Sleeping Jedi Beauty
Jedi Knight seeking his Disney Princess
- Joined
- Feb 11, 2006
- Messages
- 824
After reading some funny and heartwarming trip reports on the Walt Disney World side of the DIS, I've decided to write one myself and to practice for writing one after the upcoming family vacation to Disney World. So before, I start, I'll explain where my family's love for Disney came from.
It's probably fate that my mom would have been born in 1955 just months before Disneyland opened. I think our love of Disney comes from her. She loved watching Wonderful World of Disney as a little girl as it gave her a feeling of peace in a challenging childhood. And, so she lived until she met my dad in 1974. They married in the spring of 1975 and a few months later prepared to welcome a little one into their home. And so while decorating the nursery, mom made a fateful decision. As this was a long time ago in the days before ultrasounds, my parents had no idea what the child would be. As such, they decided to decorate the nursery in a way that would be friendly to a boy or a girl and hung up a poster of Mickey Mouse and friends. Consequently, their little boy(that would be me) grew up figuring that Mickey Mouse was a part of the family. Legend has it that I could spot Mickey from miles away. As mom moved closer to the thing that had caught my attention, she was astonished to find that it was indeed Mickey Mouse. She says I used to sit in my crib perfectly content with life until Mickey and Minnie jumped overboard, at which point I would forlornly cry, "Issy Wow, Issy Wow."
So, in 1978, my parents decided to take their two old son Mickey Mouse obsessed son to Disneyland for the first time. As a side note, they also took me to see Star Wars that year and thus my screenname becomes clear. I'm a Star Wars geek who loves Disney, hence my website with Princess Aurora wielding a lightsaber. Parents, be careful what you expose your children to in those impressionable years. Of all the things I loved in childhood, Star Wars and Disney are still the ones that capture my imagination(and pocketbook) these many years later. The decor in my room is dominated by Star Wars with some Disney pictures serving as my definition of fine art. I also have two plush Mickeys prominently displayed: Jedi Mickey and Vader Mickey. Rounding out the Disney/Star Wars theme is a 12" action figure of Princess Aurora wielding a lightsaber. Yes, I'm a geek and proud of it.
In some ways I've been dreaming of this trip since December 31, 2004. I spent much of the night in front of Sleeping Beauty Castle waiting for the fireworks to start. This castle in particular, holds special meaning for me. After years of frustration, hearbreak and difficult challenges in life, I had become rather cynical, with all of this coming to a boil in late 2003. While in Disneyland, I found myself wondering what had happened to my usual optimisim, hope and faith in the future. I had become the very thing I'd always wanted to avoid being, a bitter, cynical adult. And so one night during "personal time" at the parks, I chose to stake out a great seat in front of the castle for Believe in Holiday Magic. This night, I was moved to tears. As Disney played religious Christmas music and recreated the star from that first Christmas morning so many years ago, I remembered what it felt like to be optimistic. I was reminded that God is indeed watching out for me. I felt good again. And as Disney snow fell from the skies of southern California, a tear streamed down my cheek. Somewhere up in heaven, Walt Disney was smiling. The Disney magic was very real that December 2003 night and I felt a measure of peace and healing come to my troubled heart. I felt young again. For that reason, I suspect I will always want to watch the fireworks from in front of Sleeping Beauty Castle for the rest of my life. And so, the final night in 2004 I did the same thing. As the Disneyland ambassadors began to talk about what was in store for the 50th Anniversary, I knew that I wanted to come back to the park when the 50th was in full swing. And so, the genesis of this trip was born.
Cast of Characters:
DDad 55. An accountant by profession. He makes the money that enables us to take these trips, so he's very good at number crunching so we know just what he can do at the Happiest Place on Earth.
DMom 50. Has sacrificed many things, including some of her own dreams for her five children. Once, while in Florida with dad on a cruise, they chose to go to Universal with their free theme park ticket because going to Disney without the kids didn't feel right.
Me 29. A big Star Wars and Disney geek with a crush on Princess Aurora and a huge collection of Mickey Mouse plushes, including the aforementioned Star Wars Mickey ones via ebay.
DSis 23. Adores all little children. Has never met a baby she didn't find cute.
DBro 19. Still can't believe I convinced him to dress like a pirate when my friends and I went to see Pirates of the Carribean on opening night dressed as pirates when he was visiting me. Says running away from Cinderella's attempts to kiss him when he was 8 in Walt Disney World is the biggest regret of his life.
DSis 18. Her love of ewoks is entirely my fault. I gave her my old stuffed ewok when she was 2 or 3, and now she blames me for all the hair that thing has lost since she inherited him.
DDog. Mom was going to name him Wookiee based on his uncanny resemblance to Han Solo's furry sidekick, but decided against it because it would have been too weird to call the dog Wookiee. I'm still bitter that they changed dog's name, so I usually call him dog. Plus, it annoys my little sister who thinks that I don't like the dog.
Prologue: After many talks with my parents, we decided that the week before Christmas would be the time we go.
would be home from college and since I work in a college town, that would be a real easy time to get time off work. And so I looked excitedly forward to my trip for the 50th. Whenever I came across an Anaheim address or the 714 area code at work, I got excited just thinking about going to Disneyland again. I fly back home Saturday night, knowing that we're going to leave to see Issy Wow the next morning after going to church.
Day 1: Are we there yet, or I can see the Matterhorn and we're not even in Anaheim yet.
Bright and early in the morning, we pack up the motor home and head to church. After leaving church, we head out to the motor home, change our clothes for more comfortable travel attire and begin the ride down to see Mickey. I think Disneyland is dog's favorite vacation since he gets to come along and go bye bye in the Motor Home, which is one of his favorite things to do. The drive down from the San Francisco Bay Area to Mickey is long, but not too bad. I pass the time by catching up on some reading that I've been trying to finish before the end of the year. As it starts to get dark out, I have to stop reading, so I just look out the window. The closer we get to L.A., the more signs I see reminding me that it's the Happiest Homecoming on Earth. When we reach Orange County, I continue my tradition of trying to spot the Matterhorn first. At one point, I see a big, gray thing in the sky and think wonder if it's the Matterhorn. After a few minutes, I become convinced that it is and announce it. Dad then tells me that my vision is amazing since we're still 10 miles away from Anaheim, so I guess it wasn't the Matterhorn after all. Oh well, we're getting closer.
We finally get to Anaheim and while going through a city street, disaster strikes. Some truck is parked illegally and while we pass by, the side mirror on the motor home is knocked off. The screeching sound startles everybody.
is mad because the motor home is damaged,
thinks that dad was driving foolishly, and
is frustrated because he feels there was nothing he could do. This little mishap could really make the drive unsafe because a motor home really needs a side mirror. We find a local school parking lot to park in, and
and
go to visit the scene of the accident and call the police.
gets mad at me when I tease her after she asks "how do I use the toilet?" While at the school, I decide to take
for a walk. He's very excited to get out and has to explore every nook and cranny of the school and playground. He investiagates every tree and trash can on the grass and likes to see the assorted gates at the school. He eventually finds a suitable pottyland, and then runs around to investigate his new surroundings some more, while
gets worried because she can't see
, despite the fact that he's with me.
and
return with the good news that the other truck was illegally parked, so we're not responsible. We make the rest of the journey to the RV park without incident, except
is still mad at me because I tease her too much. What she doesn't get is that I tease the others as much as I tease her, but I digress. At the RV park,
goes for a walk again right around the time of the fireworks. I always enjoy watching the fireworks, and the new show looks nice, but I can't wait to see it in the parks for myself. Soon, it's time for bed, and I squeeze my 6'4 frame into the tiny bed in the motor home with a steel bar in my back. It doesn't matter though. I'm going to Disneyland in the morning and all is right with the world.
Coming soon: How to find your family members amidst the crazy crowds of Disney.
It's probably fate that my mom would have been born in 1955 just months before Disneyland opened. I think our love of Disney comes from her. She loved watching Wonderful World of Disney as a little girl as it gave her a feeling of peace in a challenging childhood. And, so she lived until she met my dad in 1974. They married in the spring of 1975 and a few months later prepared to welcome a little one into their home. And so while decorating the nursery, mom made a fateful decision. As this was a long time ago in the days before ultrasounds, my parents had no idea what the child would be. As such, they decided to decorate the nursery in a way that would be friendly to a boy or a girl and hung up a poster of Mickey Mouse and friends. Consequently, their little boy(that would be me) grew up figuring that Mickey Mouse was a part of the family. Legend has it that I could spot Mickey from miles away. As mom moved closer to the thing that had caught my attention, she was astonished to find that it was indeed Mickey Mouse. She says I used to sit in my crib perfectly content with life until Mickey and Minnie jumped overboard, at which point I would forlornly cry, "Issy Wow, Issy Wow."
So, in 1978, my parents decided to take their two old son Mickey Mouse obsessed son to Disneyland for the first time. As a side note, they also took me to see Star Wars that year and thus my screenname becomes clear. I'm a Star Wars geek who loves Disney, hence my website with Princess Aurora wielding a lightsaber. Parents, be careful what you expose your children to in those impressionable years. Of all the things I loved in childhood, Star Wars and Disney are still the ones that capture my imagination(and pocketbook) these many years later. The decor in my room is dominated by Star Wars with some Disney pictures serving as my definition of fine art. I also have two plush Mickeys prominently displayed: Jedi Mickey and Vader Mickey. Rounding out the Disney/Star Wars theme is a 12" action figure of Princess Aurora wielding a lightsaber. Yes, I'm a geek and proud of it.
In some ways I've been dreaming of this trip since December 31, 2004. I spent much of the night in front of Sleeping Beauty Castle waiting for the fireworks to start. This castle in particular, holds special meaning for me. After years of frustration, hearbreak and difficult challenges in life, I had become rather cynical, with all of this coming to a boil in late 2003. While in Disneyland, I found myself wondering what had happened to my usual optimisim, hope and faith in the future. I had become the very thing I'd always wanted to avoid being, a bitter, cynical adult. And so one night during "personal time" at the parks, I chose to stake out a great seat in front of the castle for Believe in Holiday Magic. This night, I was moved to tears. As Disney played religious Christmas music and recreated the star from that first Christmas morning so many years ago, I remembered what it felt like to be optimistic. I was reminded that God is indeed watching out for me. I felt good again. And as Disney snow fell from the skies of southern California, a tear streamed down my cheek. Somewhere up in heaven, Walt Disney was smiling. The Disney magic was very real that December 2003 night and I felt a measure of peace and healing come to my troubled heart. I felt young again. For that reason, I suspect I will always want to watch the fireworks from in front of Sleeping Beauty Castle for the rest of my life. And so, the final night in 2004 I did the same thing. As the Disneyland ambassadors began to talk about what was in store for the 50th Anniversary, I knew that I wanted to come back to the park when the 50th was in full swing. And so, the genesis of this trip was born.
Cast of Characters:







Prologue: After many talks with my parents, we decided that the week before Christmas would be the time we go.

Day 1: Are we there yet, or I can see the Matterhorn and we're not even in Anaheim yet.
Bright and early in the morning, we pack up the motor home and head to church. After leaving church, we head out to the motor home, change our clothes for more comfortable travel attire and begin the ride down to see Mickey. I think Disneyland is dog's favorite vacation since he gets to come along and go bye bye in the Motor Home, which is one of his favorite things to do. The drive down from the San Francisco Bay Area to Mickey is long, but not too bad. I pass the time by catching up on some reading that I've been trying to finish before the end of the year. As it starts to get dark out, I have to stop reading, so I just look out the window. The closer we get to L.A., the more signs I see reminding me that it's the Happiest Homecoming on Earth. When we reach Orange County, I continue my tradition of trying to spot the Matterhorn first. At one point, I see a big, gray thing in the sky and think wonder if it's the Matterhorn. After a few minutes, I become convinced that it is and announce it. Dad then tells me that my vision is amazing since we're still 10 miles away from Anaheim, so I guess it wasn't the Matterhorn after all. Oh well, we're getting closer.
We finally get to Anaheim and while going through a city street, disaster strikes. Some truck is parked illegally and while we pass by, the side mirror on the motor home is knocked off. The screeching sound startles everybody.













Coming soon: How to find your family members amidst the crazy crowds of Disney.