My visit with Mickey and the gang

Walt Disney once said, “I think what I want Disneyland to be most of all is a happy place - a place where adults and children can experience together some of the wonders of life, of adventure, and feel better because of it.”

Well, Mr. Disney, mission accomplished.

I have a friend who asked me last week if people ever question why I love Disney parks even though I don’t have children to go there with. I told her that for one thing, the park isn’t just for kids but rather for those who are a kid at heart. I also said that when I go through those gates, I become a kid again and leave all my adult stresses and anxieties, of which there are many, behind me. Needless to say, she then asked, “When are we going?”

After way-too-long of a hiatus, I made it back to visit the House that the Mouse built two weeks ago, which I mentioned I was going to do in this column a couple of months ago. Because of that, I thought I’d give an update.

My cousin, David, agreed to join me, which meant a lot to me for him doing so. We flew into Orange County (John Wayne) Airport on a Thursday, him coming from Northern California. Let me tell you, if you ever have to go to the Los Angeles area, choose that airport over LAX.

After checking into our hotel and having lunch, we decided to go to Downtown Disney. For those not familiar, it is a shopping and dining area attached to Disneyland and California Adventure but you don’t need a park ticket to get in. We hung out there for a few hours and did some souvenir shopping. I got a new coffee mug of Grumpy (one of my favorite characters) which says “Best Day Never.”

Downtown Disney is like the appetizer and Disneyland is the main course, which we experienced the next day.

That night might as well have been Christmas Eve as I woke up several times out of excitement to look at the time, hoping it was time to get up and head to the park.

We knew it was going to be warm, at least by Anaheim standards that time of the year …nearly 90 degrees. By Boulder City standards that’s almost sweater weather this time of the year but add in some humidity and 14 hours at the park, and well, it takes a lot out of you.

We got to the park about 30 minutes after it opened. I put the Disneyland app on my phone, which helps quite a bit in knowing the wait times for rides and attractions. Much to our delight, several of the more popular rides, like Pirates of the Caribbean, Jungle Cruise, Big Thunder Mountain Railroad and Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run, all had wait times of five minutes or less. We were pleasantly shocked. Between Disneyland and later California Adventure, the longest we waited was about 35 minutes. So, all in all, not too shabby.

The following day we went to Universal Studios, which was fun. My cousin had not been there since he was a kid and for me, 2008. Then, on that Sunday, we had five hours to kill before our flights left, so we went to Knott’s Berry Farm, which was also fun with a dash of nostalgia thrown in.

Over the four days we compiled 57,000 steps or about the distance of a marathon. That’s if marathons were broken into four days with mandatory Dole Whip, churro and cheesy pretzel breaks along the way.

I’m very thankful I was able to make it back to see the Mouse and his House. But after each visit I’m always a little down, often wishing I had seen or done more. I guess that just means I need to plan another trip real soon or get a job as a Jungle Cruise captain. Life is short. Take the trip. Eat the churro. Experience that Disney magic that Walt talked about.