Pushing the ‘Magic’ Button

Him:
A couple weeks ago was my 33^rd birthday and I could think of nothing better than to spend it with my family so I took the day off work. Since it was a Monday and we were down to the final weeks of our annual passes it was time to see Mickey again. I have to tell you, I have memories of Disneyland as a kid, my coonskin hat and Davey Crockett rifle, the Jungle Boat, Pirates… the list goes on, but going with my kids reignites the memories and brings a new excitement that comes only from seeing the park through their eyes. This year we've visited over a dozen times which has allowed us to take in some things that we had overlooked in past years. We've watched more shows, meandered through more shops and discovered more of the magic that simply can't be experienced with a single trip.

I learned a few months ago about a 'magic button'- one that, when pushed, turns on the park. It starts the park music and announces: Welcome to Disneyland, the Happiest Place on Earth! Someone has to push it each morning when the crowds are first allowed in and I thought that someone should be me. This is not an advertised event. Most don't know about it and I'm going to leave out a few details to keep it that way. For me, this was exciting; I was intrigued and determined to make it happen.

For the last several visits we've made plans to get up early and be at the park entrance before opening so we could experience what most will never even hear about. We've made several attempts and failed miserably each time, not arriving anywhere near on time. Keep in mind, without traffic we live about an hour from Disneyland but that route takes us right through the heart of Los Angeles and when is there ever not traffic in LA?

Once, we even camped… in a tent and all- just across the street from the park. That was quite the experience. Camping in Anaheim is ill-advised. We heard traffic noise and sirens all night long. It was nothing like the typical tent ambience- crashing waves, wind whistling through the trees, even bears would have been welcomed this night. Allison and I were up all night; it was miserable, until sometime between 2:00 and 3:00 we crashed. Then around 5:00, we get a welcoming, farm style good morning from a ROOSTER! Yes, a rooster... in Anaheim and only a few yards from our campsite! That went on for about an hour but didn't phase the kids so we suffered through it until finally finding peace and a couple hours of sleep. Needless to say, there would be no button pushing for us this day.

So it's my birthday and this time we're making it happen. It started the night before. It felt like the night before a big game. We laid out all the gear (clothes for all the girls, snacks, water bottles, DVDs for the car, strollers) everyone was showered and all we had to do was wake up and hit the road. We woke up, loaded and left the house in record time. This was going to be the day. There was even time to stop by Starbucks for a quick caffeine fix. We got through LA with little traffic. It was an hour before opening and we were about 15 miles from Disneyland when I looked back to see Brooklyn's green face. It was only a couple weeks before when we were driving up the coast that I saw this face last, and that time it was evil- it resulted in a foul smell and an impromptu stop at Target for a new outfit in order to save the trip. This time, we reacted faster but the results were similar. We were still committed. We had tunnel vision and our goal was all we saw. Allison was on clean up duty and I was off for new gear for the three-year-old. In no time we were back on the road but uncertain of our chances to successfully complete the mission. 

We made it to the parking garage, then the tram, the front gate… it looked like everyone was already crowding past Main Street and into the park. 
We finally arrived at our destination to see one of the cast members pulling the device from its classified location… was it too late? He looked up and asked our girls, "would one of you like to push it?" As I looked at them, I saw excited faces each wanting a turn; only one could do it. But it was my birthday, so I did what I had to do. I turned to the three-year-old, "Brooklyn, you wanna push it?" Her eyes lit up and she stepped into position. Mission accomplished! Brooklyn's day was made… and so was mine.