A Working Mom's Playground: The wonderful world of Disney

After a lovely and relaxing 5-day vacation in the serene central coast, we spent an un-relaxing day at The Happiest Place On Earth on the way back home to San Diego.

Main Street, U.S.A., with Sleeping Beauty's castle in the distance

The kids had a ball of a time.

I, however, feel like I was bitchslapped. Bitchslapped by the Southern California August heat, bitchslapped by the summer crowds, bitchslapped by the Disney marketing machine which resulted in the kids whining every time we were funnelled at the end of an ride right into the contextually relevant-themed Disneyland store beckoning us to spend more money (Even after the $69 per adult head and the $59 for each kid we had paid just to enter the park).

I can only imagine the Disney marketing people in a conference room when they were laying out the design of Disneyland...

Travelled to Endor on Star Tours? Come to our Tomorrowland store and spend money on Star Wars action figures and light sabers!

Just rode Pirates of the Caribbean? Dole out some cash for a wig and be just like Captain Jack Sparrow! OR, come buy plastic swords so you can pummel each other with it!

Drove a car on Autopia? Buy your kids the *exclusive* Lightning McQueen and Tow Mater cars that you can only find here at the wonderful world of Disney!

Don't even get me started on the Princess Faire, where we could have visited Cinderella, Belle and Ariel within a 5 minute span (after about a 45 minute wait in line). As you walk out of the "visits" with the princesses, you enter the most lovely store complete with beautiful Disney Princess dresses and accoutrements. (We didn't visit the princesses this time, but here's a photo of our last visit to Princess Faire back in February).

At least the ride-to-merchant layouts and upsells are contextually relevant -- I'll give them that. So much so that the kids were asking us to shop after every ride. Oy. Disney...the Marketing Machine.

Anyhooooo....

Despite all my bitching about the unsolicited attempts to spend money at every corner, the kids had a great time. Which is what matters most, really.

(And OK, OK. I admit, we had a great time, too. How can you not when your kids are grinning from ear to ear?!)

Here are some photos chronicling our latest adventures at The Happiest Place On Earth.

Jedi Training Camp...waiting for Darth

Don't ever let your 3 year old drive the car at Autopia. I still have whiplash.

Tarzan's Treehouse (formerly the Swiss Family Robinson Treehouse back in the 70's when I was a kid visiting Disneyland. Good move changing the name, Disney. I can see today's kids now - Swiss Family...uh...who?)