Disneyland, One Year Later

It has been exactly one year since I've set foot in Disneyland, and a few things have changed.

We used the shuttle after flying into John Wayne Airport, and it took us right to the motel at about noon. Very nice. We discovered that there are, indeed, lockers in the Desert Inn & Suites, and they're huge and only $1 for the day. So we stowed our luggage away, to be picked up when we checked in, which was around 3:30.tt

Actually, we only visited one attraction after having lunch at the Carnation Cafe -- Pirates, and, yes, Johnny Depp is still in it -- and then went back to the motel to check in and take a nap. Well, Dawn took the nap. We got out of there in plenty of time to take the monorail to Downtown Disney. However, the monorail wasn't working, so we had to practically run to Rainforest Cafe.

We had a delightful dinner at Rainforest Cafe, and walked back in the now cooled-off Downtown Disney back to the motel. We went to bed early, knowing we'd have to immediately check in tomorrow upon the park opening for our tour.

I have always wanted to take the Walk in Walt's Footsteps Tour, but had never known how to do that. Dawn and I talked it over, and decided to do it, and I called to sign up. When we got to the tour kiosk, which is right inside the park, they told us to select our lunch. He entered that into the computer, and we knew it'd be waiting for us when we returned.

Much of the tour was about telling us how the park started, the obstacles Walt Disney faced into getting it funded, and getting people to believe in him. And then she'd play a little of a speech or talk he had made to illustrate a point. We listened to these on our headsets, which handily set on the back of our heads, not the top.

I enjoyed hearing such trivia as the difference between a merry-go-round and a carrousel. It seems that Walt wanted his to have all horses, not other things in it, so that everyone could have a horse. And a carrousel rides counter-clockwise. A merry-go-round has other things besides horses and rides clockwise.

The guide took us only on two rides: the railroad and the Enchanted Tiki Room. She explained to us that the Tiki Room is still named Walt Disney's Enchanted Tiki Room because Walt had to fund it out of his own money. Apparently, getting enough money together to complete projects was a real ongoing hassle for Mr. Disney. It's hard to believe that in 1959, he opened three major attractions in Disneyland, a mere four years after he opened the theme park itself.

We walked back from where we'd begun, and found our packed lunches on picnic tables, each with our name written on top. We chatted a bit with the mother and daughter team with us, and more with Brittanie when she stopped by to give us condiments. It seems that Brittanie is an expert in candy and all things sweet at Disneyland! She told us a lot about other tours she's led, including the holiday one which gives you prime seating for the parade at night. While that sounded like a great tour, I wanted one led about the candy in Disneyland - what is and what used to be!