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"TraVeL ThRouGh ThE LaNd Of “Soft in the Head”
...the home of “Singing and Dancing Mice & Humorous Frogs!”.

Where “Original Designs” of patterns and soft sculpture characters come to life..…

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For Patterns check out the...."Soft in the Head" site
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For Finished Characters: Click Here

Saturday, October 19, 2013

"Growing Up with Disney!"
Many of you know that I had quite an unusual childhood growing up in So. California in the '50's.  Most of my fondest memories were from this fun filled amusement park we use to frequent on the weekends called "Disneyland"...I think you might have heard of it?  From the day it opened in July 1955 my brother and I became constant figures at this colorful and magical place.  Back then you wore a ribbon around your wrist for all the rides and later on it became a book of  
tickets and of course the "E" ticket was for the "BEST" rides... so those soon became the most coveted and hoarded of all tickets as though they were encased
in pure gold!  The best part is if you didn't use them all on your visit you could save them for your next visit. 

Many of my fondest memories were created at this  place....and some long term friendships too!
Honestly, I think this is where my imagination grew wings and developed!  While my brother spent hours in the arcade I would spend hours gazing into the windows on "Main Street".  My parents never worried when I drifted away because they always knew where they could find me, gazing into those magical windows which were portals into another world!  The array of colors and whimsical characters just spoke to me...I could hear them call my name and beckon me to come in and play.....and in my head I often did!

Like all little girls my other favorite place was Sleeping Beauty's castle and the path to Fantasyland.  Okay,  if you must know I was addicted to the Teacups!  Yep, those spinning, colorful, torturous, over-sized cups is what I lived for.  My poor brother had to accompany me in my obsession and often spent a hour or two afterwards hugging a park bench!  

The other ride that I obsessed over was Peter Pan.  Being a Peter Pan junkie at the ripe old age of five made me an expert when it came to identifying all the specifics about this ride and the telling of the story to any and all
passengers who were unfortunate enough to fly with us through "Neverland"....my brother called it annoying, me, well I thought I was well versed in all things "Peter Pan" and I kept everyone entertained! The greatest part of Disneyland is how it could turn the grumpiest person into the happiest person in a blink of an eye!  

Once we left Fantasyland we would spend most of the day on Tom Sawyer Island....this being, of course, what my brother wanted to do.  He knew once he got me on that Island he could run and hide and I would almost NEVER find him.  We had so much fun imagining ourselves attacked by pirates or hiding from Indians.  The caves were a paradise for a kid's imagination and I had enough for ten kids!  It seemed like every kid on the island was wearing
a coonskin cap and emulating their hero Davey Crockett..... me, well I was Huckleberry Finn and proud of it!  So many memories to keep me young at heart and to share with my grandchildren.  

Disney knew the heart of child and the adventures that lie inside.  He was able to capture all of it with such innocence and fantasy....every child whether they are 80 or 8 will leave
Disneyland with stars in their eyes, laughter in their heart and a fairy or two in their pocket!  It was good to grow up with Disney!

1 comment:

Unknown said...

Same here! I grew up there and even worked there! :-) Fun post Pam!

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