Disneyland

We stayed at the Grand Californian Hotel in Disneyland. This hotel is quite different to most of the hotels there which mainly have a Disney theme. The Grand Californian had an art & crafts theme and it gave it a more deluxe feel. It is a 4 star property and is right next to downtown Disney where all the shops, restaurants, bars are located. It also has a back entrance to California Adventure Park.

The whole place is buzzing with life! It's very exciting and for most of the time, I just had a real big smile on my face (especially when I had my first encounter with a Disney character) The parks are right next to each other, so it will take you a maximum of 10 minutes to get there from any of the hotels located within Disneyland.

For our visit to the parks, we took a 3 - day Park Hopper pass which allows you to explore the 2 parks freely. You can visit them both in a day if you wish although I do recommend you take a day for each and maybe pop back on the third day to do some of the wild rides you missed out on at either of the parks.

Disneyland is more for the kids but equally enjoyable for everyone. The Disney character parade that happens every night is magical (make sure you don't run out of film during the parade!). California Adventure park is just wild, with a roller coaster ride that will leave you breathless! The new Aladin show is a must see while you are there. Both parks have so many things to do and see. There are rides, theatres, 3D rides (my favourite) and even 3D theatre? put comfortable shoes on, and make your way to a magical world! Just seeing the smile on the children's faces everywhere you go is enough.

Even if you stay at a hotel a little outside of Disneyland you needn't worry about transport. There are buses that operate every half hour from Disneyland and go to most of the hotels in the vicinity.

After Disneyland we took the train down to sunny San Diego. We did a trolley tour of the city, visited the old town district and of course went to Sea World! We dined with 'Shamu' and got to see the whales at very close quarters. The shows are fantastic and very entertaining with sealions, whales and dolphins. I am definitely going back!