A Disneyland Adventure

Today I am breaking my number one rule about narrative writing:

“Don’t write about Disneyland.”

I have a few other rules (no broken bones, trips in general, or the time you almost died), but I totally freak about Disneyland essays. There’s always one kid who isn’t listening or just assumes that the rule does not apply to his or her Disneyland vacation. Kids think that Disneyland is the greatest place on earth and who would not want to hear about riding on Space Mountain and spinning on the Tea Cups, because this was the greatest and most exciting vacation of all time. I just can’t stand event driven essays. It’s all about “and THEN,” and then, and then, and then…

We get it. But obviously I didn’t get it. I thought there was no point.

It is a purely hedonistic glee where you completely do not care about anything beyond the gates of Disneyland, except maybe California Adventure. And when you leave you just want to come back.

I was a total Disney unbeliever. I assumed I was going to be ho hum about it all and sick of it after day three. I could remember liking it as a kid, but kids are easy to please.

When we got there I totally tricked Amaya into going on The Pirates of the Caribbean and Splash Mountain. We were running from Fast Pass to Fast Pass and my eyes welled with proud tears when Amaya told me how much she loved Captain E.O. and that she wanted to go to it again.

I’m already planning a trip for when Mozely is old enough to go on Space Mountain and appreciate the night time sky in Peter Pan’s flight. Even the Finding Nemo submarine ride had fantastic sights. I don’t know how people even think of this stuff. Disney Engineers or Ride Makers or whatever they’re called—they’re geniuses. We even saw a Broadway version of Aladdin in a theater. Every little detail is amazing, every worker is nice, and it’s completely contagious. We left the stroller with stuff in it wherever, and not one person messed with it. I wasn’t even worried about losing Amaya after the first few hours, because it just felt like everyone could be trusted.

Damaris and I took the three kids. Amaya was the perfect age to go, I think. If you go there with kids, get the parent swaps after you get fast passes. The system is perfect. We rarely waited for more than 15 minutes, and even though we waited for an hour for Toy Story Mania (the longest by far) it was totally worth it. We went on the supposed busiest days of the year.

Several times Amaya said to me, “This is the Best Day EVARRRRR!” I felt the same way.

If you’re interested in a Disney Vacation check out Enchanting Vacations and get hooked up with Lindsey. She can book your vacation, hotel, food, and/or just park tickets. She also sent me a complete itinerary for each day with waiting/walking/riding times for all the best rides as well as advice on fast passes, etc. She’s the Disney guru and helped me with all of my questions. It’s a totally free service, and I could not find cheaper tickets anywhere else.

We also went to Legoland before the Disney adventure. It was perfect for the kids but didn’t live up to Disneyland, for sure.

The San Diego Zoo was fantastic, and thanks to Full Circle Foodie’s darling Kimmie, we got a deal and a tour guide. She also tipped us on to the just barely opened Bardot, which sells Love on a Stick (aka Ice Cream bars), but it really is love on a stick. I had the Ebony and Ivory, first, a mascarpone cheese ice cream with dulce du leche covered with milk chocolate. I was in love with that stick, for sure. Amaya got the kid’s sized Cotton Candy beauty. We weren’t sure we had enough, so we went ahead and got a box of them to take back and eat later. Thank goodness for a friend with the same obsession with food (especially one who can keep up with me eating Trader Joe’s Jo Jo’s). The kids picked Oreo bars and we sampled the Southern Belle (key lime pie with crust and a layer of frozen meringue, covered in white chocolate). Absolutely gorgeous in my mouth. I’d go back right now. But only if you throw in Disneyland and great friends, too.