4/6/09

Before Leaving California #4: Disneyland (or: what I will do for my darling daughter)

I am, by nature, not a theme park person. Most rides give me a headache, or make me queasy, or both. I don't understand waiting in line for an hour to have some pre-programmed manufactured "fun". I don't like waiting in line, PERIOD. I don't like noise. I don't like crowds, especially the kind of crowds where people meander aimlessly in front of you, somehow magically going JUST too slow before suddenly turning at just the right moment to bump into your very pregnant belly or step on your feet, OR BOTH.

All in all, I'd much rather be hiking, reading or doing pretty much ANYTHING else.

And, though I'm sure this makes me somehow un-American (and definitely makes me a GRUMP), I'm not a fan of Disney. Mickey? EH. Princesses? BLECH. Buzz Lightyear (who GROWN ADULTS WITHOUT CHILDREN IN TOW were following around, squealing over and taking pictures of when we were there)? WHO CARES.

But.

BUT.

Disneyland with an almost three year old (well, OUR almost three year old, maybe yours would hate it)? A TOTAL BLAST.

Waiting in line in front of Its a Small World.

Zoe, totally digging Small World. Though we were a bit confused at first because she kept whining about wanting to "get out of the boat" which we thought meant she was scared and wanted the ride to be over. We finally figured out that she wanted to get out and STAY and PLAY with all the animatronic, culturally- uh- specific bobbleheads.

On board the Casey Jr. Circus Train which Zoe LOVED. She chose to ride in one of the "animal cages" where we were joined by two middle-aged adults SANS KIDS. WTF? What adult in their right mind would wait for over half an hour to ride for FIVE MINUTES in a tiny kiddie train that goes pretty much NOWHERE unless you had a toddler with you who was bouncing up and down and squealing "YAY!", "ALL ABOARD!" and "I'm a tiger! GRRRRR!!!"???

CG and Zoe on the teacups, which Zoe loved. I'm sure glad he was up for going on pretty much every ride with her because I was happy to sit down, put up my feet and slurp down my "100% frozen apple" (frozen apple juice! At Disneyland! I was impressed by some of their healthy food options, including a frozen chocolate covered banana after lunch. Real FRUIT!)


All in all it was a total success. Zoe had such a great time and was so sad to leave.

I did not give birth on Its a Small World.

And the princessses? NEVER SAW ONE OR HEARD A PEEP ABOUT ONE.

SUCCESS!

5 comments:

Sarah said...

I WANT TO GO TO THERE!
Also, um, Jim and I went to Epcot by ourselves once. No kids yet. BUT we were in Orlando for a business trip. And we did not ride kiddie rides or pose with Buzz Lightyear.

clueless but hopeful mama said...

Okay, full disclosure: I took CG to Disneyland when we first started dating because he had never been as a kid and I thought that was just plain wrong. And we had a blast (especially since I bought him mickey mouse ears with his name stitched on it and insisted that he wear them all day!).

But. As you say, we did not ride on kiddie rides. (Seriously, that Casey jr. train is tiny and BO-RING to anyone over the age of 5.)

Stephanie Velegol said...

It is amazing what you do for your kids. I was totally against princesses until I saw the joy on my daughter's face when she saw Cinderella for the first time. I almost started to cry! That being said the Disney Fairy books are pretty good -- no prince saving the girl. Tinker bell is a fairy who likes to fix stuff and all her friends each have their own talent (not just looking cute). We will try to focus on this...

Erin said...

Awww! This is a really sweet post. When the child enjoys something, it damn near IMPOSSIBLE to not enjoy it too. I really love that part of parenting.

Astarte said...

I can't believe you got out of there princess-free! What kind of lucky charm are YOU?!

If we lived close to one of the Disney parks, we would go. As it stands, with it being plane fare, hotel costs, park fees for four, and food? I'll live vacariously. :)

Besides, Hershey is awesome!

Blog Designed by: NW Designs