Our Last Day at DLR

When we woke up this morning, it was raining lightly, but by the time we left for Disneyland, the sky was clearing and the predicted monsoons never materialized until we arrived at the airport this afternoon.

The park was very empty – probably the forecast kept many people away – and since it opened so early today, we had enough time to do all we wanted to do before we had to leave. We went directly to Nemo when the gates opened. There was a reported 20-minute wait that turned out to be more like a half-hour, but we were in line behind a really nice couple from California who struck up a conversation. They are annual pass holders and come to Disneyland every time the wife, who is recovering from Pancreatic cancer, visits her doctor in Los Angeles. If she has a good check-up, they come to Disneyland to celebrate. This time, 3 years out, her doctor says she is doing fine and won’t have to return for more check-ups. So now, happily, they need another excuse to come to the park. What a pleasant way to pass the time in line, talking to such nice, hope-filled people!

The Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage is, in my opinion, the best-engineered, designed and themed of all the Disney rides, either here or in Orlando. Along with that, the storyline is understandable – not rushed to the point of incomprehensibility as so many of the old “dark” rides in Fantasyland are. We were so glad to finally be able to experience this ride without having to wait for hours in line and I was able to get some really cool underwater photos from the sub. (See Flickr for more.)

We just had to return to “it’s a small world” holiday after that. Who’d have thought that we would both be so enchanted with this ride? The interweaving of Christmas songs with the traditional “It’s a Small World” is delightful, as are all the costumes and other holiday decorations. This is such a cute rendition of another of Walt’s originals.

Of course, we had to do Haunted Mansion Holiday one last time and it still held up after repeated viewings. There is so much detail to this ride that you really do have to repeat it many times in order to catch everything.

It was great strolling around this morning without having to dodge masses of people and strollers. A great end to a fabulous trip!