A Letter to my Niece and Nephew Who Don't Want to Go to Disneyland,Part 1

Every summer when my kids were little, and my niece and nephew (C & K) were really little, we would make the trek from Houston to Orlando to visit family and play with the Mouse. Disney World started to feel like our home away from home and we only visited once a year. My niece and nephew, who lived in Orlando, and whose mom (my sister) worked at Epcot, really felt attached to the place. And then last year they moved to Texas.

This is a long way of saying, those kids (C & K) love Disney World. A lot. But now that they live in Texas, in the middle of the country, their mom, my sister, has planned a family vacation for them to Disneyland. And they are not really that thrilled about it. They're wondering why not go back to Disney World? But they've never been to Disneyland, and that's part of the reason for the plan. They just don't know what they don't know. 

I'm no expert, but after a few trips to Disneyland while on business in the Santa Ana area during the past few years, I've been converted to it. Disney is truly Disney, and Disneyland has the magic, too. I want to share a few of the magical things I enjoyed there that I think they (C & K) will enjoy, too. 

Magical Thing #1: THE WEATHER

Southern California weather is the reason everybody and their dog wants to move to southern California. It's sublime. It doesn't beat you down like Florida heat, or rain on you every afternoon or sap the energy from you after a half-day of walking in it. It is warm but not humid during the day, often breezy, cooler in the shade, and even cooler as the sun goes down. It energizes you and lifts your spirits. You actually need to wear a jacket/hoodie/cardigan there in the summer in the early mornings and at night and you don't sweat through all your clothes.

Magical Thing #2 THE PARK SIZE

The park size is SMALL. So small that you can walk from here to there and back again all in the same day and without saying dumb things constantly like "My dogs are barkin'," or "I'm never coming back here again until I have grandchildren." Everything is RIGHT THERE. It's all attached! You can walk from your hotel to Downtown Disney to Magic Kingdom to California Adventure without breaking the afore-mentioned sweat.

These two Magical Things alone make Disneyland worth the trip, but there is even more in Part 2.
TO BE CONTINUED...