The Office Goes to Dland

It was a tough day at work a few weeks ago. Riding Splash Mountain really takes it out of you.

A few weeks ago, my entire department got to go to Disneyland for the whole day and had lunch at the ultra exclusive Club 33 restaurant! The event was considered by our department as a “teambuilding event,” but the only type of team building I participated in was holding onto my boss’s shoulders while riding down the big plunge on Splash Mountain and shielding the girl from accounting, who sat behind me, from getting wet. But if they want to call it teambuilding, teambuilding it is. I’m not saying no to a free day at Disney. Actually, I got paid to go there, since it was a normal work day.

We carpooled up there in my new office friend’s family van, moving her carseat and other kid accessories out of the way to make room for everyone. I learned that she hadn’t told her kids she was going to Disneyland that day or they would have staged a fit. Wow, having kids doesn’t seem so tough if you’re allowed to lie to them.

We got to Disneyland just in time to ride the Pirates of the Caribbean (which is my opinion has been forever tarnished by the inclusion of Johnny Depp robots) and then found the doorway of the secret restaurant Club 33. For those of you not in the know, Club 33 is a private club in the New Orleans district which is open only to private members of the corporate elite. You would really have to know about the place in order to find it, because it consists of only a door with a plaque that stays “33.” Since no one else from our department was around, we fumbled around in the doorway for a while trying to figure out how to get in. We found a little latch with a buzzer and were then asked our name by a crackly voice. Then we were let in. That’s all I can tell. I’ve been sworn to secrecy not to reveal the secrets of Club 33.

The rest of the day at the park was so fun too! Somehow I was talked into waiting in line for 70 minutes for Splash Mountain. But during that long wait I got to now some of my coworkers.

The next morning back at work, a game of “who’s going to come in the latest” began. We were all camped out by the door laughing about stories and passing around the picture my boss bought of us going down Splash Mountain, where you can almost see my tonsils I am screaming so much.

At about 10 AM a few people were still missing from their desk. Then I got a phone call from a girl in my group.

“Heather? Is everyone there already? Um, I just woke up.”

Our surprising winner was the Senior Accountant who sat in the corner and spent most of her days at work rearranging her cat photos on her desk and tearing off pages of her cat day calendar. She had apparently had a rip-roaring good time at the magical world of Disney and met some random strangers there, who talked into spinning around on the teacups with until midnight when the park closed and the rest of us were home in bed.

I think I’m officially getting old if I’m the one yawning at Disneyland at 6 PM, telling everyone that we’d better hit the road because it was a week night. Someone please reassure me that I am still cool!