Disneyland...happiest?

We realized right away that Disneyland is much more than "the happiest place on earth." In fact, it is the land of every feeling. Emi soon began to ask "what feeling is this ride?" and the rides started to fit into catagories:

storybook-by-cart (such as Alice, Peter Pan, Winnie the Pooh and such) spinning (tea cups, dumbo, etc.) make-your-insides-move (like splash mountain & river run) creep-you-out (ie: haunted mansion and bugs life show) and the dreaded "tipping rides" which were in a seperate catagory from make-your-insides-move because only some coasters actually take you sideways, which became the deciding factor for Emi if she would ride...we basically traumatized her with ridng space mountain entirely unprepared.

And then there was this other curious feeling at Disneyland...right around 2pm, that feeling when you have sweat dripping inside your clothes and your personal space is limited to an inch around you...and you realize you can actually walk away, but really you can't because you've been standing here too long...i think it's called resignation. It meant it was time to go back to the hotel for a while. But honestly, our trip was brilliantly wonderful, and we got to go thru all the sensation overload as a family with nobody's schedule but our own. We learned a lot about each other and how to help and love each other better.

Here is our Top Ten from Disneyland:

10. riding in our hot car on top of a tow-truck for two hours into cedar city...this is in the top ten because Amber made out like a bandit with a new Pacifica!

9. Churros, Pomme Frites and the Monte Cristo sandwich, yes it is entirely deep fried...and the Pineapple Dole Whip Float in the Tiki Room

7. splash mountain and the grizzly river run... riding Indiana Jones with Lynzee...the second time.

6. Club Libby Lu makeovers (even though Emi took hers out a few hours later to wash it in the water at the puddle park)

5. The fireworks...watching from our top of the hotel pool, from Adventureland, from Fantasyland, and the last night, from the castle...great show...although I think I'm having respiratory difficulties as a result.

4. this amazing acrobatic cirque du soleil bird girl with her rope on The Lion King parade float, seriously worth an autograph.

3. Emi says,"when we shrunk in the cereal box to go into the bug land"

2. Lynz says, "snowglobes" (both are currently broken)

1. the ultimate Disneyland experience came moments before we left the park near midnight on the last day...we had embroidered some mickey hats at the last minute and the girls were having a meltdown outside...lynz was bent over this post sobbing and exhausted when Mickey Mouse suddenly appeared from behind the building and started rubbing her back, it took a while for her to turn around, she was that tired...but when she did...it was disney magic. Walt would be proud.