Thanksgiving at the Happiest Place on Earth!

Eric & I were empty-nesting this Thanksgiving and were determined not to be Losers! I suggested altruistic options (feeding the homeless, inviting a soldier) but we compromised (?) by celebrating at Disneyland. It's been years since we have been and this was our first venture sans children. There are lots of benefits when there are just two of you - it costs less, you get to move to the front of the line quite often and instead of seeing the world through the eyes of a child, you get to rediscover your inner child.

We awoke that Thursday morning to a torrential rainfall. We were resigned to staying home and being low key about the day, but the heavens parted and we decided we'd drive to Anaheim and see what the weather looked like away from the coast. All the tourists were thinking the same thing because when we got there it was starting to get crowded.

We got our tickets and joined the surging throngs of holiday participants and made our way up the festivally decorated Main Street. Making a snap decision we headed to our right and started toward Space Mountain without any agenda in place. As we jostled our way through the mass of humanity, the crowds parted and I saw a familiar face standing alone. Surprised I said 'There's Clark.' Eric thought I said park and followed my gaze questioningly to see that I actually was pointing at his brother!!! Amidst all of the hubbub, within five minutes of entering the resort we see family! We couldn't have planned a rendezvous better, in fact if we had planned it, I'm sure someone would have been late or missed the designated meeting place. Clark, Christie, Patrick & Olivia had sneaked into California with Christie's family and had decided to keep their visit on the down low since they didn't have time to visit us on the tight extended-family agenda. We spent a few minutes chatting and then went on our merry way.

We enjoyed all of the usual rides and endured the lengthy wait times. We utilized FastPass for several popular spots, but as the day proceeded the lines actually got shorter.

We enjoyed the opening day of the Holiday Parade on Main Street. It was very beautiful and was funner then a ...

We found a short line at Splash Mountain as the sun was setting and figured we'd go for it. As we approached the loading area I altruistically took the back seat because it was wet and I didn't want Eric to be uncomfortable. Big Mistake! I got DRENCHED! Fortunately I had a sweater in my soaked backpack so I was able to change out of some of the wetter clothes. However my jeans were splattered and I spent the rest of the evening trying to dry out! Fortunately there are no embarrassing pictures of me with my pants looking like I wet them.

We enjoyed dinner without worrying about the price or a child's finicky choices. Young Eric's famous Disney story involves leaning over the balcony at the Carnation Cafe and throwing up! His father whisked him away before the unsuspecting people below them could even respond - (fortunately that inner child stayed home!) My greatest fear is that some day we are going to meet some family with the memory of being on the receiving end of this story! Years later family food history repeated when youthful Ben ordered kabobs in New Orleans square and choked on the meat, forcing Eric to do the Heimlich. Within seconds they were surrounded by Disney employees making sure everything was OK & no lawsuits were being formulated! It was funny that as we sat down to eat in New Orleans Cafe, Ben called to wish us Happy Thanksgiving. We enjoyed a laugh at his timing as we reminisced.

We got to all the attractions we wanted including Thunder Mountain, the Tiki Room and the Jungle Cruise. At the appointed time we reconvened at New Orleans Square and found a spot to watch Fantasmic and the nightly fireworks display. As an added holiday bonus we were feted with snow! As a teenager growing up just blocks away from Disneyland, nightly sparkle and distant rumbles are part of my heritage. You could almost set your clock to the 9:20pm fireworks from the resort.

I've included a couple of videos to share the joy of our Disney adventures.

If you haven't done so yet register now for Free Disneyland admission on your birthday in 2009.