#Fab5 shake, rattle and roll @Disneyland

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Geo: 33.8327, -117.916

The wake up call was at 6 am and true to form BJ greeted us with an "Is something burning?" propped up in a saucepan surrounded by onions. A fireman's delight.

The new purchases were stuffed into the already overflowings bags which were efficiently wheeled to one block to the bus pickup point and right on 6.50 the #Fab5 were assembled for the LUXBus ride to Anaheim and Downtown Disney.

The ride was effortless - a small coach - a friendly driver - a few diversions because of filming in Downtown LA - but no traffic and plenty of open road on the freeway. It was all done and dusted just on the hour and without a fuss we were dropped at the Portofino, checked in the luggage and with nary a backwards glance were literally sprinting down Disney Way to get to the gates of the park.

This was a first time visit for Carolyn, Von and Julie and of course a Birthday visit for Denise and a just so she got a badge too a "celebratory" visit for Jan. Armed with the map the #Fab5 was ready to conquer anything!

"Normal" people take a couple of days to "do" Disneyland. Not the #Fab5. Had to be conquered in a single day.

Go Disney Captain Jan.

She prodded. She pushed, She herded and goaded. There was absolutely no rest for the wicked. The whips were out, the timer was on and there were no excuses. It was "ride baby ride." One in, all in.

Without this "push" the day would have been a more subdued "let's try the food, have a drink and chill to the music" kinda day rather than the "frenetic scramble, let's spin our brains out and scare ourselves sh$%less" kinda day it turned out to be.

So this is what we sampled:

Main Street Fireman show: what can I say - "Of course"
Jungle Cruise - very "punny" commentary
Tarzan's Treehouse - only for those with knees that work
Pirates of the Caribbean - a little bit of screaming
Disneyland Railway - because the birthday girl wanted to
Haunted Mansion - that blast of air scares the bejeebas out of you
Splash Mountain - the name is a misnomer - should be DRENCHED mountain
Davy Crockett Explorer Canoes - team #Fab5 - took off last - finished first - of course!!
The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh - because Carolyn wanted to and we could sing out loud "Zippity doo dah"
King Arthur Carousel - because we are riding every carousel we can find
Mad Tea Party - divided into the spinners (Carolyn, Denise and Jan) and non-spinners (the rest)
Mr Toad's Wild Ride - queued for 40 minutes for 30 second spin - underwhelmed
Mark Twain River Boat - because our feet were hurting
Big Thunder Mountain Railroad - the full tilt roller coaster thing to finish the night and to prove we could
Mickey Mouse House - forget Mickey the #Fab5 were in da house
Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage - dive, dive, dive
Disneyland Monorail - thought we could save a walk - um, it didn't stop!
Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters - head to head challenge - Von victorious
All Girl Live Band - because you have to eat sometime
World of Colour - light show on the run
Fireworks - a last look at Disney - ahh - ooooh

BJ was the star of the day. He was in everything and on every ride. Strangers were coming up asking where we bought him. What a star. And he bonded with every rider who had bought a Disney duck bill. Conversation and connection was never far away thanks to BJ. His best day yet.

Best ride of the day by unanimous vote was the roller coaster ride on Big Thunder Mountain Railroad IN THE DARK. The worst queue was 40 minutes in the sun wait for Mr Toad's Wild Ride which wasn't so wild and last all of 30 seconds!

Predictably, the sprint at the start of the day was replaced by the trudge of the foot weary soldiers on the trip home. The park was open till midnight but the #Fab5 called it quits at 10 after the fireworks along with about 180 000 others who left the park at the same time. No public transport for the #Fab5 but the trip was broken up with a late night stop to get a light dinner snack to take back to the room. We checked in at Portofino at 10.30 pm and Vonnie drew the top bunk (because she could leap tall buildings with a single bound) on the double decker. Jan was "gonsky" within 5 minutes of arriving and who knows why - but Julie was showing off doing upside down splits on the bed - lucky Carolyn! A few nightcaps, a few laughs, threats about snoring and other bodily functions, alarms set and lights out. Beauty sleep was definitely needed by all.

#Fab5 #BJrules #allshookup #stilllaughing

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