May 7, 1993
Dear Everyone:
We had a great time at
Disneyland. In fact, we had
such a great time that my
feet are still hurting.
“Jeannie”: "What?
Only 10 hours on your feet and
your fading on me already?"
We arrived Thursday night and got into the first of many lines, to
register at the hotel. We were
provided with a typical hotel room, featuring a stunning view of the
parking lot. Upon reflection, we
decided that it could very well have been the very same room that we
stayed in the last time. Quite a
nice room, actually, with big beds, a desk and one of those unique
pieces of furniture that combine a refrigerated bar (locked, of course)
and television with drawers and a cupboard.
Okay, so I took up all the drawers. She
told me she'd finished
unpacking! And the way, “Jeannie”
"hangs" her clothes up on the nearest piece of furniture, or floor (it's
genetic), naturally I assumed…well, no bother, I could shift some things
around to clear a few drawers.
Friday.
The weather was
very nice, mid-70s with a cool breeze, not too sunny, which is why
we got just the tiniest bit sunburned before the end of the day (we
weren't paying attention). The
Park wasn't too crowded, although you never saw such a conglomeration of
temporarily-short people in one place at the same time in all your life.
And the strollers!!!
Those ankle-biters were
everywhere.
I realize that the strollers are really a convenience for the parents
who don't want to carry, or be slowed down by, the kids.
But they worry me.
Are we raising a generation of
kids who will expect to ride everywhere in life?
Kids whose parents well
admonished them with, "Why, when I was your age, I had to
walk all the way from the
front door to the car!"
Shopping.
Of course we went shopping.
At Disneyland, if it isn't a food
stand of some sort, it's a shop, or a combination of both.
We even found a shop called
"Disney Villains", devoted exclusively to all the Bad Guys from various
movies.
“Jeannie” was ready to go shopping even before we got to the hotel.
While still on the bus, she kept spotting favorable stores as we passed
them on the freeway. “Frank”, the
friendly driver, must've heard her because he pointed out a shuttle bus
ahead of us that would pick you up and take you to one shopping center
after another.
Saturday.
The original plan was that
“Jeannie” would go and take her test (the "official" reason for our
trip) and I would hang around the Park until noon, when we would try to
regroup at the hotel room. This
plan lasted just as long as it took for me to fall asleep again right
after “Jeannie” left at 7:00. Hey!
We were out until
midnight the night before.
However, by the time I did wake
up and had a bath and was just about ready to go, “Jeannie” had returned
from her test, so there was no need to go through elaborate efforts to
connect with each other. As
usual, my timing was perfect. We
had lunch and went back to the Park for another 12 hours of fun, fun,
fun.
Speaking of lunch, we ate just about everything in sight, working on the
premise that, since Disneyland is based on Make Believe, so is the food
and therefore the calories are all make believe, too.
Unfortunately, Saturday brought what the locals call the "Santa Ana
Winds", which also brought lots of tourist with them.
It was hot and very crowded.
What we didn't realize until
later, was that there was a convention of designer Teddy Bear and Doll
Makers at the hotel that week. (It
is, after all, a convention center.) The
conventioneers were there to show off their 1993 designer lines.
(I wondered why we kept
seeing displays of bears all over the place.)
This meant that
that particular Saturday was
the day for Teddy Bear and
designer doll enthusiasts from all over Southern California to come to
the hotel and Park. If you don't
think there is a substantial market in designer dolls, take a look at
any issue of TV Guide.
You'll find at least one ad for a
"collector’s" doll.
Not to mention "signature" Teddy Bears starting "as low as $150".
Seriously, as Mother says, some
people have more dollars than sense.
Sunday.
I don't know how much we paid for
our "Magic Morning" tickets, but it was worth every penny.
With Magic Morning, you get into
the Park an hour ahead of the general public, with access to all the
Disney creatures wandering around, all the attractions, and breakfast.
All of this is limited to just
one theme area. Since our
designated theme area was Tomorrowland, we ignored the critters in favor
of hitting all the "high spots"; specifically, the Matterhorn, Star
Tours and Space Mountain (twice in a row!), while there were no long
lines.
By this time, of course, we had already learned a valuable lesson:
Long, dangling earrings and
roller coasters don't mix.
So, to recap: Go to Disneyland in
the spring or fall, avoiding the height of the season.
Go in the middle of the week, if
you can. Definitely
get the Magic Morning deal. And,
by the way, the Monorail is out of commission this year.
After nearly 40 years, it's being
overhauled and re-rerouted because of yet another new attraction,
currently under construction. However,
there are charming little trams that scuttle back and forth between the
hotel and the Park; the longest we had to wait for a ride was about 5
minutes.
Love, as always,
Pete
PS. Our neighbors, here on the 30th Floor have moved and they took their copy machine with them. We have a copier of our own now, but it doesn't do back-to-back, so I'm going back to individual pages. P.
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