When I went to Disneyland, my mom took many photos of “It’s a Small World” ride. We had photos of the topiary dolphins and of some of the people inside. I was really excited about this ride.
It is also one of those classic Disneyland rides. It was cuter than I remember but I don’t remember much.
Being the planner that I am, I asked Jas to get his drink with Izzy while I got in line for the ride. Jas and Izzy enjoyed the shade for a bit while I waited. Izzy drank some juice and Jas did some much-needed “iPhoning” (I made that term up right now. It means messing around on the iPhone.)
Check out those ropes, I sure would hate to have to wait back there with no shade on the payment with cool shade just steps away.
It was at this moment I realized what a great team that Jas and I make. We often take turns doing things like putting Izzy to bed, I wake up early to get ready and Jas will start on breakfast. During the summer, I take over the breakfast duties and entertainment schedule so Jas can sleep in a little. We also take turns taking Izzy to the doctor so we are both in the know about Izzy’s health. We take turns staying home when she is sick.
In the Disney case, Jas was our Fast Pass collector and manager. Keeping an eye on times for Fast Passes and getting our tickets early in morning while I take the Iz on the rides. When she’s hungry, he’ll take her to the snack booth while I wait in line. Then we switch off for a longer line or take Izzy on a short ride.
We even took pictures of each other:
While at Disneyland, we had 2 big pieces of “luggage”, the stroller and the backpack which held our snacks, vouchers, Izzy’s change of clothes, a princess outfit or two, camera, maps, guide-book, etc. When one of us was pushing the stroller, the other was responsible for taking the backpack.
Our responsibilities were broken like this:
| Tia | Jas |
| Scheduling | Fast Pass collection |
| Izzy morning preparation | Snack packing and chilling duties |
| Reservation and service communicator | Brute strength |
| Budgeter | Navigator |
| Historian | Photographer |
| Packing | inventory |
| Condensing the stroller items for transport | Folding and carrying stroller on monorail and railroad |
As the day wore on, I realized just how this partner system works so well. Around noonish, you begin to hear the families either work together or break apart.
Working together sounds like this: “I’ll get the napkins and you get the kids started on the food.”
Breaking apart sounds like this: “You’re hungry again! You should HAVE eaten breakfast this morning!”
Working: “We have 30 dollars left in the budget.”
Breaking:”We don’t have ANY money left?!? What did you do with it?”
Working: “Let’s meet back here when you finish the rides and I’ll get the food.”
Breaking:”I don’t know where I want to go. What’s not crowded? I just want to be out of here.”
Working:”It’s my turn to push the stroller.”
Breaking: “Well! You try to push this stroller in this crowd!”
Working together in the park is the key to success. You won’t survive any other way. You can’t have too many chefs in the kitchen and you can’t have everyone around you hopping around without a plan.
Someone needs to see what the goals of the day are: Is it to get to all the awesome rides? To see the princesses? To see Classic Disney? Especially, if it’s dead of summer and the crowds are the worst.
Disneyland this time of year is doable and doable with minimal tears from you and your family.
Tips
Do your research. The earlier the better. Review those “Planning a trip to Disneyland” DVDs. They orient you to the park and they give you helpful tips.
Listen to what people who have gone before say but don’t let it run your plan.
Be prepared for lines. Lines are everywhere and if you anticipate them, the long ones will be no surprise.
Have fun. When you feel you’re stress level rising, force yourself to smile and look at your child in the eyes. They will usually smile back. Be in the moment. Some are good and some are bad but they are just that moments. A small slice of your life that you won’t relive again. Don’t let the bad thoughts drive your thought pattern. When you are happy, you will have a good time.
Find a REALLY good partner to share the load. I found my partner in college but turns out we grew up in the same area. IT IS A SMALL WORLD AFTER ALL!
P.S. Izzy really loved this ride. Especially seeing the Navajo girl inside and Jessie and Woody helped a little too. Izzy did want to make “wishes” by throwing money into the water at the end. I’m pretty sure you aren’t supposed to do that but there was tons of coins down there anyway so we threw in a few more wishes.
AND I am still singing the ‘It’s a Small World’ song. It’s world of laughter, a world of tears……It’s a small world after all… it’s a small world after all…it’s a small, small world!
AND the wait was only 15 minutes, maybe less.
Time to Make Magic 