["Evil Koala!"]

Hi. This is my first attempt to chronicle the yearly event simply known as “the trip”. I don’t rightly remember the first time we made this trek and I only hope that it never ends so long as I may live. As children it was a place of magic, as adolescents it was a place of freedom, as adults it is again a place of magic as seen through the hearts of our children.

My father was, is and will most likely die a Disney Fanatic.(One could only be so lucky, yes?) This used to be a source of great pride as a young child. As I grew into those awkward teen years when all things magic becomes mundane and the world becomes not so very new, it was a kind of sore point. To admit you like Disney at that age could be used against you. Thank heavens those years went by pretty fast and life is again renewed with magic.

This time the magic is much more precious for it stems from a place of purity that until now has been hidden from view. I refer to that moment when a child looks at someone and really sees Mickey or Minnie standing before them. The glow in the eyes that spreads to the face and hands of every child as realization dawns on them. The eagerness to continue the exploration of wonderful places, the ability to allow yourself to truly believe in magical things can make children again of even the most hardened souls.

With this said, I shall begin my chronicle of this years “trip”. It all started when Katrina decided to make New Orleans a not so fun place to vacation. My mother had been planning a trip there for the better part of the summer to visit family and friends. So after thinking about it, she (and my father) decided to take the family to Disneyland. They called us over to their house for a planning session.

We generally go in October as a tribute to my father’s birthday, and last weekend (the weekend of the 2nd) was chosen as most convenient for all families involved. This includes my parents, lil sister, her hubby and my niece (Lil miss). Now my DH was invited, but he is not as into all things Disney as he ought to be. So between that and the fact that he had to work the only weekend that worked for everyone else, he stayed home. (I honestly don’t believe that any tears were shed on his part. Computer games and junk food were calling much too loud)

My niece who is almost 3 has many medical issues that have kept her pre-occupied as her mom and dad adjust to a life they were not expecting, but is none the less highly rewarding and filled with surprise, love and a certain amount of oreo cookies. Her condition delayed her from enjoying Disneyland on her first visit, so Grammy, Poppa, Auntie, Mom and Dad where determined that she would have a good time this time.

Now any true Disney fan knows that the trip actually begins the moment that a date is decided upon. We began hashing out strategies and planning routes through the park to hit all the “best” rides as soon as the gates opened. I can say with some degree of certainty that yes, I do know how a racehorse feels as his hooves propel him out of the gate to the sound of the starters bell. We planned, schemed and plotted how fast we could hit all of the rides, and pitied all of the poor folks who slept in and didn’t get to the park until later. We even found that by staying at the Residence Inn (we couldn’t quite afford the DL Hotel) We could save big money since they have an awesome complimentary breakfast (Eggs, sausage, biscuits, gravy, oatmeal, cereal, juice, milk, coffee….and much more!)

We arrived the night before going to the park. We visited DTD and had dinner at Naples. I had some hesitations since the last time I ate there I had the calamari and it was *nasty* this time I had the Calazone Vesuvius ~much better!! But the wait staff sent our orders to the wrong table! So we ended up getting ½ off one of our entrees. My DH called during dinner to make sure we made it ok. This is when I noticed some music drifting in on the evening breeze. It was a guy playing the Dulcimer and the song he was playing happened to be Metallica’s “Unforgiven” (yes, that is a heavy metal band..And yes, you heard me right it was being played on the dulcimer- that wooden harp looking thing that you play by hitting the strings with small hammers) This also happens to be DH most favorite band! It was kind of neat sounding hauntingly pretty.

We walked around DTD for a while and I found the Trading pins. I now realize that I do have an addictive personality. I will not state how much got spent, but let’s just say I came home with a few pins. I love Stitch, Tigger and Eeyore and the fact that they have them posed in the most incredible ways..Ummnn yes, I’m hooked.

We headed back to the hotel for the night only after some serious deliberations about actually buying passes for the evening. Ok, so they were more wishful than anything. My poor sister had to wait until 6pm to leave the central valley so that her DH could get off from work. “Chomping at the bit” puts it very mildly! We almost had her convinced that he could drive up and join us by himself, after work so she could leave early with us. But nope she held true to the family sprit and waited for her hubby. Teehe They arrived fairly early and we did some quick math. Wow sis!!

We settled in and got to sleep. Very important, but kinda like tryin to sleep on Christmas Eve as a child.

At 4 am I hear my niece chatting up a storm to herself. I –tried- to go back to sleep. By 6am I was dressed and ready to go. We descended upon the buffet at the hotel just as it opened, cheerily chatting about the havoc we were about to wreak on the unsuspecting masses “MMmmwaaaahahahaha”

We make the ½ mile trek to the park only mildly regretting the extra gravy and biscuits. When we spot it. Red mania!! Red shirts everywhere!! We went last year (we could all swear it was the 2nd weekend) on Gay Day, so immediately we knew. Our dreams of quick lines and no crowds were evaporating as quickly as the marine layer. I have absolutely no issues about homosexuality nor their right to attend theme parks enmasse, the fact that they were gay held no bearing on our mood. They could have been the Christian coalition and we would have felt the same way. It ran through all of our minds at once. “Competition!”

My niece who rates only second to my DH is wheelchair bound and I knew that my Sister was worried about how things would go at the parks. That morning, standing there in line Lil miss was soo excited! She had begun saying “Dis. Dis, Dis” the week before the trip. The people in line with us were wonderful people and talked to us and interacted with her as if she were able bodied. My sister began to relax a little bit.

The magic moment happened and the gates opened and the turn-sties began beeping people through, Yes, my friends, it was on! My mom took lil miss to ride the kiddie rides while the rest of us headed for Space Mountain. It had not been open in so very long..we had VERY high hopes! We blasted our way to SM our lungs aching, our legs screaming and threatening when we finally got to the line. It was sweet, we all congratulated ourselves as we stood in the 4 min line! The ride itself was good, but for having been closed down for SOooo long, it was kind of a let down. We were still happy as clams though and cheered all the way through it!

We then raced to Matterhorn, Big Thunder, and Splash mountain. No waits on any of them! Yay! We met up with Mom and lil miss in front of the castle. Oh my was that little girl excited! I have never, ever seen her this happy! She had been on all of the fantasy land rides she could go on (she’s still kinda short) and had caught the Disney bug. Now this is where our plans evolved from what we had planned in advance to what happened in the park. The red wave was rolling through the land, and it was starting to get kinda busy. So, we decided to go to DCA.

We bee-lined it to Hollywood Tower of Terror! I had never been on that ride and was really excited and nervous. On a previous trip I tried out the Ferris wheel and decided it was a ride right out of my nightmares! I felt like I was going to fly right off the end of it. Now, I love roller coasters..but that ride nearly made me sick. With that experience sitting in my heart and hearing that my sister cried on this ride when they went on it at WDW made me just a bit nervous. No, my sis did not go on it this time! We got in line, not too bad only like 10 mins and 5 of that is a movie. Let me just say this: this is a must ride! We rode it over and over and over again!! It’s like an elevator with a mind of its own! And the CM were great!! They were really into the spirit of it all!

Now that we had hit all of the adrenalin pumping rides it was time to relax a bit and have a bit to eat. Lemme tell ya, the test pad place right next to Soarin over California is a great deal! You get a good sized hamburger, fries and drink for about $9 and then you hit the condiments bar! I had a side salad! LoL They had letuce, tomatoes, pickles, onions etc that you could add to yer burger!!

This is where the real magic of DL started showing up. We went back over to the MK and took it easier. Riding more of the “kiddie” rides that Lil miss could ride. Because she is wheelchair bound she got a pass saying that she could go through the handicapped riders line. We were a bit hesitant to use it for fear of upsetting the able bodied passengers because we cut in line, or that the CM would be short tempered because they would have to hold the line up a little and help load and unload her. We should have known better! When the other passengers looked at Lil Miss, they didn’t see a “special needs child” in a wheelchair they saw a little girl who was having the absolute time of her life! And boy was her smile infectious! The CM were unbelievably kind and helpful. There were none of the slight glances or sighs of “why me”. For the first time in her life she got to be a little girl having an awesome time. There was very little to remind us of all the hardships, surgeries and Dr. visits that comprises her real life. Only smiles and giggles.

That night we ambled back to the hotel. My dad and I stayed and closed the park. Both too stubborn to allow our aches to hail the end of two decades of tradition. As we made our way back joking about catching the cast members shuttles that kept passing us by. Each fostering cramps and pains that prove how much fun we had and only surpassed by the lightness in our hearts, the smiles on our faces and the giddy feeling that tomorrow brings another Disney Day!

I crawled out of the shower and don’t remember a thing from then until the wakeup call the next morning.
Morning. My quads (leg muscles) and my feet ACHED! Our whole party was suffering some effect of over exertion from the previous day with one small exception! Lil miss! She was rearing to go! While waiting in line to get back into the park, she is sitting in her chair chanting “Dis, Dis, Dis!” while trying like mad to make her chair go faster by lurching forward. I have never seen her do this before! If she could have she would have gotten up and run through those gates security be darned! Her whole being just lit up as we entered the park. All of our hurts and aches faded while watching her shine. I know its been said but it bears repetition: I wish they could bottle that enthusiasm!

We took it MUCH easier this morning. We drove over to the parking structure and took the tram to the gates. We watched some shows and re-rode HTT about 4 times. Much more relaxed pace. We waded through DTD, how we managed to choose to go on Gay Day weekend AND the CHOC (Children’s Hospital Orange County) Walk for cancer is beyond me! Sigh! DTD was impossible to negotiate in order to pick up those last min. souvenirs. Don’t get me wrong on this one either, as an employee of Children’s Hospital Central California; I know how important these walks are! It’s just Wow that’s a lot of people! We explored the parks at our leisure and enjoyed the Awesome CM interactions.

I must add though that if you are in DCA, you absoultly MUST see the Turtle Talk With Crush show! It is very interactive! and will have everyone in the audience laughing.

By about 6pm we were plum wore out. We had shopped till we dropped, rode rides till we couldnt stand up straight or walk a straight line. A quiet agreement was made by all that we would head home. Our feet heavy, our bodies exhausted and our souls renewed.

[Peppertink]

WOW! What a great TR, so uplifting. Lil Miss sounds like she had a wonderful/magical time that made the "grown ups" experience even more magical than usual. Your story telling skills are amazing, drawing us in with your excitement. So glad you all had such a good time...Now.....to work on your DH! Hmmm...maybe if they end up building RnR here it will be Metalica instead of Aerosmith...haha!

[lovemysons]

What a lovely report. You have quite a way with words.

[missy H]

What a great TR! Your niece sounds like she had a Ball!

[Dopey]

Geez, you should write for publication. Very nice. Thank you.

[Dana]

*clapping*.......*still clapping* what a wonderful report. I am really looking forward to the rest.

[The Goof Father]

Bravo-bravo! Thanks!

[tinkerbell]

wow .. your TR was the most amazing. as said above ..you have a wonderful way with words .. and that made this report so much more enjoyable !!! Thank you!!!