I think I can...I think I can....

On Tuesday, our Southern California Trip found Autumn and I headed for Disneyland.

I had a lot of reservations about going because of my back problems. I have problems standing for long periods of time and although I could use a mobile scooter, I don’t want to because there is always someone who needs the use of one more.

We got up at about 6:30 a.m. and hit the freeway for our hour ride into Anaheim. With the Tom Tom guiding us, we left at about 8 a.m. and made our way through the freeways of LA.

We arrived at Disneyland at about 9:30 a.m. because of traffic and proceeded to the handicapped parking garage. Fine and dandy but to get the trams, there was quite a walk but since it was the morning and all my back felt pretty good so we got up to the loading area easily.

Crowds wait patiently for thier tram to arrive.

Trams that take guests to Disneyland and California Adventure.

Autumn is happy to finally be on the tram.

After going through security and entering the park gates, we went to guest services and obtained a handicapped pass that would allow us to enter most of the rides from the exit platform. Great, except we were warned that some rides would still require us to wait before boarding.

Disneyland's Main Street Station.

 To cut down on the walking, we opted to ride the Disneyland Railroad to the different areas of the park. Again this was great. So we rode to Fantasyland or the It’s A Small World building and walked to the main part of Fantasyland. First it was Pinocchio’s Daring Journey, the Peter Pan’s Flight, Snow White, Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride, a walk through of Sleeping Beauty’s Castle and then it was back on the train to New Orleans Square.

Mini Pirate Ships awaiting riders for Peter Pan's Flight

 .By now my back was starting to be a pain, so we made frequent stops so I could sit down but we did make it to the Haunted Mansion and Pirates of the Caribbean.

A ghostly woman in the Haunted Mansion.

Pirates party hard.

After eating at the Stage Door Café where the chicken nuggets cost more than $9 and water cost $3. Oh well, you pay for the ambience when at Disney parks.

We then discussed where we would go next and set our sights on Splash Mountain.

At the other rides we had averaged a wait time of about 15 minutes, Splash Mountain saw a wait of an hour. The pain was excruciating but I wanted to ride…I even volunteered for the front of the boat.

Arriving at the big drop.

The big splash.

Charlotte is so soaked that her shoes squish when she walks.

Soaked and cold, we moved on to Big Thunder Mountain, again stopping frequently so I could rest my legs and back.

On the Thunder Mountain Railroad.

 Then it was over to Adventureland for the Jungle Cruise and Autumn climbed Tarzan’s Tree House while I waited. When she came out, she said that although she liked it, she missed the Swiss Family Robinson version that she had climbed as a kid.

A Hippo tries to eat park guests as they take the Jungle Cruise.

 Remember when we went to Hawaii and we bought some pineapple ice cream at the Dole Plantation? Wouldn’t you know it, Disney had the exact same thing at the Enchanted Tiki Room and we waited in line for nearly two hours to get it. The issue? One little booth and two overworked employees. It didn’t help that the ice cream machines kept overheating. But the wait was worth it.

So we sat and enjoyed our ice cream and then finally went into the Enchanted Tiki Room and sang with the birdies.

The Enchanted Tiki Room.

Next on the list was  Indiana Jones ride and followed up with something calm-Wiinnie the Pooh and a riverboat cruise. LOL.

Indiana Jones Ride makes for a wild roller coaster.

The Mark Twain

Dinner found us at the Hungry Bear Cafe.

Then we were off to It’s A Small World and then watched Tinkerbell fly from the Matterhorn to Sleeping Beauty’s Castle. The cool thing that I had never seen before is the woman who does the flying, actually does some acrobatic work while in the air. Dumbo also makes the flight as well. The fireworks were good as always.

It's A Small World.

But we were not done. We decided to ride the Mad Teacups and then took the train to New Orleans Square for Fantasmic.

Now let’s remember that I had been walking for 11 hours and was really in no mood to walk anymore but I figured by arriving to the show early, I could find a place to sit down…not. About two minutes before the show started, we managed to find an empty chair at a restaurant and watched the show. Then it was one more ride on the train to Main Street before making the slow and painful trek to the trams and finally back to the car for the ride back to the hotel.

Due to traffic, we finally arrived back to the motel at 12:30 a.m. Climbing the stairs, the backs of my legs hurt and I was so glad to lay on the bed and fall to sleep.

Tomorrow is another day.