Disneyland Dreamin’ by Dina Ramon


An afternoon at the ‘happiest place on Earth’ can’t eliminate all the stress in my life but it comes pretty darn close. Even with the mid-week crowds, LA freeway traffic, the lines, and the high price of admission, several hours of Disneyland with the family is an ideal way to decompress from the real world. It’s been almost four years since we last took our daughter to visit Mickey, Goofy and the princesses of Disneyland for her 5th birthday. Then, it was all about Cinderella, the Tea Cup ride, and Sleeping Beauty’s castle. Now it’s mandatory for her to strap in for the roller coaster thrill rides; the princesses and gentler rides of FairytaleLand come second. Before my daughter was born I never would have believed it and instead scoffed at the thought. But let me tell you there is something magical about the place – I don’t think there is another amusement park in America where I would wait almost 1½ hours to go on a roller coaster ride; and not get cranky about it. But this line was for the legendary Space Mountain; a long but bearable wait for a mere 2-3 minutes of a serious adrenaline rush. Yeh, it was worth it. And she loved it, which always makes it all worth it. Once again, we were livin’ the Disneyland dream if even just for a few hours – smiles, courteous people, pictures with Pinocchio and Gepetto. It truly is a little oasis of relaxed fun in the middle of a major metropolis. It’s hard to be uptight in that environment, even as full of people and sounds as it is. You don’t even have to do anything there; you can just sit on a bench next to the statues of Walt and Mickey feeling content and ‘ok’ with the world. It was one of those small blocks of time that stick with me, that I want to bottle up and save to look at over and over again. So I can forget a little bit about the passing of time and that our little ones will all grow up, even in Disneyland.

 

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