Magic! With a slightly foggy ending...

Swen: There's real Micky Mouses here! Mommy, how do they have real Mickey Mouse and Pluto?
Shulamith: Disneyland is magic. So all the characters are real here.

Yes. Disneyland is magic.

I didn't go to Disneyland as a child. My first visit was when I was 20 and home from college on summer break. My mom took me, just the two of us. My mind was blown. The happiest place on earth? Yes, for me, it truly was. Back then, they had an attraction called "Country Bear Jamboree," and my favorite bear was named "Big Al." I bought a stuffed version of him to take back to college. I still have him today.

That first trip inspired many, many more. I can't count how many times I've been to Disneyland in California, and in February of 2009, we took the whole family (minus Luke, who was interviewing at graduate schools at the time) to Walt Disney World in Florida. That was, and still is, my favorite vacation ever.

So this past week, Shulamith and I, along with her three kids, headed to Disneyland. My mom flew from Portland to meet us there, and the six of us spent two fast, furious, and fun-filled days in the Magic Kingdom and California Adventure. My pattern is always to turn right and head straight to Tomorrowland to ride Space Mountain, my favorite. This time, there was no line for the rocket ships, so we did that first.

Then we rode Star Tours and Space Mountain. It's always just as good as I remember. SUCH a fun ride! Shulamith handled the "fast passes" and the new "max pass" option, which allows you to get your fast passes electronically, and she carefully organized our day, so we got to ride all the big attractions at least once. There weren't many rides we could all six do at the same time (hooray for the "baby switch!"), but Pirates of the Caribbean is one we could. Here we are on Pirates:

The only attraction I avoid is Indiana Jones Adventure (Rated S), so I kept the three kids, while Grandma and Shulamith rode that one together. Our first day ended, and tired but happy, we all went back to the hotel to sleep.

Day 2 was California Adventure. My very, very, very favorite ride there is "California Screamin'" and we were fortunate to get to ride it because the very day after we left, it was closed down to be re- branded into a new roller coaster around the theme of "The Incredibles." Our fast pass for "Screamin'" was at the end of the day, and Grandma was nice enough to keep all three kids, so Shulamith and I could ride together. Ahhhhhh, so, so great!

Before that, we enjoyed other favorites, including "Soarin" and "Radiator Springs Racers," and of course "Guardians of the Galaxy," formerly "Twilight Zone Tower of Terror." I just love that one too!

As you might have guessed by now, for me, it's all about the rides. I'm a thrill ride junkie to my core. I also like the food and parades and other stuff, but yeah. Really. It's the rides. Speaking of food, tradition demands that we share one of those giant turkey legs. Yum!!! Combined with delicious corn on the cob, it was a great lunch.

It all went by way too fast. We've decided that with this many people, we really needed a 3-day pass, rather than just two. Next time! For now, here are some pics:

Oh, and about that foggy ending. You know what? I think that deserves its own post. I'll do it very soon. Don't worry; you won't have to wait long.