It’s hard to read. It says “Earl.” There’s a matching mouse ear hat with “Harvey” on it, too. I wish I’d gone with the red thread instead of white. It probably would have popped more.
Three guesses where the road took us next, and the first two don’t count.
Earl went to L.A. with Disneyland in mind. Me? I went for the friends. And, well, I’m driving and paying and all that jazz, so I try to make things work for both of us.
Our first two nights La-La Land were spent crashed out on the couches of one of those rare and unexpected friends, whom I’ll call Boo, and her two kittehs. Boo and I met via phone and email 2008 when a series of “unfortunate events” put us in close and extended contact over the course of an auction. I decided she was just too awesome a person to never talk to again, she decided she wasn’t ready for me to stop annoying her, so we became friends.
Boo is a fangirl like me, and she’s one of those people who is completely unafraid to be herself. For that alone, I knew Earl and I needed quality time with her on this trip. Knowing Boo’s love for Disney, I didn’t hesitate a second to invite her to go to Disneyland with us.
Actually, I don’t think I gave her a choice. I’m pretty sure there were caps involved. As in, “You WILL go to Disney with us, RIGHT?”
Earl latched on immediately. Yep, the fangirl has a fangirl.
They sat down Thursday night to plot out what rides must be ridden on Friday. The Friday before July 4. I was braced for insanity and heat and entirely too many people.
In truth, it wasn’t that bad, there was a constant breeze (unlike in Orlando where the wind never blows), and the longest wait we had for a ride was half an hour. Alrighty then. Not going to complain about that.
I was incredibly proud of Earl. My easily-scared child not only loved the Haunted Mansion, but asked to ride it again. She adored Pirates of the Caribbean (yep, rode that twice, too, and Boo got drenched the second time around). Earl openly asked cast members and strangers alike if they were interested in trading pins.
Heck, by lunchtime, I was just grateful she was still allowing me to hang around, although anytime I was hung up doing something (like, I dunno, paying for stuff), she’d tell me, “Boo and I are gonna go do so and so!”
By the end of the day, I was sick of being the whiny “but I wanna do it tooooooo” child, but dadgummit, I’m not gonna miss out on Autopia, no matter how big of a buddy you’ve made. I’m a Disney fangirl, too!
I was glad they hit it off. It’s very rewarding when your kid likes your friends. Like it validates the friendship or something. It felt like it should be celebrated, so when tummies started rumbling, I sneakily made a reservation for Blue Bayou where Boo, a huge Pirates of the Caribbean lover, has always wanted to dine.
The atmosphere was fantastic. It’s nestled into one of the early section of Pirates of the Caribbean (and can be seen from the ride), and I will forever be baffled why you never hear anyone shouting, “Throw me a roll!” from the ride as they pass by. Because, let me tell you, the bread, particularly the focaccia bread? Was to die for.
The rest of the food was pretty phenomenal, too. A bit pricy, but oh so worth it!
After dinner, most of the crowd was gathering for parades and fireworks. Our merry little trio took off to hit more rides, merely catching glimpses of the parkwide celebrations.
We rode Nemo and Indiana Jones. Earl traded more pins. We had Dole Whips while we visited the Tiki Room.
In the blink of an eye, it was midnight. Wait, what? On our way out of the park as it closed down, we popped into The World of Disney in Downtown Disney to snag a t-shirt, then went in search of the car.
Fun fact: When you leave Disney at 1:30 a.m., finding your car in the garage isn’t that big of a challenge.
See that tiny little silver dot near the center of the picture? That would be our car.
We closed the park down. I wrestled with guilt all the way back to Boo’s place. After all, she had to work an extended shift on Saturday, and we’d kept her out half the night after dragging her around from ride to ride for 14 hours. But I’m pretty sure she had fun. I know Earl and I certainly did.
It is, after all, always fun to close down The Mouse House. Especially when you do it with friends!
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