Second Star to the Right – Anaheim, California [06/11/2014]

‘Tis true Peter, time really does fly…

And all good things must come to an end.

You’d never think a week could go so quickly, it seems like only yesterday we arrived here and now we’re just about to pack up and fly home.

Well, tomorrow anyway.

So it seems only fitting really that we ended up sitting on the same corner of main street for the parade now that we did 19 years ago when we said goodbye to the electrical parade for the last time. My father’s idea that was, Mum and I would have both forgotten about it. Dad usually hates camping out for anything, but some things are just important, even if they mean sitting on the sunbaked pavement for a half an hour.

We didn’t spend the whole day at the park today – we had intended to, but yesterday was a long day and we were just too tired. So we went home after lunch (note to all: Rainforest Café is NOT worth the money! Great décor, good service, lousy food), and grabbed a few hours of much needed sleep instead. Though we did stop at Downtown Disney first, so I could get one of the many Tinker Bell shirt’s I’d had my eye on all week (“I don’t Tink so”…too cute)…

Which is how we ended up sitting on the sunwarmed pavement of main street just as the early evening sun was kissing the tops of the Emporium on main street.

Disneyland knows how to do parades better than anyone I know, and their current offering is no exception. The costumes alone are enough to drop your jaw, I mean they had someone dressed up as a carnival mask!

Once the parade had wound it’s way past us, trailing the usual gaggle of excited park guests in its wake, we drifted back over to California Adventure for a final ride on the coaster (“again again!!!!”) and one final drop from the Tower of Terror (the cast member doing the opening spiel this time was not nearly so amusing as the first one but you can’t win ‘em all), and then it was back to the original park so that I could get my silhouette done (I have one from almost every park I’ve been to from the time I was five to now)…and so we could find a place to stand for the fireworks.

Bless my parents 100 ways to Sunday, they understood why it was so important that we stay as the three of us for the fireworks. Too many times standing watching fireworks explode over the turrets of Sleeping Beauty’s Castle all by myself or with the wrong people, I needed the right people there. For about ten minutes it looked as if the show was going to be cancelled (there was strong wind at higher elevations) but after about ten minutes delay the spotlights swept over the sky, main street went dark, and the stars began to explode,

Then my Mum takes one arm from around my waist and points to the tiny speck of light crossing the sky from the Matterhorn towards the tallest turret of the castle. And you can only see her for a second, because for some reason her spotlight went out (probably something to do with those winds, or just the angle we were at)…but Mum and Dad saw her first..

Look! Look there! There she is!!

And I looked up, and all I could here in my mind’s ear was the old old voice from the original fireworks many many years ago

Where if you believe and wish hard enough, you too will see the magic of Tinker Bell as she lights this evening’s performance…

Yes, after all this time, and all these show changes, Tink still flies…

And me? Well, there were things that went “wrong”, there were thing that were not as we expected, there were things we may change for next time but really? When it comes down to it?

Tink still flies…

And I…still believe…