Guest Column: The Many Adventures of a Passholder
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The Many Adventures of a Passholder
by Mark Carbonella

This is my very first year of having my own Disneyland Annual Passport. So, I’m a rookie at this "Annual Passholder" thing. I first got my pass way back on April 1, 2001. April Fools was the day, but before that day arrived, I wanted to think if even buying a pass is worth it. I mean, won’t I get sick of Disneyland or DCA? But if I do buy one, I want to go as many times as I can. These were the things I was thinking about when I was considering buying my pass. I’m sure many of you are thinking the same thing. One of my close friends, Mark Ahrens, helped me consider the possibilities of getting an annual pass.

Mark told me it would be totally awesome and cool because we could always hang out there on weekends and just have a fun time enjoying that Disney atmosphere. He also told me that since he was an annual passholder for so long, it would be fun to bring someone who rarely goes. Before buying the annual pass, I hardly visited the Disneyland Resort. I would go maybe once every one or two years, but that’s it. I always wanted an annual pass but transportation and people to go with would be a problem. For me, finding people to go with was no problem since I know two kids from my school who already have their own passes. The big problem for me was transportation. I don’t have a car and neither does anyone of my friends. We were able to work it out, though, with each of our parents taking turns with the driving. So if anyone out there says that one of the big reasons you don’t want to get an annual pass is because you don’t have transportation or people to go with; find people in your school or work and ask them if they have a pass. If they don’t, encourage them to get one. Transportation could always be shared with friends or co-workers, so that shouldn’t be too big of a problem.

Will I have any fun, though? Won’t I get bored? Trust me, you won’t get bored. You’ll have so much fun every time you go you’d wish you could go everyday. I, personally, have had so many stories and memories to tell about my adventures at Disneyland and DCA with my friends that I even co-write an article in my school’s newspaper appropriately called "Wacky Disneyland Adventures." Let me tell you just one of the many stories that I have from owning an annual pass. It was one of those zip-a-de-do-da November days, and my friend Mark and I were taking one of our classmates, Jeremy, to the Disneyland Resort. We visited DCA and took him on Superstar Limo as his very first ride at the new park. The facial expression on his face was PRICELESS! He was so shocked of how weird and corny that attraction was that he never wanted to go on it again. Later, when we visited the Star Tours attraction at Disneyland, I sat in a big pile of gum. It was all over my pants and jacket. After trying to scrub it off on the seat, we visited the small world attraction. Now here’s an attraction where I thought nothing could possibly happen. Well, I was wrong. The cast members loaded the boat full to capacity except for the seat Jeremy and I was seating in. Then when the boat left the dock, the boat started leaning toward the right side where Jeremy was sitting. I decided to scoot next to Jeremy, and all of a sudden, the boat starts taking on water! I had to quickly move to the other side of the boat just to keep the thing level. Throughout the whole attraction, Jeremy had to push against the side of the flume to keep the boat steady. Afterwards, everyone on the boat was cussing at me in several different languages, and even Jeremy was mad because I got his leather jacket wet. These are the types of memories that I’ll never forget, and I bet you won’t either.