Introspective as I am, I’m always trying to evaluate my life and figure out how I feel about myself and everything around me. Am I happy, depressed, fulfilled, lonely? Do I feel better than I did last year at this time, and how will I feel next year? It’s maddening, and I don’t recommend experiencing this incessant train of thought, but here it is.

I was pondering my state of happiness earlier this week and thought to myself, I think I can say that I am happier now than I’ve ever been. Yikes, that’s a really strong statement (and a ridiculous blanket statement, no less – who needs to qualify their feelings in this way? ugh) – but the truth is, I worry less and feel generally more content than I ever have. Much of that is owing to Andrew. My house has never been messier and more annoyingly cluttered, and I’ve never cared less. That’s pretty wild. (But I still care a great deal, mind you. You can’t just erase Monica Geller tendencies.)

Still, on days like today, thinking about the 4th of July, it seems like the best times of my life are behind me. I remember the summer camping trips of my childhood with great fondness. I remember the water park, tanning in the backyard on spring break, grabbing fast food and chilling in Kyle’s dorm room, BBQing hamburgers with my family, picnicking, driving up into the hills with our friends and sitting in the back of their pickup truck with snacks to watch the fireworks on the 4th. Slowly, little by little, all of these things have peeled away from my life. We have a small, comfortable core, but it’s not very roomy. And it’s sometimes pretty lonely, even with the cutest little kid in the world. He is one of the best parts of my life, but he’s not the ONLY part. Granted, most everything else is pretty meaningless in the grand scheme of things. Does it matter that we don’t have a grill in the backyard (or even a good place for Andrew to play), does it matter that we never have plans on the 4th of July, does it matter that we don’t travel anywhere except San Francisco and Disneyland? Well, not actually, not really, but sometimes it just feels confining and stale.

As Andrew gets older, I want to be adding things to our existence, not subtracting them. Right now it’s difficult because he’s still a baby, but experiences should abound for him. He should have the same fond memories of being a kid.

I think we’ll be spending tomorrow morning at the beach. I need a breath of fresh summer air, and the altitude at 7500 feet might be just the place to find it.

My son is 18 months old, and we hit that milestone very unceremoniously. I was busy packing, feeling sick, stuck with a miserable headache, and trying to remember to include Father’s Day a day early. The week that followed was our vacation, and before I knew it, I had been back at work for two days, trying to fight through the clutter from my absence, and thinking about what to make for dinner. June really flew by. I feel like it’s almost time to start thinking about Christmas (yay!).

Andrew never fails to crack us up on a daily basis. He is really getting into a fun age – and a disagreeable one. Earlier this week, Kyle said “He’s a good boy, he just doesn’t like getting up or going to bed or taking a bath or getting dressed or putting on his shoes or taking off his shoes or washing his hands or eating.” There are two things he enjoys incessantly: drinks of any kind (he loves iced tea, water, milk, juice, etc) and being outside. If he could live outside 24/7, he would be in seventh heaven. He’s slowly becoming more vocal, and he can say dozens of “words” although most of them are just one syllable. “Buh” can mean bus, bird, barn, Bard, book, baby, bug, ball, bush, or burn… and it’s only just beginning to have slight variations of sound, depending on what he means. His favorite color is yellow, he loves being splashed by the sprinkler, and he spots every single airplane that ever thought about being in the sky. What a joy he is, and how much more I love being his mom now than I ever have in the past. The first half of his second year has been leaps-and-bounds more enjoyable than any part of his first year, and I still have yet to hit a point where I actually miss him being a baby. He’s starting to grow into his funny old soul.

Disneyland was great fun and Andrew did as well as we could have hoped. He slept very well, ate regularly (even if he ate too few fruits/veggies), and loved everything we thought he would love. He was wild about the freedom he had running around the hotel room, and surprised me by growing up in a lot of ways over the span of just a week. He learned how to (willingly – sometimes) hold our hands to walk around, used a fork to eat ravioli, starting making a handful of animal noises in addition to just “mmmmmmmmmmoo”, and LOVED spending time with his grandma and Uncle Danny. It was a slightly different experience in all the good ways and the same as ever, too. We had a blast and I can’t wait to take him back.

Our 2007 trip to Disneyland was punctuated by the fact that I was about 15 weeks pregnant with Andrew, so it was the case that I skipped about a dozen rides and spent a good amount of time people-watching. It was actually very enjoyable, especially considering I’ll probably never have “alone” time like that again.

Happier than I look, and also more pregnant than I look.

A brand new ride opened in Tomorrowland in 2007: Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage, or the return of the “the subs” that had been closed for nearly 10 years. We were overjoyed to FINALLY have a ride in the abandoned submarine lagoon, and the ride itself was worth the years of planning and work. Whenever the rest of my party was on Space Mountain, I spent my time hanging out at the sub lagoon, just taking it all in. The lagoon has always been beautiful and seeing the beloved subs gliding through the water once again was very enjoyable.

We’d been staying at the Disneyland Hotel ever since we first tried it in 2001, but this year we upgraded to a 2-bedroom suite. We had window/balcony views in 3 completely different directions. It was marvelous.

We also spent one day in Sea World for a change, and I was pleasantly surprised to find that I loved Sea World every bit as much, or maybe even more than, the zoo.

Believe (the Shamu show) at Sea World

Jungle Cruise

Tomorrow morning we are leaving for our 2009 trip – the next chapter in my saga. I am hoping it will be every bit as unique and interesting and fun as every year before it – especially since it will be Andrew’s “real” first time at Disneyland. We are so excited and I hope that you will join me back here for a recap of our trip (or even possibly for a mid-trip update) coming up soon!

The red carpet premiere in 2003 was so successful (to some) that Disney felt compelled to host the 2006 sequel’s premiere in the park as well. Like the film before it, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest was released in early July and like most premieres, the red carpet was rolled out several weeks beforehand. We departed home for Disneyland the morning after the premiere event, so for the most part we were able to avoid the ballyhoo… at least the unwanted portions. There was, however, one important happening that we would be present for: the reopening of Pirates of the Caribbean ride after controversial refurbishments to coincide with the new film’s release. The downside was that if we wanted to ride Pirates at all that week – without waiting in line for 3 hours, which we NEVER do in Disneyland – we had to be in line for the ride long before the park even opened. The upside was that we were on the sixth or seventh boat to go through on the morning when the ride reopened.

The line for Pirates extended from the ride, out of New Orleans square, all the way down Main Street USA and out the front gates on opening morning.

Kyle is interviewed by a TV crew after stepping off the ride.

Another extremely exciting aspect of our 2006 was the reopening of Space Mountain, which had closed suddenly and unexpectedly in spring 2003 for a complete refurbishment and rebuild. It had reopened shortly after our visit in 2005, so 2006 was our first opportunity to ride Space in four years. The changes and improvements to the ride were very well-received by fans and APs, and we were ecstatic to have one of our favorite attractions back and better than ever.

Kyle and me in the waterfalls at DL Hotel

We decided to go ahead and schedule days for Universal Studios and the San Diego Zoo again – but this time, we had rented a car at the airport for the week and we were able to drive wherever we needed to go. This worked infinitely better for us, and although we were still not terribly impressed with Universal (but again, enjoyed the zoo immensely), the drives through Los Angeles and Southern California were a large part of the fun this time (we may have gotten lost in Pasadena on the way to Hollywood. Okay, it’s not even on the way).

This happened to be a year in which we got particularly good photos, so I’ll let a few of them speak the rest.

Picking up a churro at an ODV (outdoor vending) cart. Our favorite Disneyland snack!

Autopia

Lunch at French Market in New Orleans Square

Poolside at the DL Hotel

Sailing Ship Columbia

Next episode: 2007: A Disneyland Newbie’s First Visit

On July 17, 1955, Disneyland opened its doors for the first time, to women wearing high heels and men wearing ties and children with propeller hats who were most eager to see Davy Crockett. On the same date in 2005, Disneyland celebrated its 50th birthday, and while Walt Disney was no longer alive to see it, the people who had known him were certain that he surely did see it. Disneyland kicked off a multi-year-long celebration called The Happiest Homecoming on Earth and launched a nationwide campaign urging people to “come home” to Disneyland in support of its 50th year. To this end, Disney called for people anywhere in the world to submit photos from their past Disneyland trips to be considered for incorporation into photo mosaics that would be displayed all throughout the park during the year. I thought this was a great idea and eagerly submitted a photo from each recent year we had traveled to the park, happy and proud and hoping to be part of the park’s celebration, even so indirectly.

We had decided to skip our yearly Disneyland trip in 2005 due to the planning of my September wedding. It was a busy summer for us, but we didn’t cease to long for our usual vacation. Truth be told, we were continually eyeing the ticket and hotel availability, checking numbers, and pondering the possibility of squeezing in a trip, but it just didn’t look like anything would come of it.

Imagine my surprise when in late spring of 2005, Disneyland contacted me to inform me that they would be using all of the photos I submitted, and furthermore, let me know exactly where in the park I could find each photo. The last straw inside me snapped, my small flicker of hope surged, and I put together the numbers and told my family that we had to go. I didn’t really have to ask them twice and we had ourselves a trip scheduled for August.

Most of our photos ended up in this black-and-white Steamboat Willie collage near the front gates. You can see the “first level” of the mosaic is Steamboat Willie, followed by the “second level” which are all photos of Disneyland cast members, and the final level is the photos submitted by Disneyland guests from all over the world.

A close-up shot of one of our photos in the mosaic – a self-portrait of my brother, mom and I in our 3D glasses.

Everything in Disneyland was frosted with gold “50″s and the birthday celebration was going strong. Nobody had to convince me that this truly was a Happy Homecoming. This has always felt like my second home. Nobody had to tell me about Walt’s opening day speech and what it meant to him. Right in front of us in 2005 was Walt’s dream, come alive and still thriving.

Kyle and my brother waiting for the 11:00a opening of one of our favorite restaurants, French Market.

The bride and groom were a huge hit and sparked a lot of conversation!

Next episode: 2006: The Return of Space, Pirates, Studios, and Animals

In 2004 we decided to branch out by expanding our vacation to include some new destinations. In addition to Disneyland, we rode a bus into Hollywood to visit the Universal Studios park. It was fun to change things up a bit, but on this venture there were two major downsides: first, the travel accommodations. The bus was crowded, chaotic with all of the ticketing and switching vehicles, and we were forced to travel on a pre-determined schedule. Second, Universal Studios is *nothing* like Disneyland. To say that “other” parks are disappointing to a Disneyland AP is an understatement, but we do try to appreciate the positive points. We absolutely loved the studio tour, and for that alone the park visit was worth the trip. Aside from that, the rest of the rides were just regular ol’ amusement park features, and the scenery and food were subpar. I hate to be a Park Snob – but we can’t escape the truth.

Mom and Laura looking serious, on one of the 342 escalators necessary to get around at Universal Studios, CA

The high point of our extra-Disneyland travels was the San Diego Zoo. On another day we rode the bus for a few hours to San Diego and visited one of the top zoos in the world, which we hadn’t seen since I was a small child. It was worth the price of admission and then some. The SD zoo is absolutely ginormous and features every kind of exhibit you can imagine. We have always been especially enamored with the pandas, since they are a pretty special addition to the zoo and not one that you can see everywhere in the United States.

Panda mama and baby at San Diego Zoo

The rest of our time at Disneyland was stellar and ever-improving. Some of the highlights included Tower of Terror opening in DCA (a brilliant, e-ticket-quality addition to a faltering park), tons of photos (my brother brought HIS digital camera along, too, which made for 3 of us with separate photo opportunities), and extra time spent at the hotel and in Downtown Disney, what with all of our travels to other places and not spending every day in the parks. And although clouds are no stranger to Los Angeles in June (they call it “June gloom”), the temperatures were unseasonably chilly and we found ourselves caught unprepared. Mom and I had to buy sweatshirts in Disneyland – how awful! and we still wear them to this day.

Mom and Laura waiting for Fantasmic on the pavement in front of Rivers of America. (Notice the sweatshirts!) The CMs (cast members) would keep the crowd entertained by asking Disney trivia questions and handing out lollipops for correct answers.

Just another fantastic year in the happiest place on Earth!

Laura and Belle! On this morning, all of the princesses were outside near the castle and we got a bunch of rare photo opportunities.

Next episode: 2005: The Trip That Almost Wasn’t

2003 was a unique year for us in Disneyland. First, my family brought along an extra guest: my boyfriend of two years, Kyle. (He probably would have come the year before, but we had conflicting schedules.) It was our mission to assimilate him into our Disneyland way of life, and resistance was futile. He dutifully woke up with the sun, ate on our early schedule, worked the Fastpass system with wild abandon… and greatly enjoyed the experience.

Kyle participates in the DCA summer X-Games

By 2003, Disney was a bit desperate for bigger attendance numbers in two-year-old DCA, and they were experimenting with summer “events” to lure people into the price of a ticket. This particular year’s event was an X-Games special featuring BMX and skateboards. It was blisteringly hot (the CMs working the event were walking through the crowd, spraying people with water) but we stopped by one of the shows to catch some of the action. I don’t think it ever achieved Disney’s ideals of mass appeal, but it was a somewhat unique experience in that setting.

Mickey’s house in Toontown

2003 also happened to be the first year I brought my first digital camera along (my 2.1 megapixel Sony Cybershot) and this was the beginning of more than one of us having a camera. Previously, my mom and her film were The Photography – and to this day, that is still a large part of our trip.

Disneyland’s 48th birthday ceremony

In the summer of 2003, Disney released the wildly successful Pirates of the Caribbean film and made the decision to have the film’s red carpet premiere in the park. We discovered this was going to interfere with our vacation timeline – and as much as it would have been fun to potentially attend a red carpet event, in the end it would have mostly meant shorter park hours and too much chaos. We moved our vacation to the middle of July, which landed us at the park on July 17 – Disneyland’s official birthday. In 2003 Disneyland turned 48 years old, and for the first time (and only time since), we had the opportunity to attend the early morning birthday party. It was a beautiful morning as we (and mostly APs and fellow Disneyland People, many of which we knew from online forums) crowded on to Main Street USA for a small celebration with characters, confetti, and corporate management. It was a fantastic experience and one I hope to attend again in the future.

Next episode: 2004: Los Angeles and Beyond

By 2002, we were full-blown APs (Annual Passholders) in spirit. We had every clue in the world about how we should be doing the parks: best time of year, time of week, time of day. Best times to eat, which lines were worth waiting in (and which wouldn’t be a line at all in another few hours), where the characters were likely to show up, where the fewest people were likely to be, and when.

Visiting with Pooh in Tomorrowland, before he had his own corner in Critter Country.

We were also becoming experts at what is now old-hat: behind the scenes. Some people might think that knowing the ins-and-outs of the inner workings of Disneyland take away from the magic, but we find the contrary: it only becomes more magical, even more impressive. When you’re staring and staring and staring, trying to spot the ONE thing that they changed in the ship fight room in Pirates – when you know it’s there, and you still can’t even tell – when they carefully hide all of their construction work behind walls and painted-over brand names – you somehow become aware of just how important the illusion really is, and how hard they work to maintain it. Everything is picture-perfect, and every day tens of thousands of tourists are completely oblivious to it, left with a subconcious feeling that this park is very different and pretty special.

Splash Mountain – I believe this was the first year they had individual seat backs instead of a single bench with no dividers.

Next episode: 2003: A New Guest

In 2001 we kicked up our heels once again and kicked up our Disneyland vacation by a few notches. One was of our own accord: we decided to stay at the Disneyland Hotel, rather than an off-site partner hotel. The few places we have stayed in Anaheim, other than the DL Hotel, have been great and I would recommend them to anybody. I also know many people who have been to the DL Hotel and weren’t impressed enough to stay there again… not the case for us. It seemed to be the ultimate final punctuation mark for a complete “resort” experience. In fact, we really never left Disney’s property during our entire stay, which brings me to the other factor that would alter our Disneyland scheme: DCA.

Our first time in DCA and our first view of Paradise Pier.

DCA – or Disney’s California Adventure – was full of infinite potential but lacking the execution that Disney Parks are so famous for. From its opening in early 2001, it has been widely criticized by DL aficionado and tourist alike, but was ultimately necessary to integrate into consideration of “Disneyland” as we know it. Single-day tickets became “multiple park hoppers”. We were dazzled by the combination of brilliant successes and devastating failures.

On California Screamin, its first summer in existence.

Currently, Disney is in the process of “recreating” DCA (they will eventually rename it) in an attempt to more completely fulfill the ideals of a “new” Disney park. Still, this is more about our perception – and while we immediately understood the complaints of most DCA visitors, at the time we had no small children with which to be concerned. We were able to ride the big-ticket attractions – the ones that were dynamite out of the gate – and worry less about the fact that small children had very little entertainment in a place that paralleled the cost of its famous, child-oriented neighbor.

A brilliant addition was Downtown Disney: a stretch of Disney property, full of outside retailers, restaurants, and activities, between the parks and the hotels. This was truly what made it seem like we never left Disneyland – even the walk back to our hotel was full of Disney magic.

For us, the 2001 trip was one of establishing routines and traditions and preferences. With two parks, we increased the number of days in the hotel and on our tickets. Our vacation went from a small, “long weekend” type of trip, to a weeklong, summer resort getaway. We fell in love with the Disneyland Hotel, assessed the new park and utilized its strong points to the best of our abilities, and best of all, grew even more attached to my Home away from Home.

Next episode: 2002: In the Know

In the summer of 2000 my family went “back” to Disneyland, traveling to Southern California for the first time since 1991.

It was a combination of two factors: first, that Disneyland has always been in my heart & soul, always been my second home. For as long as I can remember, I’ve had dreams about Disneyland, even during the nine long years we were away. And second, my sweet boyfriend when I was a senior in high school just happened to be the Biggest and Most Passionate Disneyland Person I’d ever met and insisted that we accompany my church’s youth group on their Disneyland trip for a couple days. I agreed – we went – and I was hooked. Absolutely enamored. It was truly one of those “what have I been missing??” moments in life.

Waiting in line for Splash Mountain – April 2000

I came home, begged my mom and brother to consider revisiting Disneyland that summer following my graduation from high school, and so it happened. In July 2000 we spent four days in what would become my favorite place in the world, and before we had set a single step in the direction of home, we were already planning our next trip. Seems this condition we call “being a Disneyland Person” is somewhat genetic. And in the past nine years, we’ve discovered that there are many, many more of us Disneyland People in existence.

My brother and me, clowning in Toontown – July 2000

And so it was a fateful year, 2000, a turning point in our vacationing future. We had much to learn about How to Do Disneyland, but my two trips that year were enough to whet my appetite for years. It seems a bit overly dramatic, I know, but to me it truly felt like going back home after a decade of being away. It feels the same way even now.

Next episode: 2001: A Brand New Park, and Return to the DL Hotel

ps. That boyfriend from high school still loves Disneyland (duh) and is now infusing his spirit for the park into his own young family.