Correcting An Egregious Error

When Scout learned that I had never been to Disneyland, she took that as an opportunity to correct what she felt was an egregious error in my childhood.

So, we stopped at the Starbuck's and off we went to Anaheim. When you arrive near the park, you que up to pay the parking fee of ten dollars...Then...You drive for what feels like another half an hour before you get to a parking garage. Then you walk and wait for a shuttle to take you to the gates, where you wait in line to have your bags checked by security, then you are free to wait in line to buy your tickets, then, tickets in hand, you wait in line to go through the turnstile and get a free map of the park, and then and only then, do you get any semblance of personal space back. Just getting in was exhausting and tedious.

However, all of that changed once you do get inside the place. For all of the traffic and lines and congestion, it was pretty vacant in the park - at any rate, there were less folks milling about than I was expecting. We needed to take care of some necessities, one of which was eating something, and stopped into a deli type place for sandwiches. We had to eat standing up at the condiment counter because there were no tables or seats in the place, and "Main Street" has no benches. But the sandwich was pretty acceptable.

As we wandered down the street passing the Penny Arcade, I spied a penny squishing machine! My day was on the upswing! I dragged Scout in and got my souvenir Magic Kingdom 50th Anniversary penny. Squished pennies are the best souvenir of all in my opinion, because A.) it is fun to do B.) it costs fifty one cents and C.) they are easy to pack! and D.) you can have a somewhat enormous collection and keep it in an Altoids tin. I was feeling flush, and sported Scout a squished QUARTER featuring Tinkerbelle. What can I say? She's worth it. MyAdoringPublic will be receiving a squished penny of Nemo. We played a cheesy bowling game, where you aim the arm of a GI Joe sized bowler, and tried a couple of strength tests and love meter type machines. I was having a great, care-free time.

Next we went over to the castle, and Scout was bemoaning the lack of swans out in the moat. I tried to console her by telling her they were the new animatronic invisible swans to no avail. Then it was time for my first Disney ride, Snow White's Scary Adventure. It was fun and cute and cheesy and a great introduction to the park. I especially liked the moving shadow of the raven on the wall of the dungeon as you are waiting in line for the car. It was an exquisite, subtle touch.

As we were strolling about, directionless, we happened upon a churros stand. I had never heard of these things, and Scout again insisted that it was time to correct these flaws in my upbringing. Churros are a wonderful footlong pastry covered with cinnamon sugar. Yum!

We stopped into the Shootin' Exposition where Scout proved that she is one sharpshooter. She's a gal good with a rifle, folks!

Then we decided to take a boat ride on the Sailing Ship Columbia - I love being out on the water. We went right up to the bow, and were standing next to a sailor when she fired the cannon! OOHH! The cruise (more like a leisurely stroll on the water) takes you past some Indian encampments and scenes of Indian life. There was even a SCARY bear scratching his back on a tree off on our left! We also ducked below decks and saw what it would have been like to be a sailor. Being the captain wouldn't have been so bad...but if you were a crew member, let me tell you, those bunks were TINY. Maybe sailors used to be retired jockeys...

And then, we went to Pirates Of The Caribbean! Most excellent, and impressive. I really liked the Blue Bayou restaurant, where you can eat outside on a patio in permanent dusk, with the sounds of frogs and crickets and lapping water. We thought about dining there, but decided there was too much to see and do. It looked lovely though. I think my favorite part of the ride was the underground pirate grotto, where the sky is stormy. Or the great battle scene because the space seems so huge...or the animatronic dog holding the keys to the cell in front of three pirate prisoners...great ride. And here are the lyrics to Yo Ho, if you want to sing along as you read the rest...

Next door was the Haunted Mansion, which I was excited to see, but it ended up being kind of disappointing as they have made it into the Nightmare Before Christmas mansion. The best part was the talking head in crystal ball and the hologram ghost dancers in the banquet hall. Scout was annoyed that it had been changed, because change is not good when it comes to revisiting your memories. She was especially peeved about not seeming a ghost riding along with in your car when you pass a mirror, which I have to admit would be pretty darn cool. Put it back, Mickey!

Completing our stay in New Orleans, I was very interested in visiting a place on the map that advertised gourmet coffees. We found it, sat down and I had a a very passably good latte and Scout enjoyed a hot cocoa.

The next ride was Indiana Jones, which impressed me the most as to the level of detail and thought put into it. Just the LONG maze you go through before even getting to the ride is exciting. I loved the enormous snake headed pillars outside the entrance, and the tactile sense of being in the jungle, with the generators and faulty lighting. I got to "drive" the "Jeep" on the ride, and it was super fun and silly and exciting. It was my favorite for sure. After the ride we stopped in the gift shop and I impressed Scout with my pinball skills (I really did have a great game!) and it would have even been better had the left flipper not been stuck!

We then strolled back to Main Street to catch the parade. I was most impressed by the sea-life costumes of the people walking with the Little Mermaid float, and their fish kites, and then the Lion King float second.

As the evening drew to a close, Scout determined it was time to do the "little kid's rides", so we started with Peter Pan. While waiting in line, Scout struck up a conversation with the woman standing in front of her, also a longtime Disney-goer. When it came time to get into the "flying ship" she got in by herself. It made you wonder why she was there, traveling alone. But I loved the ride, flying over London, with magical stars twinkling everywhere, and of course, the Captain Hook and the Croc. It was great.

Next was Mr. Toad's Wild Ride, a silly thing to be sure, but we did get to ride in the Mr. Toad car (the cars are all named for characters in Wind In The Willows), which was the ride's highlight for me.

Then the moment Scout had been waiting for. She loves It's A Small World, so we made our way toward it, only to discover that it was CLOSED! So disappointing.

We passed by the Mad Tea Party and it was fun to see the teacups spinning, one of the most ubiquitous images from the park I think. Scout can't do the spinning thing, so we just watched, then got in line for Alice In Wonderland. There were two young men in front of us, handsome blonde basketball player types and they talked to us while we waited. They were the nicest young men - it gave me hope for the future. As our caterpillar cars passed each other on the ride, one of them actually waved to us! Scout told me she had a picture of her on this ride with her mother, and in the picture she was VERY excited, and promised to show it to me when we got home. I really liked being there, on that ride with her, kind of reliving that moment.
Kinda magical.

So then I decided I wanted to stop into the Mad Hatter's shop, because I have always had a fondest for the guy, and I was thinking that even though I absolutely can't wear hats, I really wanted a Mad Hatter's top hat. I tried it on and it was not for me. We browsed a bit and tried on all kinds of headgear and were leaving when I spied Peter Pan's green felt cap, complete with a big red feather. I put it on, and Scout immediately let me know that THAT was my hat. So I spent the rest of the evening trying to avoid poking people's eyes out with my feather. I can't wait to wear it at work. Fun, fun, fun.

We were told not to miss the evening's water show, FantasMic, by our neighbor at the parade, so we started to wander over in that direction. People had actually been staking their spots several hours prior to the show. We noticed that there was no line for Pirates of the Caribbean, and so we walked right in and did it again. It was still great the second time around. We watched a few minutes of the laser water show, which included a watery parade. The part of Captain Hook chasing Peter Pan (real people) through the rigging of the Columbia was pretty thrilling, since we had been on the ship and knew just how high they were climbing. That took some guts. But we were not impressed with the show and left.

We walked about Main Street, and got some shortbread cookies that were the shape of Mickey's shorts. So wonderfully wrong, but excellent shortbread, and some coffee and some souvenirs for MyAdoringPublic that I cannot disclose at this time. The fireworks show was really spectacular, and as a treat for Scout, Tinkerbelle (a real woman) was flying about the sky. I guess that was a special moment from her past, and following an accident they stopped having Tink fly.

After our full day, the drive home was difficult as both of us were falling asleep. Scout asked if I wanted to stop at Denny's, but I said "not really" and she knew I was REALLY sleepy because I never turn down an opportunity to go out for breakfast, no matter what time it is. We stopped anyway, and I refrained from wearing my new hat into the restaurant.