Minnie and Mickey Mouse
I recently went on a week-long vacation with my husband, 2 young sons and mother-in-law to Anaheim, CA. We rented a house only 5 minutes from the main Disney parks and each day was fully planned with wonderful adventure, activities, food and fun. The weather was a nice change from Portland’s chilly and rainy air because the sun came out every day and it warmed up to 70+ degrees F most days.
San Diego Zoo
It was not Spring Break for the boys so they were required to finish homework each morning before we left the house. This method worked very well because by the time we came home at the end of the day they were way too tired for anything else!
Legoland California
Our adventures took us to Disneyland, Disney California Adventure, Legoland, The San Diego Zoo and Balboa Beach. Each day was enjoyable and I learned several life lessons along the way. Here is a list of my top 5:
- CONNECT WITH YOUR INNER CHILD. This is essential when going to Disneyland and other adventures. Remember what it was like to be a child and go on your first thrilling ride and then take this energy with you when you go on rides as an adult. It will boost your enthusiasm and you will find much pleasure in even the three-year old rides. When we returned and I was at the local grocery store check-out, the teenager bagger asked me if Disneyland is really the happiest place on earth. My response, “Absolutely! As long as I am joyous anyplace on earth is the happiest!”
- BE YOUR OWN GUIDE. Whether you are in an amusement park with 10,000 other people or at the grocery store with 20, it is important to follow your intuition or gut instinct. When you are following your inner guidance system you can be confident and self-assured instead of worrying about what other people think or say about you. Go ahead and scream, laugh or cry on the rides!
- THINK POSITIVE. Some of the rides at these theme parks are extreme and frightening for children as well as adults. It is important to release any fear you have about the ride before you go on it because The Universal Law of Attraction says that like attracts like. In other words, if you are afraid you will get hurt and you take this energy with you onto the ride, then your chances of actually suffering as a result magnify. Of course, follow the safety protocols for the rides and if you qualify then either don’t go on the ride if you are unable to shift your energy about it, or think of something that makes you feel happy and tell yourself, “I can go on this ride, have fun and be safe!” I learned my lesson about this when the extreme ride me and my 8-year-old son wanted to ride malfunctioned and then we had to wait to ride it. Luckily, in the interim I was able to shift my energy so that the ride was a blast!
- FORGIVE OTHERS. The majority of people we encountered were friendly, however, there were occasionally people who were not, including rude and impatient people and one verbally aggressive man. At these times when the other person’s behavior was not intentionally provoked by our group, I realized that forgiving them was best. When you forgive another person you release the negative emotions surrounding it from yourself and you are then able to continue with fun and fabulous adventures! While in Legoland, I was far from a family and heard the man verbally assaulting his wife. When I turned to look he shouted hateful remarks toward me. I turned him in to the park security, prayed for forgiveness and cleansed the negative frequencies from the interaction so much so that I did not even remember the incident until I began writing about forgiveness.
- LISTEN TO YOUR BODY. Let’s face it, 5 straight days of extra long excitement can wear anybody down. Instead of sticking to a previously scheduled plan of events, it is beneficial to be flexible and to rest when necessary. We ended up skipping Friday’s activities and hanging out at home and by the pool to rest instead. It paid off because the next day we were able to fully enjoy our last day in California and our last day in Disneyland!
bbbethbuckley 
This is such a refreshing perspective on a Disneyland and theme park vacation. It is so true that much of the appeal is in connecting to your inner child. Also these places can be stressful if you let them be. And rest is such an important element. People usually try to do too much!