Every family has its odd quirk, the thing they do every Christmas or Thanksgiving, or maybe just every time they drive down the same patch of road, that are labeled, rather generously in some cases, as "traditions." For a long time, almost eighteen years in fact, my family's yearly tradition was taking an eight hour car ride down to the "Happiest Place on Earth"...Disneyland! And while every year my brother and I had the "tradition" of fighting over who got to put their head on the armrest, and my parents had the "tradition" of making us play The Silent Game (whoever stayed quietest the longest won, and parents, I must tell you, for some reason this game works!), somehow we always managed to make it to Anaheim in one piece.
That's not to say that once we got to our hotel that my brother and I didn't fight anymore over petty things like who got which bed, or that my parents stopped trying to trick us into playing games to make us behave, but somehow just knowing that we were within walking distance of Disneyland always seemed to have the magical effect of making us ignore the fighting, and just be "one big happy family." The great thing about these annual trips was that so much of what we did were things that we had done every year since I was a baby. This started even before we got in the park, with a contest to see who could spot the Matterhorn first. (This was when the Matterhorn was still the tallest landmark in the park and there was no Tower of Terror or huge hotels).
One Disneyland tradition my family always had was that around the second or third day of our trip my dad would go back to the hotel and take a long nap. As I grew older, and I started to go to the park with my boyfriend instead of my family, I became very fond of teasing my dad about this little tradition of his. Now I realize that the reasons behind my dad's naps were the eight hour drive he had to make, and the incessant whining of his children to "go on that ride" or "buy that toy," but I still can't help but tease him. The teasing has even become a tradition in itself now, and one that I have passed on to my boyfriend. I like to tell him that when we have children and we take them to Disneyland he and my dad can go back to the hotel room and take a nap, while my mom and I take the kids on all the rides that would make my dad and boyfriend motion sick, like the Teacups.
The Teacups were another tradition my family had when it came to Disneyland. And the tradition was this…my brother and I would beg my parents to go on it, they would refuse, and we would ride it and wave to them. Then afterwards, my brother and I would get off feeling dizzy and sick and my parents would say "I told you so!" As annoying (and nauseating) as this habit was, I always looked forward to it because it was just what my family "did" when we went to Disneyland.
Looking back on all the other Disneyland traditions my family has had over the years (my brother "stepping through" Space Mountain until he was a teenager because he didn't want to ride it; me getting nervous going on Splash Mountain, and my dad holding on to me tight so I wouldn't be scared; getting autographs from our favorite characters; my mom insisting that we stop and get our silhouettes done) I love thinking about how I will carry on all these traditions when I take my own family to "the Happiest Place on Earth," and how my parents will be there too to witness all the old (and new!) traditions taking place.
And, of course, there are traditions that I've heard from other people that I would love to make my own. Like getting a silhouette done every year of your child's life to show how much they've grown (and visiting with the lady that's been doing the silhouettes for the past thirty odd years at the same time). Or searching for Hidden Mickey's (like the one in the dining room scene of the Haunted Mansion). Even just promising that you'll do something you haven't done in a while (or ever) on every trip is a fun tradition, and has become such for me and my boyfriend. The last time we went, we spent part of one day on Tom Sawyer's Island, which we hadn't visited in years, another part we spent with him trying to convince me to ride some attractions I refused to go on in California Adventures (such as the Maliboomer, that 180 foot tower that takes you straight up in four seconds), and another part we spent just walking around noticing the details of things and visiting little nooks and crannies, like Snow White's Wishing Well on the right side of the castle. And next time we go we've promised ourselves that we'll ride the Mark Twain Riverboat around the Rivers of America at least once, or go on a tour, since we've never had those Disney experiences either.
However you look at it, and whatever you choose to do, it's not hard to see how easy it is to start a new family tradition the next time you go to Disneyland; one that will last in your memories for a lifetime, and can be passed on from generation to generation to keep the happiness and magic alive always.
