The Happiest Place on Earth

Thursday we went to Disneyland! Kirsti's mom Roxann and her sister Anna-Liisa are in town visiting, so we all decided to head up to Anaheim for Tas's first ever visit to the Magic Kingdom. (Take the girl to Disneyland, put her in a comfy stroller, give her a sucker, and she's the Happiest Girl on Earth!)


It was a decidedly kid-oriented trip; mostly we stuck to rides and attractions that Tasman could enjoy. Here's the list:

• Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage
• Alice in Wonderland
  
• The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh
• Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters
• Disneyland Railroad
  
• Dumbo the Flying Elephant
• Mr. Toad's Wild Ride
• Mad Tea Party
• Peter Pan's Flight

Notably absent is "it's a small world". It was closed for refurbishment. That didn't hurt my feelings any. I hate that ride. Nevertheless, I think Tas would have enjoyed it.

There were still more rides we wanted to go on, but this was about the best we could do given that we only had a day. (We entered the park around 10:30 or 11:00 a.m. and then we left right after the fireworks show, around 10:00 p.m.)

Kirsti, Anna-Liisa, and I got FastPasses for Space Mountain the minute we arrived in the park. Roxann was nice enough to watch Tas later in the afternoon so that the three of us could go ride when our designated time arrived. Of all the "adult" rides, this is the one I wanted to try the most. The last time we were at Disneyland, Space Mountain was closed for renovations, so this was my first chance (and maybe my only chance for a while) to ride the new and improved Space Mountain. I have rendered judgment: the ride is frickin' awesome!

While Kirsti and I had experienced the Indiana Jones Adventure ride the last time we were at Disneyland, neither Roxann nor A-L had been on it, so we were excited for them to try it out. Unfortunately, the ride was experiencing some kind of technical difficulties and so they closed it down at some point fairly early in the day. They must have had quite a bit of difficulty, in fact, since it was still closed hours later when we checked back again. So that was kind of disappointing.

While Kirsti, A-L, and I were riding Space Mountain, Meme (which is what Tas calls Kirsti's mom) bought the conical princess hat for Tasman. Tas already thought she was a little princess, but now she has a hat to prove it. Overall, we managed to exercise a fair amount of restraint when it came to buying souvenirs, especially for Tasman. We did get some Finding Nemo bath toys for her, and Meme bought her a set of Finding Nemo picture books. Kirsti got her some little decorative hair pins as well.

Overall, Tas really liked the rides. We were a bit worried that she might be afraid of them. She did pitch a tiny fit at Mr. Toad's Wild Ride right before she got in the car, but once the ride was underway, she settled right in and had a ball. But other than that, she was really well behaved. We were also worried that her lack of nap might be a source of some crankiness, but again, we were pleasantly surprised at her generally good demeanor all day long. She was definitely tuckered out by the end of the day. She kept dozing off in her stroller as we wandered though the shops on Main Street, U.S.A. on our way out of the park.

Just a few other highlights from our day. We had a good laugh at a girl with a huge tattoo on her back which included a fairly lengthy poem. We wondered about the spell-checking capabilities of the tattoo artist when we read the phrase "take my breathe away" within the verse. How much would that suck, to have a misspelled word permanently etched across your back?

There was also a minor celebrity sighting. To give you an indication of how minor, Kirsti and I had to think for a few minutes to figure out why the guy looked familiar, and then from what movie or TV show we recognized him. I finally remembered that he was the dorky law student guy from the movie Legally Blonde. I had to look him up on IMDB when I got home. It turns out his name is Oz Perkins, and little did I know, he happens to be Anthony Perkins's son. (You may recall that Anthony Perkins is famous for playing Norman Bates in the original Psycho.) I've include a picture that I found on the internet for your convenience. This was, in fact, the photo that confirmed the sighting since the lady next to him—presumably his wife—was also with him at Disneyland.

Here are a few more photos from our day:

Roxann and Anna-Liisa.

Tas is rumbly in her tumbly.

Tas is on a wild ride with her aunt Anna-Liisa.

Sean and Tasman.

Kirsti and Tasman.