Disneyland and Kobe!

Saturday was the Third Annual Safety Picnic held by the company where Amy works at Disneyland. Basically, all employees get to go to Disneyland for free and enjoy a buffet-style lunch at the Festival Arena, which is a fenced off location for special occasions in Frontierland behind Thunder Mountain Railroad.

Amy and I wanted to be able to see and do more of Disneyland than we did a couple of months ago, so we got up a little bit earlier than usual for a Saturday morning - 6:20 am. Preparation for the day took a tad longer than expected, but we got going a little after 8:20, parked our car in the Target parking lot at the intersection of Harbor and Chapman, jumped on the bus for about five minutes, and got off right across the street from the entrance to Disneyland/California Adventure.

Our tickets were scanned, our maps were in hand, and we headed down Main Street U.S.A. to rent a locker for a ridiculous $7 fee. After that, it was straight to Tomorrowland and Space Mountain, the best ride at Disneyland. The wait was posted as only 15 or 20 minutes (I can't remember which), which was quite a bit better than 110 minute wait last time we were there! Man, I really love Space Mountain. The darkness is great because you can't tell where you are going or where the track is going to turn. I suspect if the ride was outside, it probably wouldn't be as enjoyable. Next was Star Tours, a must for any Disneyland visit!

Then, Amy convinced me that it would be fun to go out to the large courtyard in between Disneyland and California Adventure and get a picture taken in front of the last "A" in the huge "CALIFORNIA" that stands in front of California Adventure. I didn't think it was wise to leave the park and miss out on getting in short lines for popular rides. I wanted to make it to Pirates of the Caribbean before the famous ride's line got ridiculous. Amy said it would be quick and that she really wanted to do it, so I acquiesced.

We left the park, got our hands stamped and started across the courtyard. I was busy talking (no big surprise) and asking which side of the "A" we wanted to take the picture when I noticed my mom and dad and my two brothers standing up ahead of us! At first, I thought, "Why is my family here?" Smart, I know. Then it dawned on me. It was a surprise! Ah yes, I get it now.

So Amy had worked it out that my family could come down and spend the rest of the day with us at Disneyland. It was fun. We went on Pirates and Space Mountain (again), Star Tours (again), watched the Jedi Training Academy (which was hysterical again), went on the Matterhorn, Mr. Toad's Wild Ride, Splash Mountain, Thunder Mountain Railroad and probably some other things that I'm forgetting right now.

My dad mentioned that we were going to try and go to the ESPNZone at Downtown Disney (which is a slew of shops, restaurants, a theater, etc., open to the public outside of Disneyland) for dinner. As we made our way (oh yeah, we went on the Indiana Jones Ride!) from Adventureland to Main Street U.S.A. on our way out, my brother Scott grabbed me pretty hard to turn me toward the street and half-whispered "Andrew, Andrew, Andrew, ANDREW!"

I didn't appreciate this, so I let out an annoyed "What?!" I stopped, looked: "Oh."

A young, tall black man was towering above a Disneyland security guard and a Frontierland worker. He was holding his little daughter's hand. It was Kobe Bryant, number 24, shooting guard for the Los Angeles Lakers! He has been my favorite player for years on my favorite team and he was walking down the street in Disneyland no less than 3o feet from me! Scott and I both freaked out, ran ahead to my parents where Scott got mom's camera. Amy handed me our (her) camera, and like any level-headed, intelligent, white, middle-class, college educated young men would do, we followed after Kobe.

I never realized it until Scott told me, but Kobe's wife was in front of him, pushing a stroller. I took a video (which we'll post here soon), took some pictures and then circled around almost to Pirates of the Caribbean. I took a pretty good picture of Kobe and then began walking toward him. No one else was "tracking" (I refuse to say stalking) him so I didn't really want to be a jerk and announce to all of Disneyland that Kobe and his family were here, so I said as I got close, "I love you Kobe!" Now, I'm convinced that I said "We love . . ." but Amy says I said "I." Anyway, Kobe said, "Thanks man."

So there you have it. My brush with greatness. I have a feeling that because of this, Kobe will stay a Laker and the Lakers will win it all next year.

On a more serious note, I think it's hysterical what celebrities do to us. I mean, one minute I'm headed for the exit of Disneyland, the next I'm trying to catch up to a 6'6" guy that makes millions and millions of dollars playing a game and doing commercials. I wonder if at any other point and place in history if this kind of celebrity-obsession existed. See, I don't think I've ever written a post this long, but Kobe says two words to me and suddenly I'm inspired to write a long post explaining how great it was and how privileged I am, etc., etc. Anyway, before I begin to wax eloquent on any number of bunny trails, I'm going to sign off and get back to real life.

Go Lakers!