It's NOT a small world, after all

As the title suggests, I am indeed speaking of Disneyland. Packed up the family, hopped on a plane, and visited the Magic Kingdom. We would have gone to Walley World, but it was closed!

It was the first time for all of the kids to take an aeroplane trip, and I'm happy to report it went well. No one was strip-searched by the TSA, no one barfed on the plane, and the only problem was my youngest didn't get a window seat for either leg of the flight. Next time, little man.

I have not been to D-Land since right around, oh, 1972. I have vague memories of The Matterhorn, the submarine (was it 20,000 Leagues Beneath the Sea? It's Finding Nemo now), Main Street, and the ride that scarred me for life: It's A Small World. Can't...get...song...out...of...my...head! (Do that a la Captain Kirk for maximum dramatic effect).

Fast forward to present day. The park is just a little bit bigger these days, which translates into more walking! I don't know how many miles we covered walking in four days, but we were pretty much beat by the time we left. And the lines. How much time did we spend in line? Even with the Fast Pass system, there was still a LOT of time spent shuffling along, going nowhere fast. The kids, to their credit, did very in the lines.

The rides, of course, were a lot of fun. Over in DCA (Disney California Adventure) The Tower of Terror and California Screamin' were both excellent, as my 8-year-old son, my father-in-law, and I will attest to. To all the poncho-wearing people I scoffed at on the Grizzly River Run, I ate my slice of humble pie, thank you very much. You can get soaking wet on that one! Soarin' Over California was neat, and Muppet Vision 3-D was entertaining if you still dig Kermit and Co. To finish off our trip, we took in the World of Color show on a Thursday night. It was just OK in my opinion. The people up front must have been drenched with all the water spraying around! And we were all the way in the back, and we felt the heat from the flame throwers, so I wonder if that's how the wet folks up front dried off?

Heading back into D-Land proper, we hit Pirates of the Caribbean twice, Matterhorn, Dumbo (yes, Dumbo!), Space Mountain, Haunted Mansion, Thunder Mountain, Buzz Lightyear, Indiana Jones (my least favorite ride - it just wasn't anything special as far as I'm concerned), Jungle Cruise, and one or two others. Splash Mountain was closed, so we missed out on that one.

We found that the long lines to have backpacks searched and enter Disneyland proper were a lot shorter in the afternoon. After braving the crowds in the morning, we would head back to the hotel for lunch and a rest, and go back for more later in the afternoon. I have to mention that getting around was a breeze. Starting at the hotel (Embassy Suites Anaheim South), buses pick you up about every 20 minutes (we bought pre-paid passes for that) and bring you right to the park. The same buses return to bring you and your tired feet back to the hotel, although sometimes it was standing-room only.

All in all, it was a great family vacation. The kids loved it, the adults survived, and the happy memories have been etched into everyone's minds.

So after a nice long break from blogging and painting, I'm ready to resume my ranting, raving, and musing over all things lead, as well as pick up my brushes and see what I can finish before my late May trip to roll bones back down in California.