Monday, September 25, 2006

Disneyland here we come!!!


I am so excited! We are planning a trip to CA for the first week in December. I have already traded all of my days (which was so easy this time!) for work. And then I talked with a very good friend of ours who works at Disneyland. He said he would get us into the park one of the days we are there!!! Thanks Jimmy!

Aidan has never been there and it has been awhile since Kaitlyn has been there I think she was 3 the last time we went. We are going to have it be a surprise and wrap up some sort of Disney related gift to give to each of them while we are at my mom and dad's celebrating Christmas on the 3rd. It is going to be sooooo hard for me to keep it a secret because Kaitlyn has been asking me if we can go there and Aidan has seen the pictures of the last time we went and says it looks like fun and he wants to go there! I love good surprises like that!

I know I am spoiled, but I have been to Disneyland lots of times. Our graduation night was spent at Disneyland, a whole night staying up and enjoying the happiest place on earth...what better way to celebrate. Aaron and I were almost engaged at Disneyland..at least that is what I have been told, but he thought I knew so he decided to wait. (And I never knew by the way!)

Some of my happiest memories have been at Disneyland. We used to try to go once a year, and it is amazing to me how it has changed so much since when I was a kid. One of my favorite rides as a kid is no longer there. It was called the adventure through inner space, and by the time you were at the end of the ride you looked just inches tall.I think Star Tours took the place of that ride many years ago. I have seen Bear Country Jamboree go, which is really sad....And yet somehow the Tiki room is still there. I know there have been even bigger changes since my parents were children. When my mom was a child they had tickets to get on the rides.
Although Walt Disney said "The way I see it, Disneyland will never be finished. It’s something we can keep developing and adding to. A motion picture is different. Once it’s wrapped up and sent out for processing, we’re through with it. If there are things that could be improved, we can’t do anything about them anymore. I’ve always wanted to work on something alive, something that keeps growing. We’ve got that in Disneyland." And while I love that about Disney, I still long for some of the nostalgia of some of the lesser remembered attractions. But I do have to admit some of the changes have been for the better...case in point...Captain EO. It replaced "America Sings" which was entertaining and taught some sort of historical importance Captain EO was just awful. I have not seen the latest attraction that has replaced it, but I think anything has to be better that Michael Jackson!

And while most of the changes have been for the better, I believe there are 2 attractions that will always remain. Oh sure they may have some up grades and renovations, but the premise of them will always stay the same. And those are my 2 absolute favorite rides, I cannot go to Disneyland without riding on "Haunted Mansion" and "Pirates of the Carribbean". Aaron and I even took Kaitlyn on both of those when she was very little...and like us she loved them. She was a little scared in the Haunted Mansion, but for the most part she really loved it. If you could see Kaitlyn's face in this picture you would see that she is so full of glee. (Please forgive the not so great LO this one was done at the beginning stages of scrapbooking).

I am so excited to be taking both of my children to one of the places that I loved in my childhood, to give them the opportunity to find those nostalgic attractions that they can remember and tell their children about someday. After all Disney is a growing and changing entity.

10 comments:

Anonymous said...

there is nothing better than to plan a vacation to Disney. December sounds like a great time of the year to go. By the way I love the layout that you did of the haunted house. Love the pen work, very cute.

Nicole *Ü* said...

Oh, you lucky dogs!!!! It's going to be all decorated for Christmas and everything!!!! So cool!!! We haven't been as a family since Sydney was little and it's already been 3 years since I went with Shar! My kids are DYING to go, especially whenever Savanna brings home the Disneyland fliers from school. How fun that you're keeping it a secret and everything too!!

Shannon said...

Nikki, whenever we plan a trip it is almost always in December. That is because it is my favorite time of year to go. It is not too crowded and it is all decorated for Christmas! I love it!

Amy said...

I'm so jealous! I've been to Disneyworld 3 times within the last 5 years and I love it! We would go every year of it was closer. I love the Haunted Mansion and Pirates. I am assuming they're very similar at both parks. Have fun!

Anonymous said...

I love that you are surprising them...how fun! We did that to our kids about 5 or 6 years ago. They didn't know where we were going until the shuttle pulled up to the park!

Yvonne said...

How fun! We haven't been to Disneyland in a LONG time! Wonder if Emil would like to go and play? LOL! Did you know we spent our honeymoon there? We had the greatest time, as it wasn't crowded.

Anonymous said...

Have fun!! I love Disney (we go to Disney World down here). Bryan has never been and I can't wait to take him some day. It's just magical - no matter what age you are!

Anonymous said...

So yeah, I think there is a possibility the I AM GOING TO BE THERE THE FIRST WEEK OF DEC!

I'm sure you guys will have a blast!

Anonymous said...

first... WOW that is YOU in the picture?! You look so different now!!! LOL.

How much fun to surprise your kids with such a wonderful gift!!! I can totally feel your excitement for disneyland through your blog entry. I think it's wonderful that you love disney so much and I loved reading a bit of what he said. - really enjoyed reading your entry!!!

You are going to have SO much fun!!!

Unknown said...

I was at Disney land 11-22 1963 the day JFK was killed