Wonderday 2002 was the absolute first Wonderday ever, though I don’t remember the words “Wonderday” actually being used to describe the day; but now that it has become such an institution this is how it will be referred to!

It was a beautiful Saturday in May, the sun was shinning and there I found myself standing at the front gate with Jess (now my fiancé), David J. Stein and at the time his girlfriend (yes hard to believe but Dave did once have a lady-friend) waiting for of course Brandon, Marisa and Sam. I’m sure there were other attendees but we have no pictures as no one owned a digital camera! So, as there are no pictures, there is no proof of their existence. (Should you have attended this day feel free to call me an ass the next time you see me and we can amend the blog entry to reflect what most likely actually happened that day)

Now, back to reminiscing about the day…..I’ll give Brandon and Marisa the benefit of the doubt and say they were only an hour late. Brandon, as the good father that he is, handed out our tickets for the day and we entered the glorious gates of Wonderland looking towards WonderMountain in complete awe. Now having a fantastic memory, I can tell you that our first ride of the day was Top Gun, a most enjoyable time. However, the rest of the day was a bit of a blur as about four years have now passed. Though I can tell you that Brandon had this fantastic idea that the guys all wear the same style of jacket. (Brandon has since continued this thematic idea with the red Wonderday shirt you now see today.) These jackets were from the WONDERful establishment known as the GAP. Each jacket was a different colour, but each had a stripe down the side of each arm. I believe there was one point after lunch when all of the guys stuck there arms in a circle and LOUDLY yelled “GO STRIPES” — I still have my striped jacket and fondly remember this moment each and every time I wear it.

I can only assume Sam and Brandon did some extremely embarrassing things throughout the day, and though we were a small group I’m sure we made some serious noise! The day went by so fast and everyone had a fantastic time and I think we stayed right until close. Afterwards we all headed to Dave and Busters for a drink and bite to eat to wind down from our fantastic Wonderday. I also discovered that Brandon did not like the “crinkle-cut fries” from D&B that I had recommended he have. – It appears others did not like them either, and D&B has since removed them.

Wonderday 2002 was an incredibly enjoyable day, something its attendees will never forget.

~Paul Gold