sayshelen
He changed his wand to a baton, and that's how it
- Joined
- Feb 15, 2011
- Messages
- 15
Every year I don't celebrate my birthday at Disneyland, I feel a little weird. Not regret, necessarily ... but it's been really ingrained in me!
It's just how everything lined up, I guess. I'm the oldest of 7 grandchildren, and we're all within 8 years of one other. My grandparents and my nuclear family lived in the LA area, but my cousins did not. My grandparents hosted Christmas every year, so members of the family from all over the country would convene in LA. And what self-respecting kid can visit LA without going to DL??
My birthday (12/31 -- yep, New Year's Eve) was always a perfect excuse to go. I've been to DL on NYE at least 10 times, and I'm only 25.
I've been many times in other seasons, too -- our family had APs multiple years in a row -- but there's something I can't shake about {Disneyland + birthday + new year}. They're just all connected in my head.
So, the funny story about my avatar (pic reprinted below).
This was taken on New Year's Eve 2009, my 24th birthday. 2009 was the year Disney ran a promotion where any CA resident could get in free on his/her birthday as part of the Year of a Million Dreams promotion. By my 24th birthday, I'd already been to DL quite a few times and my co-visitors and I were not the young spring chickens we once were.
So, we decided to roll in at around 2pm. On New Year's Eve.
As you might imagine (although clearly I had not expected it), the park was sold out! BUT, since it was my "Dream day," I was allowed to enter the park anyway, along with all my guests (there were ~5 of us total). Definitely one of the cooler Disney things to happen to me. They gave me and my party pins to wear -- theirs said "I'm Celebrating!" and mine said "Happy Birthday!" along with my name.
It was really cool to see and greet all the other people with "Happy Birthday!" pins! In all my years going to Disneyland on my birthday, it was the first time I realized how many other people, of all different ages, did the same thing on the very same day.
It's just how everything lined up, I guess. I'm the oldest of 7 grandchildren, and we're all within 8 years of one other. My grandparents and my nuclear family lived in the LA area, but my cousins did not. My grandparents hosted Christmas every year, so members of the family from all over the country would convene in LA. And what self-respecting kid can visit LA without going to DL??
My birthday (12/31 -- yep, New Year's Eve) was always a perfect excuse to go. I've been to DL on NYE at least 10 times, and I'm only 25.
I've been many times in other seasons, too -- our family had APs multiple years in a row -- but there's something I can't shake about {Disneyland + birthday + new year}. They're just all connected in my head.So, the funny story about my avatar (pic reprinted below).
This was taken on New Year's Eve 2009, my 24th birthday. 2009 was the year Disney ran a promotion where any CA resident could get in free on his/her birthday as part of the Year of a Million Dreams promotion. By my 24th birthday, I'd already been to DL quite a few times and my co-visitors and I were not the young spring chickens we once were.
So, we decided to roll in at around 2pm. On New Year's Eve.As you might imagine (although clearly I had not expected it), the park was sold out! BUT, since it was my "Dream day," I was allowed to enter the park anyway, along with all my guests (there were ~5 of us total). Definitely one of the cooler Disney things to happen to me. They gave me and my party pins to wear -- theirs said "I'm Celebrating!" and mine said "Happy Birthday!" along with my name.
It was really cool to see and greet all the other people with "Happy Birthday!" pins! In all my years going to Disneyland on my birthday, it was the first time I realized how many other people, of all different ages, did the same thing on the very same day.
