Last Friday evening, I went to Disneyland with my kids and was enjoying the “grand circle tour of Disneyland” on the Disneyland Rail Road. My son loves trains, so this is one of his favorite things to do at the park. Oddly enough, he loves the tram ride from the parking lot so much that he cries when we disembark. I digress.



We happened to sit in front of the conductor that makes all of the announcements on the train (e.g. sit down, hands and arms inside, etc.). The conductor also calls out “all aboard” before the train is ready to move.

The conductor asked my daughter, “can you say ‘all aboard’?” “Uh huh,” my daughter replied. So the conductor put the microphone in front of her mouth and said “say it.” In a tiny squeaky soft voice, my daughter said “all aboard.” “You’re not that shy,” the conductor said.

So, the conductor turns to my two year old son and says, “how about you, can you say ‘all aboard’?”

Now, let me tell you that my son has been practicing for this moment his entire life. I don’t think ‘all aboard’ were his first words, but they were in the top ten. He has loved the Disneyland train since he first went to Disneyland when he was 6 months old. Whenever he is playing with his train sets (yes, that’s plural) at home, you can often hear him say, “all aboard, toot toot!”

My son replied to the conductor, in a booming two year old voice, “Uh huh.”

“Well,” the conductor smiled, “then say ‘all aboard,” as she moved the microphone in front of his mouth. The strapping young lad then said “all aboard” at a nice volume that everyone could hear throughout the train. That’s my son!

The Cast Members at Disneyland can really make a routine trip to their park extraordinary. Thank you!