Disneyland

Disney really has it figured out.  Of all the parks we visited, they were far ahead in all the mechanics of crowd motion.  Parking was a joy (and how often can you say that?) – we found ourselves performing an intricate choreography with dozens of other cars resulting in every odd numbered spot being filled while every even numbered spot remained empty.  This allowed extra room for families to get out of their car, gather the kids, strollers, and all their gear without bumping into each other.  It was a brilliant idea since a huge percent of Disneyland's daily crowd arrives right when the park opens.   Inside, the efficiency was much the same.   We were twirled on and off rides by skillful handlers.  In many cases, the rides didn't even stop

In the days leading up to today, we've shared little stories about what the girls will see and do here.  Maddy has been super excited about getting a Mickey Mouse Hat.  So excited that, right out of the blue , she'll holler "MIC MOU EAR!" grin broadly and pat her head.   Today, her dream came true when we bought her first pair of mouse ears!  Gwen opted for the pirate-style mouse ears - complete with a gold loop earring and a pink silk headscarf!   As we left the shop with our new headgear, we practically bumped right into Mickey!  Maddy was eager to say hello but Gwen must have expected that he'd be more mouse sized and preferred to keep a safe distance.

Our first ride of the day was "Buzz Lightyear" with very minimal waiting.  When it came time to board, we simply stepped onto a moving platform then into a moving car.  There are two riders per car and each is armed with a Regulation Issue Star Command Blaster and points are racked up by hitting targets with a laser light.  As an aid to tracking Zurg and his evil minions, each car is equipped with a joystick that turns the car 360 degrees .  The ride is always in motion - even when riders are exiting the cars.  You step out onto the same moving platform you entered on and a new crew steps into that car a few seconds later.    All four of us had a great time on this ride.

On our way to the north end of the park (towards the smaller kiddy rides), we passed the Matterhorn and decided to give it a go.  We didn't remember that the Matterhorn was the 2^nd most thrilling ride at Disney behind Space Mountain. All we knew was that the girls were tall enough to ride and the wait wasn't very long.   As we got closer to the front of the line, we could see other riders exiting the ride.  None of the kids were as young as ours but some were pretty young and none of them were in hysterics.  Riders straddle a bench down the middle of each "log", two riders per section, with kids sitting between their parent's legs (leaning back against Mom or Dad).  I think kids feel pretty secure riding like this and I appreciated that I was able to wrap my arms around my little ride-mate to help her feel safe if things got scary.   The kids were fine with the clanking/bumping ascent and the dark tunnel and were only briefly freaked out by the first horrific drop (which actually freaked me out).  The speed, g-force, and sharp turns were a little alarming but both girls settled in and started to really enjoy it – giggling with delight.   At the end of the ride, the abominable snowman, with gleaming red eyes and a ferocious roar caused Maddy to dissolve into a paroxysm of tears.  Were it not for the Yeti, we're pretty sure both kids would have been happy to ride again.   

Having inadvertently measured how much resilience our kids have to more harrowing rides, we reassessed our earlier decision spend most of the day in Mickey's Toontown. 

After experiencing the thrill of the Matterhorn, we thought the kids might think Donald's Boat ride is a big hairy snooze-fest.    

Speaking of which, our next ride was Dumbo.

On the way to the Pirates of the Caribbean ride, we found the Tiki Room.  This show features talking birds and singing flowers and totem poles and hasn't changed much in 30 years.

The girls were fascinated by the totem poles and Mommy and Daddy appreciated the air conditioning and seats.  And we liked the show too.  (I had trouble sleeping that night because the Tiki Room song was stuck in my head for hours!)

I remembered all the scary parts of the Pirates of the Caribbean ride and felt pretty sure that the girls would be okay with all of it.  However, I didn't know that the entire ride was revamped!    It was dark and the special effects and eerie music made it really scary.  I couldn't see the boat in front of us but heard people scream and knew we were about to go over the waterfall.   (two boat drops in the new version of this ride).  The kids were on the verge of crying through the entire first half of the ride.   Gwen did the whole ride with Daddy's arm clutched in her two hands against her forehead so she could pull it down over her eyes whenever things got too scary.   They only started to relax when the scenery got brighter and more festive (ie singing and dancing pirates).   When it was over, Gwen wanted to ride it again but Maddy wasn't so enthusiastic.

We had a nice lunch and thought we'd make up for the scary Pirates of the Caribbean by taking the girls on a fun, kid safe, attraction like Mr Toad's Wild Ride.   The girls were scared to death and sobbing when it was over.   Ice cream took the edge off of their emotional pain and we hoped all the sugar would cause them to "crash" because naps were long overdue.   A nice long stroller ride around the park would normally do the trick so we strapped them into the double stroller and reclined their seats.  For close to an hour, they giggled and played silly games in the stroller and we were finally forced to admit that the old days of stroller naps were long gone.  It was pretty late and we knew the long drive back to the hotel (almost certainly in traffic) would put them to sleep for sure and a long nap this late in the day would ruin dinner plans and probably ruin bedtime too!  So Plan B was to skip the nap (never tried that before!) and stay at Disneyland until bedtime.

It was close to dinner time so we picked a nice cafe in New Orleans Square and pushed the stroller inside to order.  The girls selected their food and we were paying the cashier when I glanced down and noticed that Gwen was slumped over with her head practically in her lap!  She was sound asleep!  Even at Disneyland, there's never a Handsome Prince around when you need one so our Sleeping Beauty kept sleeping.  No matter what I did to wake her, she still slept. Finally the spell was broken when I shook her and reminded her about the macaroni and cheese she picked out for dinner.  My little carboholic would never pass up Mac N Cheese.  It's her favorite!   

After dinner and some jumping around, we headed over to Fantasy Land for the mandatory picture on the bridge leading to the castle.  When I was a kid, that bridge looked MUCH bigger!  A mini parade featuring "Ratatouille" was an interesting distraction on the way to the "Small World" ride.  The girls were pretty distrusting by this point and we promised they would like it and it wouldn't be scary at all (yeah, that's what Mommy said about the pirate and toad ride).  However, they REALLY loved Small World and seemed ready to trust me again.

Comments

[yoli]

I swear, everytime I go Disney I feel like a kid again. How hard is it with two in tow? I am preparing myself for when I have two little ones.

[Marilyn]

I love your description! We haven't taken Emilia to Disney yet, but were thinking about it this October when the USAA families go. But after reading about the scary rides, I'm wondering if we should? Is it worth it with a 2 3/4 year old?

[Jana]

Hi Donna, I love the way you've dressed these pics up with your scrapbooking stuff...very cute captions and pictures. I hope you have a very happy and wonderful birthday tomorrow :)
Love ya, Jana