There was quite an eventful evening the other day....my entire family was staying at Disney's Grand Californian for the (then) upcoming Chocwalk fundraiser for the Children's Hospital of Orange County. So, as another fun-filled day at Disneyland comes to a close (I use fun-filled with a heavy dollop of sarcasm, since with two very small children, it poses a variety of challenges at times.) we head off to our hotel room for some rest & relaxation. We were already exhausted due to our littlest one (15 months) deciding the previous night that he DOESN'T need to go to sleep, no matter WHAT we say. Unlike at home, you can't just let him scream it out in his crib, since there are some others in the hotel that may not be thrilled with that option.
SO anyway, due to some poor culinary choices (It is quite difficult to eat healthily at Disneyland) I did not get to sleep right away. Some people hang out with Jack Daniels, I was hangin' with my buddy Al K. Seltzer. It eventually takes hold and I manage to find the "sweet spot" on the pillow (you know the cool spot that you get when you turn the pillow over) when all of a sudden the alarm clock starts to go off. Alarm clock? It's 2 AM. Why did we set the alarm clock for 2AM?
Suddenly the fog of late-arriving sleep fades and I realize that it is NOT an alarm clock, it is the fire alarm, accompanied by a voice announcing that this is not a drill, to proceed to the exit in a quick manner and don't use the elevator. (The fourth floor is not always the best choice...) You haven't lived until you have dressed yourself, grabbed your children and your iPod (I AM civilized) and carried them down stairs hoping to God that you aren't marching them down to a collective doom.
People were orderly (but too slow for my tastes) and thankfully others knew where the stairs were, since I sure as heck didn't. We finally arrived in the lobby and were herded out into Downtown Disney as it was closing. It was quite the menagerie, with an entire hotel standing outside, many with robes on or whatever could be grabbed in the brain fog of panic + fatigue. I do remember the sneer of a couple of "teenagers" who were walking past us chuckling at our predicament. It is funny how your mind switches gears so quickly from fear to anger as you contemplate the various reasons for the evacuation.
After a few minutes, we were allowed to re-enter and we marched back up the stairs to our rooms. Thankfully, the children went right back to sleep. I can't say the same for the adults. I just hope that if someone pulled a fire alarm, they got a REALLY big kick out of it. I can't say that I did. So bedtime finally came around 3:30 or so, and we had to get up for the ChocWalk at 5. More to come.
SO anyway, due to some poor culinary choices (It is quite difficult to eat healthily at Disneyland) I did not get to sleep right away. Some people hang out with Jack Daniels, I was hangin' with my buddy Al K. Seltzer. It eventually takes hold and I manage to find the "sweet spot" on the pillow (you know the cool spot that you get when you turn the pillow over) when all of a sudden the alarm clock starts to go off. Alarm clock? It's 2 AM. Why did we set the alarm clock for 2AM?
Suddenly the fog of late-arriving sleep fades and I realize that it is NOT an alarm clock, it is the fire alarm, accompanied by a voice announcing that this is not a drill, to proceed to the exit in a quick manner and don't use the elevator. (The fourth floor is not always the best choice...) You haven't lived until you have dressed yourself, grabbed your children and your iPod (I AM civilized) and carried them down stairs hoping to God that you aren't marching them down to a collective doom.
People were orderly (but too slow for my tastes) and thankfully others knew where the stairs were, since I sure as heck didn't. We finally arrived in the lobby and were herded out into Downtown Disney as it was closing. It was quite the menagerie, with an entire hotel standing outside, many with robes on or whatever could be grabbed in the brain fog of panic + fatigue. I do remember the sneer of a couple of "teenagers" who were walking past us chuckling at our predicament. It is funny how your mind switches gears so quickly from fear to anger as you contemplate the various reasons for the evacuation.
After a few minutes, we were allowed to re-enter and we marched back up the stairs to our rooms. Thankfully, the children went right back to sleep. I can't say the same for the adults. I just hope that if someone pulled a fire alarm, they got a REALLY big kick out of it. I can't say that I did. So bedtime finally came around 3:30 or so, and we had to get up for the ChocWalk at 5. More to come.
posted by Archeron at 9:36 PM
1 Comments:
I am going to post an ACTUAL comment.
First, you will need to DELETE the spam comments. I am sure you know how to do that but just on the off chance you don't, let me know. It's SO easy and I am quite proud of myself for knowing SOMTHING about computers! (Ok, fine, so I had to write to a relative to ask HOW - that's not important!)
Second, no freakin way!!! What a pain in the as*! Did Disney give you free breakfast for the lovely wake-up/fire call?! How about a 10% discount on your stay?! What a bummer. Glad the kiddos got back to sleep.
Glad to have found your blog since my mailbox has COBWEBS in it!!!!!
Post a Comment
<< Home