Disneyland 2010

To me, Disneyland really is The Happiest Place on Earth. Since I was small, I have visited Disneyland on a regular basis and it always breaks my heart when I meet people, both children and adults, who have never been there. It is a magical place where adults are free to be children once again.

Josh and I were fortunate enough to spend our fourth wedding anniversary in the Magical Kingdom this year. We went with my dad, Jean, her son Matt and his partner Andrew, and my dad's assistant, Jessica.

The magic started the moment we arrived at The Disneyland Hotel. When we told the front desk it was our anniversary, they promptly upgraded our room and gave us matching Happy Anniversary buttons.

When we came back to the room after our first night in the park we found these rose petals and chocolates laid out on our bed. We also found out our headboard lit up and sang "When You Wish Upon a Star."

Josh and I spent New Year's Eve in New York City a few years ago and, though we had a blast, Disneyland proved to be a better place to celebrate. The castle was more beautiful than I have ever seen it, the Christmas tree lights changed colors as the night went on, fake snow fluttered down from above, and main street was alive with singing and dancing. Unlike New York, where people pushed, grunted, smoked in your face, and cussed, Disneyland was full of happy people ringing in the new year together. I never heard a complaint or a negative word while standing packed together on Main Street.

Josh put his firefighter skills to work and led us on a right hand search of the park. We saw just about every inch of the place and enjoyed new rides like the Buzz Light Year ride and cheered when we saw old attractions had returned, like Captain EO. I even conquered my fear of Mr. Toad's Wild Ride.

California Adventure was under a great deal of construction but we still found our way through A Bug's Life and LOVED the new 3D Toy Story ride that includes a giant Mr. Potato Head who, to my surprise, can really see you and talk to you!

I keep thinking about our trip and how nice it was to be together celebrating so many things. I hope the rest of our year is just as wonderful as our magical New Year's Eve in Disneyland.