The Happiest Place on Earth

Well it's been a while since I've posted anything, and I thought that now would be as good a time as any.  Unfortunately I really don't have anything on my mind about which to ramble on for a while.  Therefore the idea that I'm running with is just writing and seeing where my mind takes me, a dangerous adventure for sure, but hopefully it turns out to be a fun ride.  In fact that itself made me wonder why it is that just starting to write with no plan in mind gives you ideas.  It happens every time without fail.  I could sit around thinking for hours and not come up with anything that I would ever really want to write about, or I can just start writing anything and like magic a fairly decent topic comes out.  It seems to work with anything, from blogging to writing essays for school, just start and the rest will come out.  So Disneyland, it's a pretty awesome place.  Just this last weekend I had the pleasure of taking my first trip there, and what an experience it was.  I do feel, however, that I may have missed out on opportunities to go at the right age.  To my parents credit, they did take me and the rest of the family to Disney world, but that was back in 93 when I was only 8 years old.  Honestly, that was probably a better time to go than at 25, except that the problem remains that I have an absolutely horrible memory.  So while I probably had more fun with all of the childish things involved with Disney World, I can honestly only remember a very small number of them.  And that raises the question in my mind, when is the ideal time to go to Disneyland/World.  I realized this last weekend that I was too old for the majority of rides and things happening there, a lot of them were simply slow and not very exciting.  Even a ride like space mountain doesn't really carry the pizazz that one is seeking at an amusement park.  However, if you go when you're too young, then years later you can't remember the experience that well, other than it occurred and it was a great time.  Well then, when was it that I stopped being into shows like Doug or the Rugrats, and started to focus on more mature entertainment?  To the best of my recollection, which may I remind you is not very good, it was right around the time of becoming a teenager, say 12 or 13.  I think that this would be the ideal age to go and visit such a Theme Park.  In this stage you will still be excited about meeting characters, or at least people dressed up like the characters, and all of the other childish happenings which are going on, and hopefully remember it a little better.  But then again, as I was walking around Disneyland there was one thought which I had repeatedly, that it would be so much more fun to have gone with my niece and nephews.  Perhaps, then, the best time to experience Disneyland is when you are there to enjoy the pleasure of seeing someone else love every second of it.  Maybe the best reason to go isn't a selfish one of having fun yourself, but seeing loved ones eyes light up as they get to say hi to Mickey and Buzz Lightyear.  Personally I thought Disneyland was a wonderful place but now that I've been there and can remember what it's like, I'm even more excited for the day when there are little Travises (or perhaps Travi) running around that I can bring with me and enjoy their enjoyment!