Modern Family: The Happiest Place on Earth

I'm pretty sure that back in the day, I watched the episode of Full House where they went to Disney World about a thousand times, and when I grew tired of that, I watched the Family Matters one. Much as I hate blatant product placement (I still shudder at Claire and Haley's trip to Target), I'm a sucker for group outings to the Happiest Place on Earth. But that's not the only reason I liked "Disneyland."


Now that I've accepted the fact that every episode is going to shoehorn in a plotline about every member of the ensemble, I've been able to enjoy Modern Family much more, so long as the following is true of each episode: Cam and Mitch don't fight about each other's personal quirks, Claire gets to be funny, Phil gets a physical comedy moment and the kids are somewhat heavily involved and... that's pretty much it. I guess it helps when Jay is the overarching narrator? I'm not sure -- I can't quite put my finger on other ingredients to the perfect episode, but if you can, I'd be interested to hear your thoughts. In the meantime, here were the best lines of the night:

"Hey, he was a great president, and it was the first robot I ever saw."
Not that it's saying much given that I am a total baby, but I got choked up at the end of this episode. Ed O'Neill can submit this for his Emmy reel, as it spotlights Jay being hilarious, sentimental and just plain sweet. I'd share a big pickle with him any day.

"Coo coo ca choo, Mrs. Robinson."
Hey, what ever happened to Alex's weird boyfriend who looked like Glenn from Mad Men? Either way, I'm glad the writers forgot about him and let us see Alex get her flirt on... Claire, too.

"Oh great, now she's chasing squirrels. LILY!"
Ah, yes, Lily on a leash. I loved Cam chasing her, Mitch's relentless shame and Lily barking like a dog. TheDownton Abbey jokes felt a little forced, but for the record, I would pay good money to see an artist's rendition of Cam with a kangaroo pouch.

"In 45 minutes, this is gonna be so awesome!"
Legitimately product placement at its best, I'm glad Modern Family went the route of showing that Disney can kind of suck sometimes. I, for one, felt a little bit of theme park nostalgia until Luke and Phil reminded us that most of the Disney experience involves standing in line and then feeling sick after your ride.

"There was no reception in there! You know how many bars I had? Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah!"
Not my favorite Manny performance, but I did enjoy a few of his cheesier moments, as well as, "Not my type, but still -- nice to be noticed."

"There wasn't a big selection at the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique."
Stubborn Gloria wearing stilettos was cute enough of a storyline, but what made it was Jay putting slippers on her like a regular Prince charming in front Cinderella Castle's. And how freaking cute was Lily in heels?

"This is what Little John does. Maybe. I don't know what movie this dude is from."
Dylan! Looking like those old pictures of Phil from high school as a Dapper Dan! Dancing in a Little John costume! Not knowing who Little John is! Aside from the fact that he reminded us of "Dude Ranch," I'm happy to have him back.