“Mic-key-Mouse! Mic-key-Mouse!” The chanting starts on the tram before you can see the Disneyland gates. Excited children pull their parents along like a tugboat in the harbor. Picture-taking starts before people get inside the gates. The words over the entry tunnel read: “Here you leave today and enter world of yesterday, tomorrow, and fantasy.” As they pass through that tunnel, children stop whining and grumpy parents are transformed. It’s Disneyland, and after fifty years, it’s still the Happiest Place on Earth.
The granddaddy of all theme parks is still one of the most popular. The fundamental Disneyland California experience is a retelling of a popular Disney story: a ride through Snow White’s house or the Pirates of the Carribean’s lair, watching inventor Wayne Szalinski shrink (and blow up) the kids, dog and audience or careening through the Temple of Doom. Heavy on rides that the whole family can enjoy and with only a few screaming roller coasters, Disneyland is perfect for a family getaway.