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Here are three words you don't hear me say very often: I was wrong.

I was one of those people who thought it was a ridiculous waste of money to take a baby or toddler to a theme park. Really, he's not going to remember it. And he'll likely flip out at all the rides, characters and crowds.

So we took Nicholas to Disneyland. I reasoned that we wanted to go for his sisters, and it didn't cost anything to bring him, too. (The holidays are my very favorite time to go to Disneyland - I love the decorations, and the way they change the Haunted Mansion and It's a Small World.) I packed several books and envisioned a lot of time hanging out in the hotel room with a sleeping or fussing boy.

Here are those words: I was wrong. He loved it. Far from being freaked out by large, moving stuffed animals, he exclaimed "Dat!" and pointed like crazy whenever we came across Minnie or Goofy or Pinnochio. He even told Donald what ducks say - "Kack, Kack." He didn't hate any of the rides, though he wasn't fond of the parts in the dark. He adored Dumbo and I think we rode the carosuel 35 times.

As I watched my little boy and his sophisticated teenage sisters float through "It's a Small World" with identical delighted faces, I realized Walt Disney really did create a Magic Kingdom. For everybody.