Day at Disneyland

It has taken me a while to get around to writing this, but better late than never. :) We had been talking about it for a little while, but we found out on Monday the 17th that we were definitely going to Disneyland. The next day.

Early Tuesday morning, 5:15 to be precise, we (my mom, my brother, and I) got up and drove to the airport. I just want to say right now that I love my mom's job - having a flight attendant for a mother is one of the coolest things in the world. So, we flew to California on a nearly-empty plane (I slept lying down on the row behind our given seats), and our dear friend Alicia picked us up in Long Beach. We went out to have a late breakfast, stopped to drop things off at Alicia's, and then drove to Disneyland. There we met up with Alicia's friend, who works at the amusement park, and she got my mom, my brother, and me in for free. Alicia was going to buy herself a pass, but we all chipped in to get her one. And so we found ourselves in the "Happiest Place on Earth."

First off, we took a little tour of a rainforest on the Jungle Cruise ride. From there we headed to the Haunted Mansion (one of my favorites) and then Big Thunder Mountain (another fun one). We walked right onto Pinocchio's Adventure - or whatever it's called - and then flew through the Peter Pan ride. Nemo's Submarine ride came next, followed by the thrilling experience of Space Mountain (which is definitely on the top three favorite rides list). In the photo taken at the end of the ride, my face was split into a wide smile. Next we went on the Buzz Lightyear ride, where you use a little astro gun to shoot all of the targets with a Z (for the evil Zork or whatever the alien is called). The points were all counted up and in the end, my score was the highest. Oddly enough. Anyway, that ride was followed by one of the best rides in the whole amusement park - Pirates of the Caribbean. It's a classic. Afterward, we went on the Matterhorn, which was a lot more jarring than I remember it being in the past - but it was still fun. Following that we drove our way through the ride Autopia; I taped my driver's license in my journal. We also went on the little Rockets ride (so much fun when we were younger), walked through Pixie Hollow, stopped at the First Aid building to get a wheelchair for Alicia (sad that she needed it for her strained and swollen foot, but having a wheelchair-bound member in a group has its perks), and shopped at the Emporium on Main Street. By then we were ready to head to California Adventure, so we had our hands stamped and headed out of Disneyland. We went straight for one of our very favorite rides in the entire amusement park complex: Soarin' Over California. It is such an enjoyable one that we didn't just go on it once - we headed right for the end of the line to do it again when it was over. Besides, we wanted better seats than we got the first time, so we ended up with the best ones in the whole simulator.

We didn't go on any more rides after that. By then, it was getting late, and everything was being shut down for the final attraction of the night: World of Color.

Remember how I said having a wheelchair-bound member in a group has its perks? Well, its perks happened to include the chance to have reasonably good seats, free of charge, for World of Color. Our little group was shown to the wheelchair-seating area, and we settled down for the magnificent show.

It was waterworks like I have never seen before. There wasn't just light, there was vivid color (hence the name) shone on the jets shooting up into the sky. There was music reverberating through the air as everyone watched in awe. And incredibly colorful scenes from many of Disney's well-loved films were projected onto the screens of water. Some parts of it just about had me in tears, it was so beautiful and glorious and unbelievable. the show was unlike any I had ever seen. My favorite moment during the experience would probably be the scene from Pocahontas, with the emotionally intense version of "Colors of the Wind." "You can paint with all the colors of the wind..." I just about cried, and my heart felt ready to burst with the desire for the moment to last forever. All things must have an end, however, and that experience was no exception. The night came to an end, our vacation came to an end, and I found myself back home with endless normal things happening that I had to readjust to. And yes, I just contradicted myself - some things actually do last forever. Certain, special memories being one of them.

I sure hope I never forget the memory of this incredible experience - I don't want the colors to dim in my mind. It is difficult to capture the vivid picture of the night, but writing down what I can may help me remember the way I felt in the moment. I suppose journals and blogs really are for me in that way; through them I can recall the magical times I never want to forget. Writing lets me remember them.

Disneyland is, as our passes declared, the beginning of memories. Nearly all of them being good. I don't know if it really is "The Happiest Place on Earth," but I'm starting to think it comes close. I always walk out with a tug of sadness amid the happy emotions built up during the day. It truly is a blessing to go as often as we do, for as little money as we pay. My life sometimes seems so unbelievable.

And that is the story of my Day at Disneyland.