The Power of Pixar

As some of you know, I have a bit of an obsession about Disney theme parks. (OK, it's not quite as big as my obsession about board games, but it definitely exceeds the average person's interest in the inner workings of Mr. Toad's Wild Ride.)

According to Jim Hill Media (which, btw, is the best site for behind the scenes news about all things Disney), the twin parks in California (Disneyland & California Adventure, hereafter referred to as DCA) are going to receive some serious Pixar pixie dust in the next few years:

• the long-defunct DCA ride "Superstar Limo" is being remade as a Monsters Inc. "dark ride" (a dark ride is something like Peter Pan or Snow White... where you zip through memorable scenes from the movie)
• the very popular "Turtle Talk with Crush" show (recently opened at EPCOT in Florida) will also open in the Animation Building at DCA
• the Submarine ride at D-land is getting a "Finding Nemo" re-do which will incorporate the old subs & sub track into a new ride experience (this should be finished in late 2006)
• there's serious talk of an E-ticket (think Space Mountain or Indiana Jones) ride with an Incredibles theme for DCA (with a planned opening in 2007)

So, what with Space Mountain finally re-opening, and Braeden now tall enough to ride the Matterhorn and Splash Mountain with his old man... we're kind of crossing our fingers and hoping to make a return trip to Disney soon. (OK, it's mostly me... but the rest of the family would be pretty happy, too.)

But what about Collin, you ask? Well, he'd be a backpacking it with us, as Disney has a rather nifty system for families with infants called Baby Swap:

• the whole family waits in line
• when you reach the loading area, the older sibling & one adult get on and ride while the other adult & infant wait at the loading area
• when the older sibling & 1st adult return, the adults swap the baby and the older sibling & 2nd adult ride

So, thanks to his little brother, Braeden gets to ride every "big boy" ride twice. And Shari & I each get to enjoy special bonding time with each of our boys. And Disney-obsessed Dad gets to go to Disneyland... talk about your win/win situations!