Kristina B. Valcarce - June 2008

Friday, June 13th (cue creepy music here) 2008

Cast: Kristina - aka Birthday Girl aka 38 Special, Dee - look, the girl took me to Disneyland for my birthday, it would be downright RUDE to post her age!

After an almost sleepless night, my alarm goes off at 6:00 AM. I leap out of bed as quietly as possible and get dressed. I go downstairs and eat my Zone bar and pour a nice, hot cup of coffee into a travel mug. (Thank goodness, I have a coffee machine with a timer - last night I set it so that my coffee would be ready when I got up.)

I drive to my church parking lot, where Dee and I agreed to meet. I get there early, naturally, but Dee is close behind me. I take my Disneyland CD, coffee, and bizarre bandolier looking diaper bag (it seemed the most logical choice at the time) and we hop into her car for the drive to DL.

We actually don't hit bad traffic until the Orange Crush, and then proceed into the DL parking structure. There is a line of cars that are not moving. Then, at exactly 8:00 AM, the line starts moving. We pay for parking and note our parking space (Chip 'n' Dale, 9H) before heading for the trams.

Shortly thereafter, we're on a tram heading for the entrance. It takes us just a second to locate will call. Dee picks up our tickets. She has Mickey on her and mine has Pluto on it. Once she realizes this, she switches our tickets so that I'll have Mickey! What a gal!

We head into the entrance and hit the restrooms. As we stroll down Main Street, I check out the scene at the Bank on Main Street, where they activate Annual Passes. (My family and I are buying annual passes and plan to activate them on December 1st, and I want to see if there's a long line. There isn't. On December 1st and 2nd, I'll be at DL with my husband, soon-to-be 3 year old daughter, and parents.)

We realize that they aren't opening the rest of the park until 9:00, so we duck into the Main Street Cinema. There is a couple there who's never seen Steamboat Willie before and they're just cracking up, enjoying it thoroughly.

The park opens and we race to Adventureland for Indiana Jones. But for some bizarre reason, there is a huge crowd of people standing right in front of the ride, apparenrly confused by the stand-in line versus the FastPass distribution center versus the FastPass return line. This is just impossible to navigate, so we decide to come back later.

We breeze into New Orleans Square and get right on Pirates. We sing along - well, DEE sings along, and for some reason, I can only remember the SECOND part of each verse, which she laughs at!

As soon as we get off, we move along to the Haunted Mansion. Dee figures out exactly where the "stretch room" will open and let us into the Doom Buggy loading area, which saves us the trouble of pushing, squeezing and "excuse me, pardon me" - ing after the door opens.

After the Haunted Mansion we cut through to Frontierland to ride Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. It's been so long since I've ridden a "big people ride" that I forget to take my hat off. It almost blows away, but I catch it and save it!

The park has only been open for an hour and already I've done three of my Must Do's! We head into Fantasyland and decide on a whim to ride the Casey Jr. Circus Train. I have actually never done this before. It's a blast, but the view of Storybook Village is better, slower, and has a narration on the Storybook Land Canal Boats. However, I think my soon to be 3 year old would love a ride on the Circus Train when we return in December!

Dee admits for having a soft spot in her heart for the King Arthur Carroussel, so we hop on. We enjoy the ride but admit that it's too short! This is one of my daughter Lorien's favorite rides and for a moment I imagine she's sitting right in front of me saying "Neigh, neigh!" We'll definitely do this in December.

Now we head for the Matterhorn. I don't think I've ever ridden this alone; I've always been in front of my husband in bobsled position. So when I sit down, I'm overwhelemed by the amount of leg room I have! It's such a fun ride.

Since we're pretty close to Toontown, we decide to browse the shops. I've got a mission - buy an outfit for my daughter (on a budget of $30 max) and buy postcards for 4 kids on this list. (They're in the mail, by the way!) So we look in the Gag Factory but nothing really appeals to me. All the shirt/pants combos are way too expensive, so I hope that I can find a dress later.

We head for Tomorrowland just in time to catch the Jedi Training Academy at Tomorrowland Terrace. Ironically, the Jedi Instructor is the same guy we saw in October 2007. He's great!

Lunch at Tomorrowland Terrace is very good. I get a charbroiled cheeseburger, fries (tastes very fresh) and a Diet Coke, for $11.08. Very good burger. I had been craving a good burger so I feel satisfied.

Neither of us has any trouble eating and then going on thrill rides, so we head to Star Tours. There is a field trip of kids from Long Beach on the ride and one of them is scared since she's never ridden before. Dee is such a friendly, approachable person, and manages to convince the kid that the ride is going to be great. Still, the ride starts and the little girl grabs Dee's hand and squeezes it tight! But, after the ride and the lights go on, the girl admits that she had a blast.

We get deposited into the Star Trader shop and I fall in love with a white T shirt with a Stormtrooper face on it and TK 421 printed on it. (Any other Star Wars fan get the reference?) But this is The Mouse For Less, folks, and I have way too many Disney T- shirts, both World and Land, so I don't even look at the price.

Now it's Space Mountain time! I love this ride and I can't wait for it to start. Although I have an absolute blast on it, there is a very obnoxiously loud teenage girl behind us screaming so loudly that Dee's left ear nearly stops working. I mean, girlish enthusiasm is great, I've been a teenager and I kind of sort of remember that, but this went beyond "I'm excited" and went into the realm of "I want to scream so loud that everyone on this ride hears it."

We glance at the horrid picture of us and move on! Another Ladies' Room stop and we decide it's Ice Cream Time! We go to the Gibson Girl Ice Cream Parlour and Dee treats me to a birthday double scoop sugar cone. We eat at a table with an enourmus jade green elephant on it. We sit directly behind the elephant's, um, behind. A very nice lady is there with a girl almost Lorien's age and I ask her where she got the girl's dress, since I'm looking for something like it. She says she got it at the Disney store half price because - get this - another little girl had tried it on AND POOPED IN IT. The Disney store was very honest and told her this - they washed it, of course - but the dress originally had a little snap panty at the crotch where they, er, incident occurred, and the mother simply bought the dress half price and cut the panty off.

We decide it's time for Indiana Jones - the second attempt. We pass by the Dapper Dans on our way there. Now, I remember the Dapper Dans from WDW back "in the day" as it were. Dee remembers the DL Dapper Dans from her childhood. Both Dapper Dans we remember were old timers who obviously had sung together for years, and were FAB. These guys are young, good looking, and they sing just fine, but they strike us as four guys who auditioned for Disney and got thrown together. I should warn you that both Dee and I sing and we're pretty picky about these things.

We head for Indiana Jones. The line claims to be 60 minutes long but it doesn't look that bad, so we hop on. We get the wonderful "Ladies and gentlement, the ride has broken down" speech. Someone on line tells us the ride was down all day yesterday. We decide to wait for 5 minutes. 5 minutes comes and goes and there's no other announcement, so we decide to bail and come back later.

Happy Accident Alert! We just happen to catch an impromptu Indiana Jones stunt show on the room of Tropic Traders. It's fun, the music is infectious, and both the Indy and the Bad Guy do good jobs.

The park looks busy for the first time all day, so we declare it's Snack and Shopping Time. We head into Critter Country to look for Lorien's dress. They have really cute dresses for infants, but nothing for toddlers. Dee had a really bad Splash Mountain experience when she came here for her own birthday in March, and it's not one of my must-do's, so we skip it.

We head to the Mint Julep Bar for fritters and a Diet Coke. Once again Dee treats, and I start to protest. She's paid for my ticket, ice cream, and now fritters, and even though it's my birthday celebration, I'm starting to feel uncomfortable. So we agree that I'm treating for dinner. Well, we sort of agree, as in I say I am and Dee says we'll talk about it later.

We decide it's a great time to hop on the train and head to Main Street for some serious shopping. At the Toontown station, the conductor tells us we have to wait for the parade floats to go past. Then we've got the green light to go ahead.

Second Happy Accident Alert of the day! As we're passing through, we look left, and there is the next parade float waiting to come out. It's the one with the train, and Peter Pan is inside. Tinker Belle is sitting cross legged on the top, and they both wave enthusiastically at us. The whole train lights up and starts waving back - "hi, Tink! Hi, Peter!"

As we pass by It's a Small World the conductor tells us it'll reopen on November 28th. Gulp. I knew that IASW was closed. I had heard that it would reopen "in the Fall" so I purposely set up Lorien's trip to DL to be checking into the hotel on Novemeber 30th, and going to the parks on December 1st and 2nd. Now I'm paranoid that there will be hoards of IASW fans lining up day and night to ride. Well, what's done is done. The goal of that trip will be to ride IASW as much as we can. We'll aim to be on Main Street the morning of the 1st as soon as it's open so we can get our AP's activated. Then we'll aim to be either on the Train or strolling as fast as we can to IASW as soon as the rest of park opens. Wish us luck!

We get off at Main Street and head into Disney Clothiers, where I find 3 adorable dresses, all within my price range. I ask Dee for her advice, and she takes one away, saying I should choose between the remaining two. I pick a pink dress with white polka dots and Mickey on the bodice. Dee announces that she's buying the dress she's holding for my daughter. Did I mention that Dee's her godmother? The dress has a yellow bodice with Tinker Belle on it, with a multi colored polka dot skirt.

We then pick out the postcards for the kids on this list and pay for our purchases. I have a 10% all purchases of $50 or more coupon from the Birnbaum book, so we pay for everything together, and Dee gives me cash later. As I'm paying, we chat up the salesladies, since the shops are deserted (the parade is going on) and when they find out it's my birthday celebration, they give me a birthday button. My first ever Disney birthday button! All day long, every CM who sees me wishes me a happy birthday.

The breakdown - the dress I bought Lorien is $22.00 and the one Dee bought her is $28.00, plus postcards which I don't bother to price!

Okay, we've got to try Indiana Jones again. The line claims to be 60 minutes again. We hop on. Within a few minutes, "Ladies and gentlemen..." NO! NOT AGAIN! This time we decide to stick it out. After what seems like an eternity, the line starts moving and everyone cheers. This was NOT a 60 minute wait. It was a 90 minute wait. By far the longest line of the day.

But it's worth it. This ride is just amazing. I mentioned before that Dee and I are both singers. You know the part of the soundtrack called the Well of Souls, where the high sopranos sing really loudly? We can tell that it's coming up - and we both burst into song at the same time. The other people in our Jeep must think we're nuts.

We get off and go for dinner. The second showing of the parade is going on. I've never eaten at the Carnation Cafe before, and it's one of only 3 restaurants in DL Park that are waitress served, so Dee suggests we go there.

No wait at all for a table for 2, and we manage to snag a table that has a partially obstructed view of the parade. Dinner is excellent - and I insist on treating! Dee gets a Chef's Salad, which she says is very good but she wished there was something crunchy like sunflower seeds on it. She also points out that because of her radiation treatments, her taste buds aren't working so well. She also gets an iced tea.

I get a chicken, bacon, lettuce and tomato croissant sandwich with fresh fruit (strawberries, melon and grapes) on the side. It's delicious and satisfying. The entire check comes to only $24.86, which blows me away. Got to be one of the best deals in the park, when you consider this is waitress service.

Service was very good, friendly, and quick, so I leave a larger tip than my usual double- the-tax. The parade ends and we both realize Mickey wasn't in it. It just doesn't seem like a day at Disneyland without seeing Mickey, so we head to the Main Street Train Station, and take the traint to Toontown to meet him.

Well, we decide that we've got to have fun with this. We go in as Hollywood agents. "Mickey!" I declare. "LOVED your last picture. Congratulations on all your success. Listen, are you happy with your representation?" I say while shaking his hand.

Dee jumps in with, "Loved the last pic, Mic, but we could do so much better for you. Give me a call, we'll do lunch, okay?" We leave and wave at Mickey, who is playing along, and the CM's are looking at us like we're NUTS. I should point out that we get that treatment a lot. :-)

Toontown is clearing out because the fireworks will be starting soon. We decide to head to Fantasyland to do some of the dark rides while most of the kids are gone. Strange - Fantasyland is closing up, too. None of the rides are letting anyone else on. We browse in the Princess Shop for a while (I cannot believe how expensive those princess costumes are - if my daughter gets older and becomes a Princess fan I'm done for) but they're even clearing out the shops. We're both DL vets and don't remember them ever closing Fantasyland for fireworks, so we're perplexed.

We head to Main Street and slowly work our way through the shops on the way to the benches in front of the Train Station. We stop in 20th Century Timepieces. Since I'm coming back here in early December, I decide that then, I'll buy myself a new Mickey watch for Christmas. By then I'll be an AP holder and maybe I'll even get a discount.

Another bathroom break, and then we're ready to watch the fireworks. As soon as the show begins, we realize why they emptied Fantasyland. There are a LOT of special effects - more than either of us have ever seen in a DL Park fireworks show. Some of these must have been based in or near Fantasyland. It's an amazing show - each segment is dedicated to a different land in Disneyland.

As soon as it ends and we hear that LeAnn Rhimes song starting (sorry, but that song annoys me) we head for the exit. It's very easy to get out. "I want to stay forever" I say. Dee immediately comes back with, "Oh, do you want to stay? The park is open until midnight." "NO!" I laugh. The truth is, I wish I could, but tomorrow morning life goes back to normal, and I can't tell my daughter (or my wonderful husband, who is watching her today) "Sorry, Momma has to sleep in - I got home from Disneyland at one in the morning."

We get on the tram to the parking structure. Getting off the structure, we have our truly only ugly moment of the day. We're not sure how to get to our car so we start walking a certain way, only to have a CM SCREAM at us that we can't go that way - go the other way! Now, okay, that was not necessary. Her attitude was lousy. A simply, "Sorry, folks - please go that way" would have sufficed.

We leave the parking structure, miss the entrance to the 5, find it, and listen to a Disneyland CD on the way back to the church parking lot. We're there before the CD is over so I tell Dee to borrow it until she's got a chance to listen to all the tracks.

We hug and I thank her profusely, although I could thank her for the rest of my life and it wouldn't be enough. I hop in my car and drive home. I walk in the house and to my surprise, my husband is still awake, playing his Father's Day Gift (PlayStation 3).

"How'd it go?" he asks, giving me a hug.

I take a deep sigh, hugging him back. "BEST. BIRTHDAY. EVER!"