Chapter 10
Day 4, Tuesday – Finally Tired of Disneyland, Visiting Downtown Disney
When they finished playing around in Toontown, they went to It's a Small World, just outside the Toontown entrance. Danny dreaded listening to the repetitive song for a whole boat ride, but found the ride wasn't as bad as expected. Sitting down in an air-conditioned ride for 15 minutes felt quite nice after traipsing around in the Anaheim sun. Even if the song got annoying, there was plenty to see. Danny and Grace laughed at the fellow who was hanging onto the tail of his flying carpet and competed to see how many Disney characters they could find, newly added to the children of the world. Aladdin and Jasmine were pretty obvious on their flying carpet.
Flash photos weren't allowed inside the ride, but Danny sneaked a quick one of Lilo and Stitch surfing in the Hawaii display. He wished he could send that one to Kono, but, since he took it with his camera (which had flash) and not his phone, he'd have to download it to a computer first.
When they left the ride (through the gift shop), Grace spotted a couple just leaving a bench and claimed it with a sigh. Danny put his arm around her.
"You tired, monkey? We can go back to the hotel," he suggested.
"I'm not 'tired' tired," the girl explained. "I'm just tired of standing in line."
Danny stretched out his legs and flexed his weary feet. "I wouldn't mind sitting down for awhile," he admitted. They could go shopping, but that meant more walking. They could find a restaurant, but it was too soon for dinner. "Hey, I think there's a movie theater in Downtown Disney."
Grace brightened up, snatched her father's smart phone and soon found out what was playing at the AMC theater. There were several things that looked good, but only a couple were due to start in less than an hour.
"Now we need to walk some more," Grace sighed.
"Maybe not," Danny said, studying his Downtown Disney map. "Let's take the Monorail."
Climbing up the steep switchback path — you got your exercise in the Monorail line — Danny and Grace arrived just as the orange Monorail left the station.
"More waiting," Grace sighed, leaning against her father's leg, as she surveyed the empty platform. They went to look down on the submarines cruising on the lagoon.
A woman and little girl arriving just behind them went to one of the attendants. "Can we ride up front?" the woman asked. The attendant told her to stand near the gate at the head of the platform.
Curious, Danny wandered over. "Is there room for four up front?" he asked.
The woman smiled at father and daughter. "Join us."
The two girls admired each other's Princess shirts and began talking about their favorite rides, while their parents also compared notes.
When Monorail Purple arrived, they waited for the passengers to disembark, then the cast member ushered them to the door farthest front, in the nose compartment just in front of the driver. It was a little warm, like being in a greenhouse, but when the Monorail started, they had an amazing view of the trip skirting Tomorrowland, running alongside Harbor Boulevard, then cruising into California Adventure, across the Golden Gate Bridge and through the Grand Californian Hotel before arriving a the Downtown Disney station. The woman and her daughter were staying aboard for the round trip, but Danny and Grace got off. They made sure to get their hands stamped so they could get back in the park, then they crossed the concourse to the AMC Theater with 10 minutes to spare before the start of King Fu Panda 2. (Or, to be more accurate, 10 minutes before the 20 minutes of previews before Kung Fu Panda 2.) They had time to visit the restrooms and buy a bucket of popcorn before taking their seats.
Danny laughed himself sick at the antics of Po and the Furious Five. The scene where an overhead view shows the dragon costume gobbling up bad guys in a maze of streets reminded Danny of his days as Piscataway, New Jersey's, high point champion in Ms. Pacman.
Despite the popcorn, Grace was ready for dinner when the movie was over. She tugged her dad across the way to a building that looked like an ancient jungle temple but was the Rainforest Café. They paused to watch a performance by live parrots before going into the restaurant (through the gift shop — even restaurants have gift shops these days).
Danny and Grace had some trouble making a choice from their respective menus.
"Not pizza. Not pasta," Danny said and Grace agreed. "Definitely not Taste of the Islands," Danny continued, making a face that made Grace giggle.
Grace tried to talk her father into having a healthy salad, but he protested he'd had a salad for lunch, along with their pizza.
Grace giggled about having a Gorilla Grilled Cheese with a banana, but decided that was too close to pizza also. She went with a chicken nuggets/popcorn shrimp combo, choosing carrot sticks for her side dish. Danny chose the Reuben sandwich. "Sauerkraut and cole slaw, is that enough vegetables for you, miss?"
Food aside, Grace enjoyed the restaurant where, periodically, thunder rumbled and the jungle animals came to life. She particularly liked the gorilla beating his chest.
After dinner, Grace was ready to go back to the hotel room.
"It's been a long day," Danny agreed. "Maybe we can find Kung Fu Panda 1 on On Demand."
"Sounds like a plan," the girl agreed.
They had to walk east, pretty much the full length of Downtown Disney, then go through security and cross the plaza between the two park entrances to get to the hotel shuttle stop, but after a movie and dinner, their feet were well rested.
They looked all around as they walked, because they hadn't come this way before. Danny studied the restaurants. Grace eyed the shops, particularly the Build-a-Bear Workshop. Danny noticed things Grace didn't, like the cast member in a dark jacket with a corkscrew wire dangling behind his ear. Two sets of watchful eyes met, recognized kindred spirits and crinkled at the corners. The men exchanged nods and Danny strolled on.
The Williams twosome stopped to look at a window display. In the reflection, Danny saw a man snatch a woman's purse and run. "In my direction, again?" he thought in aggravation. The security man flashed into pursuit when the woman screamed.
Danny took his half-empty plastic water bottle from his jacket pocket and threw it with a shortstop's pinpoint accuracy. It bounced off the suspect's knee, startling him, and then fell between his feet, making him stumble just enough for the security man to grab his arm.
Danny waited to be summoned to fill out a report, but the security man just winked. He wasn't going to ruin a father's Disney time. The suspect tripped. That's all there was to it. (He was a Disney security officer, after all. He didn't want to spoil the magic.)
Danny and his daughter continued to their shuttle stop with no more excitement. As they waited for the van to arrive, Danny asked, "Did you have a good time today, Grace?"
"It was perfect!" Grace enthused. "I love Disneyland."
"And the best part was, nothing bad happened," Danny said, thinking of a vacation day with no forms to fill out.
Grace remembered a toddler rescued, a fight prevented and a purse-snatcher stopped. She giggled, but didn't contradict her father.