Disney Days

Spring break is when people head out to shake off those winter doldrums in places like Florida, Mexico, and Hawaii. Never in my life have I been a springbreaker in that manner. Historically, this was amusement park week in my childhood. My best friend Danny's Dad would schedule a day off and take my brother Dan, Danny, and me to the Magic Kingdom or Knott's Berry Farm for the day.

It wasn't the only time I would get to Disneyland. My parents would end up down in Anaheim every now and then when family would visit. We'd go to Disneyland or over to Knott's in Beuna Park. But that was always on a very conservative and obvious budget. That was back in the day when Disneyland was accessed with tickets. The economy book had something like 2 E tickets, the ones you needed for the really good rides; then 3 or 4 D tickets for things like the train and the steamboat. And then came the C, B, and A tickets. Needless to say, one always had drawers at home filled with left-over B and A tickets.

But Disney with Dr. Freeman was a different story. Although I've mentioned previously how he might scheme to get us in at a discount, once we passed through the stone arch under the railroad tracks, the fun began with a capital "F". With E ticket books in hand we'd be off to the Monorail, the Haunted Mansion, whatever rides we wanted, the whole time his Dad just patiently walking along and waiting, waiting, waiting while we had fun, fun, fun. And we ate what we wanted and when we wanted-- and sometimes even when we didn't want.

The problem was this: It seemed more often than not, Passover and Easter were not in sync. More often than not, Danny's Dad would want to take this extravagant outing on the Friday or Saturday of spring break. More often than not, that Friday was Good Friday. And in my household Good Friday was stay home and go to church Friday. I remember my Mom arguing that Dr. Freeman wouldn't let Danny go with us on one of their high holidays. "We've never taken him! And this is Disneyland!!" More often than not, our pleading won out over religious conservatism.

I'm grateful for my Mom's rare acquiescence to a secular agenda. Those trips to Disneyland are now carefully filed away in that cabinet labelled "The Best of Times." I hope you've indulged a bit this Spring-- in spirit, memory or activity.