THE HAPPIEST PLACE ON EARTH

It had been 35 years since I viewed Disneyland through the eyes of a seven year old - my now 42 year old son, Darrin. This past weekend I had the pleasure of experiencing "The Happiest Place on Earth" through the eyes of another seven year old, my beautiful granddaughter, Charley Ellen.

The first day was spent exploring Disney California Adventure. It had been at least 20 years since I visited Disneyland & 40 years since Lou explored the Magic Kingdom. Neither of us had been to California Adventure since it wasn't yet built.

This is the view of Pixar Pier, The Incredicoaster & the Pixar Pal-A-Round. The Pal-A-Round has stationary gondolas & ones that swing back & forth while going around. Charley & I both requested the stationary one!

The old Minnie Mouse & the young Minnie Mouse ready for a full day of adventure. I bought our Minnie ears from Amazon for $$4.00 for two. Little did I know that Minnie ears were all the rage at the parks. There were fancy, sparkly ones, theme ones & probably 20 choices. But the cost ranged from $15 to $27 & the headbands were too tight. Our cheap ones were completely comfortable & didn't hurt our heads at all.

California Adventure was just being built the last time I was at Disneyland. "Cars Land" is one of the highlights. It recreates the sleepy town of Radiator Springs on Route 66. We all love the movie "Cars" which incorporates Route 66 into its story line.

Radiator Springs Racers is the most popular ride at California Adventure. Darrin suggested making a beeline to that ride first thing then we could get a Fast Pass to ride a second time. You scan your ticket & are given a time to return to the ride where you enter a separate line that should have no more than a 10-15 minute wait - something new since I was there last. Many rides in both parks can have wait times of 60 minutes or more. 

Darrin took a selfie of the four of us in our first Radiator Springs Racer. The ride reenacts much of the movie as you ride through the town inside. Finally you & a car on another track pull up to the starting line for a race. The cars take off really fast going up & down & around curves. Our car won the first race but lost the second. Lots of fun!

On many rides there are cameras situated to take action photos of each car. Of course they would like you to purchase the photos but they are displayed briefly at the end of the ride & don't care if you snap a photo with your phone or camera which is what we did on our second ride on Radiator Springs Racers. That's Lou in the middle front & me on the right. Charley is in the middle back with Darrin on the right.

There are lots of fun rides in California Adventure but I'm still a Disneyland purist. Starting when Darrin was three we made a pilgrimage south to Disneyland every other year until he was an adult. Darrin has been back many times since then.

The Little Mermaid is a super tame ride for smaller kids. You sit in a shell & slowly traverse the scenes from the story of Ariel, The Little Mermaid.

Charley & Darrin enjoying The Little Mermaid experience.

Charley & I saw "Incredibles 2" earlier this year. Elastigirl is one of the stars. She instructed Charley & Darrin on some super hero or heroine poses for this photo op.

We happened to be right there when Mickey showed up for a photo session. He grabbed Charley's hands & danced with her for a minute before they settled into the photo shoot.

The Incredicoaster comes around the corner, does a 5-4-3-2-1 countdown then shoots off to the first hill. If you click on this photo to enlarge it, that's Lou & Darrin in the next to last car. I decided if I was going to screw up my hip any worse, it would be the next day on Space Mountain at Disneyland so I elected to not ride (even though I love roller coasters.)

Charley getting ready for the Golden Zephyr, a spinning rocket ship ride. She got into raising her arms like most people do when something is fast or up & down. This ride was pretty mild but she was into it.

The Jumping JellyFish is a ride that goes up & down but doesn't drop fast. Again if you click on it enlarge the photo, that's Charley & me riding it.

Lou & I in the Pixar Pier Pal-A-Round.

The kids loved this big ball that spun around on a layer of water.

Day Two was our all day Disneyland adventure! Charley had been fighting a bad cold with a stuffy head, coughing, etc. but she was a real trooper. Darrin did decide to take her back to the hotel in the afternoon for a nap before continuing. 

The train station at the entrance to Disneyland's Magic Kingdom.

Our first stop was the "Pirates of the Caribbean". That has always been Darrin's favorite ride. One year when he was maybe 15, the "Pirates of the Caribbean" was closed for refurbishing. He was heart broken & we had to go back a few months later when it was open. The first time Charley was a little scared. But we went on it a second time before it got crowded & she loved it. I'm sure Darrin was happy that it was her favorite ride, too!

The "Haunted Mansion" was our next attraction. Everything was decorated for the holidays but I think I liked it better without all the ribbons, wreaths & bows.

"The Jungle Cruise" has been the same for 60 years I'm guessing. It is fun but the guides are still telling the same cheesy jokes & puns from a long time ago.

I thought that the Mark Twain riverboat & the Columbia sailing ship were no longer operating but both of them were making treks around the river all day.

When Darrin & Charley went back to the hotel, Lou & I took the opportunity to ride "Space Mountain". This is the boarding area. My hip did fine but the girl who worked there had to help me out of the damn thing - couldn't get my leg lifted high enough. We also rode the Matterhorn Bobsleds, the Monorail & the Columbia sailing ship.

Back when Darrin was about nine years old we visited Disneyland with a good friend, Carol, her daughter & their school teacher who was in her 30s & had never been to Disneyland! Carol turned us on to the Blue Bayou Restaurant. It is a sit down, table service restaurant with impeccable service & excellent food.

The Blue Bayou Restaurant is in the Pirates of the Caribbean ride. From the boats you can see the restaurant & the restaurant patrons can see the boats float by. We either got lucky or Darrin greased someone's hand but we had a table right at the railing where the boats went by. Before & after dinner Charley stood at the railing waving to all the boat passengers. Many people yelled "hi" back to her. I heard one woman holler, "What's your name? You are adorable." I noticed at first she just waved, then later was saying, "Arrrgh!" with her fist pumping. Finally she was doing the pageant wave where you cup your hand & just rotate it back & forth.

Waiting for our table at the Blue Bayou we all had our Mickey & Minnie shirts, not to mention the ever present Minnie ears. Darrin made the reservation & treated us to a first class meal

After dinner Charley wanted to go on the Pirates of the Caribbean for the third time so Darrin took her while Lou & I tried to get on the Indiana Jones ride which had broken down earlier & was once again inoperable.

My hip held up pretty well but by about 9 - 9:30 PM my feet were killing me. I elected to find a bench on Main Street while Darrin & Charley headed to Fantasyland & Lou watched "Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln", the animated figure that walks & talks.

Sleeping Beauty's Castle all lit up & decorated for the holidays. These photos are a combination of mine, Lou's & Darrin's. When I get to Disneyland I just want to enjoy the experience & often forget about taking lots of pictures.

Charley made it to the carousel in Fantasyland around 10 pm at night. We saw & did lots of stuff but there is still more to see. I can't wait for the next time! The plan is to take Charley every other year, too. She seems to be doing better with her cold BUT Gaga started feeling it the night we dropped them off in Hayward. The cold has set in big time for me which I expected. I mean, come on, how can I not hug, kiss, hold hands & just plain love this little sweetie?

The end of two long, wonderful days with my three favorite people in the whole world!