Disneyland is supposed to be the “Happiest Place on Earth,” right? Well I have a story that says otherwise. Up until April 14th the Disneyland and California Adventure parks opened one hour early on the weekends for annual pass holders. Doesn’t that sound like the perfect time to visit? Well, I put off taking advantage of this perk until the last possible weekend. Silly me. But on Saturday, April 13th I was one of the first people in line for the early opening of California Adventure. My plan was to go directly to Cars Land as soon as they opened the gates and get in line for Radiator Springs Racers – by far the most popular ride in the park these days (since Cars Land only opened about a year ago). Usually the line is way too long for me to even consider waiting, but first thing in the morning I figured I could get through the single rider line and onto the ride very quickly. Easy, right? Or so I thought. Obviously everyone else who was there before California Adventure opened had the same idea about heading immediately to Radiator Springs Racers when they got into the park. Needless to say, it was a mad dash to Cars Land at 8 AM. And then everyone was funneled into a smaller much area to queue up for the ride itself. It was like a cattle drive walking down that little street. Very close quarters. There were so many people that you had to watch where you were putting your feet to avoid trampling a small child who wasn’t paying attention. Folks were much more interested in getting to the rides than observing social graces. So as I was walking towards Radiator Springs Racers with dozens, if not hundreds, of other Disneyland guests the guy to the right of me suddenly turns and shouts at me, “Will you please stop bumping into me while I’m trying to walk here?” I was surprised and initially thought he was joking because everyone was bumping into everyone else. There was no way to avoid it. So I didn’t say anything to this guy at first, but gave him some kind of quizzical look instead. That made him shout even louder. He said something like, “You keep bumping into me and now you’re looking at me like I’m an idiot!” I was so shocked that I don’t remember exactly what happened next. From what I can recall, the progression went something like this:
Me: “I apologize, but we’re all bumping into each other here.”
Mr. Angry: “Act like you’re educated and stop bumping into me!”
Me: “There are people everywhere and we’re all bumping into each other!”
Mr. Angry: Starts insulting me even louder
Me: “Happiest Place on Earth everyone!”
Mr. Angry: Continues screaming. Something about how rude I was.
Me: *Laughs* The situation was just too crazy not to.
Mr. Angry: More screaming. I had stopped paying attention to his actual words at this point.
Me: “Thank you sir, you made my day.”
Mr. Angry: “You’re welcome.” Obviously the sarcasm didn’t register.
I looked around at the people surrounding us during this altercation and they all had their mouths hanging open. I heard several people under their breath mutter, “Wow.” I was glad to see that I wasn’t the only one who was completely shocked by this guy’s behaviour. It was the most bizarre and unbelievable thing that’s ever happened to me. After I slowed down and let Mr. Angry get ahead of me in the crowd a lady fell into step next to me and said, “You mean you don’t come to Disneyland in a bubble?” That made me laugh. I think I handed the situation pretty well, actually. I didn’t return his insults, I didn’t swear, and I didn’t let this guy make me angry. He rattled me, that’s for sure, but in the moment I laughed at him rather than getting mad. It’s not the way I’d choose to start my day at Disneyland, but at least I have a good story to tell!