The Wonderful World of Disney

Anyone with Children understands that no trip to Southern California would be complete without a trip to Disneyland. The kids wanted to go there the first day we arrived, but sexy wife and I realized this wasn't the best approach. In an attempt to maximize their enjoyment of the park (with a little bit of the sadistic torture brought on by anticipation thrown in for good measure), we decided to hit Disney about mid-way through the trip. We knew if we went right away that the kids would be too tired to thoroughly enjoy the experience, and rain was in the forecast for the next scheduled outing day. It turns out that our planning couldn't have been any better. It was a beautiful, sunny day outside, the kids had plenty of energy, and we were there for roughly 13 hours. Despite being there for so long though, we still didn't come close to seeing everything there was to see. We didn't get around to seeing approximately 20% of the park, and we only rode on half of the rides the kids wanted to hit.








Speaking of rides, I've got to give Disney props on their FastPass idea. Once per hour, you can swipe your ticket on any given ride, which will essentially give you head of the line privileges. It significantly cuts down on the time you spend standing in a queue. This said, we still spent a few hours of our time waiting for the rides... and this was considering that we used the Fast Passes to their full extent, we went on a weekday, and for a large portion of the country, school was still in session. I can't even imaging how long the lines would have been during the summer.


One of our early rides was a Ferris Wheel. The picture above was taken from the top of the Ferris Wheel, while the Gondola was slightly tilted. My older daughter was scared for most of the ride, but I think she secretly likes being a little frightened. She spent the majority of the ride with a death grip on my wife and brother-in-law's arms. I tried repeatedly to get a picture of her when she was screaming with fear, but didn't have much success. Every time I brought the camera up, she'd strike a pose. Eventually, it became part of the game. The picture here is the closest I managed to come to catching her mid-scream.

After several more thrill rides at the new park, it was time to hit old school Disney. The kids were having so much fun at California Adventure, that they were reluctant to move to the old park. But when I reminded them that Mickey, Goofy and all of the other characters would be there, and told them about Space Mountain and some of the other rides, they capitulated. In all honesty, I was a little reluctant to leave California Adventure too. That entire portion of the park didn't exist last time I was at Disney, and I've got to admit that some of the rides were really cool! After spending more than half of our time at the new park though, the wife and I decided that it was time to hit the classic area. We started by subjecting the kids to "It's a Small World." That song is still stuck in my head, over a week later, but it was worth it. When I first visited that attraction, almost 15 years ago, I thought it was a little cheezy. Now that I've got my own kids though, I was struck by the vision, whimsy and fantasy of the ride. I figured that my older daughter, being a teenager, wouldn't appreciate it, but I was wrong. The Small World journey brought out the kid in our entire family. In fact, the only ride where I took more pictures was the Monsters Inc. ride.

Our last thrill ride was Space Mountain. By this time the girls were getting a little tired, and this line was long. By the time we got inside, they weren't convinced that it would be worth the wait... especially after seeing the additional 15-odd minutes worth of line inside of the structure. Once the ride started though, they squealed with delight, and both said it was one of their favorite rides -- definitely worth the wait. I likes Space Mountain better this time as well. I'm not sure what they did, but something sure seems to have changed. Maybe it was nothing more than my expectations, and the magic that accompanys bringing your own children to Disney.

As I mentioned, it had been almost fifteen years since I last went to Disneyland. A lot had changed. They had added the California Adventure, and numerous rides had changed with the times. The most important change though, was the change in me. Last time I went to Disneyland, I was a young twenty-something punk who was too cool for Disneyland. The only characters I really enjoyed were Goofy and Snow White... and Snow White wouldn't have her picture taken with me. (I was really pissed about that, but that's another story entirely.) I thought the rides were less-than-thrilling, and was a little disappointed with the experience. Things have changed significantly between then and now. Bringing my kids truly did restore some of the magic within me, and I 'm happy that I went back. Though I acknowledge that Disney is a business, I also understood and shared Walt Disney's vision of a magic place for the whole family. If you've got kids and never been to Disney, you should go. It's a wonderful experience.