Two come to mind. When I first went to Disneyland, I was 4 years old. I had seen many Disney anamated films and I was so happy to be there. My father says hanging on to me was the challenge of the day, it was like holding on to a young race horse eager to get started. I saw Tigger and took off after him. My father says it took an act of God to get me back as I followed Tigger through the gate and right into the backstage area.

I had a lovely day. Dumbo was my favorite ride and I rode it again and again. Then Captain Hook came to Fantasyland. Our eyes met, I stood frozen, unable to move. He came closer, and closer, and I began to shake. He was finally before me and he looked down, and I lost it. I began screaming and screaming. He touched me and I cried bloody murder! After all, I had seen how he was with Peter Pan and I did not wish to suffer the same treatment. The poor person inside the outfit must have been quite surprised as I never do anything on a small scale. My father raced over and picked me up. I wept and wept until the evil Hook went away. Boy what a day!

I also have a memory of a dear friend of mine named Steve, now dead. He loved Disneyland when he was alive. Many times a group of us would go with him often. He used to say that when he died he wanted to be cremated and scattered over Disneyland. A few years later, he contacted AIDS and died. It was a very sad time for us all, but we remembered what he had said. So he was cremated, and knowing that Disneyland would never allow us to sprinkle him over their park, we each, took a small portion of his ashes and off to the park we went. Then all through the day we would shake a leg here and there to deposit steve all over the park. The best was the Skyway - which was still in operation - where we just let Steve fly.

I've always lived right next to the Park, so visiting Disneyland became a common occurrence early in my life. My absolute favorite memory happened when I was able to join a few other friends for a very special trip on Splash Mountain before it was open to the general public. As it turns out, we were the first guests to ride. This story was already published on Laughingplace.com, so instead of bringing it up again, I'll move on to my second favorite memory, or group of memories in this case.

The onset of summertime for a young teenager is always a magical time. The pressures of school are almost over, and the future is full of thoughts about the beach, girls, endless weekends, and no homework. For me, my summers were filled with all that, plus many long nights at Disneyland enjoying the Main Street Electrical Parade. I waited all year for the night that I would hear it's electrical fanfare for the first time. The Electrical Parade was my representation of summer more than anything else. The start of another season of colorful lights and synthesized music ment the completion of school and a fun three-month vacation. What more could a kid ask for?

I vividly remember standing at Town Square so that I could hear the very first fanfare. The music started, the lights dimmed, and the crowd started cheering and clapping. Once the first cycle of music was over, I would run up the parade route to the next "zone" so that I could hear the introduction again. This pattern would continue until I was all the way up at Small World. Every introduction was special, and every fanfare got the crowd cheering and clapping. They loved this parade and this music more than any other show in the park.

The Main Street Electrical Parade has become a symbol of Disneyland memories for millions of visitors. Some have seen it only once, others like myself have seen it numerous times, and I'm sure it remains a magic memory for all of us.

December of this year will mark the 20th anniversary of my first visit to Disneyland. It hardly seems possible that so many years, and countless visits, have now come and gone since the first time I experienced the magic of Disneyland in person.

There was a time when I feared that perhaps I would never get to see Disneyland. As a young kid in the '60's, I lived for Walt Disney's Sunday night television programs. I especially loved the shows about Disneyland. Walt always made it sound like the most fantastic place in the whole wide world. But, living in rural Texas, Southern California seemed a million miles away. Disneyland might as well have been on the moon. And, indeed, our family was never able to take a vacation to California when I was growing up. From my youthful perspective, it seemed that I would probably never get to go to Disneyland.

Since I couldn't go to Disneyland, I decided to try and bring some of Disneyland's magic to me. I saved every newspaper and magazine article about Disneyland that I could find. My meager allowance monies were spent on View Masters, records, and other Disneyland-related things. When I learned of Disneyland Mail Order, I ordered just about every pictorial type item they had -- from postcards, to Souvenir Disneyland Pictorial books, to maps of the Park. I wrote to Disneyland Guest Relations on occasion to request information about the latest new attractions. To my delight, they often included Park guidebooks with the materials they kindly sent.

Adolescence can be a difficult time and it was an especially painful time for me. My interest in Disneyland was one thing that helped me to get through those times. The years rolled by and I weathered the storms of youth to find myself a young adult. Now, I could do more than just dream. I could start making my dreams come true.

In late 1980, the opportunity arose to visit a college friend who was living in Southern California. I excitedly realized that at last, here was my chance to go to Disneyland!

I remember the excitement that I felt as I caught my first glimpse of the Matterhorn as we got near the Park on the freeway. "Wow, I'm ALMOST there!" Spotting the marquee as we drove up Harbor Boulevard added to my anticipation. When we passed through the turnstiles and I finally stood in front of the familiar floral Mickey, at that moment, it really was the Happiest Place On Earth for me!

When I walked into Town Square, I didn't feel like I had just stepped into someplace that I had never been before. I felt right at home. It felt as if I'd been there before. In a sense, I had. Only, now, in place of those 2-dimensional images that I had been limited to, was the real thing.

"First's" are often occasions that we look back on with special feelings and memories. There were several things that made my first visit to Disneyland especially memorable.

My friend had a Magic Kingdom Club card, and with it, we were able to get special Passports. These Passports were pinned to your clothing and allowed you to ride everything as many times as you wanted. You didn't have to fuss with the ticket books. They just waved you right into the queues. It made me feel kind of special. (Kind of like the feeling I get now when I stroll past the stand-by guests when I have a Fastpass!)

My friend was somewhat astonished that I knew my way around Disneyland without even looking at the guide map. She had been there several times, but didn't know her way around. I had studied maps of Disneyland for so many years that I had memorized the layout, and I knew exactly where every attraction was!

One by one, I took in each attraction. It was like unwrapping presents at Christmas to discover what goodies are inside. Indeed, since I was visiting in December, the Park was celebrating the Christmas season, along with its 25th anniversary.

It really made my first visit to Disneyland extra special to get to be there at Christmastime, and for an anniversary. I just loved all of the wonderful Christmas decorations, and was in awe of the magnificent tree in Town Square. I was absolutely delighted by the special 25th anniversary edition of the Christmas parade. To this day, Christmastime at Disneyland is still the most magical time for me. Many great memories have been added since then, but I'll always look back with special fondness on that first visit to Disneyland -- the realization of a long-held dream come true. Those magical memories will stay with me forever!