McKenzie Free

One woman's quest for greater understanding through freedom of self expression.

04 Aug 2022
3 Comments

Disneyland – What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger!

I just got back from three full days in what some call “The Happiest Place on Earth”. For the record, it is definitely not my happy place. I knew that before going. Disney would be my very last choice for a vacation spot. I agreed to go because my sister wanted to take her grandchildren and needed some help doing so and, in the end, I was glad I did.

The Good Stuff                                                            

  • The looks of joy and wonder on the kids’ faces before we even got into Disneyland proper seeeing characters come alive everywhere we glanced.
  • The horticulture. It is amazing. I truly have never seen anything like it anywhere before. There are flowers of all kinds blooming everywhere.
  • Getting to spend three solid days with my great nieces and share something they will always remember.
  • Helping my sister be able to do something that was clearly meaningful to her.
  • Seeing the joy on my nephew and his wife’s face when we met them for dinner in the evening. Their smiling faces saying, “thank you”, or was it, “better you than us!” They were able to enjoy quality time together sailing and scuba diving knowing the girls were safe with us.
  • The beach in LA when we finally made our escape where we saw a horde throng school pod of about fifteen dolphins swimming by.
  • Being close enough to LA to be able to have dinner with my unofficial Goddaughter, Sami. So great to be with her for an evening.

The Bad Stuff

  • How is it possible that in 2022 we are still pushing the princess story on young girls? Your prince isn’t coming. Do Not Wait for him before starting your life.
  • Waiting in line after line after seemingly endless line, from security to check-in, from rides to restaurants, it was wait, wait and wait some more.
  • The heat, the heat, the bloody heat!
  • The thousands and thousands of people sharing your space every moment.
  • Almost throwing up on the teacup ride after I said, “How bad can it be, small children go on it all the time?”
  • The heat, the heat, did I mention the heat!
  • Walking around in sweaty, wet clothes for hours and hours each day.
  • The constant noise and over-stimulation.
  • The unavoidable, massive consumerism.
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3 thoughts on “Disneyland – What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger!”

  1. Neal Saye on said:

    I was thrilled, THRILLED, to see this post. And come to find out you were vacationing at Disneyland. Seriously, I love reading about your positives. What a great time with your loved ones. I’m so glad you got to do that. But who had the idea to do it in late July/early August?!