By this time next week, I’ll have made my triumphant return to Disneyland. If you’ll recall last year, my wife and I both participated in RunDisney Avengers Half-Marathon and will be doing so again this year. Actually we’ll also be doing the Captain America 10K which, in tandem with the half marathon, is being dubbed the Infinity Gauntlet Challenge.
While I’m obviously excited to go back to California and Disneyland itself, I am a little peeved about one thing. See, as big a fan of Marvel as my wife is, she’s a much bigger fan of Star Wars. And so when I heard that the inaugural Season of the Force was kicking off around the same time we were going to be in town I was stoked… until I realized it starts the day after we leave.
Part of this is our fault as we will be making the most ridiculous of trips out to California this week. While my wife has been accruing paid time off at her job, she’s not able to use any until her one-year anniversary with the company (which isn’t until March). As a result, we’ve shortened our trip as much as possible in order to minimize the financial impact. This means we’ll starting the 24-hour drive when she gets home from work on Wednesday evening and heading back bright and early Monday morning.
Now, of course, there is the chance of a soft opening but, really, who schedules an event to start on a Monday?! And the day after a race weekend when many out of towners will descend on the resort, each having paid hundreds of dollars just to run through the streets of Anaheim while some cosplayers and high school marching bands cheer them on. As Stephanie Tanner would say, “how rude!”
OK, this is all sour grapes and I will look ridiculous next week when they do, in fact, open the offerings early, but I will be pretty distraught if they don’t. Since moving away from Disneyland, I’ve had a much better understanding for what’s it’s like for non-Annual Passholder families planning trips to the parks. This includes weighing the cost of a day ticket and whether it’s actually “worth it” for us.
As much as I miss Disneyland, the fact is that I was just there in August. Meanwhile, it’s been far far longer since my wife has been to any Disney park. And so, if she’s willing to forgo the cost, then I guess I am as well. While I know that that money could be better spent (or saved, actually), I want so badly to splurge and spend the weekend in the parks — something that I never even had to think about when I was an Annual Passholder. However, with Star Wars in the mix, a day at Disneyland instantly goes from “would be nice,” past “I want to go to there” and into “I MUST HAVE IT NOW!”
I guess what I’m saying is — Help me, Star Wars soft opening; you’re my only hope.
Come back next week for more stories and be sure to pick up your copy of The E-Ticket Life book on Amazon or get a signed edition from Laughing Place Press!