Bug's Favorite Ride

While planning our trip Bug talked endlessly about his favorite ride at Disneyland; Star Tours. This is a fun virtual simulation experience where you're a passenger on a space shuttle heading on a routine trip. Our robotic pilot is new on the job and inadvertently takes a wrong turn and we're off on a four minute adventure.
This was the first ride we went on when we arrived; Bug made me wheel him directly to Tomorrowland. There's a special entrance for wheelchair bound guests. A short narrow hallway ended at an elevator, which took us up one floor and when the door opened we were at the passenger holding area.
I wheeled Bug down the short ramp to the door of the shuttlecraft. I put the brakes on his wheelchair, lifted him out and buckle him into one of the seats in the front row. An attendant took the chair away. Bug made me lock elbows with him, as this made him feel more secure as the shuttle jerked and bobbed through the virtual experience.
He told me that when he came to Disneyland the last time, they'd just let him stay in his seat and he'd go through the whole story again and again.
With his eyes alive and his body vibrating from the adrenaline I asked if he'd been on the Indiana Jones ride. He hadn't.
I wheeled him over to Adventureland and we stood at the entrance of the huge temple. Bug wasn't sure. He was concerned that it might be too much for him. I suggested we just go down to where the ride begins and check it out. In order to get to the beginning of the ride we had to walk down the long exit corridor. People who'd just gotten off the ride were heading out and many were laughing and going on about how much fun they had.
There were attendants who directed us to an elevator which took us up to a roped off alcove with another elevator that took us down to the deck where passengers were piling onto over-sized jeeps. This is a busy attraction and the line-up to experience this adventure was really long. Young people dressed as archeologists from Indie's time period were guiding guests on and off the jeeps.
There Bug and I were in the middle of this bustling area. An Indiana look-a-like asked if we were going on the ride. I bent down to get to Bug's eye-level. There was excitement and trepidation in them, but he nodded that he was ready to try it. I parked his wheelchair and lifted him once again. I had to take all his weight to lift him up into the front row seat. I got him buckled in and took my place beside him. We interlocked our arms and waited until all the seats were filled.
Suddenly the jeep jerked to life and started it's journey toward the dark tunnel.
When I came with my son several years earlier he was just six years old and really wasn't interested in the Indiana Jones ride. His brother and cousin were eleven and couldn't wait to go on it. Looking back I may have made a bad parental decision. I made my six year old come on the ride with us. It was tough, because everyone wanted to go on except my son. I could have waited and gone on by myself, but we all wanted the experience together for the first time. My son was nestled between his Aunt and me with his face buried in my side through the whole jerky roller-coaster ride. He hated it and after that his Aunt and I took turns taking the older kids on the ride.
Bug squealed, screamed and yelled the whole three minutes as the jeep careened through the darkened tunnels. He'd made sounds I'd never heard from him. He lifted off his seat and fell into me. His body was super rigid and his arm was locked so tight it would take a crowbar to pry us apart. I wasn't honestly sure he was enjoying himself. Maybe it was too much. Maybe I made a mistake bringing him on this, like I had my son years earlier. I was turning out to be that guy who forced people onto this ride.
When the jeep came to a stop, I was able to untangle myself from Bug's limbs and get him off the ride. Once he was safely in his wheelchair, I bent down to ask him how it was.
He had a huge grin on his face, 'This is my new favorite ride.'
We went on it twice each day we were there.
Over at the California theme park I was eager to take Bug on the Grizzly whitewater rafting ride. This was a ride my son was unsure of, but had a blast. I knew Bug would have fun. This ride was pretty accessible, so Bug and I couldn't cut the long line-up like we had at Star Tours and Indiana Jones and had to patiently wait like everyone else. Finally we were directed to a special gate with a loading area where I could park his wheelchair. I got Bug onto the huge inner-tube and buckled in. There were four other fellas with us, but our 'boat' was by no means full. We were at about half capacity and all of us lined up along one side of the round tube. As with all the other rides Bug wanted me to interlock our arms and I pulled him close to me.
The attendant pushed us off into the current which took us up and we were off. Bug was worried about getting wet. I told him that when we had come on this ride, more than once, the last time none of us got wet. Famous last words. Sure enough as we reached the bottom of the first drop, a wall of water shot up over the back of our seats and soaked us. With all our weight on one side, our tube sunk under and scooped water up and over onto us.
Bug hates being cold and he started shivering right away, but the getting wet part of the ride wasn't over. We got a good soaking on the last drop.
All soggy and dripping in his sweat pants and t-shirt I transferred Bug back to his wheelchair. He was less than impressed, but posed for pictures in front of the large Grizzly Bear at the entrance to this attraction. Thank goodness for the warm California sun that quickly dried Bug's clothes. Although I did have to put his sweat pants on backwards to dry the butt.

There, a bit more detail about our trip. I'm enjoying this process and wonder what I'll write next.
Until the next time...