Our trip is set, our plans are made. On March 11th, my entire extended family will accompany a soon-to-be two year old Anita O to the Happiest Place on Earth. That is just four weeks away. So I hope this will be the first in a series of posts focused on the HPOE. See my last post about Disneyland. The trip was delayed from September until March.
As a kid, I was a Disneyland junkie. I obsessed over the upcoming trips, planned out our routes, looked at photos of past trips and just all around talked about Disneyland a LOT. When a Disneyland trip was announced I had to pull out the old photos and souvenirs, including my collection of ticket stubs and pressed pennies to look at. We had a TV tray that featured a picture of the whole Disney cast of characters posed in front of Sleeping Beauty's castle. Once a trip was announced, I tried to use that TV tray at every possible meal. I watched or begged my dad to record the Wonderful World of Disney. I'd re-watch Davy Crockett, King of the Wild Frontier, though that was hardly out of the ordinary as I watched that a lot. And if CLK deigned to allow me, I would look through her awesome book of Disney autographs. It was a magical book filled with the messy scripts of Winnie the Pooh, Minnie and Mickey (remember it's kind of hard to write in those big costumes) alongside the much more legible signatures of Snow White, Cinderella and Peter Pan (more on that story some other time).
As I alluded to before, I saved souvenirs, tickets and maps from our trips. Far before the subsequent trip was planned, I would pull out the map to study and plan out the most efficient way to see all of the attractions. The golden goal was to go to every attraction in the entire park (as listed on the map) in one day. And before CLK chimes in, I will admit the futility of such planning. You see, it wasn't possible to go to every attraction in the park because I was too damned scared to go on the damned fast rides until I was eight damned years old (1988). That was the year dear old mom got sick of sitting and waiting with me while CLK and my dad went on the likes of the Matterhorn, Space Mountain and Thunder Mountain Railroad without us. She paid me a dollar to go on Space Mountain that year. I was terrified the entire time we were in line. And once on the ride I sat cross-armed trying to act as if I was unafraid. Afterwards, I bragged of my accomplishment, and although the expansion of my horizons was soon to follow, on that day when my parents asked if I would like to go again or on the other fast rides I meekly declined.
Instead, we likely went on what CLK refers to as my favorite ride. I don't know if I am just conveniently blocking the memory, but I don't remember ever calling the People Mover my favorite ride, but I'll admit it was up there. For a spaced obsessed kid like myself, it was the closest thing to a Tron or Star Wars ride (no Star Tours at the time) and that sums up the whole appeal for me. Yes, I am aware now that Mission to Mars may have been a better choice for the galactically minded but my parents hated that attraction and so I never ever went on it. CLK lamented that the People Mover was so slow and boring and that I wanted to go on it so many times. Cut me some slack I was a kid. And hey, doesn't that still kind of describe my personality? I tend to like things that others don't and things that are boyish but not overwhelmingly manly. And when I like something, I still enjoy it repeatedly. Plus, the People Mover seemed very vintage Disney to me. I liked some of the oldest attractions the best. The Swiss Family Tree house, The Haunted Mansion, Tom Sawyer's Island, Country Bear Jamboree, The Train Ride (for the dinosaurs) and Pirates of the Caribbean, though yes I was scared of the drops on PotC. Even then I knew that I usually liked older things better than their newer counterparts.
And though the People Mover is no longer, I am still looking forward to our mid-March sojourn. It's been nearly 10 years since my last Disneyland trip and probably close to 15 since I attended the HPOE with my parents. Now that I am older I can impress my parents by going on all of the fast rides, by myself even. I'm sure to enjoy the old favorites and look towards the new additions with a wary eye. But the best part will just be the opportunity to be around Anita as she enjoys it for her first time. I can't wait to see her face as she leads her mom and dad down Main Street. I'm laying bets that she is excited to see Mickey rather than terrified as some children are. I am giddy over the prospect of going on Dumbo with her and watching her learn the controls (Yes I will let her). And I'm looking forward to helping her overcome her fears and even helping her to find her own People Mover. If she chooses a ride that I can't stand, I'll try to be patient. After all, we've all been there. We'd all be lucky to find that happiness again.
No comments:
Post a Comment