Monday, March 19, 2007

breaking the spirit of my righteous husband

I won. Yep, I finally convinced Josh to skip church and take us all to Disneyland.

We headed up to Anaheim very early yesterday morning (leaving our house by six a.m.) That's right - we were ON THE ROAD and ready to roll much earlier than I am willingly up on a school day. But the lure of the Magic Kingdom called and somehow I was out of bed with a smile on my face. Could have been seeing their faces light up when we told the kids Saturday night what we were doing. Or the pitter-patter of Hannah's feet at midnight telling me ever-so-softly, "It's one-two-zero-four. Is it time to go to Disneyland yet?" (I love her way of telling time. I can always count on her first thing in the morning when, without my contacts or glasses, I am pretty much legally blind). But we all eagerly headed out for a day of fun.

First mistake (and maybe god's way of punishing me for breaking the sabbath) was going on a weekend day. It was SO CROWDED. And I mean, ridiculously-full-of-people-crowded. It started out okay, but by noon, you could hardly walk. Josh calculated our ratio of time in line to actual ride time and felt like it was an utter waste of time being there (yes, the nerd in him coming out).

Second mistake was not packing our own lunch - we spent about sixty dollars in the park on what was the equivalent of wonder bread and a product that I question as containing any actual meat. Even immediately after eating, the kids were still starving. And it almost always takes at least 15 minutes at home before they're starving again.

We had pretty much done all the major rides by about four o'clock. And seeing that the Fast Pass wait time was at least two hours for crappy rides like Buzz Lightyear...it was time to get out of there. Not, of course, without the requisite gift shop visit, which I like to call When My Kids Beg For All Kinds of Expensive Plastic Crap (and when I buy it just to get them to BE! QUIET! FOR TWO WHOLE MINUTES).

But in spite of all this, we had a great time. I think it's the kid in me that just loves Disneyland (which is funny considering I am generally opposed to anything sporting a big black mouse and/or characters). But I love the rides. I love the look. I love seeing that ghost sit next to you in the Haunted Mansion. I love Splash, Space Mountain, and the Matterhorn. I love that even after all these years, thousands of people still flock there.

I only wish they had flocked there on a day different than us.

7 comments:

Travelin'Oma said...

I haven't been to Disneyland since 1989. I used to love it!

danandcindy said...

I've contacted your bishop, and he has decided to change the subject of his sermon for next week to sabbath day observance.

Is Disneyland the same as You-know-what church? (Rhymes with flut church)

Polly said...

I have a lady in my ward, she know's a guy that does a printout of Disneyland and which rides to go at certain times of the day. It costs her about $10. She says it works every time.

Jake said...

We're so jealous...Disneyland is the best!

Annie said...

The happiest place on earth :).

kelly said...

After Jeff, my kids, my immediate family, and gigi our dog, I think Disneyland is my next love. One of the great things about living in the OC is the ability to go there any time you want. We have been lucky enough to have annual passes the entire time we've been married. I can't tell you how many times we gone to just ride one ride. It's the best!

Portrait of Peter said...

There is a child in all of us - I am envious.

Nothing like that in Scotland.