Secondhand Magic- Solo at Disneyland

Solo? Me. Yep.

The older I get, the more comfortable I become with doing more things alone. I think it happens with a lot of us as we age. We become more comfortable in our own skins and don't mind going out to dinner or a movie alone.

So when my work recently took me to Anaheim, I of course, had to sneak in a little time at the Happiest Place on Earth, Disneyland. I left on Thursday, November 10th to attend the National Association of Realtors (NAR) show in Anaheim. My goal was attend sessions to educate myself more about our customers and this new growing market for property management. It didn't hurt that Michael Eisner was the keynote!

So after looking at the tradeshow and conference schedule, I planned how much time I might have free in the evenings or early mornings to sneak over to Disneyland and Disney's California Adventure. It worked out where I was able to head over at least three separate times during down time from the event.

Riding Tower of Terror!

While visiting the parks solo isn't my favorite thing, it is nice to have the freedom and flexibility to do what I want. I do miss sharing the magic with someone else, although sitting and just people watching is fun, since you can often experience their magic secondhand. It's like secondhand smoke.....secondhand magic.

So I won't go into gory details on my visit, other than to say it was magical. After sitting in long sessions all day, it was nice to have a break with Mickey. Plus, this was a fabulous time of year to visit the parks. The weather was great, the crowds weren't too horrible and several holiday overlays were available on certain attractions, including Small World Holiday and Haunted Mansion Holiday.

I was able to experience rope drop one day, being one of the first in the park, as my sessions didn't start until after 10am. I also got to hang out during the evening hours too. Haunted Mansion Holiday was fabulous. Last time I visited Disneyland in September 2010, it was down for the overlay, where they transform it into the special holiday version. I absolutely loved the holiday version featuring Jack Skellington. One of my favorite things about Disney is how well they do details and this was no exception. No detail was missed. The paintings in the hallway as you prepare to board were changed to the new theme. It was fantastic. William would have loved it since he is such a Haunted Mansion fan. I ended up riding it at least 3x.

I was also able to experience the fun overlay for Small World. It was so festive inside and the holiday lights on the outside were just unbelievable!

Wednesday Williamisms

"Mommy, my hands are tired of sleeping."

"Mommy, why do we have hair on our eyes?"

"The wipers are farting."

Here is William's rendition of the windshield wipers "farting" while they move.

Where Has the Time Gone?

Okay, I admit it, I am WAY behind on my blog posts. But you know, sometimes life gets in the way. Being a full time working mom means my free time (wait, what's that?) is often spent catching up on household chores or spending some precious minutes with my son. So the blog suffers. But that's okay.

One day, I'd love to have a full on professional blog, probably Disney-centric, yes, but still, something other than this. This has been a great place for me to sort of capture all those little moments and memories throughout the year. So yes, it's a little selfish, but this year, I plan to focus on more fun posts that just aren't about using a blog as a personal scrapbook.

So I remain behind. Time to catch up.

But where has the time gone? The holidays, our annual Disney trip in October and a super busy time at work sucked it all away. I'll get it back, so stay tuned for a ton of updates, although they might be a little late, I figure better later than never.

Wednesday Williamisms

After looking at the little boo-boo on his hand that he received at a bounce house birthday party...."Mommy, I have a rum burn." I think he meant rug burn.

We had awful rain last night. While putting him to bed, he asked about the rain. I told him how it was good and we need it to help the grass and plants grow and fill up the lakes. So he says, "So does the thunder help our house grow?" Hmmmm, I don't think so kid.

"Mommy, check my butt, check my butt!" We are still working on him wiping himself well. So he insists on me "checking" the area for him after he is done. This often occurs after I have already put him to bed and he suddenly gets back up at 10pm to use the bathroom. Oh the joys of motherhood.

Wednesday Williamisms

William has really gotten into his imaginative play. Heard this evening while playing with his Batman "castle"..... "Come up here Robin. I can't see you. Just take the elevator!"

"I am going down the beanstalk, I have to take my brother to the hospital." (another make believe play time story)

Anytime you ask him a question lately, he usually starts his answer with "Let's see.......hmmmm."

"I tooted."

"Mommy, I don't have to have any shots until I am 10?"

Wednesday Williamisms

How does the apple juice get in my pee pee. Maybe a door opens up and goes in my pee pee

Mommy, I can't close my eyes because I keep hearing scary baby noises.

Mommy, if I am getting presents from everyone, then Santa doesn't need to bring me any.

ICE!

We finally ventured out to see the ICE display at the Gaylord Texan this year. We went right after Thanksgiving to beat all the crazy crowds that form closer to Christmas. We joined Mama (Grandma) and Papa, plus my sisters and their kiddos.

The snow hill wasn't open yet, so we just enjoyed exploring the resort and also checking out the ICE display, this year themed to "Shrek the Halls."


William loved all of the train displays.