When the Happiest Place on Earth Becomes the Comfortable Old Shoe

It wasn't like we were burned out on Disneyland.  How do you get burned out on happiness?  We had just been so many times that we slipped into a routine.  Park in Toy Story, take the bus, go through security, get your AP out, give it to the CM at the gate, give your AP to the kids so they can get fast passes for Space Mountain while Mom browses the Emporium and Dad goes to the Market House for the first of many refillable coffees.  Then we are off to Toady, in particular, maybe Snow White or Pinocchio.  We never, never went to Neverland, since we were experienced APs and knew that the

Where's the love for Peter Pan?

wait time for Peter Pan's Flight is almost always about 45 minutes.  "It's a Small World" might get stuck in our heads if we rode it more that once or twice a year, so we avoided that ride, too.  Then we would get fast passes for "Indy" or "Soarin'', but not GRR or Splash Mountain, because, well, we only rode those rides a few times a year, when the weather was just right for being wet, or when we felt like bringing along our ponchos.  We always rode Pirates, The Haunted Mansion and Big Thunder Mountain, unless they were down for refurbishments, but in three years, we only rode the Mark Twain once, and the Sailing ship Columbia, not at all.  Disneyland was becoming the neglected spouse who we never courted or brought flowers.  Our plan to ring in 2012 with Disneyland fizzled and we left early, blaming our premature departure on the crowds.

Then, the unthinkable happened: we let our APs expire.  Disneyland moved on without us, and we, freshly divorced from happiness, settled into our routine lives, minus that magical something  Two years passed, long enough for us to find new things to do; we hadn't, but that's aside the point.  The point is, we wanted our Disneyland back, but how could we re-ignite that magic torch we'd carried years before?  How could we keep our So-Cal Disney Parks from becoming that comfortable, neglected old shoe again?

Mickey used to be chauffeured in a rickshaw. Now he's Ringo Starr.

 

Our first several months as APs were like falling in love--figuratively and literally.  My wife and I celebrated our 23rd anniversary in the parks (The "Celebrate: A Street Party" parade is still our favorite for this reason).  By becoming park regulars, we had rediscovered dating, and because of it, our romance bloomed once again.  And all we needed was a little faith and trust and . . . yes, yes: a little pixie dust, courtesy of Tinkerbell.

Some facts about Disneyland, now that the honeymoon phase has come to an end:

1. It's not perfect.  Magic is just an illusion, and Disney magic is no exception.
2. Line jumping happens.  If you confront the cheats, be prepared for denials, excuses and even threats.  Do not expect them to be apologetic, much less, to do the right thing and retreat to the end of the line.  Security is watching, so behave yourself.
3. It gets crowded.  This is as much your fault as it is anyone else's.
4. CMs are people too.  If you've been told to "have a magical day" after being rude to a CM, you probably had it coming.
5. DCA cocktails tend to be watered down and there is a strictly-enforced limit of two per guest, per

   

   DCA serves alcohol in a green, plastic cup.

   vendor.  If you need a real drink, or just more than two of them, go to the hotel lounges or the Uva Bar in Downtown Disney.  Recommendations: 1) a Perfect Manhattan from the Hearthstone in the Grand Californian (ask them to use Maker's Mark, not Jim Beam); 2) a Mai-Tai from the Uva Bar in
   Downtown; and 3) a vodka & pomegranate limeade with froth at the Cone Motel in Cars Land.
6.  The statues are made of metal and conduct heat very well.  Photo ops with Mickey and Walt should be staged to accommodate solar intensity (i.e., if you pose for a picture leaning against Walt in July, you will draw back a Buffalo wing, extra crispy).

We returned this 4th of July after a two-year hiatus.  We've been six times so far, and we're just as excited to be there as we ever were.  Please join us over the coming months (and hopefully years) as the adventure continues . . .