THE HAPPIEST PLACE

     It has been touted as the happiest place on Earth, a site of adventure, fantasy, and a land of tomorrow.  In this place, one need not be bound by the constraints of age, or the fear of appearing foolish.  Wearing silly hats is the norm, and little girls can be transformed into princesses.  This happy place is Disneyland.

     Of course there is more than one Disneyland, but the one to which I am referring is the first, the original Park in Anaheim, California that opened in 1955.  This is the Disneyland I have visited at least once a year since I was a small child.  My latest visit was last Friday, and everything was decorated for Halloween.

    I still feel a rush of excitement when entering the Park.  The first area one encounters is Main Street, USA.  Walking down Main Street is like passing through a Midwestern town of the early 20th century.  There is a city hall, firehouse, train station, penny arcade, and my husband's favorite, an ice cream parlor.

     We climbed aboard the horse-drawn streetcar, which took us to Sleeping Beauty castle.  The castle provides entrance to Fantasyland by way of a drawbridge across a moat.  I've been told it is a working drawbridge, though it hasn't been raised for more than twenty years.

     Saving our visit to Fantasyland for later, we turned left and made our way to Frontierland.  Frontierland recreates the setting of pioneer days along the American frontier.  One of my favorite rides there is the Mark Twain riverboat.  From the decks of the riverboat, you can see New Orleans Square, home of the Pirates of the Caribbean ride, as well as the Haunted Mansion.

     The magic of Disneyland does not reside merely in the rides and attractions, though there are plenty of those.  I think the aspect that draws people to Disneyland is that while there, one feels as though they have indeed entered another land.

     Riding the bus back to the parking lot, I overheard a child say to his mother, "I don't want to leave Disneyland.  I want to live there forever."  Ah, if we only could!