Disneyland

Saturday, Tim and I went to the Happiest Place on Earth.  

No, not the bar.  

Disneyland!  

I have loved Disneyland since I was a little kid.  

Growing up, we would go at least once a year.  I was raised on the magic.  

The summer after high school graduation,  my ex boyfriend and I bought annual passes

and would go spend random afternoons and evenings at the park.  

This led to me being somewhat of a Disneyland fanatic 

because for once, 

I didn't have to rush through the park.  

No more running from ride to ride

trying to fit it all in.  

I finally had time to stop and smell the roses, so to speak and I started to see the park 

in a whole new light.  

I started to appreciate the little things that make Disneyland... 

well... 

magical.  

I went through a little bit of a Disneyland separation period when that relationship ended.  

It was hard to be there without my ex when I was single

and
I was broke as a joke 

and 

couldn't afford to renew my pass.  

Since then, I had gone a few times with my family, friends, and Tim (back when he was just my boyfriend.)

Then, last year, right before we got married, 

Tim got a job with Disney! 

How awesome is that?  

One of the many perks is we get something similar to an annual pass for free!  

We can go (almost) any time we want for free.  

I ran around the house squealing when I found this out.  

So since then, 

we go a lot   

and we love it.  

I still get excited to be there.  

This visit, something truly magical happened.  

We, randomly, decided to ride around the Rivers of America on the Mark Twain.  

We were waiting on the dock, when the captain said hi to us.  

We said hi back and he asked if we were the only two people in our party.  

We confirmed that we were and he asked us to 

drive the boat with him!  

Oh my gosh.
I was so excited.  

I had never heard of them letting anyone up into that part of the boat.  

The part marked, "Castmembers Only."  

We got to "drive" the Mark Twain

and the captain answered all of my questions about the park.   

It turns out that he is an ex imagineer and was around for a lot of the conceptualizing.  

It was amazing.  

I found out so much stuff that I was curious about from someone who saw it before it was made.  

Once we told him that Tim works for the company, 

we learned even more.  

But I'm not allowed to talk about that.  

Apparently, little things like driving the Mark Twain are part of Disneyland's "Magical Memories" program.  

All I can say is, it was definitely magical and we both felt like little giddy little kids.  

We even got to ring the bells and honk the horns.  

Oh hi, I'm just driving the Mark Twain!  

Tim and the captain

Big Thunder Mountain

The Columbia

Baby ducky in the Rivers of America!  

The Haunted Mansion

Haunted Mansion mailbox

The Jungle Cruise

Autopia

Sleeping Beauty Castle

This is the best place to take pictures of the castle.  So much better than right in front, IMO

Have you ever been to Disneyland?  

What about the other parks?  

What is your favorite ride?