Disneyland of the Mind Part Two

Main Street at last - with its sights and sounds and smells. It is the first act of any Disneyland day and it works its magic precisely by being that place that immediately takes you out of your own world and all its cares and discomforts and replaces it with a world of simpler times, nostalgia, but also dreams for a bright future. Main Street works precisely because it evokes a period of yesteryear before all the cares of the world became daily headlines while at the same time leading you into a magic hub where you can select which dreams you wish to explore - Adventure, History, Fantasy or Future. It starts with a train station, city hall, opera house and flagpole and ends with Sleeping Beauty's castle. No other street like it exists in the world (unless you count the ones in Florida, Tokyo, Paris, Hong Kong and soon in Shanghai... ;)

I always pause just inside the main square and soak in that feeling, take a deep breath of Disney air, and exhale Disney magic. In 0-60 flat, I'm forgetting the cares of the world and completely immersed in the fun of the day. I look around at all the old familiar favorites.

City Hall, on the left, with the stairs that lead up to guest services. My parents once got lost in Disneyland and I ended up at City Hall waiting for the cast members to find them. Ever since then I associate City Hall with OFFICIAL Disneyland. If there's a place where the Mayor, the City Council, and the Police Department discuss Disney Zoning Law and Parking Fines, it's in Disneyland's City Hall. I usually avoid it.

Next to City Hall is the Fire Department. Unless the fire engine is out, I usually walk past this building. Across the street from the Fire Department and directly across the square from where I'm still standing, is the Emporium. I can see the shop windows from here with their moving electronic displays of the latest Disney animated movie (mostly re-releases when I was a kid). I'll check out the Emporium later.

In the center of the square is the good, old-fashioned, city park with its flagpole at the center, four triangular garden plots surrounded by low fences, and more than a half dozen wooden benches. This is an ideal location to meet people and, indeed, has been our fall-back location should we ever get separated from the main group since the beginning of time. (It's rumored that Jesus's parents found him at the flagpole after he got separated from them in Jerusalem... that's how old it is ;)

On the right side of the square is the bank where my Dad will go later to write a check for some money. Only many years later will they install a convenient ATM machine. And now, even those have become obsolete. Around the side of the bank is the first set of restrooms and a water fountain. I note these locations as they are always important to discover.

Next to the bank is the Opera House which is still showing Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln. Although I've seen the show hundreds of times, I still find it inspirational. And besides, it's fun to watch them build Disneyland through time-lapse photography while Whistle While You Work plays in the background. We'll make a trip to Lincoln a little later.

Next to the Opera House is the Main Street version of the hat shoppe. It's usually pricier and fancier than the other hat shoppes. I don't usually go there.

Across the little street from the hat shoppe is the bottom part of the right side of stores on main street. Right now it has a tiny little exhibit space where they have maps of upcoming theme park additions. Last year, we all thrilled to see the new Discoveryland and Circus Land additions they were planning for where Bear Country and Frontierland ends. I heard that that project was canceled and its rumored there's a new model showing Westcot now. I can't wait to check it out.

Of course, its first thing in the day and our ride quotient has yet to be filled. So we quickly grab each others hands and start walking into Main Street and go with the crowds up Main Street towards the hub. We've got to get some rides done before the park starts to get crowded, and Dave loves to ride Space Mountain.

To be continued...

Disneyland of the Mind part one

There are certain days where the weather is just right and the air is still and I can almost hear the distant screams of Yeti and human mixing on the Matterhorn, the calliope music from the Swiss Family Tree House, and the roar of engines preparing to be engaged on the autopia. I can practically smell the buttered popcorn and feel the cool water spray from the Pirates of the Caribbean. On days like these, it's not hard to slip away from my time-bound world and float backwards through time to visit a Disneyland that largely exists only in my imagination now. Won't you join me?

Our day begins, as usual, in the small motel room bordering the park. The sun is just peaking through the marine layer from nearby Costa Mesa and it promises to be a scorcher. I eagerly climb out of bed and throw on a pair of shorts and a t-shirt and I'm ready to go. My mad money is socked away in my vinyl Mickey Mouse wallet and I'm already at the door urging my siblings to hurry up. They are still in bed, of course.

After a short, forced, breakfast of the continental variety and a quick perusal of the various Disneyland postcards in the motel gift shop, I finally get to leave my old world behind and start the long trek to kid heaven. We walk out of the carport and on to the well-worn sidewalks of Anaheim along with dozens of other families, and then, when there is a break in the traffic, we dash across the busy street to the other side. I'm already excited, but my head feels about ready to explode when I witness the first monorail train of the day racing by overhead on its way into the parking lot and towards the Disneyland Hotel. We're practically there!

Its a long tedious and agonizing walk to the entrance of the park. Tour buses, taxis, and cars drive past us and into the parking lot entrance. I'm envious of them, in a way. They're getting on the rides faster than I am. I've been up nearly a half hour and I haven't even entered the parking lot yet. But, in another way, I count these walks as some of my favorites - like a long walk on a gangplank, or the last mile of a marathon. I've waited SO LONG to be this close to Disneyland that I want to savor every last moment of it.

We finally walk past the parking entrance where all the cars are lined up and paying their astronomical parking fees ($3.00 per day! Yikes!) and we are through. There it is! The majestic entrance - its view blocked by Ticket Booths and two monorail tracks - with its berm, train station, and castle beyond. I'm actually here in the parking lot. If it's possible, my excitement ticks over from 10 to 11. I want to run all the way across the Plains of Marathon (Or as other people call it - the Parking Lot), but I can't leave my party behind. A) They have the tickets. And B) They have the tickets.

So we trudge across the parking lot, walking faster than the parking lot trams could take us. We walk past cars and tram stops and giant fenced in electrical towers. We walk past light stands with cartoon characters posted on each one (E for Eyeore - don't forget where we parked!) We cross under the first monorail track and we're in the intimate tour-bus and VIP parking area. The crowds are coalescing as we all move forward towards the ticket booths and the entrance. The excitement grows with each step. The anticipation builds. Buzz carries us forward like homing pigeons.

There is a small central tree lined walk way, now. We're almost there. The ticket booths and the crowds of people around them loom ahead. The inside loop of the monorail (the return leg) is in front of us and it's possible to turn east and see monorails coming and going into the park. Up ahead we hear the first steam engine churning and see the train slide into Main Street station. We pass under the inside track and find the shortest ticket line and get into it.

The ticket booths are decorated with attraction posters. I see all my old familiar favorites - the Haunted Mansion, Alice in Wonderland, Adventures thru Inner Space, the Peoplemover, and, of course, Space Mountain. But the sight of the new and incomparable Splash Mountain makes me giddy. The poster is so modern compared to the others, but it speaks to the awesome excitement of things to come.

And now... the dread moment of the entire day... the ticket window, and next to it, the list of attractions that are closed for the day. Thank God! The only thing not operating are the stupid Tiki Birds! Hallelujah! The vacation is saved!

I'm waiting for my book of tickets, but instead I'm handed an all day pass - good for everything except the Shootin' Arcade! AWESOME! I can ride Haunted Mansion like a bajillion times if I want! My Dad says something about meeting at the flag pole if we're lost and at the hot dog place for lunch, but he's already retreating in the distance as I grab my sister's hand and we run towards the entrance gate with my brother easily keeping pace and then out-running us.

There is nothing so satisfying as the sound of the turnstyle click at the entrance to Disneyland.

We are through and we head immediately to the left, past the rose and tulip planted Mickey Mouse head, and the group of Japanese tourists forming up with a guide and standing right in the middle of the only decent path through the crowd. We pass the newsstand on the left and I look up. There is the bronze plaque. Welcome to the World of Yesterday, Tomorrow and Fantasy. Into the tunnel. More attraction posters which I fondly love, but which are only a final tease before the real thing.

Out of the tunnel and into Main Street USA and the real world left millions of miles behind. I am home... at last.

To be continued...