|
By Kimberly
Brown Seely
I grew up in
Orange County, Calif., just a 30-minute freeway ride from Disneyland.
Though my parents didn't do the Magic Kingdom, my sister and I found
other ways to get there. In the 1960s, we rode Dumbo's Flying Elephants
with our grandparents; in the 1970s, we stormed Tom Sawyer's Island
with the entire eighth grade; in high school, we cruised the Autopia
and rode the Matterhorn Bobsleds as if we owned the place.
My most enduring
memories of Disneyland, however, are not of the magic—but of
waiting in line. Although Disneyland was built for mobs, it's always
been much too crowded, in my opinion. Traditionally, each ride meant
standing in line, snaking back and forth, often under a hot sun,
and finally, after waiting 30, 45, or even 60 minutes, stepping
up to an experience that, no matter how thrilling, was awfully short
by comparison.
Because of this,
I hadn't been in a huge hurry to take my own kids to Disneyland.
At ages 8 and 10, the guys still didn't know Space Mountain from
Splash Mountain. It was with great fanfare, therefore, that we strode
through the Disneyland turnstiles on a recent Monday morning along
with approximately 35,000 other people.
 |
|
The pace at Disneyland can be a bit slower these
days.
|
|
|
Our mission:
to try out Disneyland's new Fastpass, a virtual queue system introduced
this year on three of the park's most popular rides—Splash
Mountain, Space Mountain, and Roger Rabbit's Car Toon Spin. (Disney
plans to expand Fastpass late in June to include the Indiana Jones
Adventure and Autopia.)
Here's how the
Fastpass works: Instead of waiting in line for an hour at Splash
Mountain, you put your park pass into the Fastpass machine and receive
a printed reservation. It assigns you a one-hour block of time during
which you can return to the ride and join the Fastpass line rather
than the regular line. Fastpass lines typically are much shorter
than regular lines. The passes are free; often, there is little
or no wait to get one. This allows you to enjoy something else at
the park in the meantime.
After
we got our Splash Mountain time slot, we rode Pirates of the Caribbean.
Then we had lunch, eyeballed Mr. Toad's Wild Ride (but couldn't
face the 30-minute wait), had a meltdown in the sun on Main Street,
and eventually made our way back over to Critter Country, the corner
of the park where Splash Mountain looms.
By then the
estimated regular wait time for the watery roller coaster was a
staggering 75 minutes. We presented our Fastpass tickets and strode
past the throng trapped in a line that wrapped around the base of
the mountain. We felt like rock stars—or, at least, like a
worn-out mom and two kids who were managing, for a moment, to get
it right.
|
|
|
If
you're going...
|
|
Disneyland
is open seven days a week, 365 days a year; hours vary
by season.
Admission
is $41 for adults (including kids 10 and up); $31 for
kids 3–9; free for children under 3.
For
more information,
telephone (714) 781-4565
or visit www.disneyland.com.
Contact
AAA Travel Services about Disneyland Flex Passports,
(800) 272-2155
or visit AAA's
Family Collection page for more travel information.
|
|
After only 10
minutes in the Fastpass line, we boarded our log, got wet, and screamed
our heads off.
We made two
more Fastpass reservations that day: one at Space Mountain, another
for Roger Rabbit's Car Toon Spin. Both boys gave the Fastpass system
a big thumbs-up and agreed that having walk-on reservations was
the coolest way to ride.
|
online
