So I have to do Day 5 in two sessions a) because I got so much in and b) because I uploaded pictures at the mid-day break so I gotta upload them from two different files.
So Day 5 was hilarious because the night before Brandon said they were waking up at 5am to shower, get breakfast, and be there for the ribbon cutting ceremony to get into the park. So, I very nicely said, "See you after the park opens" lol. With the park opening at 8am I walked through the gates around 10 after 8. I called William-no answer, Kathy-no answer, Brandon-no answer. They totally slept in! Lol, trying to over do it a bit? Anyways, THREE HOURS later they showed up. Well, for those three hours...I explored Disneyland on my own and had a marvelous time!
Walking into the park (past Main Street Disney). Love the Castle!
Storybook Land is right behind the castle and probably my favorite of the lands because it's about all the famous fairy tales!
My first ride of the day was Pinocchio...very cute!
So true....
Then I rode Snow White...
Awww the dwarves' cottage!
Then I rode Casey Jones' train! Can't believe I taught him this year in 3rd grade...that was really fun. And it was a Dumbo ride!! I love that movie...
Then walked inside Sleeping Beauty's castle...
AWESOME animations and so colorful. Felt like I was back in the movie!
The light sparkled when you looked at this particular picture...
Gotta love happy endings, right?!?
Then I did a bit of souvenir shopping, and got my autograph book! It was neat, whatever I bought that I didn't want to carry with me, I just gave them my room number and they sent it to the hotel. Gotta love staying on property!
And since my friends STILL weren't there I rode Mark Twain's Steamboat.
Very cool...and no one was really on it so I had all the room I could want. Later, it was PACKED so I was glad I got to ride it when I did.
Saw some WILDLIFE when riding the steamboat :)
I was pretty hungry by that time, so I stopped at the River Belle Terrace by the Steamboat in Adventureland. Had a great breakfast!
So good, and reasonably priced, too.
Cute set up for breakfast, too.
After breakfast my friends got to the park. So I met them at Star Tours to ride with our free flash passes from the hotel. Thank goodness because the wait was over an hour to ride this ride.
Then we went to It's a Small World!! I loveeee this ride! Must be the travel goddess in me :)
Everything was so much more sophisticated than I remember it being when I was a kid...
And at the end of the ride I LOVED the postcards! (I send postcards everywhere I go...even to myself lol).
Then we went to Mickey's Toontown...so cute!
Loved the pretend city. City Hall here :)
Gotta love the mock of the Hollywood sign...
I went inside Mickey's House!! And then got to MEET MICKEY MOUSE!!! Definitely one of the best moments of the trip!
Brandon and William went off while Kathy and I got autographs and pics with Mickey. So then we rode Roger Rabbit's spinning ride. Very fun...like tea cups but through a ride.
Then we stopped to get photos and pics with Pluto!!
Then the guys left to go get lunch so we meandered back to the hotel. On the way we found this under the castle. The geographical center of Disneyland, marked with pure gold by Walt :)
AND we saw Chip and Dale and got pics/autographs with them too!
Finally we made it back to the Grand California hotel to go to the snacks bar. Had the BEST chicken nachos!
We ate in the hotel while resting...I uploaded my pics and took a small break while Brandon and Kathy took a snooze. Then we headed back out for the evening session....coming NEXT.
Beginning the parade were .... MICKEY AND MINNIE! :)
The genie was there too....
Aladdin (heart throbbing, lol)
The little mermaid!! Probably the Disney movie that I sing most often.
Donald!! That I got to meet later in the week.
And the princesses!!!!!
Oh, Cinderella, I've loved you (and envied you) my wholeeeeeee life, lol.
Mary Poppins came riding by on her horse to end the show.
Then we rode the (terrifying) Splash Mountain and got SOAKED! Really, I didn't get it too bad since I took off my shoes and put on Old Navy flip flops and sat towards the back but OMG, Brandon and William were completely wet. What a thrill, though, really. 
Then we rode Thunder Mountain and I LOVED it. Like a roller coaster but so much more fun. I wish they lasted for 10 minutes at a time but then I guess you'd be in line forever. Great ride, though!
After that the sun set and it was time to play Toy Story's Astros Orbiter. So fun, but I was horrible with the lazers so, of course, being a sore loser, I didn't have as much fun as I COULD have, lol.
The rides in Astros Orbiter so you could see the lazer guns you shoot.
Then we used our Fast Passes for SPACE MOUNTAIN. Probably the best ride in the park for grown ups. I LOVED being in the dark with all the twinkle lights. Absolutely AMAZING!
Walking into the lines for Space Mountain!
Then we went back to the Partner Statue/Main Street Disney for the firework show.
My favorite firework picture... :)
Another shot of the show they put on with the outline of the Partner Statue with the castle, in blue..
A HUGE Dumbo flying through the air during the firework show...
We were pretty hungry by that time so we went had some dinner at the Pizza Port. I had pizza but everyone else got pasta (losers...) JK!
Then we rode the Alice in Wonderland ride...Loved it!
Rode on these caterpillars :D
Love the colors of the ride......so awesome.
Then we rode PETER PAN! Loved, loved it!!!!! We were "flying" through England. Magical, really.
The boats you "fly" on...
Right beside Peter Pan was Mr. Toad's ride where you literally end up in Hell. Very strange... Will need to rewatch that movie to figure it all out!
And finally, the child inside of me LIVED while riding DUMBO!!!!!!!
And as the park closed at midnight, at 11:59 I hopped on King Arthur's Carousel for the last ride of the night. Such a wonderful day at Disneyland. Life......good.
