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View Full Version : A Disneyland Visit Frozen in Time -- Share Yours!



80S ERA
06-17-2002, 01:23 PM
I've been thinking about sharing this experience ever since I first registered here on MP. All of us hold a certain passion for Disneyland. That passion has roots that can be traced to a certain memorable visit, or a number of unforgettable visits.

For me, one particular visit stays frozen in time for me. On this particular day, Disneyland would become a very special place in my heart for all my life. The day is Friday, June 12th, 1987. I am on the verge of completing one of the most memorable years in my life, 8th grade of Junior High School. Outside the weather is clear skies and about 88 degress -- a perfect Southern California day to visit Disneyland, a place that our 8th grade voted to visit over Knott's Berry Farm (Thank God!). A few days earlier, the girl whom I was "dating" at the time agreed to be my date for the day. Needless to say, I was looking forward to spending the entire day with her as her "ride partner."

We board the bus around 8:30 a.m. as Mr. Tarpley, our school principal hands us our "spending cash" of $2.00. This was after spending $18.00 per ticket a few weeks earlier. All of us are each assigned a bus by typical alphabetic fashion. I was bummed that my date's last name starts with an 'S' and mine a 'B.' My date and I ended up riding seperate buses which gave me time to reflect on what might happen on my "first Disneyland date."

When we got off the bus, my friend Patrick and I headed toward the entrance gates to meet our dates near the mickey-shaped flowerbed. We immediately met with our dates without waiting since our buses arrived at the same time. The day didn't start off too well. The girls basically talked amongst themselves and pretty much left us guys ignored. They walked together a few yards ahead of us and didn't even acknoledge our presence. We became fed up. We decided to ditch them.

The two of us realized that they weren't even paying attention to us. So, we knew that they wouldn't even notice if we stopped following them and tailed off -- somewhere else where they could not find us. We ended up venturing off on our own and eventually gathering a few more guys from our school along the way. Our group of guys found another group of girls from our school who were waiting in line for the Matterhorn Bobsleds. They agreed to let us "cut" in front of them. As we got closer to boarding the Matterhorn, everyone eventually gravitated toward another person of the opposite sex and ended up riding with them. My friend Pat ended up asking Jenny to be his "ride partner," Kyle asked Kristen, and I -- I was the lucky one who ended up being paired with Christal.

Christal was girl who I had in 2 classes. She was cheerleeding captain, had great smile, gorgeous, etc (you get the picture). I also felt she was out of reach during the whole school year. For that moment I her all to myself -- as my date. What better attraction is there to ride other than the Matterhorn in order to get closer to someone? Let's just say the tandem-styled seating definetly helps a bunch.;)

We got closer as the day progressed. Every attraction we got in line for, I was worried I'd lose her. We went on Captain EO next, followed by the Peoplemover and a bunch of other rides. I could not explain the feeling I got looking at her in addition to being in my favorite place in the whole world.

We ended up going on all the rides together and dated for about 2 weeks. What happened? Let's just say, "What comes around, goes around!"

I got dumped. But for some reason, I still cherish the day and all the fun I had with friends.

What's your story?

Allysen1Derland
06-17-2002, 03:58 PM
80's ERA, I really enjoyed reading your post! Not just because it was so well written and I was able to picture it all taking place, but also because it brought back all of my special memories that I hold so dear to my heart when it comes to DL! I think the memory that remains most "frozen in time" for me was when I was "sweet sixteen" and had just hired into the park for the summer. I was totally new to Orange County! I lived in L.A. and was going to spend the summer at my Dad's beach condo in order to be a lot closer to DL. I was really shy at the time and didn't know even one person who worked there, but I was amazed at how quickly I made so many friends! Even on Orientation day, when we got to eat lunch with the characters, one of them (Capt. Hook) actually tried to feed me while "Mr. Smee" gave me a flower! "Friar Tuck" from Robin Hood actually "hand signaled" for me to give him my phone #!! How crazy and fun and "Un-Disney" is that?? I was so flattered! Of course, it wasn't long before I had a crush on one of the CMs' I worked with on Main Street. I was too bashful to tell him, so I just "pretended" to be interested in him as a pal, and we quickly hit it off as friends. Plus, I was sure he was interested in another girl! Well, one evening we were hanging out together in the park and we decided to go on Haunted Mansion, and of course I got all scared and closed my eyes, and when I did....he kissed me!! It turned out, as he told me afterwards, it was ME he was interested in all along! My heart was so fluttery and pounding, because it was also my first kiss! My first kiss was on a "Doombuggy"!! I'll never forget that moment, and I hope by sharing it with you guys I didn't make it sound too much like a moment straight out of Seventeen magazine!;)

stinkerbell
06-17-2002, 08:13 PM
Loved that story 80's Era! We could have been there on the same day! Also 8th grade and the week after school in 1987. How weird is that? That trip really stands out to me because I broke up with my first "boyfriend" right before my trip to Disneyland.

When I got to Disneyland I immediately set out to separate from my parents in my Bongo shorts and MTV tank top with my fluffy bangs and white Keds. My dad made us go see Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln first, I'm sure, as we did every trip. Then we wandered down Main St. to the hub. At the hub, I knew my family would want to go straight to the jungle cruise, but I was dying to get to Tomorrowland and Space Mountain. We made a deal. First the Jungle Cruise as a family, then I could head to Tomorrowland on my own until lunchtime. Well, the JC turned into Swiss Family TreeHouse and the Tiki Room as well, so then of course we had to also go on Pirates together and then it was lunchtime........so we made a new deal. I actually got to spend the evening in Tomorrowland by myself, if I'd spend the afternoon in Fantasyland with the family. As a teen who would do ANYTHING to #1 be left alone and #2 be left alone to flirt with boys in the evening at Disneyland, this was the ultimate deal! We did the tea cups and Matterhorn and I believe even the Carousel and after dinner I parted from the family.

The first thing I did was head to the arcade and immediately played air hockey with a "guy" (he was 16!) from Huntington Beach. The game got out of control and the puck was flying everywhere and a CM came over and asked us to leave after about an hour. So after being booted, it seemed natural for the two of us to head over to Space Mt. together. No awkwardness at all, which seemed amazing to me even at the time. He was just gorgeous and we seemed to just click in a buddy buddy way. He had blonde hair, an awesome tan and cool checkered sunglasses and Vans...... We stood in line for SM for an hour or two and just talked the whole time! It was so cool. Then we rode on the PeopleMover, watched a parade, rode the Matterhorn, Innerspace several times and then back on the PeopleMover. On the PM, we kissed a few times and I'll never forget it! It just made my heart totally pound.

He had been with some friends and we met up with them briefly and then it hit me. They did this all the time. Scammed for the teen girls from out of town for some quick make out sessions..... I remember feeling immediately embarrassed and when we said goodbye he tried to kiss me again, but I didn't kiss him. Then we exchanged addresses and he gave me his cool checkered sunglasses. When I got home, there was a letter from him. I couldn't believe it! We exchanged letters and a couple phone calls here and there for about a year, then the next June when we went down to Disneyland again, I didn't tell him I was coming and my cousin and I met some other guys from Irvine, but that's another story.......;)

80S ERA
06-17-2002, 10:28 PM
Great stories Alysen and stinkerbell! Thanks for sharing! Now, this is what makes the place so special! I always look upon the teen couples today with envy -- I know exactly how they feel.

TP2000
06-17-2002, 11:20 PM
Geez. And all this time I'd just been going for the rides and parades.

Uncle Dick
06-18-2002, 12:25 AM
Well, a couple of weeks ago, zapppop and I got to ride on the Haunted Mansion together. The lights were dim and the mood was right…






…but there were two problems, 1) He's not a chick and 2) I don't find him attractive.

Also, sometimes ugly chicks will hop on the back of the tram and try to flirt with me. I pretend I'm busy and ignore them.

Wait a minute, why am I posting in this thread again? :confused:

Ghoulish Delight
06-18-2002, 07:33 AM
My favorite memory of Disneyland has to be the first time I went sans-parents. My sister had recently gotten her driving license and as a Bar Mitzvah gift to me, took me to Disneyland! We got there an hour before openeing, parked in, literally, the second non-handicap spot in the old parking lot. I could actually probably pinpoint the date, if I wanted to, because there was a decent sized earthquake while we were sitting in line waiting for the gates to open (she and I were the only ones who noticed it :eek: ). I don't remember all the details, but we had a BLAST! It was a hot day, but that didn't stop us. We were sure to take plenty of trips on the People Mover to rest, and saw every show we could to get some AC. That was also the first time I saw Fantasmic! That was actually the worst part of the day. We were exhausted an over heated. Our feet were killing us. We wedged our way up front, right on the banks of the River. We thought we were smart because we found a spot with a rock to lean on. Little did we know that we'd spend the next 45 minutes getting smashed into that rock. Ugh. There was an obnoxious lady behind us taking pictures the whole time. It wouldn't have been so bad, but for some reason she felt it necessary to use my sister (who is very short) as a tripod, resting the camera on ther head multiple times!! That whole experience has kind of soured me on Fantasmic! since. But the show was awsome, and nothing could make that day truly bad. Finally, the ability to run around the park without some adult to slow us down! We were the from opening until they kicked us off Main Street at 1AM.

Ace
06-18-2002, 12:20 PM
Originally posted by TP2000
Geez. And all this time I'd just been going for the rides and parades.

me too. refund time?

80S ERA
06-18-2002, 02:17 PM
Originally posted by Ghoulish Delight
Finally, the ability to run around the park without some adult to slow us down! We were the from opening until they kicked us off Main Street at 1AM.
Ah... the days of running around in the park without any adults. We ran as soon as we got in the park and never stopped to even notice Main Street USA until the end of the day when our feet were tired. I had a ritual as a child / teen of going to the Penny Arcade to rest my tired feet on the foot massager.

Mad Madam Mim
06-19-2002, 02:08 PM
ohhhhhhh, the stories....... I enjoyed reading those. I don't have one, i wish I did.











btw: Uncle Dick........... all this time i thought you just couldn't hear me, now I know, i was being ignored......:eek: :rolleyes: ;) :D :cool:

DisneylandBoy
06-19-2002, 09:00 PM
As a teenager now, I got to Disneyland with my friends, and I am sure these will be my favorite memories of Disneyland. Many times I go with kids I only kinda know, and by the end of the day, they are my best friend. I think my one favorite memory of all, though, is sitting in the middle of the Animation building and talkign for like an hour. It was so much fun!

mickeymom
06-20-2002, 11:06 AM
This story is not sentimental at all, but eerie in a John Edward sort of way...

Last time we were there (1997) it was close to closing time, and we tried to shove in some last minutes before Midnght. I took my two little ones to FL, and my DH took my eldest to Space....

All of a sudden, my then 7 YO freaked out...screaming and crying that something was wrong, and KNEW that her sister and father were stuck on Space....

The longer we waited...the more freaked she got.

When they finally arrived at 12:30...they told us all about the Mountain breaking down, and how they were released by maintenance and coasted all the way back to to the finish.

It was all very freaky!

stinkerbell
06-21-2002, 11:00 PM
Part Two:

The following summer (after 9th grade), I broke up with my boyfriend (a trend with me.......) and went to Disneyland for a week with my cousin. Our last day there, we met two guys at the arcade (hhmmmm, another trend?) They were freshmen in college and were best friends from high school. Both from Tustin. One went to UCI and one went to the Naval Academy. My cousin and I of course lied about our ages and said we were sixteen. How embarassing. Anyway after playing air hockey (I really like air hockey) for awhile, we all decided to hang out and go on rides together. First, of course, was Space Mountain. I kept looking around like I was going to see the "guy" from the previous summer's day at Disneyland. The four of us got along great. We ate together at New Orleans Square. Rode the PeopleMover and Matterhorn several times. I was pretty standoffish, but my cousin was really into the UCI guy.

Warning: Don't try this at home!

The guys said they knew a great place for dessert. We thought they meant at Disneyland, but instead we hopped into their car and took off for Balboa and ate at Haagen Daz! I know it was stupid to just trust these guys blindly, but they were great and were really nice guys, thank goodness. We also went to Huntington Beach and my cousin made out with the UCI guy in a lifeguard chair, while the Naval Academy guy and I hung out. It was a lot of fun and we managed to make it back to Disneyland in time for fireworks and our curfew! The Naval Academy guy and I exchanged addresses and kept in touch until he revealed that he was on their swim team and shaved his legs. Ew! :eek: I still wear the USA sweatshirt he sent me and I still have a UCI sweatshirt that I borrowed on the beach! It must have been memorable. :)