The Disneyland Logs

So, I've just returned to the Cleve after a glorious 16-day vacation. My itinerary included a week of chilling at home with my parents in Southern Oregon doing absolutely nothing but sleeping in, working on my manuscript, and eating unhealthy food and a week at Disneyland (in Southern California obviously) with my BFF K. There's only so much that can be said about sleeping in and eating unhealthy food, so let's move on to the main event. And with that, I give you The Disneyland Logs.

Let me first share a couple of my favorite quotes from the week to get you in the mood.

Quote 1: We're on Thunder Mountain at the top of a hill about to barrel down the other side, and in this moment of exhilaration, K looks over at me and bursts into laughter. This makes sense, because Thunder Mountain makes me laugh with glee too. But then she says, still in hysterics: "Your bangs are blowing straight back!!" We're having the time of our lives, and my bangs get top billing.

Quote 2: Approaching a crowd getting pictures with a character, I see that it's the orangey-colored dog. I say to K as I'm at the front of the line about to pose with the animal: "I'm totally drawing a blank. Is his name Pluto?"

Quote 3: "What are you DOING?" Said by K after the below picture appeared on the screen above us as we were finishing Splash Mountain.



Yes, I'm fully aware that this is the most ridiculous picture of me ever taken. In case you can't tell, this is the Praise Jesus round of Splash Mountain. Issue 1: My coat restricts my arms somewhat and I couldn't put them all the way up. Issue 2: Looking upward. I had been jealous of K's appearance in our first SM pic. She was smiling right at the camera, and I had wanted to be looking at the camera on our next run. Since I'm usually looking down the mountain, I thought if I raised my eye level slightly it would do the trick. Clearly I overcompensated and consequently look like I'm receiving a vision.

So, back to the logs. 5 days is the best way to do the Disney parks, as it allows time to go on rides multiple times, shop all you want, see all the shows and parades, etc. The last time I went to D-land, I was only there for 1 day, and 1 day at Disneyland is almost more depressing than not going at all. You need time to experience everything you want to experience. Of course, it was one of the busiest weeks of the year and so these lists might not seem as extensive as they should for the hours we clocked in the park. A desire to make sure I wasn't forgetting anything I had really wanted to do was the reason I started jotting things down as we did them. If you love D-land as much as I do, perhaps you'll find it interesting. Or perhaps you'll enjoy living vicariously through someone else's experience at the happiest place on earth. If you make it all the way through, tell me which day you think sounds the best. (Stores are not mentioned as shopping was done throughout)

Day 1
Hours in park: 12
Grizzly River Run
Toy Story Mania
Blue Sky Cellar
Bugs Land
*Lucky Fortune Cookery
Redwood Creek Challenge Trail
Disney Railroad
Pirates of the Caribbean
Thunder Mountain
Soarin over California
*Churros Stand
World of Color
Disney Railroad
Haunted Mansion

Day 2
Hours in park: 12
Winnie the Pooh
Tarzan's Treehouse
Tiki room
Jungle Cruise
Splash Mountain
Canoes
*Cafe Orleans
Sleeping Beauty Castle
Christmas Parade
Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters
Matterhorn
Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage
Disney Railroad
Indiana Jones
Mr. Toad's Wild Ride
*River Bell Terrace
Fireworks
Fantasmic

Day 3
Character Close up
Sorcerer's Workshop
Animation Academy
Turtle Talk with Crush
Aladdin - A Musical Spectacular
Tortilla Factory
The Bakery Tour
*Pacific Wharf Cafe
Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters
Space Mountain
Autopia
Innoventions
Asimo robot show
Small World
King Arthur's Carousel
Casey Jr. Circus Train
*Blue Bayou
Pirates of the Caribbean

Day 4
Hours in park: 7
Snow White
Alice in Wonderland
Storybook Ride
Peter Pan
Pinnochio
Tom Sawyer's Island
Thunder Mountain
Mark Twain boat ride
Splash Mountain
*Golden Horseshoe
Billy Hill and the Hillbillies
Toon town
Roger Rabbit
Steamboat Willie in Main Street Theater
Silhouette booth

Day 5
Hours in park: 12
California Screamin
Toy Story Mania
*Churros stand
Tortilla Factory
Monsters Inc.
Animation Academy
*Village Haus
Dumbo
Face painting booth
Fireworks
Small World
Autopia
Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters
Disney Railroad
Countdown/New Year's fireworks show
Pirates of the Caribbean
Thunder Mountain
Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters
*Blue Ribbon Bakery

It was such a special week for me, because D-land is honestly my favorite place. And it surprised me how much I enjoyed simply savoring the atmosphere. I almost preferred the boring kiddie rides just because I love being given the chance to remember being a kid in that park and what it's like to believe in fairy tales and dreams the way you do when you're young. Maybe getting my face painted and riding on the Casey Jr. Circus train was overkill, but I don't look at it that way. I just look at it as a chance to remind myself that dreams aren't only for kids. Neither is face paint.

Disneyland can bring out the worst in people, and we certainly saw our fair share of drama last week. Disputes about people cutting in line, people yelling at their children, children throwing tantrums, the lady who snapped at me when I was merely asking if she and her family were done with their table. But I also think Disneyland brings out the best in people. People offer to help perfect strangers. Heck, people flat out get to know perfect strangers. Kids are awestruck and beside themselves upon meeting Mickey Mouse or a princess. And I'll never forget the precious little girl next to me in the Dumbo line who kept shyly wishing me a happy new year and then, quite unexpectedly, threw her arms around my legs in a hug. Her sister then hugged K, and they proceeded to hug us regularly until it was our turn to ride. Dumbo has that effect on people. Disney has that effect on people. And aren't we the better for it.







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