Being a child in Disneyland

[american_werewolf]

and of course i have great memories of The Main Street Electrical Parade, one of my Grandma's fave things to do as well. i remember her, my mom and i would get a seat hours in advance on Main Street, to make sure we had a good view of the parade. fun times.

[cositaluvsmickey]

and of course i have great memories of The Main Street Electrical Parade, one of my Grandma's fave things to do as well. i remember her, my mom and i would get a seat hours in advance on Main Street, to make sure we had a good view of the parade. fun times.

I too loved the main street electrical parade. Me and my dad after an exhausting day would go and sit down near hub and just enjoy churros and sodas and wait patiently for the parade to begin. Good times Good time

[Ortizmo2000]

When did they start selling churros in disneyland anyway? I know they weren't offered there was I was a little house monkey.

[XxBellaThornxX]

I remember a few things from my very first trip to Disneyland when I was 2. It actually my FIRST memory of anything, lol.

I was sitting on my Grandpa's lap waiting for The Main Street Electrical Parade to begin and thinking that his legs were going to be ran over by the parade. I kept telling him to move his legs but he just said it would be ok....and it was

Also as a child I remember being DEATHLY afraid of C3PO in the que for Star Tours. I loved the ride at a young age but when we would get near C3PO id start to cry and hide. Its a big joke in my family now considering I now love Star Wars, lol.

[Leofoenget]

My first Disneyland trip was when I was about 4 years old and Roger Rabbit's CarToon Spin opened a couple months beforehand. I remember I saw Roger when he was still walking around the park and I ran over to him and got a picture with him.

http://micechat.com/forums/members/m...2962-roger.jpg

And I also remember being 6 or 7 years old screaming and crying because I was too scared to go on Haunted Mansion. My mom was trying to convince me the entire time we were in line. By the time we got to the door and heard the music, I freaked out. Didn't do it that day, but I did finally when I was 10. Now it's my favorite ride.

Does Roger come out anymore? That's a cool shot.

[Radiobarry]

My first visit to Disneyland would have been in 1960 or 61, when I was four or five years old.

I remember being scared by the dancers in the Indian village that was there at the time.

And I remember seeing Jimmie Dodd and at least some of the original Mouseketeers at the "Mickey Mouse Clubhouse".

I also remember having a meal at Aunt Jemima's Pancake house.

I remember the train being my favorite ride that day.

-- Barry

[Barbaraann]

I was never a child at Disneyland. The only Disneyland that I saw as a child was on the Mickey Mouse Club, and the Wonderful World of Color.

I was 57 years old when I went to Disneyland the first time, and I felt like a kid who finally got her wish. I had to travel half way across the USA and I'll never forget that day.

[tomrules1955]

My fondest memory of disneyland as a child is how my father used to take me every weekend and he would get on all the rides with me and just act like a kid. Those memories will always live in my heart and I thank my father for introducing me to Disney and making those memories that will last till I take my last breath.

We did this with our 2 oldest kids (now 20 and 23) from the time they were 8 and 10, they dont live with us anymore, but whenever we talk about going to DL they mostly roll their eyes and refer to the park like "yeah my dad took us their all the time, I've been there a million times" we even kept up with their passes after they moved out. they didnt use them once.
Nice to read your memory and I hope for my younger kids 10-12 that they will look back like you do.

[MarkTwain]

My earliest Disney memory was actually WDW and it was VERY early in my childhood. I was being pushed in a stroller down Main Street, but it was the kind of stroller which could fold down into a little bed. So I was quite small. I remember seeing the castle in front me but not really knowing what it was, and I think there was even a stage show going on. But I got sleepy so my parents folded down the bed and I went to sleep. And that's all I've got

At this point, there wasn't really much I could ride in the MK besides iasw and the PeopleMover.

[Peoplemover Priit]

pretty much all I remember was going on the subs when I was 4. That was my favorite ride and I knew pretty much every animal in the ride. I also remember being torn apart when my dad said the subs were gone and were going to be replaced by a restaraunt, but I was 5-6 at that time.

[BSanna]

For me a mixture of memories of going with my grandparents who lived just up the road. Got to go countless times every year. They would take the time to make me notice the detail Walt put into the park. My grandpa would tell stories of them chanig every light bulb every night, I believed him because, well he was grandpa and it was Disneyland! I seemd to be true to me! Now when I take my kids we ALWAYS stop to point out something the casual visitor walks right by. There are truly multiple levels to ejoy DL.
Another is how whe we were 14 we thought we were real insiders because we knew the "secrect entrance". Grandma would drop us off at the DL Hotel and we would ride the Monorail over to TL station. Note this was WAY before DTD. Back then if you jumped on the Mono before official openng time, it would leave and you would find yourself in the park before the gates were opened. I know it's sort of like that now but is was not as strict. You would just walk up, get on and go. I loved when the Hotel was right there at the station. Never stayed there until I was an 2001, just not the same. It always felt so exclusive to even walk through the lobby.
I'll save the story about our visit to the DL jail for another time.

[MickeyMousePal]

One of my first memories at Disneyland was watching Captain EO. The only part from the film that freaked me out was The Supreme Leader because of her long nails. I also remember the Tron Speed Tunnel.

[disney-fan-reborn]

(age 5 and up)
Oh yeah...the musty smell of the water in POTC! That always takes me back to my childhood at DL. Every once in a while, that same smell comes from somewhere, and I'm immediately transported back to Yesterland!

(age 5?)
Another memory is when I accidentally got poked in the eye by one of Goofy's whiskers.

(age 7)
Also, I remember when I was a kid, whenever I got excited or nervous, I had to go pee. So, I was always having to find the nearest bathroom at DL because I was so excited...THE WHOLE TIME!

(age 13-ish)
I also remember always being nervous of going on Space Mountian. I'd go through the entire line, then opt out at the last minute, and end up waiting on the platform for the rest of my family after they rode the ride.

(age 37)
Riding the Matterhorn with my younger brother, and feeling like I was 5 years-old again!

[WJNM]

I think my first Disneyland experience was around 5 or so, and we were eating at River Bell Terrace. I had to go to the bathroom, so my brother took me, and right outside of there we ran into Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum.

I also remember being scared to death of the Tron Speed Tunnel. I used to close my eyes during that part of the ride!

[Smaps]

Ah, memories..

• WDW, age 4: Much of the memories of this trip were focused on SeaWorld, as that was my obsession and dream career at the time ('whale trainer' fizzled out at 14 or so). But I remember the absolute, sheer ENORMITY of the magic kingdom, the characters who gathered in the square outside for pictures (all of them! in one place! and you had to FIGHT YOUR WAY THROUGH to get to them!). To be honest, I was too shy to approach any of the princesses, and couldn't even be dragged to get a picture with the Queen of Hearts. At the age of four, I couldn't possibly understand why on earth ANYBODY was even ALLOWING me near her. Wasn't she one of the most obvious villains of all? Why was she allowed to walk around freely? Around KIDS? Around ALICE?
  
  I was also tremendously sick the entire trip and, like others in this thread, subjected my father to many, many halfway-through-the-queue-line-backouts. I distinctly remember him throwing a fit because I tearfully refused to go on Splash Mountain (I, of course, being the bigger person, eventually dropped my guard and gave him my permission for us to go on it... ah, parents?) Beyond camping, this is the only family vacation my entire family of three ever went on, and the memories endure.
• Disneyland, age 18: 14 years later, I went to Disneyland this time, and it's good to know some things never change: I, again, spent the entire trip sick and miserable. And yes, it was STILL magical. I went expecting corporate dogs, whiny tourists, and an otherwise disappointing and dismal venture. At the very least, I'd be with my best friends, and they'd make the curtain-pull-back easier to swallow.
  
  It ended up being the most exciting, enthralling, magical three days of my LIFE. Those precious hours in the park (13-15 a day) over New Years were filled with the absolute best of memories with the greatest people. I fell in love. Never before had I been so, so happy to be a kid again. It made me an addict. No one else back at college could understand why I loved it so much: you just don't GET it! When you're with people who love Disney, your bestest of friends, when you can just let go and traipse around, let loose and live in the moment... I suffered from what I called Disney Nostalgia Bombs™, or the post-Disney whiny missings and moments where all those memories come crashing down on you again. I couldn't explain why I missed it so much.
  
  That was just 2 months ago. I'm now in preparations for booking a trip in a few weeks with the same people to WDW this Summer. And I can't express how excited I am not only to spend time with the greatest of friends, but to see how WDW has changed since I last remember it so many years ago. Truly, perhaps the greatest part of Disney is the shared experience we all have of it being meaningful to us in our childhood -- through their movies, their characters, their television channel, their parks. There is an overarching theme of good vs. evil, the hardships of growing up, and unrealistic but idealic stories of love.