We waited on Main Street & caught Mickey, Goofy & Donald Duck in their Year of A Million Dreams Attire.  We were standing and chatting with a "suit"/manager & he asked if we saw all of them.  We hadn't seen Minnie but her line was very long & knew we'd never make it up to her.  The 2 yr old really wanted to see her & he had been wishing Anthony a happy birthday when he said.....you know, Minnie's a friend of mine, follow me.  So we all went with him.  He took us right up to her, by passing the line & introduced us to her as his friends.  We got to do autographs & pics with her.  It was so awesome that he did that for us.  It made me cry.  I gave him a very emotional thank you.  WE FOUND THE DISNEY MAGIC ON OUR LAST DAY!!

We made our way to Fantasyland & rode Dumbo & the Teacups.  We made our way back towards Critter Country & got in the photo lines again when we spotted Tigger out & about.  We were at the first of the line & Tigger did make it out with Pooh & Eeyore today.  Hooray!

We had lunch & watched the show at the Golden Horseshoe with Billy Hill & the Hillbilles.  If you haven't seen this show, make plans to include it in your next trip.  It was hilarious & the bass player was outstanding.  What he did with his bass was amazing if you have any musical knowledge at all you will realize this.  We made our way back to Main Street to the Opera House to check out the 50th display & movie.  We missed this on our trip during the 50th & was thrilled it was still there.

We rode the monorail over to Downtown Disney to have dinner at Goofy's Kitchen.  The food here is always very good but the characters weren't as many as our last trip & they didn't hang out & play with all the family members before departing.  We saw Pluto, Goofy, Jasmine & Aladdin (together), Chip, Dale & Derek's (18yr) favorite Brer Fox!.  We were celebrating Anthony's Birthday & Addy's almost adoption, so we had pre-ordered the birthday buckets.  The cakes are really big & Jasmine & our waiter sang happy birthday to them.  We had fun & will always make this meal a priority in our trip planning.

We made our way back to Main Street in Disneyland to find a place for the fireworks.  We decided to watch them from the flag pole up by the Main Street Train Station.  While we waited we saw Minnie & Goofy playing around the churro cart & then take a spot for pics & autographs.  Since we already had them, we sat on our park bench & enjoyed the chaos.  The fireworks started & we had a great view of them.  Sad knowing this was our last night & the fireworks pretty much marked the end of a rollercoaster trip.

Our summary of the trip:

Was this truly Walt's vision of the future for Disneyland.  Did he know that the parks popularity would grow so big that taking your family to this place would no longer be a relaxing stroll down memory lane but rude people would take over by pushing & shoving & not seeing the beauty of the parks but only the rides.  Instead of feeling safe letting your children run freely when they see a character or a ride that excites them you have to keep them held tightly as to not get pushed over & lost in the crowds.  The changes in the park are amazing but some of the magic from when I was a kid has been lost on staying competitive with thrill parks. 

Even on this trip when we were questioning why we ever came, we found a path to follow & enjoyed all the different aspects that they 2 parks had to offer.  We did find the magic on our last morning as we were treated like royalty when Adaleah had to see Minnie.  We also felt the magic as we watched the parades & saw our kids eyes light up when they saw a character they loved.  We all felt the magic when the fireworks shock the ground we were standing on......at those times, nothing else mattered. 

There still is magic that Walt so wanted to share by making this park, it's up to us to appreciate it & not think only about the rides.  These parks are so much more than that.

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       "A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes...."

I think Walt would be very happy to see all of the people that love Disneyland.  It is certainly not his fault that some people are simply rude.

Leanne

May All Your Days Be Filled With Magic!  And your nights full of Disney Dreams!

Kristi

I'm glad you enjoy the pics!!

       "A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes...."