially at the end of a long day when you're legs are throbbing) was worth the money in and of itself! The rooms were nice as well, and they left little chocolates on the pillows every night!

The pools were a nice perk too.

Oh Mickey, the very best of them all.

I got to see the recently remodeled castle with its new vibrant blue tiers! For some reason I thought they were remodeling the Sleeping Beauty walkthrough as well, but they didn't.

Bo and I got the Mickey waffles at Carnation Cafe. Does anyone remember Disneyland before you had to get reservations to restaurants?? I mean you used to be able to just walk in and get seated. Now you have to reserve a table MONTHS in advance. Kind of sad.

My mom, my aunt, me and my cousin all went (which is the usual Disneyland crew) and my mom also invited her friend Vivian, to come as well. Which was so, so fun. She'd never been to Disneyland before in her life so it was fun seeing her go on all the rides and experience everything for the first time. 

It was Halloween time so they had all their decorations up! Check out this awesome candy corn planter. I love it!

I was aware that people occasionally got chosen to steer the Mark Twain, but never before had it happened to ME. But somehow we were the lucky winners and each of us took a turn 'steering' the boat! We even got some very official certificates. 

All in all it was another very magical trip to Disneyland!