Togetherland

Although it made me nauseous, we all entered and exited smiling! We were able to get on and off all the rides on our list with little to no wait (we never waited longer than about 7 minutes for any of the rides we enjoyed) and had a wonderful time exploring the park until it started to rain at about 2:00 p.m. We decided to head back to the hotel for a much-needed nap and warm-up in the hot tub, then returned to Disneyland again around 7:00 p.m. after the rain had stopped. 

Now, before I wax all poetic on you, let me start by saying that this was not just my kids’ first visit to Disneyland — it was mine, too. I have been to Disney World (once)when I was ten years old, and the memories are still pretty keen, but I hadn’t been to a Disney park since. In fact, I was a bit of a Disney skeptic, really. I couldn’t understand these people who would go back to the park religiously year after year, wearing mouse ears and collecting Mickey memorabilia. 

But now I get it. I so totally get it!

The thing about Disneyland is that they totally immerse you in experiences. The attractions at Disneyland are not just rides. For example, Space Mountain isn’t just a roller coaster…even the walk through the corral is full of immersive experiences to make you feel like you’re getting ready to board a space shuttle. The experience begins well before you get to the ride, and even the stuff that’s normally the boring part of any amusement park becomes part of the amusement. Another great example is Splash Mountain. It’s so much more than just a log ride. The walk up to the turnstile takes you through scenes from the classic cartoon Song of the South with sightings of Brer Rabbit and friends and their hideaways. Once you board your log boat, enjoy a leisurely cruise through musical scenes involving animatronic characters before the climactic plunge and splash, and then another musical tour before you disembark. 

And then, of course, there are the classics: the Haunted Mansion, Pirates of the Caribbean (updated for fans of the films with several Jack Sparrow figures and appearances by Captain Barbossa, Davy Jones and Blackbeard), and — of course — It’s a Small World. My memories of these rides (well, their twins at Disney World) is so strong that I even remembered the smell of them. We loved Pirates so much that we rode it three times the first day and once the second day. Small World and Haunted Mansion were hits as well with a ride each day. 

But our two favourite rides are relative newcomers. In Disneyland the hit ride for us was Indiana Jones Adventure (again, even walking the line for this ride was more exciting than the entire haunted house ride at our local Calgary amusement park). I found myself grinning from ear-to-ear midway through this ride, and it didn’t stop until well after we walked off, chattering away to each other about how “awesome” it was. We rode that ride twice on day one because we loved it so much. We didn’t hit the Tower of Terror until the very end of our second day in the parks. There were a few reasons for this. First off, the title “tower of terror” ended up terrifying my youngest into refusing to ride it at all (in the end I forced her to ride with us, and glad I did, too). Secondly, it’s located in Disney’s California Adventure, and we were having so much fun in Disneyland that we never made it over there until we were just about ready to head off on the next leg of our adventure. In the end, the Tower of Terror was the only ride we did in California Adventure, and what a thrill it was! Again, a very immersive lead-up experience helps defray the boredom of waiting in line (this was our only long wait for a ride during our entire trip – a full 55 minutes, but it felt like a lot less in the end). And the ride itself? Inde
scribable. A rush. And then some! Once again, we found ourselves plastered in silly grins throughout this attraction and spent most of the walk back to our car yammering about how great it was. And my little one? She can’t decide if this is her favourite ride after all. It’s tied with Pirates of the Caribbean for first place. Good thing I forced her to come along, eh?

In the end, we walked through the park for two full days with smiles on our faces and even my 11 year-old was happy to hold hands with her mother and little sister. There was no fighting, no tears and no whining. We enjoyed each other’s company in this magical place, and I, personally, have decided to refer to it in my heart as “Togetherland”, with a nod to the place where we began our Disney experience (Tomorrowland). This wonderful place is not simply an amusement park: it is, truly, the happiest place on earth.