yes we all dream… we all have those things in life that make us happy – no matter what. well for me, it’s a trip to disneyland! it’s true. this has to be my most favorite place to go – definitely the happiest place on earth for me. i have been an annual pass holder for the past 3 years and go whenever i can sneak away for a few days (living in arizona it’s not that far to go…). this is the place i find MY inspiration, the place where nothing else in the world matters, and i can truly escape – i just love it. i’ve been a huge disney fan for years and even collect vintage mickey mouse stuff (you know the old pie-eyed mickey?) – i even have an entire room in my house devoted to it! well i just returned from a trip there yesterday – i went with some friends of mine and left on monday for 3 fun-filled disney days. the trip was a much needed vacation for me and even though i’m home for just one day before i head out again tomorrow to teach – it was WELL worth it…
we arrived on monday morning and checked into the disney grand california hotel – it’s an amazing place to stay, and then headed into the park. i have so many favorite stops to make, rides to do, and the most important – places to eat. my friends that i went with are so much fun, so easy going, and we all just enjoy every minute of it whether we’re riding the rides, or just sitting on main street…there’s truly nothing else like it. for 3 days it was OUR time and we made it just that. on our final day (yesterday) we headed into california adventure to ride on the new toy story midway mania – it’s a fun "virtual midway shooting gallery" ride where you get to take part in this 3-D virtual carnival palooza. we were making our way to the ride when i spotted some disney cast members just hanging around so we made a little detour down the path and to our "magical" dream filled surprise it was the disney dream squad – they were so nice to us. if you’re an avid disney freak like i am you know all about them already, but basically they are part of disney’s "year of a million dreams" celebration where you can be granted these money-can’t-buy disney experiences. you never know when or where these dream team cast members will be and in all of our trips the past year that this was going on, we never even spotted any of them.
well, we were all the recipients of a disney dream fast-pass! this badge we were given granted us fastpass access to all of the top rides in both parks without having to wait in line! it was something we always talked about when we saw other people sporting these around only hoping that "someday" we would be lucky enough to win one… it was our day for sure! later that day we were visiting the disney animation studio where were greeted by other members of the dream sqaud and were given these exclusive mickey ears to honor the celebration – can you imagine 2 in one day??? it was nothing short of a dream come true for this disney crazed kid…
now the only thing left on my disney "bucket list" is to one day get the chance of a lifetime to get in here (pictured above)… what is it? where is it? well again, if you’re insanely addicted to disneyland like i am you’ve probably heard the tales of club 33. this is a very exclusive club located in new orleans square just outside of the pirates of the caribbean ride. there is a door, this sign, and a bell to ring in the exclusive members of this club. once again it’s a money can’t but experience considering you can’t even get a membership to this elite club – you have to know somebody who is a member and the members transfer from family to family, organization to organization. no tours, sneak peaks, or visits are ever granted to this area of the park unless you are an invited guest of a member of club 33. one can still wish right???
well that’s a little recap of my disney vacation and i’m already looking forward to my next one…t!m
