It has been over twenty maybe twenty-five years since visiting a Disney theme park. All told, I have been to Disneyland three times, counting the visit yesterday, and Disney World once. It was the first time for us taking a child or grandchild on their birthday and also the first time being at a Disney park during the Holiday Season.
The weather was partly sunny in the 70s. What a pleasure to be in shorts and a polo when just a short week ago we were experiencing an arctic blast that is still engulfing Chicago.
It was just Vaughn and both sets of his grandparents, Ana, Manuk, Judy, and I. How much more special does it get than that? We got to the park just in time for early afternoon parade down Main Street. It was Holiday themed and spectacularly well done. There was a teen marching band from Ontario Canada that had just participated in the Tournament of Roses Parade on New Year’s Day. There were dancers and singers, top notch performers all. There were floats with the Disney characters ranging from the classics of Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Daisy, Goofy, and Pluto, to the casts of Toy Story, Beauty and the Beast, Snow White, and Cinderella. As you might expect, the last float was none other than Santa himself. Through the entire parade, Vaughn sat their either totally mesmerized, in awe, or calling out and waving to the various characters. His pure appreciation and enthusiasm made us all feel like children again.
As Vaughn is just a few years old, there were a vast number of rides that would have just been too scary, so we basically spent our time on Main Street, Toon Town, and Fantasy Land. The rides? The classics for someone his age: It’s a Small World, Dumbo the Flying Elephant, King Arthur’s Carousel, and Mad Tea Party (the Tea Cup ride). We waited in line for the Story Book Land boat ride, but when Vaughn saw that boats first cruised right into the open mouth of very toothy whale, well… he wanted no part of that. We
ended our time at the park in Toon Town where we visited Mickey’s house where our birthday boy got to meet Mickey himself.
We took a gazillion photos and videos. The plan is to present him with a photo album so he can see how much fun we had well after the memory of the day has faded. Neither of his grandparents will need such a nudge. We were thankful for having the chance to take him on his special day and a bit grateful that six hours was about the limit of his stamina which is just about how much time our creaky knees and joints were good for.
We went to the Black Bear Diner in La Habra where Vaughn enjoyed his favorite dish: mac and cheese. We sang happy birthday over ice cream, they oddly had no cake, and then returned home to open some presents. Vaughn fell asleep the moment his head hit the pillow and probably dreamt about his special day. I am certain we grandparents did the same.
Happy birthday Vaughn!
As Vaughn is just a few years old, there were a vast number of rides that would have just been too scary, so we basically spent our time on Main Street, Toon Town, and Fantasy Land. The rides? The classics for someone his age: It’s a Small World, Dumbo the Flying Elephant, King Arthur’s Carousel, and Mad Tea Party (the Tea Cup ride). We waited in line for the Story Book Land boat ride, but when Vaughn saw that boats first cruised right into the open mouth of very toothy whale, well… he wanted no part of that. We
We took a gazillion photos and videos. The plan is to present him with a photo album so he can see how much fun we had well after the memory of the day has faded. Neither of his grandparents will need such a nudge. We were thankful for having the chance to take him on his special day and a bit grateful that six hours was about the limit of his stamina which is just about how much time our creaky knees and joints were good for.
We went to the Black Bear Diner in La Habra where Vaughn enjoyed his favorite dish: mac and cheese. We sang happy birthday over ice cream, they oddly had no cake, and then returned home to open some presents. Vaughn fell asleep the moment his head hit the pillow and probably dreamt about his special day. I am certain we grandparents did the same.
Happy birthday Vaughn!
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