Disneyland !

Pardon my absence over the last few days ... this was the reason why !!

- hanging out with Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Goofy, Pluto, Tinkerbell, Peter Pan, Eeyore - need i say more ?? ;P

(the Welcome gang - yea, we were THAT close :)

On the streets of Main Street, USA (Disneyland)

(Sleeping Beauty's Castle - with Walt Disney & Mickey sculpture in foreground)

(the wonderfully illustrated Sleeping Beauty storybook in the Castle)

Girls were of cos' elated (an understatement) and so pumped up. The queues were just unbelievable. And everywhere. Even for ice-cream. And horrible exorbitant fast-food. But who cares when you might have Alice in Wonderland just in the next cafe, Chip and Dale as your servers, and a glimpse of the all famous Mouse ??!

Some of the rides like Flying Dumbo, or the Tea Cups are no different from the imitation sorts that you get at your neighbourhood Funfair and Gentings - BUT this is the REAL thing ! So of course you have to queue an HOUR for it !!

And we were so terribly lucky, when we got to our turn (we had to be the first in the line of the next batch after waiting an hour) Dumbo decided it couldn't take off !!! AND this was the very first ride we chose to sit ! But then Disneyland being Disneyland - it was perfectly explained with a smile and apologised profusely, and in another 20mins - we got to take the ride :) Same thing happened to us again when we decided to fall down the rabbit hole (another ride) with Alice in Wonderland !! The caterpillar wagon we were on just decided not to move any further when we moved simply 2 steps from the start point !!!

We must be jinxed !

But then of course we were still happy. Girls got to snack to hearts' content ! What else to do while waiting in line ??? So out came the cereal boxes, the snack bars, chocolates, gummies and biscuits.

Husband decided that he would not even look at the map or partake in any decision making at the Resort, and so by default i was the walking GPS through Disneyland's maze of attractions and had to negotiate the girls' fights of which to go for and what to queue !! Husband simply took easy option of just following blandly and nonchalently !! ggrrrrrrrr.....

What totally made the difference for me was simply the Disney touch - the perfect blend of music, lyric, animation, characterisation, and attention to detail. These were the rides that could totally not be replicated and you've just got to get to Disneyland to experience. For instance, for the Pooh ride, Hundred Acre Wood really came to life as we navigated the cardboard hills and met all of Pooh's friends - and this is set within a constructed shophouse no different from those shophouses we have in Singapore but what lay within was perfect Fantasy. And for the briefest moments the girls doubted their own sense of reality. Seeing Mickey and Minnie's house - all life-sized - with 'perfect' functioning appliances (dishwasher, ovens and all) they did believe they lived there. Guess that's the magic of Disney.

(we queued more than an hour for this shot. Crazy huh.

We gave up for Disney princesses - so no shot of those girlies ;P )

And here's the HIGHLIGHT. We took our first FAMILY roller coaster ride !!! Even little FAYE ! And my gosh, she's a little chilli-padi !! Squealing and screaming in delight !! Um... as for R, i'll leave u to guess.... :) C kept wanting to go back to re-queue .. but err.. another hour (???). We gave in and queued for a second round but that was IT !

(nah .. the pic really can't do justice)

And here's another ... the night show and FIREWORKS ... Simply MAGICAL. No other words. The sort of extravaganza that left one teary with goose-bumps on the arm because it just all made perfect sense in that moment - and you believed that DREAMS do and CAN come true. Tinkerbell flew through the sky, sprinkled her magic dust, over the crowds. And with the glistening Castle as backdrop, pyrotechnics and fireworks to add effect - all to the tune of 'When you wish upon a Star' - how to not be moved ?? R watched wide-eyed, C was half in dreamland (erm... no nap, and this was already 10pm), and then there's the some ... (u would know who) ... who answers ..."er, ok only what, like National DAY ????!!!!!!" gggrrrrrrrr....

(a scene from the Street Dance Party !
This was sooo fabulous and the characters appeared atop the floats
But the music and dancing was really q excellent)

Oh yes ! R and I were actually pulled down by the dancers to join in the Conga during the street parade !!! Isn't that memorable ! But of cos' - someone, did not manage to get a SNAPSHOT !!! ggrrrrrrrr...

Here are some of the other moments that were just perfect :)



You still there ??? Haha .. thanks for getting through this post with me !!