Disneyland

I came to California on Friday to "help" my sister with her new baby Daniel (born September 1). On Friday afternoon we did a little shopping and then went out to dinner. On Saturday we went to Disneyland. That's right, we took a one-month-old baby to Disneyland.

Some of the pictures from the day are below. I haven't been to Disneyland since 1993! While it was fun to see some of the new things, it was nostalgic to check out the classics. "It's a small world" was my favorite. Do you remember that there are flying fish and mermaids in there? Where in our world do they live? And, I think I prefer the paper mache creations to the film/special effects of the newly refurbished submarine ride turned Finding Nemo spectacular. Of course, my preference may also have something to do with the fact that I waited in the Finding Nemo line for an hour and only 5 minutes for a tour around the world listening to the unforgettable and incredibly circular "It's a small world after all."

There's another cool thing at Disneyland that you can only find this time of year. Not only is the place all decked out with pumpkins and other Halloween garb, but the Haunted Mansion is transformed into a set inspired from "The Nightmare Before Christmas." I didn't take any pictures, but it was quite a highlight.

I took a picture of the tea cups in memory of a horrible childhood experience. Yup, I lost it on on of those swirling saucers many, many years ago.

I nearly lost it again yesterday. Space Mountain is the lamest ride I've ever been on. Whose idea was it to make an indoor roller coaster? I'm guessing the thought process went something like this, "I know, we can save some money if we build a roller coaster two feet off the ground. No one will know because we'll turn off all the lights, add a multitude of stars, and tell everyone to pretend they are in outer space." I bet there's so much throw-up on the floor in that room. How could you not get sick when you have no clue if the next jerk will be to the right or to the left or if you're going to need to brace your stomach for a vertical lurch higher or lower? Dumb, dumb, dumb. And, no, it's not just that I'm bitter because the digital image of my ride at the "Document Control Center" showed all the people in my group laughing with their hands in the air and me holding my head tightly in my lap.