The yearly ritual of going to Disneyland when Jaz is in town happened yesterday. It was some of the usual suspects. Ray, Becca, Jaz, & me. Plus some new people. Kurt, Atticus, his son Brady (4 years old) and Louise. In this picture are Jaz, Ray, Becca, me, and Brady is the short one.
Getting to Disneyland is always an adventure. Traffic, parking, etc. When we got into the park we found Atticus and Brady. Being 4 years old and 39.5 inches made it tough for Brady to go on anything that might be fun for an adult. Minimum height was 40 inches. The people at the line tried to help, but even stretching with his arms up, he was too short. He was turned away from Space Mountain, Soaring Over California, and some others. However, Atticus and I did bamboozle the people at the Silly Swing ride and got him on. He rode with me, which Atticus said was an honor. Brady doesn't warm up to people very quickly sometimes, but I am magic with kids.
On the swing as we started going up and around Brady started to get freaked out. Atticus said to take his hand and talk to him. That calmed him down. He was turned away from me but I was told his face was still a bit worried. It was a short ride mercifully. 1.5 minutes tops. After he got off the swing Brady said, "Let's do it again." Then Brady rode with me and Jaz on the Toy Story ride. 53600 was my score. Not bad, but I was holding him in my lap, aiming while he pulled the trigger.
We split up groups a few times as we did things Brady couldn't. We did Indy ride, Pirates, Big Thunder. I wanted to go to Tom Sawyers Island while they went on the Haunted Mansion and Splash Mountain. I'm now glad I went to the island. On Splash Mountain they got soaked. The log turned a corner and the contents of a lake sloshed into the ride soaking them. I caught up with them afterward. They were wringing out their clothes, emptying their shoes of water.
On Tom Sawyers Island, part of the park I hadn't been to in years, I was surprised to see it had been taken over by pirates. Not much money to be made in the last Tom Sawyer movie or TV series Disney did in the 50s. So they built up a lot of caves and rocks, a grounded pirate ship, a huge hoard of treasure, and a few tie-ins to some Johnny Depp movie. When I was on the island 24 years ago, My friend Terry and I were climbing trees and the rock towers. A kid on break from high school working at the park for the summer told us to stop climbing the trees. We were a bad example for the kids. Our reply to this kid we were older than was, "There's no sign saying we can't climb the trees." The next year I went to Tom Sawyer's island, there was a sign saying not to climb the trees or rocks! Ha!
Lunch at Disneyland. We made reservations to eat at the Blue Bayou. It's the restaurant I'd seen while on the Pirates of the Caribbean ride. Never ate there. Didn't eat there this time. We looked at the lunch menu outside the restaurant. It didn't have prices listed (a bad sign). Just food. When we sat down I looked at the menu. The cheapest thing I would like, since I don't really like cajun food, was the $30 monte cristo sandwich! It was voiced by me and most everyone else that this was not what I expected nor was willing to shell out for lunch. This probably happens a lot there. The server gave us 2 options for something similar and close by, and at least half the cost of the Blue Bayou. We walked out past all the people waiting in the lobby. I wonder if they knew how much it cost. We went 20 yards to the place the server mentioned. I was still appalled by a $16 monte critso sandwich, but I went with it. The entertainment at lunch was making Brady laugh. Which was easy since he is 4 and we are all silly actors. Dinner was cheaper. $11 for sandwich and bottled water. I think Disneyland could let everyone in for free and still turn a huge profit from food and merchandise.
California Adventure has a new show. A water extravaganza with screens for projection created by mists of water. It has maybe 200 fountians that are moveable, adjustable; lasers, flame thowers in the middle of the lake and all this water. It was really cool. Advice! get a fast pass early so you can see it from the front. I saw it from the side and it was still very cool. It will probably run for years so there's time.
It was a good time. Didn't get sunburned, and had fun with fun people.
2 comments:
ok, you're on an island that is dedicated to the spirit of wild boys, and they're not allowed to climb trees. What's wrong with this picture?
Tom got evicted about 2006 or so. It's now the Pirates Lair. With more caves, a shipwreck, and big pile of treasure. There were no signs saying you can't climb trees anymore. If there were the pirates can't read...
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