Disneyland

Three weekends ago I went to

What? It's ok to write about Disneyland three weeks late... I've been busy trying to pee out a rock. TMI? Anyway, I haven't been to the Happiest Place on Earth for about 10 years, and to be honest, I wasn't really excited about going {maybe I'm a Grinch}.  However, I was able to overcome the dark forces of Maleficent, the Evil Queen and Ursula combined, and have a jolly good time...  I had the best time!

Our hotel was only about 5 blocks from the park, so Saturday morning, my girlfriend and I decided to walk.  All the way, I commented what a beautiful day it was, 83˚, super sun-shiny, and just a slight breeze to ward off sweat!  With each step my body absorbed more vitamin D from the sun's rays and I could feel my mood improving, until I started skipping and singing Disney songs.  Yep I was that girl.  We couldn't have picked a better day to spend outdoors! 

As we were walking, we noticed hoards of people going the opposite direction.  "Where are you going?  The park is this way," my girlfriend kept asking.  When we arrived at the front gates, we found out.  The entire Disneyland Resort (Disneyland, California Adventure and Downtown Disney) were all closed due to a bomb threat earlier that morning!  Closed?!  I couldn't help myself and I started to cry.  I had gotten so excited, and now what?  Was I supposed to turn around and go home?

Unwilling to accept defeat, we walked across the street to have breakfast at IHOP.  We decided that maybe the park would open later and that we would wait until about 1:00 pm before throwing in the towel.  We had a nice breakfast, and one of the servers even made me a Goofy balloon animal.  I wasn't sure if he was just being nice, or if he was rubbing the park's closure in my face.  But then, just as we were paying and headed out, there was an announcement that the park was open!  "YES!" Happy dances ensued and we headed over, and we even got ½ price tickets for the inconvenience.

Whoever said that Disneyland is the happiest place on earth sure was right.  As we walked in staff members were lined down Main Street, smiling, waving and welcoming us.  One even said to me as I walked by, "Welcome home, Princess."  I about peed my pants!

It's amazing what a smile and a wave can to do for someone's mood!  My girlfriend commented that even the birds were happier at Disneyland, I noticed that they were happily chirping and agreed.  For being on the up-side of 20-something, I felt like a little kid!  I was so excited and happy, I can't tell you how much I cheered, jumped, and sang all day.

One nice thing about the park closure in the morning was that everyone must have decided to go home and come back another day.  I have never seen it so empty.  We didn't wait in line longer than 15-20 minutes for any ride, except Space Mountain!  For that, we waited 75 minutes, and just as we boarded our space craft, the ride broke down and they evacuated the entire complex!  For our troubles we were given unlimited Fast Passes, and we were able to cut to the front of every ride for the rest of the day!

We were able to ride each ride 2-3 times, we saw the parade, and Mickey's Fantasmic show {which was awesome!} and even got some souvenir shopping in.  I bought my brother some Aztec gold from Pirates, myself a Minnie Mouse mug, and my "big bear hunter" a Davey Crocket hat and a Pirates of the Caribbean baseball.  We ate at a few of the restaurants and enjoyed lots of yummy treats, I even got my frozen banana- my favorite!  It was such a glorious day, I wish I could do it all over again!