Disneyland

1st of many

January 11, 2016

I love Disneyland. My great grandfather lived in Long Beach when I was young and every other year my family would travel during Christmas to see him. He was wonderful. The trip was exciting, expected, and a day a Disneyland was amazing.

When my big brother and I were in high school, we were allowed to stay in the park while my parents returned to the hotel with my younger sister. At 16, the freedom was fantastic as we traveled the park doing “whatever we wanted.” The stage in Tomorrowland rose like magic to reveal a live band. As the band played, we rode the motorboats close to Autotopia and sang Billie Joel songs at the top of our lungs. The weather was hot by Wyoming standards and we had a ball.

I love Disneyland.

This year’s trip was the first in 25 years that I didn’t take a stroller. We had a stroller - Ashlen took hers. It is a very cool stroller. It was the first time visiting Disneyland as an adult that I wasn’t expecting or nursing a baby. As the family stood in line at Toy Story Mania, I made predictions that I would do well. I stink at the game and every opportunity to do better is appreciated. Whoever goes with me can boast that they more than doubled my score, which isn’t saying much. As I prepared to succeed: focus, focus, focus . . . I asked the kids if there would ever be a time we wouldn’t have a stroller at Disneyland. The answer was a responding “NO”! They began to plan and discuss what would be the number of strollers needed at Disneyland, whether anyone would have twins, how many sets of twins. At one point I think someone suggested that they buy one of the those strollers built for eight. How many babies could be in a regular strollers at one time? It is a popular topic, planning for the future. As I carefully picked out my 3-D glasses, concerned that the warped plastic could do me in, I smiled. They are happy. Excited for the next trip, the next chapter in their story, excited for each other.

I did not have a personal best score – I stunk up the joint. Maybe I need to buy a personal pair of 3-D glasses? I do have a plan for the next time to do better. It’s a good game and I like it. Maybe some day, one of my grandchildren will teach me.

I can’t wait!