Yesterday, I was surprised as all surprised can be! My buddy Matt, who is my other half for the Matt and Pat Show (Don’t Listen!) wanted to take me out to lunch for my birthday. How cool is that! We left his place, along with his daughter and got onto the freeway to drive, what was apparent to me in the southern direction. That was an indication as to where we were probably heading to, which was Downtown Disney where there is a fun restaurant that Matt took me before called the Rainforest Cafe.

Sure enough, we parked within the Disney lot and proceeded to take the ultra chill-out and  totally pleasant tram that drops off at Downtown Disney. I mentioned how that would be the prefect job for me, just driving the tram back and forth, leisurely going about five miles per hour, through the well manicured driving lane with the rows of eucalyptus trees providing shade and a tranquil setting.

Walking in the direction towards the restaurant, Matt mentioned he wanted to ask guest services about a potential change to those who have an annual pass, which he has. “Sure thing, of course”, was my response. We waited a moment in line, until there was a guest services clerk available for us. After being warmly greeted by the clerk, Matt stated that he wanted to buy one annual pass-for me!

What??!!

My look of surprise and dumbfoundedness made Matt laugh all the more. He certainly got the reaction he was hoping for! His daughter smiled and proudly stated how she had kept this a secret the whole time, in fact she said she didn’t reveal it to any of her friends at school early in the day!

How do you respond to a gift that is overwhelming in nature. I was certainly blown away to say the least. I didn’t want to let go of my annual pass card once I had it firmly in my grip! Matt assured me that I could put it away now that we were within Disneyland.

First thing we did was have my picture taken, which would then be connected with my newly activated pass. The photographer snapped a few pictures of me and kindly welcomed me to the park. After that, we strolled down Main Street and decided to hit a couple of rides for fun.

The first was Star Tours. Let me just say, that it is much more “turbulent” that when I first rode it as a teenager. At one point I was feeling a bit queazy and put my hand over my stomach. I thought to myself, if I am sick, no way I am going to barf on Matt, especially after he so kindly bought me an annual pass. Sitting next to me was a kid. “Sorry kid” was all I thought and started laugh. Fortunately for me, as well as the kid, there was no Technicolor Yawn.

From there, we went on The Haunted Mansion and then the Pirates of the Caribbean.

Guess where they sat us for the pirates ride? That’s right, within the front row. Just where I had secretly had hoped! The velocity and momentum of the first drop was only heightened my poundage! When we hit the bottom, there was such a SPLOOSH of water, that it literally created a massive wave of water that drenched everyone within the boat. Matt was shellshocked and I, of course was laughing, which reverberated deeply throughout the underground cavern.

After that enjoyable misadventure, we had a very tasty and enjoyable lunch at Cafe Orleans. I had the gumbo, which really hit the spot! I was also impressed by how congenial all of the servers and hostesses were. Everyone was smiling and friendly. It really made for a very pleasant dining experience.

Afterwards, we proceeded into the Disney Gallery, I managed to spotted a duck on one of the little parcels of green grass. He was happily tending to caring for one of his feathers or two. How cool is that! I wish I had my camera to have taken a picture

Inside the gallery, there were awesome, beautiful and amazing works of art all dedicated to different aspects of the theme park. Some of the pieces, I would love to have hanging on my wall, yet the prices are a wee bit out of my range at the moment. One day!

We finished off the day by taking in Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln. What I really appreciated about the show was the sense of genuine patriot pride in our country. I walked away with a sense of Americanism, which so often these days is not much in evidence sad to say. It reminded me of certain fond memories I had of my grandparents and those of an older generation, who greatly appreciated our country and had a much deeper sense of civic pride. I wish we had more of that type of sensibility these days.

With that out time came to a close, but it certainly will not be a day I shall forget anytime soon! What a marvelous day indeed and what a surprise to say the least! You can bet your Disney Dollar that I will certainly be going back to the Happiest Place On Earth again in the coming days, thankfully all made possible by way of my friend Matt!