Disneyland 2013 - Day 4

Our last morning

It really is amazing

For two days, I've been feeling guilty for leaving something out of my blog, and today, I’m going to make it right.  Here goes:  We LOVE It's a Small World.  We always have.  It’s a Small World reminds me of that kid at school, who, secretly you want to be friends with, but everyone else makes fun of her and mocks you if you like her, so you pretend to be disinterested in being friends to spare your own feelings. 

What’s wrong with It’s a Small World?  The song gets stuck in your head?  So what, it will be out of it in five minutes—take some time and listen to the message—“It’s a world of laughter, a world of tears,”  that’s exactly what kind of world it is.  “…a smile means friendship to everyone…” It’s true!  The song even offers an astronomy lessons: “…there is just one moon and one golden sun…”  What more do you want, people?!  The ride transports you to a simpler time, and encourages peace.  And the three hundred animatronic dolls are adorable.  And I can't get over how much a few of them resemble my Iranian friend, Kelli.  And during Christmas, the ride is simply astonishing.  I hope the next time you visit Disneyland, you’ll spend some time with the ride.  Get to know her, be her friend, despite the jerks who make fun of you.  Invite her for a sleep over, you may be surprised.

  

There.  I feel so much better.

This morning we checked out of the hotel just after 7:00, drove to Disneyland and parked the car, so we could spend every minute possible there before driving back to LAX.  We walked through Downtown Disney, entered the park and received our purple Magic Morning passes that allowed us to bypass the crowd that was lining up behind the rope that closes off the park until it officially opens.  We went straight to the Matterhorn and rode it for our final time. 

We ate breakfast at the Jolly Holiday Café while sitting in the sunshine, trying to figure out how to spend our last day in Disneyland.  Ashley wanted to go to the Enchanted Tiki Room, and I hadn’t been there for years, so I agreed to take her.  Chad and the other two went to The Haunted Mansion. 

Thus began another day of going on rides, but this time there was a bittersweetness to every attraction we went to.

We stopped at Club 33 so the kids could try and get in.  Club 33 is sort of a Disney "secret."  It's a private club with a $25,000+ initiation fee and a $10,000 annual fee.  It's the only place in the park where alcohol is served, and members receive all kinds of special treatment (does that even surprise you?)  We'll probably join in the next few weeks, but today, I only wanted to take this picture.



Nice try, buddy

Eventually, Ali and Jackson wanted to go back to Splash Mountain, but I had finally dried off from getting drenched earlier in the morning.  Chad and Ashley wanted to go back on the canoes.  Why, you ask? (because I did.)  I have no idea.  With only about three hours left at the park, I wanted to wander alone for a bit and visit my favorite spots.  We split up and Chad said they would text me later so we could catch up.  I went to Main Street and window shopped.  I looked at Christmas decorations, I listened to the music, and I breathed in the smells.  I was standing in front of the Silhouette Studio trying to decide if it would be weird to get my silhouette done with Mary Poppins’ silhouette, frame it, and then hang it next to my bed.  Just then, I received a text from Chad that said “Ash and I are in front of Gibson Girl… you?”  The Gibson Girl was directly across Main Street from the store I was at.  I looked up, and Chad and I made eye contact.  It was like the final scene in “You've Got Mail” when Brinkly rounds the path at the park, and Tom Hanks is calling him, and Meg Ryan suddenly realizes it was him all along and then she cries.  Well, seeing Chad wasn’t that dramatic, but it was cool.  Of all the places...

Tea cups with Daddy

Gotta visit Toon Town

The other kids met us and we gathered around the window to the candy kitchen and watched Rob McHargue make candy canes.  He has been working at the candy kitchen inside The Candy Palace for almost forty years.  Chad and I watched him make candy canes on our first visit together, and it's so cool to think that he is still doing it.  Guests can go in the store when the park opens and get a bracelet that ensures them a fresh candy cane (or whatever they're making that day) from that day’s batch.  Once you get the bracelet, you are given a time to return and pick it up.  These candy canes are $13 dollars each, and after watching how much work goes into it (and I'm pretty sure a few drops of sweat), I would say it’s worth the cost.  Rob McHargue just eyeballs everything, too, no measuring (well, it appeared that way).  He’s that good.

The two on the left are coloring pieces red and green

He puts it on a hook and pulls it like taffy

He adds the colored candy and then hand rolls the candy canes

The first cane from the batch.  

We ate lunch at The Plaza Inn on Main Street, and for a while we were just goofing off, making jokes, and being silly.  When lunch was over, a cloud of sorrow settled on us as we realized we had to decide what our last ride was going to be.  Can you guess what the kids chose?  Did you guess Indiana Jones?  Because you would be right.  After leaving Adventureland, we walked to The Star Trader in Tomorrowland so Ashley could build her own light saber.  Jackson picked out a cool Star Wars shirt, and we bought Ali a Disneyland fleece blanket.  And that was all the shopping we did on this trip. 

Notice the "kids" building their own light sabers

We hopped on the Monorail, dejected and run-down, and as we took our last ride through the Disney resort, we were all pretty silent.  We got in the car and five minutes later we were on the 5 (that’s what us locals call I-5, you see) heading toward the airport.

Goodbye, for awhile

Going through security at LAX, the employees separated our kids from us and sent Chad and I through a different screening station, about 5 rows away from the kids.  One TSA agent asked me if I was in charge of them (I looked over and the kids were taking off their shoes and loading their belongings into bins) I told him I was, and he complimented them by saying they were organized and respectful and better trained then some of the adults he sees.  Before he said that, I had been frustrated because they were quarrelling, and I was tired of hearing it.  And this guy help set me straight.  Chad and I have incredible kids.  Take that how you want, I’m not bragging, I'm just amazed that we get to raise them, and we are seeing the fruits of our labor as they are becoming wonderful citizens, and amazing traveling buddies.  

We’re home now, and everyone is tucked in their beds sound asleep.  Tomorrow they will go back to school (if I feel like sending them), and I’ll get ready to go back next month.  Things are about to change for us, but one look at our kids, and I know we’re ready.

It's a world of laughter, a world of tears

It's a world of hopes, and a world of fear

There's so much that we share

That its time we're aware

It's a small world after all!

- The Niemeyers