We experienced our last day at Disneyland, and I must say it exceeded my expectations (and the boys' -- Mike's expectations were fulfilled because he loves Disneyland!) We didn't have to line up really at all, which made the experience that much better. We arrived when the gates opened and did the popular things first and then used that Fastpass system for whatever other rides we thought we wanted to try and we saw all the iconic Disney events -- the parade, the characters, Mickey and Minnie's houses in Toontown (which is really eye-popping -- you feel like you've walked into a cartoon)!
I was able to suck up the courage to join the family on the Matterhorn and Space Mountain and Star Tours (great fun), and the Astro Blasters. The menfolk were very impressed because they know how afraid I am of these things. We also went on the Nemo submarine, and the Teacups (just Anthony and me, because Mike and William don't like to spin), Roger Rabbit's Cab Trip through the bowels of New York City, Peter Pan's soar over London, Mr. Toad's Wild Ride and probably others because it's starting to get to be a blur. We went into the Innoventions building, where the boys got to see what they'd look like as Iron Man and play the most recent video games. William wanted to see the Jedi Training School and so we had lunch there and watched kids learning to be Jedis and fighting Darth Vader. Neither of my brave lads wanted to get on the stage and participate!
We saw the end of the "Fantasmic" show. I'm not big on these huge spectacles, and it certainly was that -- explosions and colourful water shooting out of the Rivers of America, and multiple Mickey Mouses fighting evil (not much of a story -- the basic premise seems to be that your imagination can do anything), but it was great if you like that sort of thing. I just can't picture myself camping out somewhere for two hours to see it.
The parade was what really knocked my socks off (and I'm not a huge parade fan, either). There were all these brilliantly costumed dancers and floats portraying all the Disney favourites and it's amazing how many of the songs you know and can sing along to. And the energy! It's like living in the middle of a musical! I couldn't take it for long, but it was certainly worth experiencing!
When we got back to the hotel, there was a cop standing in front of the driveway -- apparently, there was a protest at City Hall about the George Zimmerman verdict and they were concerned that the protest might erupt into violence. The tv news is in one of those feeding frenzies about it with every analyst trying to make sense of it and wondering what Obama will do or won't do. I don't know what to think about it -- I look at my little "interracial" boys and wonder if the world has really changed as much as I think it has when I think of William's gang at school -- Muzzamil, Magid, Kaoru and William -- all kids from all sorts of backgrounds who don't see any real differences, except that Kaoru plays hockey and William plays soccer and things like that.
Anyway, nothing we can do about it, at least at this point. We're off to Universal Studios today.
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