Disneyland 2015 Countdown: Day 74

This week, I'm focusing on my memories of Adventureland, and what I'm looking forward to for Disneyland 2015! Today's feature: Tarzan’s Tree House

Soooo, I have a confession to make. I haven’t been in Tarzan’s Tree House.  I’m just going to let that settle in for a moment. Seriously, though- the Tree house is on the list for 2015. How did I miss the homage to my favorite Phil Collins-Scored-Film? Easy. I’m also a HUGE fan of the classic Disney movie Swiss Family Robinson. During our first visit to Disneyland (1997), I adored the Swiss Family Tree House! All of the fascinating elements from the movie, brought to life? The dream is real?? I was hooked. The ornate tree house built to reflect the comforts of a “modern” household fit right into my childhood imagination. I spent countless hours in our front lawn playing "house" under the aspen trees...pretty much any time I wasn't pretending to be Ariel, I was pretending to be Laura Ingalls Wilder and/or Anne Shirley. Clearly, all of these ladies would appreciate the Swiss Family Tree house. So back in 1997, I climbed, I clambered, I touched, I crooned, I reminisced, and just generally gave myself over to the experience, and it featured heavily in my make-believe sessions for many years.

So, when we returned in 2007, I hit a wall of nostalgia overload. A lot can change in ten years, and by the time we hit Adventureland, I was all “updated” out. I refused to walk through the tree house on the  flimsy grounds that ‘Change Sucks.’  How lame of me, right?  When I went back in 2014, I’d intended to take some quality exploratory time, and some quality selfies with the character statues in the tree, but I was distracted by the Great Disneyland Bank Robbery. (That’s a different story, and just to be clear, Disneyland wasn’t involved in the robbery at all.) Frankly, I just missed out. I was sorry, but not so sorry I was willing to force myself to walk even one step further, so I put it on the list of "next time."

Hopefully, "next time" is "this time!" One of the things I love most about Disneyland is the ability to step into a world previously only available in cartoons.  The attention to detail, and the inclusion of sly jokes and easter eggs to reward the careful observer, are hugely fascinating. Plus, I’m pretty sure they never have a real Tarzan available for photo ops at Disneyland. (Pout.) So, this year? Into the trees!

Also: spell check keeps forcing me to make "Treehouse" into "Tree House." Shut up, spell check!