Disneyland

Some of you will groan.
Some of you will smile.
And some of you will think nothing of it.

I took the girls to Disneyland yesterday.

A debate rages inside Dave's home. Well, many debates rage inside Dave's family home, but this one may be both the most trivial and the most hotly contested. Dave's brother Jon epitomizes the argument - he hates Disneyland.

Dave sides with his brother. He has no need for the long lines, high prices and essentially advertising that makes up the Disney theme parks. In general, I agree. We try to avoid branding our children - we don't buy clothes with characters on them or dolls who come already named. We enjoy watching our children create their own stories with their own characters - new ones arrive daily now.

But I had nothing to fear. I introduced L-- and S-- to Mickey and Minnie Mouse. I explained that Disneyland is where they live, and that it would be fun to look around their home. But the rest simply went unnoticed. We didn't see Dumbo's Flying Elephant Ride - we marveled at elephants flying. And we simply rode a carousel - that it had Cinderella in the name meant nothing to the girls.

The clouds kept the rain at bay all day, but also hid the sun from glaring down and creating a tropical heat in the high humidity. We lived Disneyland in perfect amusement park weather.

Being a girl of my generation but never having visited a Disney theme park, I was thoroughly enchanted. I found the attention to detail charming, and the pictures and piped music brought me back to my childhood. The crowds were low - we waited 20 minutes to buy our tickets in, and then never waited any longer than 5 minutes for the rest of the day. We paid for me - 50 Hong Kong dollars, at an exchange rate of about 8:1 or about 44 USD - but the girls got in free. And we picked up snacks, but paid no more for them than we would have on the streets of Hong Kong.

Disneyland is a place created with young children in mind. The wide streets with wide sidewalks carry only slow moving busses whose drivers watch carefully for children darting in front of them. Everything is climb-able. What is not meant to be climbed is subtlely cordoned off. The guests were primarily Chinese, which became obvious in some of the tourist practices. Practices like pushing to be first in line - even when the line only contained one other family. Or practices like taking pictures of my children. We felt like characters ourselves, sometimes.

We all had a lovely time. We rode some of the rides, we walked around, we ate plenty of snacks. We never entered a shop and we never entered lines with long waits.

With one exception. As we were beginning to leave, L-- asked when we would visit Mickey Mouse's home. I explained that we had visited Mickey Mouse's home - that's what Disneyland is. She looked puzzled - but where is Mickey Mouse? As luck would have it, Mickey and Minnie were dispensing hugs and autographs in a gazebo nearby. The line was long, but L-- said it was worth it. We had to say good-bye, and thank them for letting us visit their home.

The line moved slowly, and after 5 minutes I began to regret our decision. But then Disneyland worked its magic. One of the workers squatted near the girls and began dispensing stickers. They were thoroughly charmed - stickers are a favorite in our home. Once she had built a raport with the girls, she invited them to come watch Mickey and Minnie close up. L-- grabbed my hand, but I told her I had to wait in line. So she grabbed the staff member's hand instead, and both girls walked up to the edge of the gazebo to watch Mickey and Minnie from close range. The staff loved them - no doubt their blonde hair and light skin worked in their favor, for once. People kept giving them stickers and Mickey and Minnie kept running over to blow kisses and shake their hands. The girls passed the 30 minute wait with no trouble. As we came up for our turn, they returned to the line with me and their excitement mounted. That is, until the moment when no one stood between us and the mice. No gazebo between them. Just two large mice coming at two little girls with arms outstretched. L-- started to cry. S-- screamed and ran hysterical in the other direction. Knowing that her sticker-dispensing friends had stopped S--, I took L--'s hand and led her to Mickey and Minnie. Skilled friends that they are, they worked to warm L-- up to them and soon had her hugging them and receiving kisses. Another staff person held my camera and took pictures, alongside the professional photographer who noticed how much the camera loves L--. Mickey, Minnie, the photographer and the staff all fawned over the girls and took numerous pictures. By the time we were ushered away, L-- and S-- were both entirely comfortable and ready to leave. They both turned around to wave good-bye. Thank-you for letting us visit your home! they chorused.

The music rose to a crescendo as we left through the various exit gates. I happen to know that Ariel leant in to kiss her Prince Eric, and Alan Menken's score rises dramatically for that typical conclusion. It put a smile on my face to feel that Disneyland had so nicely timed its soundtrack as to end what may well be our only day in the Magic Kingdom with such poingnancy. It was truly a magical day.