BabyTravels and Hilarye in line at "It's a Small World"

When I was a kid (and not so much a kid), Disneyland was the greatest of all greats. It was something to look forward to and I remember having butterflies each morning as we got near the park. Soon the butterflies were squashed as we tried to conquer all the rides, see every site, and explore every area. It was not a satisfying trip to Disneyland if we hadn’t hit every major ride there. It’s funny how things change so quickly once you have a kid.

This time it wasn’t about me enjoying the “happiest place on earth”, it was about watching the magic unfold in my 16 months old eyes.  This time it was all about her. Taking her on It’s a Small World and watching that cute pudgy little index finger shoot out in all sorts of different directions as she cooed at the chanting children of all ethnicities just melted my heart. We probably made it on less than 10 rides total that day, dealt with random rain storms, exhausted my feet and my shoes, and spent $50 on mediocre hamburgers, but it was all worth it hearing BabyTravels excitement over those same silly songs and characters that I too loved as a child.

Isn’t that what’s great about parenthood? You get to relive your childhood over again through their eyes and excitements. It reminded me of why we love traveling so much. To have fresh experiences and explore new cultures it makes us feel so alive and so young, like anything is possible. And now I think that a trip to Disney World is in order. Oh Walt Disney you have done it again.

I was reading through travel news and I came across this slide show and article of 15 places every kid should see. I absolutely loved it! Even though most of these places I still have not seen and according to the government I am no longer a kid (although I still feel like one), it got me thinking about some of my favorite vacations when I was younger.

First off, you can look through the slide show (which is actually really cute) or I will just recap some of the places for you. 10 of the 15 places every kid should see are the Grand Canyon, the Statue of Liberty, Colonial Williamsburg, Lincoln Memorial, Niagra Falls, Gettysburg, Alamo, Pearl Harbor, Monitcello, and Disneyworld.

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Airport security lines have gotten a little out of control. It’s gotten to the point where you just need to plan for the worst regarding arriving to the airport on time. I can think of countless times when I have been stressed and possibly even missed my flight due to the fact that the security line has been out the door.

But hooray there is a solution! A company called provides customers, for a yearly fee, a high tech card that lets you skip ahead in pre-desginated security lines. Think of it as a Disneyland fast pass for the airports. This could save some serious time for frequent flyers.

Right now the company is operating in twenty airports and is continually adding more. Airports include: Albany, Atlanta, Cincinnati, DC Dulles, DC Reagan, Denver, Indianapolis, Jacksonville, Little Rock, Los Angeles, New York JFK, New York LGA, Newark, Oakland, Orlando, Reno, Salt Lake City,San Francisco ,San José, Westchester. I am not going to lie, a little disappointed not to see Chicago, but otherwise most major airports notorious for thier crowded lines are listed. And only $128 a year? That’s cheap. Plus, it’s even registered at some sports stadiums to get you into the games faster.

Since I have been feeling a little land locked lately (mostly because I have been working like crazy), I decided to cheer myself up by listing some of the trips I am planning to take in the next six months, as well as recap the trips I have already taken due to the fact that the year is already half over.

Trips I have already taken this year:

1. Anaheim/Disneyland
2. Washington DC
3. Anchorage, Alaska
4. Saint George, Utah
5. Las Vegas, Nevada

Ok, so the first part of the year was a little slow as far as travel goes, which makes me a little sad. However, when I think about it- we bought a house in February and we spent the winter doing a fair amount of snowboarding, so I guess you could add Park City, Utah to the list.  Anyways, I am gearing up for Fall travel season which includes an awesome trip to Europe (my first time!). I used to say that we are going to backpack through Europe but apparently that’s not true- I was told we are packing our clothes in a backpack and going to Europe. So that accounts for the first five places on the list- and the rest are stateside cities or states I want to visit.

Trips I want/will take this year:

1. London, England
2. Athens, Greece
3. Ireland
4. Slovenia (here is a map- in case you want to know where this is)
5. Paris, France
6. New York City
7. San Diego
8. Seattle
9. Oregon Coast
10.North Carolina

There is something magical about Disneyland that turns this 23 year old back into a kid again. The night before the big day I start to get butterflies and when we are driving on the freeway I am nervously saying to my dad, “Do not miss the exit Dad! Whatever you do please do not miss the exit!” When we entered into the parking garage I’m saying, “You guys the tram is here, we need to make the tram!” Not really sure what my deal is, maybe it is the nostalgia that one feels when visiting and seeing a place again that as a kid brought such joy and happiness.

However a Disneyland trip not planned carefully  can find yourself amidst screaming toddlers in toon-town, 3 hour lines for Indiana Jones and the Nemo ride, along with a big headache wondering what happened to your magical Disneyland vacation.

We had one day at Disneyland and I was determined to do it all in the most efficient and pleasant manner  possible. It was an extremely crowded day where you could barely walk through main street, lines were formed way beyond where the actual gates began, yet we managed to get in all the major rides before lunch and not wait in a line longer than 25 minutes. You may be scoffing to yourself wondering yeah right I have been to Disneyland and in order to hit all the major rides you need at least two days. But I say, yes to that only in the case of two things: 1) you plan on hitting California Adventure as well as Disneyland or 2) you have young kids.

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