Happiest Place on Earth

A week ago we drove to Anaheim to spend a few days at Disneyland with my brother-in-law and his family.

Disneyland during spring break was, as you might imagine, extremely crowded. But E had a blast riding the rides. He especially enjoyed the roller coasters and wanted to go on Space Mountain again and again. E also loved the fireworks. Every night when they started he would turn to us and exclaim, "Mama, Daddy, my wish came true!" with this expression of bliss on his face.

After Space Mountain, It's A Small World was E's favorite ride--he still breaks into the theme song at random moments :)

This was our first time going to Disneyland as a family and I have to say, I was impressed. I know they're well-known for their customer service but it's totally true: their staff is really great. Everyone was cheerful and helpful and everything was sparkling clean and well-run. So much so that it didn't even seem like that much of a rip-off. ($3 for a bottle of water? Eh, fine--look at the smile of my kid's face!)

The thing that struck me the most was the complete absence of snark or irony. The ride operators never got snippy or rolled their eyes (I'm looking at you, Legoland) and the actors were very committed to their roles and radiated cheeriness. I was thoroughly charmed but more gratifyingly, so was E.

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