A Cold Day in Disneyland  -  Feb 16th, 2009 11:06pm

Last year, Kristin wanted to go to Disneyland for her birthday.  Unfortunately, the birthday planning committee succumbed to a case of fail-itis.  This year however, weather be damned, the trip was going to occur and I kept my promise to attend.

The Date: Friday, Feb 13th
Temperature: 40 degrees(f)
Chance of Rain: 128%
# of Umbrellas for 6 people: 1
The plan: Stay dry and off of the small world ride even if it costs me my life.

I have been to Disneyland several times throughout my life.  As a kid I was definitely taken in by its wonder.  As a young adult, it was a yawn at best.  At this point in my life, I found the place a real dichotomy.  Classic Rides like the Matterhorn or the Haunted Mansion hit me as engineering marvels and still made me smile :)  Newer rides though were boring at best, and gimmicky attempts to cash in on the good name of Pixar at worst.  I can't tell if the place is stumbling through an adolescence or if its on life support hoping for a visionary donor.

Fortunately the day began with the classics: Space Mountain, and the Yellow Submarine.  We were also fortunate enough to have a stranger thrust upon us a fistfull of free churros which took care of brunch.  A few rides later it started to rain and we to retreated to the shelter of the Pirates of the Carribean - a ride that spawned exactly 1 good movie and has since been tainted by its inferior sequels.  At least they kept Eddie Murphy the hell away from the Haunted Mansion.  Apparently even and endless supply of greed wasn't enough to summon such demonic assistance.

But it would be many hours before we would reach the Haunted Mansion.  The void in between became victim to Candice's appearance on the scene and this is where my story breaks down.  I am vaguely aware of my participation in Thunder Mountain, Mr Toads Wild Ride, and even Small World against my better judgment.  I know that I ate a series of soups, teas, and donuts that day to try and keep warm.  I also took a few pictures during the remainder of the day.  As to the exact nature of this void, such mysteries exist for a reason....

When I finally regained some level of consciousness and feeling in my toes, it was well past dark.  The rain had stopped but was replaced with even colder night air so we decided to make 1 last run to Space Mountain then bail.  I'm sure it would look hokey if someone turned on the lights in there, but I really do have a fondness for that ride and it was a good way to cap off the night.

When we finally arrived back at the hotel, I was soaked to the bone, in desperate need of a warm shower, and a desired nothing more than 15 hour nap.  The night was for the young though, and food and tequila followed before we all eventually gave in and shivered our asses back to the hotel.

There was more to this trip including lunch at The Stinking Rose to knock 2 items off my 100 things list.  I also spent time at the Long Beach aquarium though it was all colored by the remnants of my previous day at the park.  In the end I returned home, ready for a vacation from my vacation.  But hey - only 26 items to go and at least I found some redeeming qualities to a place I had all but written off.