{"id":3562,"date":"2013-09-10T10:02:07","date_gmt":"2013-09-10T17:02:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/streamoftheconscious.com\/?p=3562"},"modified":"2013-09-10T10:02:08","modified_gmt":"2013-09-10T17:02:08","slug":"being-awesome-at-the-disneyland-dumbo-double-dare-adventure","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/streamoftheconscious.com\/being-awesome-at-the-disneyland-dumbo-double-dare-adventure\/","title":{"rendered":"Being Awesome at the Disneyland Dumbo Double Dare Adventure"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"First<\/a><\/p>\n

The timing around our summer vacation was twofold. Preschool takes a week off between the end of summer school and the start of a new school year; and I take a great masochistic pleasure in running the Disneyland Half Marathon<\/a>.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

So when we returned from Hawaii, our extended family headed down to Anaheim to meet the Mouse \u2013 where we also met up with AuntJ. (The very same AuntJ who was around to help out GrammaJ when I was a wee 3-year-old on my first visit as well.)<\/p>\n

\"TriciasFirstVisit\"<\/a><\/p>\n

We took the muppets to California Adventure back in January (when I ran the Tinkerbell Half Marathon<\/a>), but this was to be the first official visit to the original Main Street of Imagination.<\/p>\n

I met up with the rest of the fam at park open, after enjoying a sweat-drenched leisurely 10k early morning run through the kingdom as a kickoff to the Disneyland Half Marathon Race weekend. And yes, I insisted on standing in line at City Hall to get the muppets their \u201cspecial buttons.\u201d<\/p>\n

And with that, we were off \u2013 on the train to leave today for a world of yesterday, tomorrow and fantasy.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a>

The sensory overload of our first ride, \u201cIt\u2019s a Small World,\u201d wowed Search and Destroy, setting the perfect tone for the rest of the day.<\/p><\/div>\n

The oppressive heat and humidity over the holiday weekend gave the added bonus of far fewer locals\/racers venturing forth. No lines! (Granted, the heat also caused several rides reliant on hydraulics to malfunction, but no injuries, so we\u2019ll take the no lines.)<\/p>\n

\"We<\/a>

We met Mickey in his clubhouse.<\/p><\/div>\n

We saw Goofy yucking it up with the vintage fire brigade on Main Street.<\/p>\n

\"We<\/a>

We hit the Royal Hall to meet some princesses, because Search informed me he \u201cneeded to give Cinderella a hug.\u201d<\/p><\/div>\n

Destroy hung back with Gramma because he\u2019s still not to keen on meeting characters close up. So he wandered around to find things that further his obsession with Ariel and the ocean. Search, AuntJ and I met Princess Aurora from Sleeping Beauty first.<\/p>\n

Aurora:<\/b> <with a royal flourish><\/i> And who is this handsome prince you\u2019ve brought to meet me?
\nSearch:<\/b> You\u2019re not Cinderella.<\/p>\n

Clearly we need to work on the prince\u2019s manners a bit more.<\/p>\n

Ten hours, two parks, close to triple-digit heat. And the boys were perfect. (Only mommy got a bit cranky.) I guess it truly is the happiest place on Earth. As a reward for such princely behavior, I knelt down in front of my sons as they finished complete annihilation of a kids Mickey pasta meal, \u201cIt\u2019s time to go home now. But we can stop by the Emporium and pick out a friend to take home if you like.\u201d They liked.<\/p>\n

Destroy marched in like he owned the place, pulling at my hand to hurry up. Man was on a mission. \u201cI need a mermaid.\u201d We asked a cast member to point us in the direction of one.<\/p>\n

First stop was a blanketed plush baby. It was creepy looking. Destroy agreed. \u201cNo.\u201d We moved on to the Barbie-size mermaid. He clutched it with a delighted glee twinkling in his eyes. Our cast member also pointed out the larger doll size. Without hesitation, Destroy declined and proudly toted his prize back to show Gramma, Papa and Dad.<\/p>\n

Search stealthily appeared behind me. \u201cI want a mermaid, too.\u201d And for a moment, he was enchanted by the larger Ariel doll. That was until he spotted the Cinderella doll. Ariel was heartlessly shoved aside as he embraced his new love.<\/p>\n

I laughed.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re awesome,\u201d the cast member commented.<\/p>\n

\u201cHuh?\u201d I asked cluelessly.<\/p>\n

\u201cEvery day I see little boys come in here and want a princess doll after meeting them in the park. And every day I see them get chastised by their parents that they are not girls and cannot get a doll. So you\u2019re awesome.\u201d<\/p>\n

I smiled. Good parenting for the win! Then both boys dropped their dolls as the excitedly discovered a Buzz Lightyear with whizzing and whooshing neon glow lights and sounds.<\/p>\n

I suspect the dolls would have been far less annoying. But ultimately \u2013 we let the boys choose.<\/p>\n

The next day, as AuntJ, Gramma and I conquered 13.1 magical miles, Search and Destroy cuddling their Buzzes while engrossed in the Disney classic, Cinderella.<\/p>\n

\"Race\"<\/a><\/p>\n

A weekend like that?<\/p>\n

Medal please. And you know what? They gave me three.<\/p>\n

\"Medals\"<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The timing around our summer vacation was twofold. Preschool takes a week off between the end of summer school and the start of a new school year; and I take a great masochistic pleasure in running the Disneyland Half Marathon.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true},"categories":[992,34],"tags":[1387,1157,1388,1197,1011,1386,1383],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p3Sbzi-Vs","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":3078,"url":"https:\/\/streamoftheconscious.com\/disneyland-dumbo-double-dare\/","url_meta":{"origin":3562,"position":0},"title":"Disneyland Dumbo Double Dare","date":"January 26, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"I told you yesterday that GrammaJ and AuntJ will be running this fall\u2019s Disneyland Half Marathon with me. (I did that mostly to publicly peer pressure them into *actually* signing up.) I plan to complete the Dumbo Double Dare, which per the website: If you think that a half marathon\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Sports"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":3070,"url":"https:\/\/streamoftheconscious.com\/the-house-of-mouse-or-yay-gramma\/","url_meta":{"origin":3562,"position":1},"title":"The House of Mouse (or \u201cYAY! GRAMMA!\u201d )","date":"January 25, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Yes folks, we went to Disneyland. HONEY! I\u2019M HOME! With the exception of that rather unfortunate second birthday party appearance of \u201cMickey Mouse\u201d I\u2019ve always been a Disney girl. To me \u2013 it\u2019s the happiest place on earth. Although I would like to take this moment to clarify. Disneyland is\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Vacation"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.streamdoubletrouble.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/01\/Disneyland_Half-Marathon-Finisher_01-20-13-225x300.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":3539,"url":"https:\/\/streamoftheconscious.com\/after-these-messages-well-be-riiiight-back\/","url_meta":{"origin":3562,"position":2},"title":"After these messages, we’ll be riiiight back.","date":"September 2, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"I just got back from vacation. I could sit here and regale you with the wondrous tales of tropical islands and the Happiest Place on Earth. Or. I could go stand in a hot shower until the water turns cold before climbing back into MY bed for one last hurrah\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Admin"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/streamoftheconscious.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/IMG_2945-211x300.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1667,"url":"https:\/\/streamoftheconscious.com\/the-family-dynamic\/","url_meta":{"origin":3562,"position":3},"title":"The Family Dynamic","date":"August 25, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"The muppets and I made a mad dash for the sunny Southern California coast this past weekend. During our whirlwind family reunion tour I was reminded how much I miss living near my extended family. (Tanget \u2013 but pertinent: While I was away my Twitter account got hacked. I apologize\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Family Stories"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.streamdoubletrouble.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/08\/Destroy_Pitcher_08-20-11-300x224.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1045,"url":"https:\/\/streamoftheconscious.com\/up-the-waterspout\/","url_meta":{"origin":3562,"position":4},"title":"Up the Waterspout","date":"January 16, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"I never thought 8:30 a.m. would be considered \u201csleeping in.\u201d But this morning, I heard some muppet chatter at 7. I closed my eyes briefly, hoping they were just checking the time with one another. (\u201cOOoahhhh?\u201d \u2013 Search, I\u2019m awake. Are you? Should we get up now? \u201cWwwwmllawww.\u201d \u2013 No\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Family Stories"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":3544,"url":"https:\/\/streamoftheconscious.com\/what-i-did-over-my-summer-vacation\/","url_meta":{"origin":3562,"position":5},"title":"What I Did Over My Summer Vacation","date":"September 5, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"For a week I wore no pants. My makeup was the slight burn of the sun turning to tan. My hair was dried by the air and styled by the salty sea breeze. We only went indoors to sleep. But now, it has come time to return to reality. To\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Vacation"","img":{"alt_text":"Jon went fishing. So did the muppets.","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/streamoftheconscious.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/Fishing-1024x512.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/streamoftheconscious.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3562"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/streamoftheconscious.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/streamoftheconscious.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/streamoftheconscious.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/streamoftheconscious.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3562"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/streamoftheconscious.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3562\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/streamoftheconscious.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3562"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/streamoftheconscious.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3562"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/streamoftheconscious.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3562"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}