My Valentine in Anaheim

Valentine’s Day – a time for love, a day of romance. Yeah, excepting when you’re single. Then it’s just plain annoying.

This day has long been nothing more than “Singles Awareness Day” for me, and I’m usually pretty okay with that; though I have to admit that it would be nice to occasionally have somebody to snuggle and smooch with. But I digress…….

Anyway, for Valentine’s Day this year, a group of my girlfriends and I decided to spend this blessed event at the happiest place on earth. That’s right. We went to Disneyland.

 

 

is for Courtney (and for Cookie).

 

 

 

 

Considering that I live a mere 40 minutes away from Anaheim, you would think that I would go there all the time. Surprisingly, though, I hadn’t been to Disneyland in like, 4 years. And I had NEVER been to California Adventure (I know, I’m such a bad Californian). So, we bought some Park Hopper tickets, and began our fun-filled day!

We decided to hit California Adventure first.

 But, of course, we needed a snack before doing so.

The first ride we went on was the Orange Stinger ride. I’m pretty sure that this ride is supposed to be tame enough for children – but it wasn’t tame enough for me.

Maybe I’m just a wuss or something (quite possibly so), but I’m telling you, this ride was pure evil. There is just something about flying four stories in the air with my feet hanging down free as a bird that freaks me out!! My friend Ashley said that she couldn’t stop laughing the whole ride because every time she looked over at me my eyes were sealed shut. Perhaps I am just getting old……

I think that my favorite ride at California Adventure was the Toy Story Ride. This ride is basically a 3-D video game that you play for points – while riding in a cart that is constantly moving around. There are two people per cart, and I found it to be particularly entertaining.

 

 

 

 

I totally beat Melissa’s score. Of course, we were both slaughtered by the 10-year-olds in the cart next to us – but what else would you expect of their generation?

We hit a few more rides, and then had dinner at this really cool restaurant called Rainforest Café.

The ambience in this place was amazing. It was literally like eating in a rainforest (‘cause I do that all the time) – complete with dozens of luscious green trees, a gorgeous waterfall, snakes and noisy monkeys hanging from the trees, and lightning and thunder storms every half-hour. I whole-heartedly recommend the pot roast there.

By the time we finished dinner, the sun had gone down – and it had gotten miiiiiiighty cold.

Luckily, overly-anal, always-cold, paranoid Courtney had brought some extra hats and mittens for everyone – so the frostbite was staved off just a little bit.

 

 

Just call me C. Diddy. Word.

 

 

 

 

“What do you mean – they’re out of toilet-seat covers?”

 

 

 

 

Ready for flight (and an inclement snowstorm, apparently).

 

 

 

The beginning of Kim’s cold-induced delirium. It only got worse from here on out.

 

 

We headed to Disneyland at this point (running most of the way to keep warm), and since all of us had been to Disneyland before on multiple occasions, and it was getting colder by the minute, we skipped any rides that involved either water/getting wet or standing in line outside for longer than 10 minutes. That’s okay, though, because one of the rides we did manage to hit was one of my absolute favorites – Space Mountain!! I swear, that ride will never get old!!

My favorite part of the day was getting to watch “Fantasmic” in New Orleans Square. This show has been running for about 16 years now, and will always hold a special place in my heart – partly because of the nostalgia of my childhood, but mostly because of the perceived meaning behind the show.

As I sat there – watching Belle and the Beast and Jasmine and Aladdin dancing to their love songs; watching Mickey fighting the evil queen and other formidable foes; watching Peter Pan and Captain Hook battle it out on the bough of a pirate ship – I was transported to another world.

To a world where magic and imagination reign. To a world where there is still hope and innocence. Where good always triumphs over evil. A simpler, more peaceful world. And it made me smile.

I suppose that is why I will always love Disneyland, even though I am 30 years old. Because, in our current world – a world full of ever-increasing violence and despair, a world filled with confusion and declining moral values, and so much unhappiness – it’s nice to feel that magic, and to believe that it does exist, even if it is just for 20 minutes a night in a little park in Anaheim.

I believe in magic. Do you?