Memories with Mickey - Military Off Duty, Air Force Travel, hottest destinations - Air Force Times

Memories with Mickey

Reggie was beside himself. At the helm of the souped-up speedboat, he could barely contain his glee — or stay in his seat — as we zigzagged through the labyrinthine course, dangerously tailgating the boat ahead.

That was 1959. My son was 10 years old and we were at Disneyland. Walt Disney had opened the original Magic Kingdom in Anaheim, Calif., just four years earlier, promising: “Here age relives fond memories of the past, and here youth may savor the challenge and promise of the future.”

I was an instructor at the Navy’s cryptologic school at the time, just down the road in San Diego.

I could have no idea just how true Disney’s words would be for me in the coming years, as I relived memories and savored promise not only with my own children, but with my grandkids and great-grandchildren, as well.

We’re not the only ones. More than 50 years later, half a billion visitors have helped Disneyland earn the title of “happiest place on Earth.” Here are a few of the reasons I’ve found that to be true.

Neverland is never finished

Disneyland is a never-ending project. There’s always something new. Most recently there’s a whole new park — Disney’s California Adventure Park, which opened in 2001 and has much more elbow room than the original Magic Kingdom, plus newer and more adult rides. It also has much better food, and you are more likely to find a table. And don’t even consider missing Soarin’ Over California, an 87-passenger “ultraflight” simulator that will take you gliding across the Golden State.

It really is a small world

Even as Disneyland has gotten bigger, I’ve learned the truth in one Disney song you just can’t get out of your mind. When my granddaughter Missy was 2, she sat on my lap through the tour of It’s a Small World, her little head swiveling this way and that trying to take in all the strangely dressed children and exotic lands. Missy is a teacher now, but that ride is as much a wide-eyed rite of passage today as it was then.

It’s the wilder rides that bring out the awe. My great-granddaughter Skylee was 4 when I first took her on the huge Ferris wheel at California Adventure. Like Ferris wheels everywhere, Disney’s goes up and down, but unlike the more mundane varieties, the gondolas on this 150-foot monster slip and slide along tracks as the wheel turns. The kid had no idea what was coming. Her eyes were as big as the cups on Alice’s Mad Tea Party, but it didn’t take long for the wonder of it all to win her over.

Savoring new memories

Reggie, now graying and with grandkids of his own, took them all to Disneyland during the Christmas holidays, and we drove up to join the party. Skylee, now 9, cajoled her favorite (and only) great-grandpa into taking her up on the Ferris wheel again. She’s 9 now, but she still screams when the cage goes flying. I must say, sometimes I was a little beside myself, too, but for different reasons.

As we were doing the stop and go toward the end of the ride, Skylee said, “Papa, I want to just go round and round forever.”

“Of course!” I replied, my stomach swinging with the cage. “All you have to do is get to the end of a long line and work your way up again. And you might like to find another great-grandpa to go along.”

If you go

Disneyland, Anaheim, Calif.

Discounted military tickets for Disneyland are available only through base Information, Tickets and Tours offices. Prices vary and are subject to change, but service members and retirees can expect to save between $10 and $75 off the gate rate, depending on the ticket. The more days the pass is valid, the more you’ll save. Hotel discounts are announced as they become available.

• Closest military installations: Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, Naval Base Coronado, Los Angeles Air Force Base, Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, Naval Base Ventura County, Naval Base San Diego.

• Web site: http://disneyland.disney.go.com

Walt Disney World, Orlando, Fla.

Service members, retirees and their spouses can buy up to six four-day tickets for $99 at their base ITT office, the Shades of Green resort or the main entrance until July 31. The tickets must be used before Sept. 26, and other restrictions apply. You can also save up to 40 percent on hotel rooms through Sept. 3.

• Closest military installations: MacDill Air Force Base, Patrick Air Force Base, Air Station Clearwater.

• Web site: http://disneyworld.disney.go.com

Disneyland Paris

No military discounts. Adult one-day tickets are about $67, two-day passes are $143 and three-day passes will set you back $178.

• Closest military installations: U.S. Army Garrison Benelux, Belgium; Ramstein Air Base, Germany; USAG Kaiserslautern, Germany; USAG Baumholder, Germany.

• Web site: http://www.disneylandparis.com

Disneyland Hong Kong

No military discounts. Adult one-day tickets about $45; annual passes start at about $83.

• Closest military installations: Marine Corps Base Camp Smedley D. Butler, Kadena Air Base, Fleet Activities Okinawa.

• Web site: http://park.hongkongdisneyland.com

Tokyo Disney Resort

No military discounts. Adult one-day tickets about $63, two day passes are about $109 and three-day passes cost about $140.

• Closest military installations: Camp Fuji, Camp Zama, Fleet Activities Yokosuka, Naval Air Facility Atsugi, Yokota Air Base.

• Web site: http://www.tokyodisneyresort.co.jp

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Keith Taylor is a retired Navy officer. He lives in Chula Vista, Calif.