24 Hours of Disney
September 26th, 2008 . by Andy (TANcast's #1 Ear-Rapist)Following on what Tim just said, several years ago Tim, Noah, OG Steph, and I all took a trip that I lovingly call “24 Hours of Disney”.
We started with a power nap, then got up around 3 AM, loaded into my car, and drove from San Jose to Anaheim. The rest of them continued to sleep/doze on the way down while I passed semis (for our foreign readers, that is pronounced “sem-eyes” and means “large trucks pulling large trailers”) at 100 mph on Interstate 5 in the pitch black. Hey, it kept me awake.
We stopped for breakfast at the International House of Pancakes where, if I remember correctly, Tim had French Toast, Noah had Belgian Waffles, OG Steph had an English Muffin, and I had American Deep-Fried Gravy-on-a-Stick, a staple of southern cuisine. I’m international that way.
We hit Disneyland near its opening, whereupon Tim jumped up and threw his arms around my neck while I tossed a hand under his outside thigh and carried him like a little brown sidecar for several yards. I remember telling him at some point that he is “difficult to spend time with”, but I can’t recall what period of sugar-induced Tim-frenzy this happened in. It might have been after the sidecar thing. I’m pretty sure it was that day.
At any rate, it was an awesome day. We rode all the rides we wanted, we ate whatever we wanted, Noah peed a lot (we eventually renamed peeing “Riding the Noah Ride”), and generally felt like kids again, reliving the unbridled joy of our childhoods in the world’s best playground.
When the park closed we ate dinner in Downtown Disney and then drove home. Tim took driving duties from me so that I could sit in the back and freak out about every jerk of the car instead of sleeping (I loved that car).
We got home around 3 AM the next morning, mission accomplished.
I think it is more than just making fond memories of Disneyland as a kid and then reliving them as an adult. I think it is Disneyland’s manic, nigh-fascist need to present a unified, polished front to every visitor that facilitates adult enjoyment of the place.
I have plenty of fond childhood memories of things that, viewed today, are rather cheap and shitty (I’m looking at you, original Transformers animated show), but Disneyland never seems to fall down that hole.
It may be a difficult, demanding, soul-grinding place to work, but it pays off for the guests.
Still, as Tim said, you should really take your kids to Disneyland.
September 26th, 2008 at 1:52 pm
I only went to Disneyland once, and that memory was tainted by what happened after. That is why I have to go again….. I don’t think some place like “The Happiest Place on Earth” should only remind me of what happened as soon as I got home from said trip. It can’t be “The Happiest Place on Earth”, if your only memories involving it, make a seventeen year old heartless bastard who hasn’t cried in over a year…. want to cry. It just doesn’t seem like the happiest place on earth, should make me want to cry…. that action, doesn’t fit the name. So I’m determined to go there, have a good time, come back, and not have anything happen that shatters my world. 🙂
September 26th, 2008 at 5:51 pm
The only thing you are misremembering is that this was our first trip to Disney’s California Adventure. I had gotten free tickets that were about to expire so that ‘s why we went.
And “difficult to spend time with” came as a result of me skipping down the street to the tune o the background music playing in the “Hollywood Pictures Backlot” Good times!
September 26th, 2008 at 7:28 pm
Thankfully, even though we’re up here in the Bay Area, the LIttle Sunflower has been able to visit Disneyland twice before the age of 10. I remember having to plot out your day because you only had so many A tickets, B tickets, C tickets, etc. and, of course, saving those E tickets for the very special rides.
Tim, you DO know what tickets I’m referring to?
Ol’ Dirty TANCast Fan,
Dean
September 27th, 2008 at 5:24 am
Thanks guys….I’ve been an ex-cast member for less than 1 week, and you’re already giving me withdrawls and regrets.
Not the most financially rewarding job I’ve had, but definitely the best.
September 27th, 2008 at 8:53 am
I would also add that if you are not on the west coast, you should take your kids to Disney World. Never been to the Land, but I think the sentiment is the same.
September 27th, 2008 at 4:40 pm
Yeah Jess, Roy’s park is great too, and I have gone 71 times to date. But Walt’s park has a bit more magic, but hey, I would go to either anytime, and stay within the gates forever if I could.
This is a nice topic for me, and makes me feel not so alone in my addiction, hehe!
September 28th, 2008 at 1:31 pm
Yeah, Tim, you are right. I tend mash both parks together and call the sum total “Disneyland”, but I guess that is only correct if you add the word “Resort” to the end.
Jess, I’ve been to both and I thought Disneyland was slightly higher quality and seemed to have more stuff to do per foot. Then again, I’ve only been to Disney World once, and it was 16 years ago…
September 28th, 2008 at 6:03 pm
“while I passed semis (for our foreign readers, that is pronounced “sem-eyes” and means “large trucks pulling large trailers”)”
I did pronounce that “sem-eez” in my mind at first due to my accent, but I did know what you were referring to (thanks to the fact that the majority of television I watch is American probably).
I’ve been to Disney twice in my life
Once when I was 3
and the other time was last December as my Dad bought a house in Florida and when we went over, we decided to go. It wasn’t as good as when I was 3 but I still enjoyed it :]
October 3rd, 2008 at 12:21 pm
People always think I’m nuts when I tell that story. I don’t know why I keep sharing it. Same with the story of the time we decided to leave at midnight and drive to Vegas only to get there at 8am exhausted and w/o a hotel room until 1pm. Ahh those were the days.
English muffin…pft. I most definitely had pancakes! IHOP pancakes are among my favorite of foods. Never pass them up on a trip to Disneyland.
Being friends with Tim means I hit the Magic Kingdom 3 or 4 times a year — though that’s probably how often he hits the park in a month. My favorite memory of this particular trip is Noah being scared on the Sun Wheel! It was priceless!
October 3rd, 2008 at 1:14 pm
Steph, I was going for a pattern so I needed “English Muffin” for the joke. 😀
Noah wasn’t the only one scared on the Sun Wheel. We had a little Brokeback Moment as we comforted each other…