USA - Days 35 & 36

Day 35 was a traveling day where we flew from DC to LA with as little fuss as could be expected when taking into account how much luggage we have and the fact that we also have a 2 1/2 year-old.

Day 36 was our first day at Disneyland. Firstly, let me get out of the way the negatives. Our hotel is very close to the theme parks, but has the dubious honour of providing the worst breakfast we've ever had. The scrambled eggs were so rubbery that you could easily fold them in half and they still wouldn't break. The only remote saving grace was the donuts, in which case the fact they were covered in chocolate served to barely disguise the stale doughnut-ish substance within. The staff at Disneyland are pretty committed to their work. I could imagine many of their homes being shrines to Mickey, surrounded with Disney-related paraphernalia. Then I discovered that Disney (being the cheapskate entrepreneurs that they are) have a programme where you can volunteer a days work at the park and then receive a days free entry in return. I know who gets the best out of that deal. But as a result of this you get a frightening hybrid of the extreme 'ingroup-volunteerism' of the Sydney Olympics volunteers and the obsessive fanboy-ism of 'the Comic Book Guy' on The Simpsons. On top of this the price of entry to Disneyland is insane, totally insane.

On the positive side: we're at freakin' Disneyland baby! The place is off the charts in terms of the production levels for their rides/shows, to the point where we came across an acapella quartet singing on the street and I had to convince myself that they were actually there and not a clever 3d projection. Perhaps the changing of timezones and my incessant headache probably contributed to my confusion. Without Amelia the whole experience would have been mediocre at best, but the fact that nearly everything there was exciting to her made it so much fun. Here's a list of things she did: Monsters Inc ride, Muppets 3d show, lady beetle ride, ant ride, caterpillar ride, fish carousel (3x), Bug's Life 3d show (bit too scarey), Mickey's ferris wheel, train ride, Pixar parade, horse carousel and the Mickey Mouse parade. Jess also took a ride on the 'Californian Screaming' ride (see pic) where I bravely took photos from behind the fence. Jess, dad and me also rode the white river rapids in what turned out to be a silly decision on my part, amplified by the fact that I had again dressed inappropriately for the weather. I may have avoided the US flu season, but there is a fair chance I will have cold.

 

Tomorrow is our last day at Disneyland, and we are going to be joined by my sister (auntie Suz) and her boy-friend Jack. Suz is going to take Amelia around on all the rides while Jess and I sit back and sip on wine at one of the restaurants. Well, that's how I see it panning out anyhow.