Dum-boy

Have you ever been to the magic kingdom? You know what I’m talking about. Endless rides, food, fun, games, Disney characters, oh yes… and Mickey Mouse. Disneyland is the place I’m talking about. The land of happiness, wear children and adults can spend a day (or many days) enjoying the multiple activities that are available to everyone.

Well… In my younger years my family lived in L.A. and we visited Disneyland quite a few times. Because we went when I was younger than 8, I always went on the “kid friendly” rides. You know them, “It’s a small world after all”, “Peter Pan”, “Star Wars”… and lets not forget “Dumbo”.

I haven’t been to Disneyland since I was 8, so I’ve pretty much forgot what all the rides were like. However I will never forget that infamous “Dumbo” ride! I remember that day like it was yesterday. I was 7 years old and my family had taken a trip to Disneyland for some fun. That was probably one of my most enjoyable times there. I went on “Thunder Mountain” and “Space Mountain” for the first time. Yes they scared the heck out of me but that’s ok. I went on those two coasters after my usual assortment of kid rides. After that I was ready to go on something more to my liking, to help me wind down.

As we walked in search of the right ride I spotted the “Dumbo” ride. As a 7 year old dumbo was the perfect ride to relax on. All you had to do was sit and decide whether you wanted to be up or down, or you could really style by going up AND down. Anyways, there was a pretty long line for that line, but I was determined to wait it out. After about fifteen minutes in line, and only moving a few feet, I began to get really bored. They should do a sideshow for all the people waiting in line or something like that. Well, you know how they have those fences that make the line, the metal ones? Well I decided to entertain myself by seeing if I could fit through the bars. Everybody knows that if you get your head through the rest of your body will follow. So, with that in mind I tried to stick my head through. I got it through on the first try! Oh yeah! Things were rolling! Feeling quite smug I continued my epic journey through the bars. That’s where things got a little dicey. For some reason the rest of my body wanted to stay on the other side of the bars! No problem, I would just pull my head back through and find something else to do. Riiiiiiggghht… I pulled but my head wouldn’t come back. I turned my head and pulled some more. Again it wouldn’t budge. About this time the line began to move (at a rapid pace I might add). Not wanting to be left behind I began to yell for my dad. Maybe scream is a better way to put it. As soon as dad got there though I began to calm down. It is common knowledge to all kids that dad can do anything. As dad stood there assessing the situation I could tell he was a little worried. He tried to pull my head through in many different ways but it just wouldn’t budge. All this time I was crying because my head was stuck and the line kept moving! It was bad enough to get my head stuck it was insult to watch all these different kids pass me and get on the ride ahead of me when they should’ve been behind me! After trying numerous times my dad began to look for someone from the park who could help. I was too traumatized to remember how they got me out. I think my dad was somehow able to do it. After all that drama there was absolutely NO WAY that I was going to miss the ride! Can you believe that I still had to wait in line?!?! All those people who were originally behind me were too selfish to let me back ahead of them. But I was a trooper. I had conquered the “dumbo line torture” and was not going to be defeated. To make matters even more trying it began to rain, and I’m not talking about a little drizzle. It was pouring! I was drenched even before I got on the ride. As soon as I got on my dumbo seat thing I tried to salvage my experience. It wasn’t meant to be. My dumboi was stuck on the lowest so I wasn’t able to go up. Instead I was forced to stay at ground level. At this turn of events I decided all in all that it wasn’t worth it.

Since then I've never been to disneyland and I've only ridden a ride once. You never know when and where disaster will strike. Especially in my life.