The old days of the Mickey Mouse Club may be over, but Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, Daisy, Donald and the gang can still dance the night away. Actually, it took Alex a little while to get into the swing of things during his first trip to Disneyland. The train and monorail tours were instant hits, and we went round-and-round the carousel. But, standing in line to fly with Dumbo took all the patience that a kid could muster.The highlight of the day was giving a ‘high-5’ to “the Mouse” as Alex calls him. Mickey took the time to greet the whole family, and we took home the traditional mouse ears as a souvenir of Alex’s first trip to Toon Town. The park is now known as the Disneyland Resort, which includes California Adventure, Downtown Disney and numerous hotels. A simple one day pass will cost $69, but there are endless park-hopper, multi-day, and annual passes. For rides, Disneyland still offers the traditional favorites like Pirates of the Caribbean and the Haunted House, but the new favorites are the re-designed submarine, the upgraded Space Mountain and Indiana Jones. (“It’s a Small World” is closed). If you’ve only got a day, then come at 8am when it opens and stay until after the fireworks at 10pm. The Fast Pass will get you on more of the rides. Or, even if you are a local to SoCal, plan a family vacation and see all the treats of Anaheim.
Alex’s next trip to the happiest place on earth will probably be longer than the half day we lasted, and it definitely will not be in the hot month of July while flooded with tourists, but now that he is expert at standing in line, we’ll be ready for many more rides.
