It's a Small World

DISNEYLAND!!!
Yayy!! I was so happy when we left our home to LA! We readied ourselves with food and water for a six hour drive and I was impatient till we got there. As we turned around the corner of the house, my aunt saw in the rear view mirror that her red jacket had fallen, next she found a black jacket fallen on the road and then we all turned back to get a clear view of the road and all the jackets because the trunk door wasn't closed. We all had a good laugh! So that is how hasty we were while leaving! During our drive, we played Name Place Animal Thing and Food. Lol. I know, lame game, but it was fun nevertheless. We took freeway 101S, the longer but scenic route. We went to UC Santa Barbara, drove through the campus because there is a possibility of Surabhi going there next year. The campus is not very big but has lovely pink bougainvilleas in abundance. We stopped at a gas station and bought some Sour Skittles(Sllllurrpp!!), more sour candies and Cheetos. On our way, we found a temple and went in, but it was closed. We all prayed from outside and made our way out. Passing through river gorges, valleys, deserts, vineyards, canyons and reservoirs, we soon reached Malibu, the beachfront community in Los Angeles. It is just a tiny stretch of land and has houses built less than 100 yards from the beach, which unfortunately block the view of the beach. It is also known for the countless Hollywood actors that live on hill tops in beautiful, isolated, castle-like houses. Every time I saw a big house I would jump in my seat and say ''Do you think that is Jennifer Aniston's house?" "I think that is David Beckham's house!" It was so exciting! The beach was nice and warm. Sudarshan and I built a mountain and it never got washed off by the water until we left. 21 Miles of absolute scenic beauty I would say. We reached Los Angeles in no time and I started clicking away pictures of everything possible! Bill boards with celebrity's faces, *click* Fancy Stores, *click* Sunset Boulevard, *click click* Beverley Hills, *click click click click click*. Hehe. We parked in a mall from whose rooftop we could see Hollywood. It was a pity we couldn't see Universal Studios. We didn't have enough time. We went to Grauman's Chinese Theatre, located at Hollywood Boulevard. The theatre is most famous for it's concrete blocks, set in the forecourt, which bear signatures, hand prints and footprints of popular actors and musicians, from the 1920's till today. It was intriguing to see Hollywood's most priced assets' hand prints fit into a single square yard. There, I met Master Yoda, Sponge bob, Edward Scissor-hands, Jack Sparrow, a cowboy, some blacks doing their thing(street dance, they were amazing!), and more. The names of famous bands and actors were engraved on the pavement, so you could just keep clicking pictures of things you liked. After spending some more time there, we went hunting for our hotel room. We were so exhausted and there was so much traffic! I saw a limo with windows heavily tinted and I'm pretty sure there was a celebrity inside. It went riiight next to our car, next to my window and I got irritated because I couldn't see who was inside, so I made a face at whoever. Lol. I made the usual "sticking the tongue out" face. We saw UCLA from outside and Hollywood Downtown far away, one of the most prestigious places where Jennifer Lopez and others would do their shopping. After an hour through the city which has the maximum number of cars in America, we reached Best Western and checked in. We got the best looking room anyone had ever seen. Heck it wasn't a room! It was a suite! Surabhi made a joke "Sweet suite sweet!" Hehe. It looked so classy with a drawing room, a kitchen, a bedroom with two majestic black beds, the most comfortable restroom and that. We felt royal with two flat screen TVs, one in the bedroom and one in the drawing room. And we had two such suites!! Kickin' ass eh?! We started a pillow fight to mess up the room because it looked too clean. We watched TV for sometime while eating and after a nice hot shower, I went into a deep, royal slumber.

Disneyland day!! Everyone was ready and inside the car by eight thirty after a hearty meal, the complimentary breakfast. To feel more like we were on a holiday, we cut down on healthy food and had doughnuts, muffins and waffles for breakfast. Yummy.. We parked in the Pumba parking lot and waited for the Pumba shuttle to hitch us a ride to Disneyland! As we sat agitated in the shuttle, I kept looking out to see the entrance. I saw a board decorated with colourful balloons that said "Welcome to Disneyland". Trust me, the feeling is overwhelming! I was the first one to jump out of the shuttle when it stopped and run to the entrance where they were checking the tickets. We had printed tickets but the lady there fed the paper to the computer and gave me my very own Disneyland entry card with a picture of Goofy on it. I took my own time to take a good look at my first view of Disneyland. So many people, so many colours! There was a big flowery Mickey Mouse in the garden with Disneyland written beside it. It looked really pretty! Although it was quite early, there were many people and some wore Mickey ears while some wore Goofy hats. The place has such a happy atmosphere. Wasting no time we boarded the train to New Orleans Square and literally ran to the Pirates of the Caribbean ride, one of the best at Disneyland. Twenty enchanting minutes in a ship, surrounded by pirates who are basically out of their mind, shooting with laser guns randomly! It was so realistic! Next we went to the Haunted Mansion. We wanted to finish up the best rides before it could get crowded. A fat guy outside the mansion was trying to frighten all of us with his spooky stare and by saying "terrifying" things. Inside the mansion, about 50 of us were stuffed in a room and then transferred to another room with eerie pictures of creepy folks. After a while we were put in seats and sent on a ride. With freaky ghosts flying around and pianos playing by themselves, blood curdling screams coming from some corner of the mansion, it was thrilling! Our next adventure was on the Splash Mountain. You can figure out what kind of ride that is, right? It was super fun! I was really glad that my mum and aunts and uncle also joined us on the ride because as far as I know my mum doesn't even come close to such rides. We got all the wrong parts wet sitting on the ride and waited till noon to dry up. Hehe. Next we went on a Jungle Cruise in Adventureland with a rather peculiar and funtertaining guide! If not for the amusing guide, I think the safari would have been very dull. We got fast passes for Indiana Jones and moved on to Frontierland if I can remember right. We went on the Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, probably the fastest ride in Disneyland. You see Disneyland has unique rides! You will not find a normal roller coaster or giant wheel like in California Adventures or Great America or even Wonderla. The rides will transport you to an entirely different world! It is something that one must experience in his lifetime! We had lunch at Redd Rockett's Pizza Port, a giant pizza slice each and a little bit of salad. Since we had just eaten, we didn't want to go on any big ride, so Sudarshan and I went on Dumbo, the elephant (kiddie ride) and the rest of them went to the parade area. The parade happens every few hours and it is the happiest thing ever! First we heard the music, "Heyy, we love, we laugh, pumpin up the party now". God that song is so catchy! I totally love it! Then came the dancers, so full of enthusiasm! Surabhi and I could never get over the fact that those guys are so happy all the time and so full of energy. It was with great joy that we watched them and I taped the entire parade. We saw Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, Pluto, Snow White, Sleeping Beauty, Chip and Dale, Mad Hatter and so many other characters! There was this part in the song where "Celebrate YOU" was sung over and over again, with the singer pointing it at different people and out of nowhere the singer pointed at me and my heart skipped a beat. :P I was mind-boggled! Hehe. I started giggling and felt like shouting "yay me!!" :P I felt very stupid after sometime though. I never wanted the parade to end. Later we went on "it's a small world". It is such a beautiful little boat ride. It's a heart rending song really and the little toys in there are so adorable! It's amazing that they have fit the whole of Earth under a giant clock. We went on many other rides like Alice in Wonderland, Peter Pan, Matterhorn Bobsleds, Winnie the Pooh, Pinocchio, Tea Cups, Buzz Lightyear, Indiana Jones and in the Tiki Room. They were all so magical! We were spellbound by each and every ride! We also watched Honey I shrunk the audience in 3D. It wasn't all that great. I met Minnie mouse and got a picture with her and she let me see her house. I sat on her bed and at her table and ate her diet cookies. :P After an hour's wait, I met Mickey and saw his house too, and the little bed for Pluto that he has. Most exciting of all was when I saw Aladdin and Jasmine! I seriously flipped! Surprisingly, no one had noticed them and I ran to get a picture clicked. Aladdin looked so good and I blabbed "You guys are my favourite!" Disneyland is such a happy place! It makes you forget the rest of the world! Birds singing, flowers blooming around you, green trees swaying gently, colourful balloons everywhere, little kids running around with Princess clothes and Mickey walking around with a smile that never leaves his face; sounds like a dream, doesn't it? Well, if I have to describe each and every ride, it's gonna take me forever and I'd also be spoiling it for you if you intend to visit Disneyland in the near future. So I will not disclose much information about the rides. That night at Disneyland was the best night ever! We watched in awe as awesome lifelike creatures came soaring out of the water and amazing special effects ignited the night! Mark Twain's ship brought in it all Disney Characters you can imagine! It had the seven princesses and even pirates fighting for Davy Jone's treasure. I saw the best fireworks I had seen in my entire life! Rockets after rockets! I couldn't help but think of Diwali when all of us would lie on the terrace staring at the big black sky, waiting for someone to send rockets and light up the sky! Prerna would always scream on top her voice "If you love God, burst more rockets!" Hehe. Such a lovely sight! We were rooted at the spot looking at a Fantasmic show of fireworks! What brilliant formations in the sky! At the end of the show, the roads were covered with Mickey shaped confetti. It was all such a happy affair!

California Adventures is also an amusement park by Disneyland, much smaller and is just opposite to Disneyland. As soon as we got the Guide Map, I spotted an Aladdin Musical Theatre in it. I made it clear that I wanted to go there some time in the day. The first ride we went on was California Soarin'. Honestly, I thought the ride wouldn't be all that great but when we took off, it was simply amazing! I was so proud of myself that I had seen almost all the spots that we flew over. Such a sensational experience! Next we went on Grizzly River Rafting. The board at the entrance said "Caution:You may get wet." We knew what they meant when we sat in the ride. It was like rafting on a river, downhill. It was so much fun! All of us were dripping! Sudarshan and I chose to go again, and got drenched for the second time. Our next expedition was at California Screamin', a High Speed, 360 degree Roller Coaster ride. Since everyone else decided to ditch us, Sudarshan and I waited twenty minutes for a twenty second ride. It was wild! Mainly because we didn't know beforehand that it would go upside down. We watched two 3D movies, "it's tough to be a bug" and "Muppets". Both of them were excellent! The one with bugs was exceptionally good! We had lunch(Submarines) watching what was claimed to be a magic show. Later we went on Monsters Inc. ride. It was quite fun riding through their city, watching monsters that said "We scare because we care." Those monsters are so cute! Finally, the Aladdin Musical! We waited an hour to enter the theatre but the wait was totally worth it! I had no idea what the show/ride/movie/whatever was about! Only after it started did I realise that it was a play, the Aladdin movie. Even better I thought! The play was mind blowing!! The guy who enacted Genie was outrageously funny! When Aladdin saw Genie for the first time, he asked "Who are you?" Genie, being his sarcastic self said "Hi I'm Mac and you're PC". That got everyone cracking! The entire play was filled with jokes about modern movies and TV shows and all of them were so appropriate for the moment! They were all witty and perfect! Who knew Genie could be such a smart ass! The play was grand and superb! The part where Prince Ali is introduced to Agrabah was absolutely terrific! They presented huge man-made elephants and a whole parade before us and the dancers walked among the audience and astonished everyone. Aladdin looked as good as ever and even the carpet did it's role so well! The technical part of the play was most impressive. They made Aladdin fly on the magic carpet, they made genie appear out of nowhere. They made people disappear in a split second and Genie certainly surprised everyone with his spontaneity! Since Aladdin is my favouritest cartoon character, is was flabbergasted. All day I sang "A whole new world" and irritated my cousins. Hehe. Soon after the movie was over, we made one last trip to Disneyland, mainly to go all around Disneyland by train. It was quite interesting. We saw Dinosaurs and Canyons and all that. After that we went to the Disney store to buy some novelty stuff as souvenir. We were just in time to listen to the music at the parade and that sure did raise my spirits higher! After taking one last good look at Disneyland, we all made for the Lion King tram to get to Timon Parking lot.
I don't generally give advice to anyone, but take this. Go at least once to Disneyland, the place where dreams come true!
Disneyland. The place where happily ever after happens everyday.
Disneyland. The most magical place in the whole world.
Disneyland. A world within the world, without the world.