Then, time creeped on us; you know how creepy time can be. Leslie sent out a group text to everyone who had ever expressed any interest in joining this family trip, including me. "Hmmm?" I thought. "Maybe I would love to go. Maybe Shulamith would love to go. It would be so fun." And just like that, the plans began to take form. Shulamith decided to take just her two older kids and leave two-year-old Theodore at home with Matt. The last time I was at a Disney resort without a baby or toddler was in 2008, when our family went to Walt Disney World in Florida. Seth was eight, so able to ride every ride. It was (and remains) the most wonderful vacation of my life.
So, yes, I was excited for a Disney trip with no babies to slow us down. By July, we had booked our flights and hotel, and all we had to do was wait for it to be December. No worries. Time was creepy once again. Last Friday we boarded a Jet Blue airplane for our Disney adventure (or should I say our vacation-crashing adventure)? My nice family reassured me we weren't crashing and they were happy we were there. I believe them.
As for the trip, let's divide it into two categories: "Awesome" and "Not So Awesome." Fortunately, the "Awesome" category wins hands down.
AWESOME
1. Off season in the parks. Seriously, I will never again go to a Disney resort when school is not in session. Crowds were minimal, especially in the mornings. We arrived at opening all three days and strolled down the streets.
2. MaxPass - $10/day and worth every penny. If the simple fast pass wasn't enough, now there is this new thing (well, new to me) called MaxPass where you can access fast passes electronically on your phone. Say what?? Yep, Shulamith organized this thing like a boss, and we ride junkies rode a big attraction pretty much every hour. I got to ride Space Mountain, my favorite ride in all of Disneyland, three times! We also rode Thunder Mountain three times, Star Tours and the Haunted Mansion twice each, as well as Pirates, Small World, Matterhorn, Teacups, Dumbo, and the new Star Wars ride. Shulamith and Swen rode Indiana Jones; Kennedy was a tad too short, and I don't ride that one because it's Rated "S."
In California Adventure, we rode Guardians (formerly Tower of Terror) twice, Soarin' twice, and Incredicoaster (formerly Screamin') almost twice (we had fast passes for a second time but had to leave to meet my lovely family for dinner). Oooh, but that one time was magnificent!
3. Food. We have some food traditions at Disneyland, and we managed to eat every one of them. The first is a giant turkey leg with corn on the cob. Mmmmm! Second (for me) is a sourdough bread bowl filled with piping hot clam chowder. Shulamith doesn't eat this one because she doesn't always appreciate good food. And we now have a third tradition, discovered this trip: churro toffee! Oh. My. Goodness. It's toffee covered in white chocolate, then sprinkled with cinnamon sugar all around. Not even kidding.
4. Kind TSA agents at Long Beach Airport. You know how TSA agents are usually jerks? As in they need to take a writing class from me and learn about tone? Well, this time, instead of flying into LAX, we opted to use the Long Beach Airport, and for real, the TSA agents were amazing. They didn't yell at us. They didn't act like police posers, who, given the tiniest bit of authority, treat others like garbage. They spoke at a normal volume. They smiled. They said "please"! Unable to restrain myself, I said to one of them, "Thank you so very much for not yelling at me and for being polite and respectful." Pretty sure he thought I was nuts, but I don't care.
5. Uber/Lyft. The heck with expensive, inconvenient shuttle vans or taxis: go Uber! We were just a bit over a mile from the parks, but decided to reserve our energy for riding rides (reputation as ride junkies to maintain and all that), so we used either Uber or Lyft to and from. It was only around $6.00 each way and so perfectly convenient. The drivers had diverse personalities, some chatty and some reserved, but all were just fine.
6. Bipbbidi Bobbidi nearly breaks the bank. But then, I suppose the making of a princess doesn't come cheap. Shulamith's daughter, Kennedy, and my niece Leslie's daughter, Sydney, were transformed from regular five-year-old girls into sparkling Disney princesses right before our eyes, courtesy of their own personal fairy godmothers at the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique.
7. The weather. Shulamith kept close tabs on the forecast before we left, and ooooh, it was not great. As most of you know, about 99% of the time, I prefer rain to any other type of weather. The 1%? A Disneyland vacation. So when rain was predicted two of our three days in the parks, we packed ponchos and umbrellas for everyone, determined not to let a little wetness dampen our fun. The day we arrived, it poured "Paraguay style" all afternoon, but that was literally the only rain we saw. Our days in the park were around 60 degrees and partly sunny. Perfect.
8. My Portland family (or some of them, anyway). Again, thanks for the invite! I love you all.
NOT SO AWESOME
1. New Rated "S" rides. Why???? Apparently, they redo Small World and the Haunted Mansion just for Christmas, which would be fine EXCEPT the holiday versions both feature those horrible creatures, and really big ones! I will be forever grateful to Shulamith's seven-year-old son, Swen, who had my back all the way: "Her! Close your eyes now," he directed. Then he carefully watched and told me when it was safe to look.
2. Splash Mountain. We were determined to ride this, even in winter, so we donned our rain ponchos and headed over there, but just as we were about to scan our passes and jump in the fast pass line, the ride shut down. It was only temporary, but by the time it was back up and running, it was late, dark, and we were tired. The possibility of getting soaked was no longer appealing. Next time.
3. Lost credit card and missed fireworks. Okay, don't worry. It could have been so much worse. On our final day, Shulamith took my credit card to buy us some donuts, and after that, I couldn't find it. She thinks she gave it back to me, and maybe she did, but it didn't make it back into my wallet and was nowhere to be found. We didn't discover it missing until nighttime, just before the fireworks, so I left Shulamith and her kids strategically positioned (we thought) to watch the display and went to find a quiet place to call the bank and cancel my card. That process, though successful, took quite a long time, so I was just grateful the three of them were watching the beautiful fireworks I could hear exploding in the distance. Except they weren't. Sadly, the spot we selected was too far to the right of the castle, which blocked the whole display. Ah, well, now we know.
As you can see, it was way more awesome than not awesome. We returned last night, exhausted but happy, to real life and full-on Christmas prep. May we remember, as we prepare, the reason for all the joy:
"Come to Bethlehem and see
Him whose birth the angel sing;
Come, adore on bended knee
Christ the Lord, the newborn King."
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