Anaheim, California, US: Why there's really no age limit to visit Disneyland

In Finn's eyes, we've left the best till last. After a month-long road trip around the American south-west, our final three days before flying home from Los Angeles will be at Disneyland.

But it isn't just my 11-year-old son who has been eagerly anticipating a visit to Disney's original theme park in Anaheim. After a childhood where my three brothers and I religiously spent Sunday nights watching The Wonderful World of Disney with cheese toasties on our laps, I'm also looking forward to it.

Back then, nearly 50 years ago, Disneyland was the single place I wanted to go to if my family ever managed to save enough money for an overseas trip. I desperately wanted to see the fireworks over Sleeping Beauty's castle and to have my picture taken with Mickey Mouse. I longed to ride the monorail and to slide down water chutes in a log raft. Even the twirling teacups looked like fun.

So my first night ends in disappointment. Disneyland Park's Space Mountain indoor rollercoaster, a Disney institution since 1975, is closed for renovations. The castle is undergoing a facelift behind a printed facade. And the fireworks are cancelled due to strong winds at high altitude. Fifty years, I've waited!

There's no point in dwelling on what's lost, however, so we instead focus on what we can do. Using the Disney phone app, we zero in on rides destined to bring out the 11-year-old in my wife and I. Finn and Michelle challenge me on Autopia's race cars, we speed through darkness on the Matterhorn Bobsled, the first thrill ride ever incorporated into a Disney theme park in 1959 and we float through Fantasyland's "it's a small world", which resembles the Myer Christmas windows in Melbourne, albeit an enlarged version.

Overnight, Finn scans maps for the two parks – Disneyland and Disney California Adventure – working out which rides to attack over the next two days. I purchase MaxPasses to reduce queuing times.

Other Southern Californian theme parks arguably contain more thrilling rides, but the Disney factor has an inestimable pulling power – not just for kids. I lose count of the number of grown men I spot walking around with Groot dolls sitting on their shoulder. Honeymoon couples walk hand in hand wearing matching Mickey and Minnie T-shirts and bow ties. Hen's parties get around wearing Minnie Mouse ears that cost $40 each. Entire families dress in clothing emblazoned with characters from The Incredibles or Star Wars. And adults celebrate milestone birthdays – sans children.