Disneyland has and will always be the happiest place on earth. It is built right in the tag line. How can it not be true? All joking aside, I love Disneyland. I love taking the kids and would even consider going with just my girlfriend by ourselves if she would ever be up for it. The rides are fun, it is always great weather and all your worries just seem to be left at the gate once you enter. It is by far the best theme park that I have ever been to. That being said you pay for that with a hefty price tag. Disneyland is not set up for the average Joe to attend. It costs an arm, a leg and whatever other body parts you can use to hoc for the entrance fee. It is not cheap.
We ventured down with the kids and since my girlfriend’s father lives about 15 minutes from eternal happiness we decided to get Southern CA season passes. They run about $200 per person but you can’t go on any Saturday and there are about six weeks over the summer that are blacked out. Still, when you compare the costs we can go several times and stay with them saving on hotel bills. It turns into a good deal after about the fourth day. It is a win win for everyone involved. Not sure if my parents read this blog but if you are out there I owe you a big thanks as well. My parents bought the tickets for my two little ones for Christmas since they have no idea what to get for them anyway.
So we headed out on Friday morning November 20th for our adventure. My girlfriend’s father and step mother decided to join us and we all moved toward Space Mountain as our first conquest. The in-laws as I will call them are both in their seventies but were completely interested in keeping the young blood flowing by accompanying us on the darkened looping ride. The stepmother had never been on Space Mountain so she really didn’t know what to expect. We all got strapped in and after gyrating up the track and zooming around in several loops we zig zagged back and fourth in the dark. None of us were aware that in the far back car the stepmother was hyperventilating.
She had never ridden on a roller coaster before and it sucked the breath right out of her as she attempted to keep from losing her breakfast. I had actually never seen anyone lose it on a roller coaster before and felt extremely helpless as they rolled her car off the track and attempted to bring her back to earth with the rest of us. She passed on most of the rides for the rest of the day but was a good sport about letting the rest of us eventually proceed. My guess is that was her first and last ride on any roller coaster for the entirety of her theme park outings.
The rest of the day was pretty normal as we all strolled up to “It’s a small world”. The decorations for Christmas with all the lights was amazing. We ended up getting stuck in the backlog of boats and I would have to say if I hear “It’s a small World” one more time in the next few weeks I might lose my ability to control my violent anger and lash out at somebody. I can tolerate the ride but an extra fifteen minutes almost killed me as we waited to exit the long line of backed-up boats.
The only other memorable event was around 5 PM (at dusk I might add), we hit the log ride or Splash Mountain and I was placed in the front seat. I had forgotten what that meant but after the first minute and the initial drop I was completely soaked head to toe. My youngest daughter was such a good sport as her jeans, socks and shirt were drenched and clinging to her shivering body. The temperature drops quickly as the sun goes down and the water seeps into your very bones.
If you have not been to Disneyland for the Christmas holiday I will now mention the best part which I saved for last. The lights on the castle and the make believe snow for the parade are amazing. It is beautiful to see what the do with the grounds and if you didn’t feel festive before you entered you definitely had to as the sun ended its daily tenure. It is gorgeous the way Disney brings the Christmas spirit to the park. Everyone (save one lady on the star wars ride who was completely insane) is happy and has such a genuine enthusiasm. I love Disney Land and always will no matter how old I get.
So you might get a few blog posts on the Happiest Place on Earth over the next few months as it now is free for us to attend. No more costs. We are all set save the gas to drive down. How is that for setting us up in 2010?
Sometimes I feel like a nut and sometimes free means that you paid already and do not have to pay anymore. That is my story and I am sticking to it. Thanks in-laws by the way for letting us stay at the house. It was great except for sleeping on the air mattress. I am still recovering from that.
Hopefully next time we head down my oldest daughter will be talking to me and join us. Those damn teenagers are crazy at times but you still have to love them. It is a law written somewhere I think.
