Disneyland: Fun At Any Age!

My adventuresome crew and I had been discussing a trip to Southern California for at least the past year, as a way to escape the brutal desert summer weather. A few weeks ago, we collectively summoned the motivation to take this road trip and spent a day at Disneyland.

Now I could not even remember the last time I had gone to Disneyland, although clues from distant memories tell me that I may have been there at age 11. That's 2 decades ago. The last time I was there, Michael Jackson's Captain EO 3-D film was one of the newest attractions. Sadly, Captain EO was removed from the Land of Disney in 1997 - perhaps due to the controversies surrounding the gloved one at the time? Possibly, but that is only my own speculation. Lucky me, I was fortunate to have the Captain EO experience. If you haven't, here's part one of the film - 3-D glasses aren't necessary for this version:

I must say that Disneyland truly maintains its appeal no matter what your age. Even more exciting now is the addition of Disney's California Adventure theme park, complete with more rides for the thrillseeker in all of us. One notable ride: The California Screamin' roller coaster. Had I not been feeling ill to begin with, and time not a factor, I would have rode that coaster several more times.

We managed to spend half of our day at California Adventure before moseying over to the Magic Kingdom, just yards away. Disneyland itself continues to reinvent its own experience, while maintaining the attractions of our youth. Pirates of the Caribbean, the legendary Tea Cups, the Dumbo ride, and Space Mountain are all mainstays.A couple of the new rides proved to be welcome additions. Even though we spent 90 minutes waiting in line, the Indiana Jones Adventure ride is a new favorite of mine. It is definitely a rocky ride, and puts riders right in the midst of the action. If you ever wondered what it might be like to be in an Indy adventure, this is the ride for you!

Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters is inspired by the movie Toy Story, and riders feel like they're in a real life video game. Essentially, the point is to shoot your laser gun at the targets for points as you defend the universe against the Evil Emperor Zurg. In the end, I scored a modest 14,000 or so points, which I felt wasn't so bad for a beginner. To put things into perspective, my pal John (who has clearly had some practice) scored upward of 160,000 points. I'll get there eventually. Fortunately, he's shared some pointers for next time!

All in all, our Disney adventure was quite satisfying. I won't deny myself the opportunity to ever go back, because one day I will. Next time I won't wait 20 years to do so.