Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
iarize yourself with the Disneyland parks and, of course, to conduct your field test.
Yep, that's right, we want you to take the whole platoon on the road for a day to see if
you are combat ready. No joke—this is important. You'll learn who tuckers out first,
who's prone to developing blisters, who has to pee every 11 seconds, who keeps los-
ing her cap, and, given the proper forum, how compatible your family is in terms of
what you like to see and do.
Forthemostinformativetrialrun,choosealocalvenuethatrequireslotsofwalk-
ing, dealing with crowds, and making decisions on how to spend your time. Regional
theme parks and state fairs are your best bets, followed by large zoos and museums.
Devote the whole day. Kick off the morning with an early start, just like you will at
Disneyland, paying attention to who's organized and ready to go and who's dragging
his or her butt and holding up the group. If you have to drive one or two hours to get
to your test venue, no big deal. You may have to do some commuting at Disneyland
too. Spend the whole day, eat a couple of meals, and stay late.
Don't bias the sample (that is, mess with the outcome) by telling everyone that
you are practicing for Disneyland. Everyone behaves differently when they know that
they are being tested or evaluated. Your objective is not to run a perfect drill but to
find out as much as you can about how the individuals in your family, as well as the
familyasagroup,respondtoanddealwitheverythingtheyexperienceduringtheday.
Pay attention to who moves quickly and who is slow; who is adventuresome and who
is reticent; who keeps going and who needs frequent rest breaks; who sets the agenda
and who is content to follow; who is easily agitated and who stays cool; who tends to
dawdle or wander off; who is curious and who is bored; who is demanding and who
is accepting. You get the idea.
Discuss the findings of the test run with your spouse the next day. Don't be dis-
couraged if your test day wasn't perfect; few (if any) are. Distinguish between prob-
lems that are remediable and problems that are intrinsic to your family's emotional or
physical makeup (no amount of hiking, for example, will toughen up some people's
feet).
Establish a plan for addressing remediable problems (further conditioning, set-
ting limits before you go, trying harder to achieve family consensus) and develop
strategies for minimizing or working around problems that are a fact of life (waking
sleepyheads 15 minutes early, placing moleskin on likely blister sites before setting
out, or packing familiar food for the toddler who balks at restaurant fare). If you are
an attentive observer, a fair diagnostician, and a creative problem solver, you'll be
able to work out many of the problems you're likely to encounter at Disneyland be-
fore you leave home.
