To Disney or Not To Disney?

If left to my own devices with this whole parenting thing, my style probably would have tended a little more toward the fringe, with a touch of hippie, and maybe a dash of granola. I did after all attend and absolutely adore a mommy-and-me nursery class with Snook at this school. And I could totally ditch the TV. But, thankfully, I'm not alone on this journey. And, as it turns out, my partner in crime is a little more, shall we say, mainstream.

Which leads us to Disney. Seriously, what could be more mainstream than Disney? So I was not at all surprised when #1 suggested earlier this year that we become Annual Passport members. I did, however, have two initial concerns: (1) Given my watered-down-earth-mama sensibilities, I didn't think my little ones necessarily needed to be exposed to all that is Disney at such tender ages; and (2) I was worried that making frequent trips to Disneyland would make it less special. Growing up, my family did the once-a-year Disneyland thing, which meant my brother and I got crazy excited at the mere thought of the place.

But then I realized that my concerns were at direct odds with one another. I mean, if I didn't want my kids to believe that Disneyland was the be all and end all, then why not go as often as possible and thereby desensitize them to the place and get them to think it was no big deal? More to the point, why venerate a corporate behemoth? Better to save the veneration for Yosemite or D.C. or Normandy. I also told myself it would all balance out with our frequent trips to the zoo, library, Children's Museum, etc. Or at least those were the arguments I came up with to get some peace of mind about the whole thing. And #1 can be very persuasive. So I went along with the plan, and we've now been to Disneyland an obnoxious six times since May (including a doubleheader during that time I said I would be out of commission for a couple of days).


I say "obnoxious," but during those six days at Disneyland, we have had really wonderful times together as a family;





made friends with royalty (and a very popular fairy); and


gotten some great Halloween-costume inspiration.


Plus, doesn't Bubs (shown here at five months) look adorable in his mouse ears?


And look! On our recent It's a Small World adventure, I learned Disney does have some lefty leanings! Who knew?

So at our house we obviously answered the question posed with a resounding, "Disney!" And I have to say, #1 was right, it's been a ton of fun. Did you see those smiles? Which is the whole point, right?