Dear The Internet,
I moved around a lot while I was growing up, but I spent a good portion of my formative years in Orange County (specifically Orange). We lived about fifteen minutes away from Disneyland and, like most kids in Orange, I had an annual pass to the park. It wasn’t uncommon for my mom to drop my brother and me off at the entrance with $10 each and let us go at it for the day. I came to know the park like the back of my hand. I knew all the jokes they tell on Jungle Cruise by heart. I could recite “remain seated, please” in a terrible attempt at Spanish. I could spend a whole day there, not spend a dime, and still eat three square meals (note, those “square meals” were actually tortillas from the factory tour). The one downside to growing up like this is that it has totally demystified the whole experience for me.
Whenever I go back now, it feels a little bit like visiting my high school after graduating. Something might be painted a different color or there might be a few new things, but it’s still pretty much the same. It makes it a little odd whenever I go with people not from Orange County because it’s either a completely new experience for them or one that they’ve had just a few times. The novelty of it has completely worn off over the years, but sometimes changes in who I go with will completely alter the experience. I’ve been with kids a few times and it’s honestly like I’ve never been before. Their excitement and unadulterated joy is undeniably infectious.
That’s probably why I’m excited to go in a few weeks. I’m not going with any kids this time, but I am going with my super awesome girlfriend. She’s only been once before and I’ve never been with a…er…girlfriend. I think this combined with the fact that I haven’t been in four years will hopefully make this trip feel novel. Here is a short list of things I’m looking forward to most (in no particular order):
- Going on the Haunted Mansion all decked out in Nightmare Before Christmas stuff.
- Seeing Disneyland as a whole decked out in Christmas stuff (that is always fun)
- Hearing the new Michael Giacchino score on Space Mountain
- Riding the Matterhorn and not feeling awkward about the seating arrangements for the first time since I was ten (thank you, super awesome girlfriend)
- Riding Splash Mountain and not feeling awkward about the seating arrangements
- In general, going on any ride and not having to worry about being the literal odd man out (there are few thing sadder then seeing some one alone in one of those in ride photos).
- Also, I want to see Captain Eo again
- Oh yeah, and making out on It’s A Small World, high school style (this is probably a joke)
P.S. The photos for the lead shots are usually my own, but I haven't taken photos in Disneyland since high school and those are all in 35mm. I got this shot from a fellow on Flickr.
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