Missing something?
After the challenge to blog this month, it got me to thinking on things that I haven’t done in a while. Things that I used to do frequently, if not everyday.
Take the image above for one. When was the last time you wrote someone a letter? Not an e-mail, but an actual pen on paper letter.
Perhaps a “thank-you” note for a fine gift? Or maybe to express sympathy on the passing of a loved one?
Those crickets are getting pretty loud out here.
Okay, I’ll even accept a post card to Mom on that last real vacation.
Times have changed haven’t they? Now, you can text someone or check-in on Facebook or Instagram to let everyone know the latest. And if it is really urgent, well that is why cell phones were invented. You can actually speak to someone right now!
Is it just me or have we lost something? Writing a letter, with you own hand, one had to compose thoughts and put pen to paper. And when done, an envelope and stamp sent that little missive on it’s merry way. Trusted to the United States Postal Service to make the journey safe to the hand of another to open and read.
Same goes for conversation. Riding the train to work, one cannot help but overhear people. Listening as they chat back and forth. I find it all too amusing as one person says something and then another replies off on a completely different tangent. No give and take. No statement and response. And don’t get me started on vocabulary. What vocabulary?
If we don’t get “expletive deleted” this and “expletive deleted” that and a few colorful metaphors relating to one’s heritage, we feel absolutely cheated!
Personal communication is a wonderful thing. Maybe with some luck, that next big thing in technology will bring it back to us. With the style and elocution we deserve, maybe? PLEASE!!!
And don’t get me started about entertainment… Television? Oy! 57 channels and nothing on was never truer than it is today.
Photous Miscellaneous
Going to start a new item today for the Blue Parrot!
Once a week, I’ll share a somewhat random image. It may lead into another story or it may be the story all by it’s lonesome.
So here ya go!
Check back tomorrow and see where or what this leads to!
Who?
Or in which we learn who is Roger and why should we be reading these Ruminations?
A very good question.
I’ve been online since the Dark Ages. Back before the Internet even. Yes, when dinosaurs walked online. My first computer experiences were in the early 70’s at the Lawrence Hall of Science at Berkeley. If you have ever seen Colosuss: The Forbin Project, that’s the LHS buildings. Everything from games (especially Lunar Lander, at which I eventually became quite good at safely landing with enough fuel to take off again) and printing ASCII photos. Using a teletype terminal (printing on yellow rolled paper) and if you really got good at things, you could save your work on paper tape. Later I moved on programming in Basic to an early HP mainframe at Diablo Valley College in Pleasant Hill, CA. Unlike others, I never punched cards or learned Fortran or Cobol or any of those other programming languages.
My first exposure to home computers came in the form of the Radio Shack TRS-80. A friend had an Apple ][e, I bought used from him. My first product purchased directly from Cupertino was an Apple][si (with a color monitor, the really big step forward) paid for with the Apple Credit card. That led me online to local bulletin board systems using a dial up connection. Somewhere stored away, I still have that 300, 600, 1200 baud modem from those days.
I charged into the online world thanks to a friend who had joined the new America Online service – then only for Apple computers, no PC’s! An experience with online chatting (anyone from those days remember the Best Little Chathouse?) got me to sign on and eventually lead to a volunteer role hosting a weekly chat for fans of the Quantum Leap television series. I also had accounts on GEnie and eWorld (Apple’s stumble into and out of the online world). My first Macintosh came in the form of a Mac SE with a Seagate 40 meg external hard drive. Hooked I was…
My role with AOL shifted as I became part of their Remote Staff, managing the Television Viewer Community. What started as one simple chat room grew to encompass message boards, file libraries and multiple chat rooms. And we added lots of content including Soap Opera, Star Trek and X Files viewers communities. Compensation was in the form of royalties. A percentage of all of the hours spent by AOL users online; back in the days when AOL charged customers by the hour. AOL was a mighty interesting place in those days before the Internet. But with the arrival of online communities and web sites that you could use for free, AOL was bound to change. Folks like myself found things moving in a different direction that did not include us.
My Disney fandom? Online, that goes way back to the first Internet communities. Officially, rec.arts.disney was where it all began. I got to know some good folks online and met a few of them in person from time to time. But when web sites started to spring up, I joined in the discussion there and grew an even wider circle of friends all sharing the same interest. After one experience at Disneyland, I wrote a piece and submitted it to a site hoping to go on board as one of their writers.
While that did not happen, I eventually pitched the same story to another friend who was starting up a site for her ex-husband. That became Jim Hill Media, now one of the most popular sites for stories on all facets of the Disney universe. I wrote over 200 stories for JHM between October of 2002 and August of 2006. Originally, my take was to write a piece once a week that exposed Disney dweebs to something other than Disney. That morphed into all kinds of things and I took up a title for my columns – Ruminations. All over the map and then some.
After a rest, I took up blogging, although resisting that title for some time. Call it an old school thing, but to this day, I like to think of writing a column, in the newspaper sense of the word. But what is a blog anyway, but an online column? Hence, The Blue Parrot was born (as part of Apple’s iWeb) in January of 2007. The name for the blog came about after one too many late nights of watching “Casablanca”. You may recall that The Blue Parrot was the cafe owned by Signor Ferrari (played by Sidney Greenstreet). My pal Ken Mitchroney recreated some art for me inspired by the film and away we go.
A couple weeks ago, I made the jump from iWeb to WordPress. And thanks to Mike Mueller (an old high school pal), I have taken up the challenge of blogging every weekday in April. A good way to relaunch things.
Now that is nowhere near all of the story of who Roger Colton is and why this blog is here. But, loyal readers, it does give you something of an idea of where it came from and where it be headed.
Hopefully, you’ll enjoy what comes. And take some time to check out the links up top in the right corner. There are stories from The Blue Parrot since 2007 as well as most of the stories from my Jim Hill Media days. It’s been a long strange trip so far and I’m gonna keep sharing tales from along the way.
Have Castle, Will Travel
Something I used to do when I first launched the Blue Parrot was to reblog a different piece every Saturday. So, it’s a tradition. This one first appeared on Jim Hill Media on August 1st, 2003.
Let’s set the WABAC machine back to the days of knights, dragons and damsels in distress, right?
No, I am not talking about the high school antics of Dungeons and Dragons, nor will I engage in a descriptive bout of the B&D scene, although it is a bit amusing how they cross over with interests. We will not be talking about accommodations in the style of your average Renaissance Pleasure Faire. No aging hippies selling local arts, crafts and potions; no straw bundles; no bulging bodices with breasts broiling in the sun… This will be civilized. But then again, a healthy dose of fantasy has never hurt anyone.
It is all about castles today and there is no better place to start than along the Romantic section of the Rhine River in Germany. This is generally accepted as the area north of Mainz/Wiesbaden (cities on opposite sides of the river and capitols of their respective states of Rhineland-Palatinate and Hesse) and south of Cologne. It is also home to the area known as the Rheingau, that you may recall from an earlier Ruminations on wine.
So, I can hear you asking, why a castle? Fair question. Why would anyone build a castle? It’s all about defense! That’s why. Think of a time when you and yours might have needed the safety of a place to retreat to. Okay, so a cave might work as well, but wouldn’t you know there usually isn’t one around when you really need it.
As a landowner, you probably would face a time when someone would come and try to take that land from you. If you owned enough land, you probably had people working for you to make their living from the land as well. The castle provided a place to keep you and your people safe when an enemy came.
It didn’t hurt you if your castle also showed how much you could afford to your neighbors as well. Combine defense with style, and you get the castle of your dreams. (One can hear the marketing types warming up now…)
But any defense is only as good as the weapons used against it. Back in the days of siege warfare, your castle would keep you safe while the enemies camped outside. Once gunpowder and cannons came into play that was pretty much the end of the castle, as holes in walls tended to negate the effect of that particular defense.
So, today for every castle you see restored, there are as many or more in a state of ruin. But those that do remain are worth a visit.
When we were looking at where to visit while planning our return visit to Germany, there were lots of good German castles to choose from. If we had really been interested, why we could even have purchased one of our own! We opted to spend a few nights in one instead.
Now when most folks think of a castle, there is one that usually comes to mind. Neuschwanstein is as close to the fairy tale castle as you will ever find. Built as the passion of Bavaria’s “Mad King” Ludwig II, it is one of the major tourist destinations in southern Germany. Compare it to the Sleeping Beauty Castle at Disneyland, and you’ll note the obvious influence. There are tours of the grounds and the surrounding area.
Back to the Rhine, there are many great towns with great castles to choose from. During the year, there are some wonderful activities. A perennial favorite is The Rhine in Flames fireworks spectacular — this year on Saturday, August 11th. From many of the small towns and from boats along the river, there are great places to watch this show unfold. Imagine Fantasmic on a scale of miles, and you’re there! In 2003, there was even a railway excursion with a steam locomotive hauled passenger train along the Rhine complete with a stop to view it all.
One of the towns in the area where this event is held is Linz. With a live webcam mounted on one of the ferries the crosses the river, you’ll get a great view without having to make the trip.
When we went on our return to Germany in September of 2001, we visited several of the towns along the way. (I’ll mention a bit about them later.) A combination of driving our rented Mercedes station wagon (in which I am fairly sure we crossed the Rhine using the ferry at Linz) and using the KD (Koln-Dusseldorfer) cruise boat offered one good way to take it all in. Their steam paddle-wheeler, the S.S. Goethe is a classic way to travel here. The DB offers rail service on both sides of the Rhine that makes stops at all of the small towns between Mainz and or Wiesbaden and Cologne.
So which castle did we stay at? Schloss Schoenburg on the hill high above Oberwesel. My mother waded through her Karen Brown guidebook and came up with this as her choice. That and she thought she wanted to spend a night in one of the tower rooms in the castle. (FYI, the Karen Brown web pages do have a good deal of information on other castles in the area.)
Now my brother Larry and I shared Room 13. I’ve always though of that as a lucky number, and boy did it pay off! We had a big room with a large bathroom and a great balcony that overlooked the Rhine. Seeing our room, my mom immediately became jealous and found she didn’t care all that much for her tower room after all. I don’t blame her. But I wasn’t about to offer to trade places with her and my dad.
You see… Room 13 offered me the place from which to watch not only the barge and boat traffic on the Rhine, but also the trains going by on both side of the river as well. Like fish in the proverbial barrel it was.
The hotel part is to the left in the view above. Room 13? The balcony is just to the right of the 4 windows on the bottom level of the red brick section. Check out more views of the hotel here.
We enjoyed two nights here — a Monday and a Tuesday. The hotel restaurant was closed on Mondays, and at that time, they offered a chance to enjoy dinner at several places in Oberwesel with a different course served at each of the three stops. Now, according to their web pages, the hotel offers a four-course meal service to guests nightly included in the room rate. We had some wonderful breakfasts (complete with great knitted covers for the soft-boiled eggs) here as well as dinner on Tuesday evening — with a great bottle of a Chilean Merlot to top it all off!
Schoenburg has some amusing elements to the tale as well. Vistors park in a lot across a bridge from the castle, and their luggage is carried up the hill the rest of the way in a trailer hauled by a tractor. It’s a good walk past some of the unrestored areas of the castle with some fantastic views of local vineyards. A Catholic retreat house uses part of the structure and the chapel still functions as intended.
All in all, a fine time sitting and enjoying a complimentary glass of sherry while watching the passing panorama. Oh, the pain…
Oberwesel was one of several great towns we visited along this part of the Rhine. Others included St. Goar (where we boarded the KD boat for our river cruise), Bacharach (where I picked up a Steiff bear similar to one we acquired some 40 years before. Named the new one Burt and he collected pins for the rest of the trip! Stop me before I get more pins…) with some great shops including a wonderful outlet store with anything you could ever want in way of a beer stein, and Rudeshiem. This was our destination when we rode the boat from St. Goar (getting a parking ticket in the rush to board). It’s a real tourist town with all the trappings, including a big Christmas shop.
There were some great things to see along the way, and I’ll mention a few of the more notable ones. Ever hear the tale of the Lorelei? “According to German legend, there was once a beautiful young maiden, named Lorelei, who threw herself headlong into the river in despair over a faithless lover. Upon her death she was transformed into a siren and could from that time on be heard singing on a rock along the Rhine River, near St. Goar. Her hypnotic music lured sailors to their death. The legend is based on an echoing rock with that name near St. Goar, Germany.” As the KD boat departs St. Goar heading south, it passes the large slate rock formation known as the Lorelie.
Departing Oberwesel, another legend comes to life along the river. Immediately beyond the town, the smooth flow of the Rhine is disturbed by seven underwater rocks–The Seven Sisters. Legend has it that seven girls were turned to stone for their prudish behavior. Local men are known to tell this tale when their affection meets with resistance. (A print on the wall of our Room 13 was a great telling of this tale — all in German, of course!)
There’s a lot more to see and hear along the way and the KD folks entertain but don’t annoy with their commentary. That and the food and drink aboard in first rate. Beer was good as was the hot chocolate.
“Now, enough of Germany!”, I hear you saying at this point. Gotcha. So how about something in a castle on this side of the pond? Coming right up!
If there was ever someone in this country who fancied themselves close to European nobility of the type who built castles along the Rhine, it had to be the family headed by William Randolph Hearst. Among the better parts of his legacy is the palace know as San Simeon or Hearst Castle. This property was 250,000-acres of ranchland that included the Mexican Ranchos of Piedras Blancas, San Simeon and Santa Rosa in the area northwest of San Luis Obispo.
San Simeon is actually a series of structures making up what could easily be called the most ornate complex in all of California. The web pages linked above tell the history better than I can, so I recommend exploring them. There’s a lot of history with the entertainment world involved here as movie folks were frequent guests of the Hearst’s hospitality. Today it is a state historical monument and well worth an extended exploration when you have the chance. (There’s even some history of my family in the area, but I’ll save that for another time…)
Now when it comes to building incredible structures, I’ve mentioned a few in other Ruminations or columns. Recall Billy Ralston and his Palace Hotel in San Francisco, or Yosemite’s Awahnee. But for eccentricity, it would be hard to beat Sarah Winchester and her house in San Jose. Known today as the Winchester Mystery House, this classic Victorian mansion was a project begun in 1884. Legend has it that a spiritualist convinced her that as long as she was continuing the process of building the structure, she would be safe from the spirits of those killed by Winchester rifles. In the end, “this 160-room Victorian mansion had modern heating and sewer systems, gas lights that operated by pressing a button, three working elevators, and 47 fireplaces. From rambling roofs and exquisite hand inlaid parquet floors to the gold and silver chandeliers and Tiffany art glass windows, you will be impressed by the staggering amount of creativity, energy, and expense poured into each and every detail.”
Today it is open for tours, and those on Halloween are especially popular — considering the spirits are out and about…
Now back to spending the night in a castle. Remember the column on hotel rooms? Here is a link to a sampling of places where you can spend a night in a castle here in the States. Of those listed, there is one I might want to try if I had the chance. Ravenwood Castle is located in Ohio’s Hocking Valley. A variety of events and specials abound, even a discount if you arrive and stay in proper medieval garb!
Asking Jeeves for similar accommodations gets another set of results. Out of those, Denver’s Castle Marne also gets a vote for a taste of the Victorian era. I’m not sure, but I may have stayed here on a trip to Denver back in the early 80’s.
But of the web choices I found, this one may be the best of the bunch. Thornewood Castle “a magnificent three-story manor home dating from the turn of the century, offers over 27,000 square feet of living space, graciously arranged under one tile roof. Boasting 54 rooms, including 28 bedrooms and 22 baths, this English Tudor/Gothic mansion is one of the few genuine private castles in the United States. Thornewood Castle was built to the specifications of Mr. Chester Thorne, one of the founders of the Port of Tacoma, in beautiful Washington State. His fascination with the grandeur of the old English estate led him to design his dream house. Kertland Kelsey Cutter, one of America’s most gifted architects of that era, converted this dream into the once-in-a-lifetime estate.”
So there you have it… A look at the chance to enjoy a night in a castle or even just an afternoon visit!
Disneyland – How to enjoy the Parks
Finally. You are at Disneyland.
Congratulations on your arrival. Let’s get started on why we came here .
Fun. Family fun. The kind we will remember and talk about for years.
So… a few suggestions.
Did you get that rental car? Parking at Disneyland isn’t inexpensive – $15 a day for cars. If your hotel is close enough, walking may be an option to consider. If you didn’t get a rental car, there are shuttles from area hotels. $4 a day gets you unlimited use of the ART bus system. And your hotel will have the passes for sale.
Cell Phone(s). Do you really need to have it turned on? Are you “on-call” for work, even though you’re on vacation? If so, well, I share that pain. But if I didn’t have to have it, I wouldn’t. Got by for a long time before just fine without it.
Best to plan ahead and turn it on later to check for messages. Personally, I really don’t like waiting for an attraction, only to hear someones phone go off with that unilaterally annoying ring tone. And your oh so important conversation? Ditto.
As to Sissy and her texting fixation? Give her one to make her friends jealous that she’s at Disneyland and then, cut her off. She can experience the Park just fine without the need to text every 30 seconds. Remember, she’s here with family. She can check in later in the day as well. And cell service in some areas of Disneyland, truly sucks. I don’t have time to go into all the details, but in some places, we’re talking no bars of service. Dead, dead, deadski…
Another word on electronics. Don’t try to spend your day seeing Disneyland through the viewfinder of a camera. Still or video. Make a few photos or videos here and there. Quality not quantity. If you want a memorable family photo, look for the Disneyland PhotoPass photographers all about the parks. You will also find them with most character meet and greets around the park. A great way to get that picture with the favorite character. Have the photographer take the picture with their camera and then ask for one to be taken with your camera. Get the whole family into the shot. (There is no commitment to purchase the photo, but you might want to after seeing how it comes out.)
Planning your day. Remember those park maps I mentioned? Get yours at the admission gates. And grab a schedule of park entertainment, too. These small paper treasures will easily answer more questions than a Disney message board weasel in a fit of wild rabid fandom. Trust me, that ain’t a pretty thing.
Disney also offers a free DVD to help you plan you time at the parks. A good way to help cut down on some of the in person overload is to watch this and see what lies in store.
While we’re on the subject of questions, if you want to know anything, ask a cast member. These folks are easily spotted by their Disneyland name tags. If they don’t know they answer to a question, they will find out for you. Also the best people to turn to if you need help of any kind. Especially emergencies.
Now, another tidbit of wisdom. Don’t expect to do everything at Disneyland in one day. On a normal busy summer day, no one can. So don’t hurt yourself trying to. Instead pick and choose things that the family can all do together.
Now some attractions do have a height restriction. The famed “You must be at least this tall to ride this attraction.” Safety is the reason for this and a darned good idea too. They tend to vary by attraction, so check this list to be sure what rides will be among those everyone in the family can enjoy.
What to do first? Remember that the most popular attractions will have the longest lines. Don’t worry about those. Instead, take advantage of the Fast Pass system. This allows you to get a pass to skip the wait by returning at a specific time. Example? Star Tours. Right now, the hottest of the hot attraction in Disneyland. If I were you, this is the first Fast Pass of the day to get. And once in hand, it tells you how soon you can get another one for another attraction. These can be your best friends on a busy day.
Food? Oh, I thought you would never ask. Let’s eat! Except, everyone else in Disneyland has the same idea at the same time. Try to think out of the box here. Don’t plan lunch at noon or dinner at six. You’ll be able to enjoy meal times if you eat earlier or later. Disneyland has far more to offer than just hamburgers or deep fried snacks. Again, from the web site, choices that meet every taste. Even heart healthy meals and tasty, too! Not to say that Disneyland doesn’t offer all kinds of tempting treats. A must try is the newly opened Jolly Holiday Bakery. Oh, those desserts! Yumola.
Disney offers reservations for some of the more popular dining choices. If you are looking to enjoy a sit-down meal inside either park or in Downtown Disney, this is a good option. Giving yourself a break by sitting and enjoying the meal can be a treat all it’s own.
Some suggestions, you ask? In Disneyland, I like to enjoy the places that are a bit off the beaten path. That doesn’t mean less crowded, just less along the main routes through the park. Redd Rocketts Pizza Port in Tomorrowland offers pizza, pasta and salads and a place to sit down inside or out. Rancho del Zocalo in Frontierland carries on offering the usual Americanized versions of Mexican food – tacos, enchiladas, burritos and the tostada salad. Again seating inside or out. Disney makes good use of what they call “buffeteria” style dining all throughout the park. Passing along the line, you can order or select your meal choices. Others include the Plaza Inn on Main Street, the River Belle Terrace in Frontierland and the French Market in New Orleans Square. The last offers some great “live” jazz at various times throughout the day.
Shopping? A mixed blessing in my mind. You can find plenty of the same merchandise all throughout both Disneyland and California Adventure. In fact, you can find the same items for sale all over the parks. Think over a purchase that will require you to carry it with you for more than a few hours. Especially it the item is something breakable. Disney does have storage lockers you can rent for the day. Some of them are now even equipped as charging stations with 110v outlets and USB ports. A good place to stow sweatshirts or jackets for later if the weather might cool down enough.
Disneyland’s busiest time for shopping? Would you believe after midnight??? The shops on Main Street stay open one hour after park closing. And on some nights, they need every minute to make those last minute sales. Do yourself a favor and avoid those moments if you can.
And if you are shopping and you are asked if you have an annual pass, not to worry. Those folks who are lucky enough to live close enough to visit more than once in a while may have annual passes. These offer admission (some with restrictions on dates available, especially in the summer) and some discounts – especially for merchandise and food. Don’t feel left out as Disney sometimes offers special discounts to everyone. Check those receipts to see if one is mentioned.
The best advice I can offer is to take a break. If you start your day at park opening (usually 8 am during summer months), a trip back to the hotel can be a great restorative. Think 2 pm or so. A dip in the hotel pool or just getting off your feet for a while can do wonders. Of course, if the hotel has a bar, a smart cocktail won’t hurt either. Thus refreshed, you can hit the parks ready to go until closing (again usually at midnight in summer months). I’ve also seen both kids and adults for whom that afternoon nap would have been a good idea. You’ll see them too, dragging themselves around the park as the night grows longer. Even a hour can work wonders!
Night time at Disneyland! Some of the most magical moments of the day are during this time. Check the Entertainment schedule to see what is offered on the days of your visit. Fireworks at Disneyland have been a summer tradition for years. 9:30 pm. You can set your watch by them.Good places to see them from? Try a spot on Main Street near the Partner’s statue (Walt and Mickey) in the middle of the Hub (so called because the lands of the Park extend like spokes on a wheel from there). Best to find a spot to stand and expect to stay there until after the fireworks end.
Now a word of warning about fireworks. Disneyland will cancel shows if winds above the park make fireworks unsafe for the night. Same for rain or even low fog. So, on nights like these, don’t be surprised if you hear an announcement before the show starts about possible cancellation.
If you happen to walk through Frontierland or New Orleans Square before dusk, you may notice a lot of people lining up along the Rivers of America. Why? Well, this is where Fantasmic is performed. A night time spectacular makes the river and Tom Sawyers Island into the stage where it happens. It makes extensive use of images projected on fountains of water. On windy nights, all those folks who have waited and are standing next to the river? Oh, they get wet. And even some folks further back, too. My hint for seeing this show? Wait for the second performance at 10:30 pm. You can come in after the first show and find a good spot to watch from either the River Belle Terrace or from one of the terraces in front of New Orleans Square. But be nice! Plenty of other folks will have the same ideas.
Across the way in California Adventure you will find World of Color. Call this Fantasmic’s big brother if you will. A great show with plenty of action using lights, fountains and again images projected on screens of misting water. Lot’s and lot’s of misting water. Odds are if you see this show, you will get wet. If you don’t already have one, get a rain poncho before the show or you’ll probably buy that souvenir beach towel after the show.
As wet as folks get, this is one popular show. On some peak attendance nights in summer, Disney may even add a third show to the schedule. Best bet is to get that Fast Pass earlier in the day to save your place for a performance later that night. Again, go with the second or third show and spend your time doing something other than waiting. Disney also offers some dining packages just for World of Color that include passes. From sit-down dining to picnic meals, there are options that work well for everyone.
So, a second park at Disneyland? Indeed there is and that is why the 3-day Park Hopper pass was invented. This pass lets you do just what it says. You can hop between the two parks at any time during the length of the pass. Busy at Disneyland? Think about checking out California Adventure. Some really fun attractions here with something for everyone. Originally, the park was designed to offer guests a glimpse of California without having to make the trip away from Anaheim. Now, the theme has guests visiting the California that Walt Disney encountered when he came west from Kansas City in 1923. It also mixes in some of the newer parts of the Disney canon with the addition of Carsland (a.k.a. Radiator Springs) from the Pixar “Cars” films. That opens this summer (June 15th to be precise) after a major renovation of the park. Expect plenty of folks looking to check the park out this summer with everything new to take in.
I’ve been asked from time to time about how young is too young for Disneyland? Well, as a parent, you should have an idea as to how your little campers will react. A day at Disneyland can be a sensory overload – even for adults! To a small child, Mickey can frightening simply because he is bigger and something never encountered before. Consider past experience your guide. If your child has done well in situations with a lot going on all the same time, that first Disneyland visit should be a good one for all. If not, you may want to think about waiting a while.
And with children of any age? That mid-day break is the right thing to do. I have seen far too many small children being carried through the parks at night as limp bundles. When they are worn out, it is time to head for for the hotel. You’re not creating memories for anyone by carrying a sleeping child around Disneyland. Same goes for cranky. Small children, tweens, teens and adults all have a point where too much is enough. Better to rest and enjoy tomorrow than continuing on.
I know this is only the tip of the proverbial iceberg of secrets about a visit to Disneyland. But I hope that some of these things will help make your time in Anaheim go that much smoother. I said it before and I’ll say it again.
Remember. You’re at Disneyland. Not everyone can say that.
Relax and enjoy yourself. Don’t try to do everything. You can’t. And you will only end up miserable if you try to.
Take it all one step at a time. You’ll be glad you did.