I am almost done editing all of the pictures we took at Disneyland, but I just couldn't wait to post a few thoughts!
First of all, it really is the Happiest Place on Earth! I have such fond memories of going there as a child, and I just couldn't wait to share all of that joy with my kids. I will confess that I cried as we walk into the park, cried at every parade, cried watching the fireworks, and shed a few tears with Anden as we left the park for the last time. We really felt blessed to have had this opportunity! Here are the top ten reasons why everyone needs a little Disney in their life, and can use it as a basis to live by.
1. It is seriously the cleanest place. They have an entire staff decked out in white outfits and green gloves, sweeping, and wiping every nook and cranny. Ashden dropped a little cotton candy right before the parade started, and out of no where a lady arrived to pick it up with a napkin. Can't have Tinkerbell flittering her fairy dust on a dirty parade route!
2. Every, and I mean every ride is themed, with coordinated outfits, and theatrical music. A visiual masterpiece for me. If I had it my way, my kids would be color coordinated and music would play at appropriate times throughout the day. Each bathroom in the various 'lands' is also coordinated to match the area it is in....heaven!!
3. On that same note, each 'castmember' never breaks character. If you are riding Soaring over California, you are referred to as 'Passangers', on Buzz Lightyear, you are Astro Blasters, (this way Astro Blaster, or exit here Astro Blaster). And no matter how many times they have to tell you the same thing, over and over and over, they do it with a smile, and a gentle wave of the arm.
4. They know how to throw a good parade, and three of them to be exact! Audience participation, bubbles coming out of the sky, confetti at the end, and music to shake a tail feather to.
5. They end each night with fireworks, all color coordinated to give you a virtual tour of disneyland through music and fireworks. Genious!
6. Only at Disneyland can you lose a $1200 camera, and have it returned in an hour, but lose a $20 hoodie on the bus back to the hotel and it was never to be found again.
7. If your kid is crying, or having a fun induced meltdown, 'castmembers' will stop at nothing to make him or her happy again. No one wants to see a sad kid as Disneyland.
8. I'll be honest, I have seen better props at our ward Christmas parties, but It's a Small World is still a crowd pleaser, I know it had an overhaul a few years back, but most of it is still the old cardboard cutouts of dolls, hand painted by an amatuer, and still I love it, and rode it twice while we where there (and cried watching Adeline dance to the dolls, bobbing her head back and forth, with the biggest grin she has ever had).
9. Speaking of 'It's a Small World'. We drove over 700 miles south, and almost everyone we met was from Oregon, one man was even from Medford, with two sons that live blocks from us. At our hotel, we ran into the lady from our local kids museum.....strange. And the one person we met not from Oregon, lived in the town Ryan grew up in Colorado. It really is a small world afterall.
10. And my final reason why I get giddy over the big mouse with ears is, if you take a little from each category, you have a pretty dang good life. A clean home, music all day long, fireworks to end each day, never raising your voice at crazy kids, color coordinated outfits (ok, maybe that one is just for me), honesty, the realization that it is a small world, and that we are all connected one way or another, and that having fun as a family is the most important of all, whether at the park or at home!!
Thank you Walt Disney, Thank You!!
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