August 2012-December 2013

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People dream about the prospect of moving to Southern California to become Disneyland locals—and for good reason. With Disney magic on your doorstep, it can feel like the best place in the world to live. This “life report” blog chronicles the year-and-a-half that Tracy and I spent living 10 minutes away from the Happiest Place on Earth. Of course, real life is never quite as rosy as vacation, and we had to take the good with the bad, but it was an experience that we will absolutely never forget.

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Table of Contents

Prologue

Part I: June-October 2012

• Chapter 1: Exposition
• Chapter 2: Be It Ever So Humble…
• Chapter 3: Pills, Wings, and Automobiles
• Chapter 4: A Trial Road Trip
• Chapter 5: Impressed/Not Impressed
• Chapter 6: Please Feed the Animals
• Chapter 7: Wake Up, September’s Ending
• Chapter 8: Elk in the Field, Book in the Freezer
• Chapter 9: True Love Week
• Chapter 10: Decisions
• Chapter 11: Spooky Scary

Part II: November 2012-Mid-February 2013

• Chapter 12: Let’s Get This Show…
• Chapter 13: …On the Road
• Chapter 14: Reverse Polar Bear Plunge
• Chapter 15: Sometimes Nature is Boring
• Chapter 16: Time Change Blues
• Chapter 17: Viva Las Vegas
• Chapter 18: Vegas, Baby!
• Chapter 19: Going Home?
• Chapter 20: A Taste of Disney
• Chapter 21: Ain’t It Grand?
• Chapter 22: Apartment Hunters: Orange County
• Chapter 23: Moving. Is. The. Worst.
• Chapter 24: Moving In
• Chapter 25: Your Guide to How to Not Get a Job at Disneyland
• Chapter 26: Learning Curve
• Chapter 27: The Lay of the Land
• Chapter 28: Give Thanks
• Chapter 29: Haul Out the Holly
• Chapter 30: I Feel It in My Fingers
• Chapter 31: There’s a Tree in the Grand Hotel
• Chapter 32: We’re Going to the Zoo, Zoo, Zoo
• Chapter 33: Christmas Once More
• Chapter 34: We Wish You a Merry Christmas…
• Chapter 35: …and a Happy New Year
• Chapter 36: Christmas is Over?
• Chapter 37: Celebrating a Quarter-Century
• Chapter 38: Kitties
• Chapter 39: Odds and Ends
• Chapter 40: Branching Out
• Chapter 41: Large and Powerful Dragons: A PSA
• Chapter 42: Desperation Days
• Chapter 43: The Calm

Part III: Mid-February-May 2013

• Chapter 44: What’s Different About Today?
• Chapter 45: Disneyland Is Your Land
• Chapter 46: Disney Food at Last
• Chapter 47: A Timeless Journey Through Lands of Fantasy
• Chapter 48: To All Who Come to This Happy Place, Welcome
• Chapter 49: DCA 2.0
• Chapter 50: Get Your Kicks on Route 66
• Chapter 51: American Experiences
• Chapter 52: Fly, My Pretties
• Chapter 53: Evening Hopping
• Chapter 54: Surprises, Introductions, and Reunions
• Chapter 55: Ups and Downs
• Chapter 56: We Have Liftoff
• Chapter 57: Fall into the GAC
• Chapter 58: A New Normal
• Chapter 59: After-Hours in the Kingdom
• Chapter 60: It’s a World of Laughter (and Color)
• Chapter 61: DISers in Real Life
• Chapter 62: A Reason to Celebrate
• Chapter 63: Spontaneous Fun
• Chapter 64: And It Rained…
• Chapter 65: Don’t We Look Darling
• Chapter 66: Just a Casual Day in the Park?
• Chapter 67: New Lands to Explore
• Chapter 68: Eating Disney Food (and My Words)
• Chapter 69: So Long, Farewell
• Chapter 70: Maximum Efficiency
• Chapter 71: Putting All My Eggs in One Basket
• Chapter 72: Disappointments… and Cats
• Chapter 73: Enjoying Our Freedom
• Chapter 74: Ch-Ch-Changes
• Chapter 75: Stars—They’re Just Like Us
• Chapter 76: Spring Has Sprung
• Chapter 77: In My Easter Bonnet
• Chapter 78: A Foolish April
• Chapter 79: Angels in the Outfield
• Chapter 80: Hello, Goodbye
• Chapter 81: New Friends
• Chapter 82: Workin’ Hard
• Chapter 83: Horse Feathers
• Chapter 84: Mark Three, Quarter Left Three
• Chapter 85: A Taste of Heaven
• Chapter 86: Always Something New
• Chapter 87: Dude, Love Is in the Air
• Chapter 88: I’ve Got a Bad Feeling About This
• Chapter 89: A Scavenger Hunt
• Chapter 90: Willy Nilly Silly
• Chapter 91: How Rude!
• Chapter 92: Simply Monstrous
• Chapter 93: The Best Food
• Chapter 94: Denver

Part IV: June-September 2013

• Chapter 95: Goin’ Home
• Chapter 96: Near Death
• Chapter 97: Comfort Food
• Chapter 98: Anticipation
• Chapter 99: Bucket List
• Chapter 100: Mental Pictures
• Chapter 101: Characterpalooza
• Chapter 102: Natural Beauty
• Chapter 103: Rocky Cliffs and Sandy Beaches
• Chapter 104: Three Years
• Chapter 105: We Built Soak City on Fried Chicken
• Chapter 106: Frumps and Snakes
• Chapter 107: In-Laws
• Chapter 108: Baby, You’re a Firework
• Chapter 109: Back to Our Routine
• Chapter 110: Let’s Dance!
• Chapter 111: Arabian Oasis
• Chapter 112: Return of the Bratswurth
• Chapter 113: Overcoming Fear
• Chapter 114: Going Bananas
• Chapter 115: You Don’t Look a Day Over 57
• Chapter 116: Opening Day Fun
• Chapter 117: Wonderful Day for a Fair
• Chapter 118: All the Pretty Horses
• Chapter 119: Some of My Best Friends Are Goats
• Chapter 120: Impromptu Road Trip
• Chapter 121: Beware of Tree Snakes
• Chapter 122: Tour Guides
• Chapter 123: I’m Among My People
• Chapter 124: Legends and Celebrities
• Chapter 125: Journey into Imagineering
• Chapter 126: That Was Just Day One?
• Chapter 127: Going to the Dogs
• Chapter 128: It’s a Jolly Holiday
• Chapter 129: Tuppence a Bag
• Chapter 130: The Soundtrack of Our Lives
• Chapter 131: Koko Selga
• Chapter 132: An Uneventful Homecoming
• Chapter 133: This Is (Almost) Halloween
• Chapter 134: It’s Getting Hot, Hot, HOT
• Chapter 135: So Long, Farewell
• Chapter 136: Limited Time Darkness
• Chapter 137: Travel Woes
• Chapter 138: The Deluge
• Chapter 139: And Now for Something Completely Different
• Chapter 140: Lions and Tigers and Bears—Literally
• Chapter 141: Home for Halloween
• Chapter 142: La La La La La
• Chapter 143: It’s a Ghooooooost
• Chapter 144: Sugar and Spice
• Chapter 145: One Last Farewell
• Chapter 146: Jane

Part V: October-December 2013

• Chapter 147: What About Bob?
• Chapter 148: DAS Good
• Chapter 149: Barbershop
• Chapter 150: Get Into the Spirit, Let Everyone Hear It
• Chapter 151: It’s Duffy Mania
• Chapter 152: Final Boarding Call
• Chapter 153: Back to the Beach
• Chapter 154: Pumpkin City
• Chapter 155: Party Time!
• Chapter 156: Give Me Something Good to Eat
• Chapter 157: Fireworks! Parades! Duffy!
• Chapter 158: Orange You Glad It’s Halloween?
• Chapter 159: Pre-Birthday
• Chapter 160: Carving Cats
• Chapter 161: Birthday Shenanigans
• Chapter 162: Heroes, Villains, Princesses, and Goats
• Chapter 163: Deadly Dans and Death by Chocolate
• Chapter 164: Final Haunts
• Chapter 165: Bears and Bournes
• Chapter 166: A Grand Old Time
• Chapter 167: Surprise, Surprise
• Chapter 168: One in the Park as Well
• Chapter 169: Do You Believe?
• Chapter 170: Jingle (Cruise) All the Way
• Chapter 171: Feliz Navidad
• Chapter 172: Towin’ in a Winter Wonderland
• Chapter 173: Santa Claus Is Coming to Town
• Chapter 174: Battle of the Bands
• Chapter 175: Our Modern Family
• Chapter 176: A KOST-ly Event
• Chapter 177: Hey, Liverlips!
• Chapter 178: On This Very Special Night
• Chapter 179: Dirty Thursday
• Chapter 180: My Sandwich?!
• Chapter 181: Castle Bright
• Chapter 182: It’s Carol-Singers!
• Chapter 183: Cowboy Eatin’
• Chapter 184: All Is Calm, All Is Bright
• Chapter 185: Almost the End
• Chapter 186: End of an Era

Epilogue