Falling Asleep

CHILDHOOD

Cozy in bed

Your life in front of you

Arm stretched out

Little hand in mine;

Arm reaching up

Life surrounds you

Laying on the floor.

MOTHERHOOD

Spring Break 2010

If you have children, old or young, you know what I mean when I say our family made the obligatory trip to Disneyland this Spring Break. The ubiquitous arm of Disney reaches your children when they're in the womb in the form of character-laced clothing you receive at your baby shower to DVDs and music to prep you for their toddler years. It intensifies it's grip when they are toddlers by creating magical lands of princesses, fairies, knights and dragons at which young minds marvel. By the time your children are 4, they can distinguish between the Disney castle and other castles, they know the names of Ariel's sisters and the Pixie Hollow fairies. They want to be Hannah Montana but will settle for a visit from Miley Cyrus on their birthday. Basically, they are indoctrinated in all things Disney and even the most cynical parent will have a hard time denying their kids a trip or two (or 5 or 6) to see the park where it all comes from.

This trip was the first time for both Sam and Jim to ever step foot inside Disneyland. And although I had been more times than I could count, I was more excited this time than any other, including my first visit when my dad took my sister and I only to find the park closed for the day. Imagine pulling up to the giant parking lot after driving for an hour and seeing no cars, momentarily thinking that it was our lucky day,that we had somehow beat the crowd and then that sinking feeling as you realize that wasn't the case. I don't remember what we did after that but I do remember the big, empty parking lot and thinking it wasn't such a happy place after all.

This trip however was different. We stayed at the Grand Californian hotel which is basically attached to the park and Downtown Disney. Upon check in, the girls were asked by a concierge if this was their first visit. Since it was for Sam, she was given a "My First Visit to Disneyland" pin which she wore proudly and both girls received paper tiaras promoting the new movie "The Princess and the Frog" that might as well been made of gold considering the smile it put on their faces. I don't think Ryan took hers off until bed time and she must have asked Jim and I fifty times, "is it on straight? Is it?" Disney marketing at it's best.

The next morning Ryan's best friend from Manhattan Beach, Abby, arrived and the 5 of us were off to the park.

"Ooh, look at that ride!" Sam pointed out.

"That's just the tram that takes you from the parking lot to the entrance Sam." I corrected her.

"Can we go on it?"

Oh to be 4 again where everything is new and super exciting. We could have ridden that tram, told her we were on the train the princesses use and she would have been thrilled. We handed a 'cast member' our tickets and we had arrived to the Happiest Place on Earth. Jim didn't look convinced as hundreds of people swarmed past us.

Our first stop was to take a picture at the famous Disneyland Castle. Sam thought it was huge while it looked very small to me. Ryan and Abby were impressed with the moat and all the white flowers around it. The girls wondered which room was Cinderella's.

Our first ride was the recently updated It's a Small World; a veritable trip around the world to see and hear how other people live. Very politically correct or perhaps completely non-politically correct, not sure which. The colors on the new sets and clothing were so vibrant and bright, it felt like a scene from the Beatles' Yellow Submarine, a stereotypical acid trip (or so I imagine). The girls loved it and really enjoyed singing It's a Small World for the rest of the day. I think Jim was checking his blackberry.

The Jungle Cruise was next up, primarily because it was furthest from where we were and apparently our goal was to ride the fewest rides but cover the most ground. After that, three of us went in the haunted house. Ryan and I waited patiently by the exit and wondered whether Sam would enjoy seeing the ghost in her cart at the end of the ride or not. Turns out, "not" was the right answer. Abby on the other hand loved it all, including thunder and lights out in the elevator.

"Mom, they said that ghost will stay with us for our whole visit." Sam informed me. "Is he here?" she said looking over her shoulder.

"No, they just say that. Plus, it was a friendly ghost, right?"

"I don't know but he was fat."

Next we went on the Pinocchio ride since there was no line. In hindsight I realize that is like picking a restaurant because it is empty or a doctor because he has no patients. There's probably a reason no one is there. Pinocchio is dark, cold and scary. You're always about to run into a wall when it flies opens at the last second and the momentary relief you have at not crashing is shattered by seeing someone trapped in a cage, reaching for you or a horrible clown with an evil laugh. This is supposed to be for little kids! I was horrified.

Nothing like a carousel ride to cheer you up. Then we were off Toon Town to bend the steel bars of the jail and push buttons to create power surges at Goofy's house!! And of course we had to wait in the long line for the Princess Faire where if you endure the wait, you are rewarded with two minutes of private time with three princesses. We left Jim to wait in line while the girls got their faces painted and picked out pretty princess flip-flops to wear.

We added in two trips to the bathroom and a few games of ring-around-the-rosy, and Jim was about half way through the line. We joined him. We waited and waited and moved about three feet. We waited more, sang It's a Small World a few dozen times while Jim checked his blackberry and moved forward a few feet. After 60 minutes of waiting, there were still 15 people in front of us and our three girls unanimously, and eagerly, voted to get out of line and head to the pool at the hotel.

"Maybe this is the Happiest Place on Earth" Jim said to me smiling.

"Are you sure? If we leave, we're not coming back and it's only 2 o'clock." I asked them.

"Pool! Pool! Pool!" they shouted and jumped in unison.

Okay then, off we were. We managed 5 rides, a long wait in line, face painting and a quick visit to Toon Town, all in 5 hours and for several hundred dollars. No worries, pool time with friends is hard to beat, followed up by dinner at the Rainforest Cafe (where the canned thunder and moving elephants brought Sam to tears) and ice cream cones and a sing-a-long in the hotel lobby. The girls were laughing and holding hands all night and still wearing their paper tiaras and My First Visit pin. So, although the park is large and crowded and the rides are strangely not age appropriate at times and everything is terribly expensive, the Disney experience is one of a kind, especially when seen through the eyes of your children.